blusmbl
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Neighbor got dumped by his girlfriend of 7 years last Tuesday, so he wanted to go on a bike trip. Didn't have anything else going on, so we both took Friday off and rode up to Pittsburgh from my place in Detroit. He has an 03 Honda 919, and I rode the 'busa that has a corbin seat, drop buell pegs, and a set of bar risers & aftermarket bars along with a bigger windscreen. This was the first long trip I've done on a bike, and honestly it wasn't too bad. I also most likely won't do it again- slab riding down the freeway is incredibly boring after about 20 miles.
Made it to Wexford, PA by 5:30 in time for one of the church car shows- usually 500 cars are there, Friday was no exception. I only got pics of a few things, most notably a '72 Plymouth Michigan State Police car, and some guy that towed his dog to the show in a little kennel behind his Harley:
Checked into a hotel, then rode to a couple bars in Mt. Lebanon. Saturday morning, got up and wanted to head out on a decent ride outside of the city. First went up to North Park, then headed south down 79, over on 50, 18 and down to 88. Ran through Bethany, West Liberty, and Wheeling, West Virginia. Was another 5 solid hours of riding. Got to Wheeling, turned around and came back. Saw a remarkable number of backwoods people, and some just flat out outstanding roads. Lots of 15mph 180's and switchbacks, combined with significant elevation changes. Riding in Michigan just sucks, there isn't any way around it.
Somewhere on 50, buddy Dave pictured.
Hanging out in the Sheetz gas station parking lot, about to turn around. Was almost 90F with ridiculous humidity.
At the PA/WV border, on 27.
Made it back to Dave's house around 4pm, thankfully drove to dinner because some nasty thunderstorms showed up in the area and we had to cross minor flash flooding over the street in his truck.
bikes at hotel:
Took off this morning, the battery or starter didn't want to cooperate on my bike anymore, had to bump start it at the first fuel stop in Ohio. Of course it fixed itself and was fine at the next stop near Toledo. I'm guessing it's either a cell in the battery starting to die, or the connection needs some attention- hopefully it isn't the starter, and I was really glad it's not the charging system!
Also saw a nasty wreck on the turnpike heading east that shut the freeway down, a minivan's roof was cut open like a sardine can. Not sure if it was done by the jaws of life, or a collision with something. At the last stop, the neighbor broke his key off in the fuel cap of his bike, luckily he had a spare with him, and we used my tools to get into the cap to fuel it.
Made it back in a little over 4 with 2 stops for fuel, was hauling butt mainly due to boredom. Don't feel too bad, if needed I could ride further, but at this point I wouldn't want to. I need tunes, at a minimum!
Final milage for the weekend:
Also worth mentioning, Ohio drivers are rude. Paying tolls is a pain on a bike if you're geared up. The toll people didn't wave us through, so after taking the gloves off, fishing out the wallet and toll ticket, paying the person, and creeping forward, the cars behind me were irritated. I was still putting my gloves back on (after clearing the toll gate, so the next person could at least pay), and the car behind me honked twice. I finished putting my gloves on, flipped up a rather authoritative middle finger, then picked the front wheel up 6" through first gear and ran it out through part of 3rd.
Neighbor got honked at in a similar situation as well. Also, nobody knows how to get over. If I'm doing 85 in the left lane, and you're doing 70 with nobody to the right, just get over. I always drive like a grandma in my truck so I've never noticed how bad it was until now.
I thought I'd hate my bike at the end of the trip, but I still really enjoy it. I'm also happy there wasn't any police intervention.
-Nick
Made it to Wexford, PA by 5:30 in time for one of the church car shows- usually 500 cars are there, Friday was no exception. I only got pics of a few things, most notably a '72 Plymouth Michigan State Police car, and some guy that towed his dog to the show in a little kennel behind his Harley:
Checked into a hotel, then rode to a couple bars in Mt. Lebanon. Saturday morning, got up and wanted to head out on a decent ride outside of the city. First went up to North Park, then headed south down 79, over on 50, 18 and down to 88. Ran through Bethany, West Liberty, and Wheeling, West Virginia. Was another 5 solid hours of riding. Got to Wheeling, turned around and came back. Saw a remarkable number of backwoods people, and some just flat out outstanding roads. Lots of 15mph 180's and switchbacks, combined with significant elevation changes. Riding in Michigan just sucks, there isn't any way around it.
Somewhere on 50, buddy Dave pictured.
Hanging out in the Sheetz gas station parking lot, about to turn around. Was almost 90F with ridiculous humidity.
At the PA/WV border, on 27.
Made it back to Dave's house around 4pm, thankfully drove to dinner because some nasty thunderstorms showed up in the area and we had to cross minor flash flooding over the street in his truck.
bikes at hotel:
Took off this morning, the battery or starter didn't want to cooperate on my bike anymore, had to bump start it at the first fuel stop in Ohio. Of course it fixed itself and was fine at the next stop near Toledo. I'm guessing it's either a cell in the battery starting to die, or the connection needs some attention- hopefully it isn't the starter, and I was really glad it's not the charging system!
Also saw a nasty wreck on the turnpike heading east that shut the freeway down, a minivan's roof was cut open like a sardine can. Not sure if it was done by the jaws of life, or a collision with something. At the last stop, the neighbor broke his key off in the fuel cap of his bike, luckily he had a spare with him, and we used my tools to get into the cap to fuel it.
Made it back in a little over 4 with 2 stops for fuel, was hauling butt mainly due to boredom. Don't feel too bad, if needed I could ride further, but at this point I wouldn't want to. I need tunes, at a minimum!
Final milage for the weekend:
Also worth mentioning, Ohio drivers are rude. Paying tolls is a pain on a bike if you're geared up. The toll people didn't wave us through, so after taking the gloves off, fishing out the wallet and toll ticket, paying the person, and creeping forward, the cars behind me were irritated. I was still putting my gloves back on (after clearing the toll gate, so the next person could at least pay), and the car behind me honked twice. I finished putting my gloves on, flipped up a rather authoritative middle finger, then picked the front wheel up 6" through first gear and ran it out through part of 3rd.
Neighbor got honked at in a similar situation as well. Also, nobody knows how to get over. If I'm doing 85 in the left lane, and you're doing 70 with nobody to the right, just get over. I always drive like a grandma in my truck so I've never noticed how bad it was until now.I thought I'd hate my bike at the end of the trip, but I still really enjoy it. I'm also happy there wasn't any police intervention.
-Nick
