Where are you going this riding season?

First topic message reminder :

Hi All,

Spring is tomorrow. You wouldn't know it here in Chicago. We have had 6 days of record breaking temps in the 80's and still are predicting 3 more days in the 80's. Great riding!

Bob and I are going back down to Knoxville, TN in June.
Southeastern, OH and West Virginia in July.

Possibly the Black Hills, SD in August. Not during the Sturgis Rally.

Where are you thinking of riding to?

Meldrew,

Welcome to our side of the pond. Hope you have an enjoyable trip. I was in Boston over thirty years ago. I enjoyed it then, I would like to get back there again. My nephew moved ther last August. Hope the weather is good for you. How long are you in the States for? Are you visiting other cities while you are here?

My April ride has changed. My brother has decided he wants to go and he has a Honda Helix. So we are going to trailer his Helix and my Silverwing down to Phoenix to stay with an old riding buddy. While there, we will be taking trips up to the Grand Canyon, Sedona and hopefully to see some of the National Parks in southern Utah.

We could of rode down and back, but if we take the pickup and trailer we can get there in 24 hours, driving straight through and taking turns driving. It is a 3 day ride, one way.

We are leaving Tuesday morning and will be gone 15 days.

CathyN wrote:

Meldrew,

Welcome to our side of the pond. Hope you have an enjoyable trip. I was in Boston over thirty years ago. I enjoyed it then, I would like to get back there again. My nephew moved ther last August. Hope the weather is good for you. How long are you in the States for? Are you visiting other cities while you are here?

Hi CathyN,

Mrs M and I arrived back home yesterday and I've only just read your post, I don't know why I missed it because we both had our notebook computers with us, and had free wi-fi in the Lenox Hotel. I regularly looked in here, Dennis B leaving was the hot topic.

We enjoyed Boston a lot, the weather was cold and sunny most of the time, and we used the subway a lot to travel around using our $15 7-Day Unlimited Travel Charlie Cards. Mrs M is very interested in the life of John Adams and was disappointed his house wasn't yet open to visitors, we went to the usual Boston historical sites as well as the USS Constitution, the JFK Museum, Harvard University, and Fenway Park.

Basketbal is a minority sport in the UK so one evening we watched Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers, they share their stadium with the Boston Bruins ice hockey team, which are probably violent Canadians with no teeth. We also had cannoli at Mikes Pastry in the North End, I developed a taste for clam chowder, and I went out on the bus to Greater Boston Motorsports in Arlington to try and buy Olympia bike clothing.

We also spent a day in Providence RI where there's an Abercrombie & Fitch shop you can find your way round without night vision goggles, Mrs M usually parks me up somewhere outside when there's serious shopping to be done there as I moan so much, or leaves me to buy unnecessary kitchen gadgets in Williams Sonoma, I came up trumps bought a kitchen scraper that converts to a silicone scoop this time.

x

Planning a two-week (+) trip from Orlando, Florida back home to Utah. Work takes me there each year so this year we are planning to put the bikes on the work truck and ride to our hearts delight all the way home.

I'll be high pointing the local states, Virginia, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Looking forward to riding slow on the back roads.

Meldrew,

Glad you had a good trip. Boston is nice. Did you ever find you Olympia clothing? I have Olympia and I do like it.

Cathy,

I found one Olympia jacket I liked and was a good fit, It had panels you could zip off and unroll to let airflow through, but it had what looked like an ink stain on the back of the jacket, and there were no matching pants. It's not listed in the current clothing range either.

Three years ago on holiday in Oregan I tried to buy a Olympia Bushwhacker jacket and pants and visited a couple of dealers without success. In the UK and Germany motorcycle clothing stores are usually found in city centres, in the US they seem to be miles away from city center.

I'm not that disappointed because I know my size and you can buy some Olympia gear in the UK, but it's of course more expensive over here.

I've already got Aerostich, Rev'it, Hein Gericke, Büse, and Clover riding suits in the Meldrew Collection, and just between you and me... I don't really need another suit.

Meldrew,

I have the Olympia AST jacket, I picked up the Olympia Moab mesh tech jacket this winter, good price on both. I had a Roadgear mesh jacket I picked up at the motorcycle show 2010. Didn't wear very well. The rain liner started to deteriorate. I also have the Olympia Recon 3 mesh pants that can be shorts also. I have a pair of Firstgear hypertech waterproof pants, and a pair of Diamond Gusset Jeans for commuting to work. That about completes my wardrobe. One Nolan N103 helmet, and a number of gloves along with the Gerbings jacket liner and gloves.

Now Bob is another story. He has been riding longer than me though.

I was wondering if there are any forum members in the British Columbia/Washington State region of the Pacific Northwest who would like to get together for a ride or two this spring/summer.
Due to the fairly mild winter this year I have been able to ride almost every week with few exceptions and live close to the Washington/BC border at Sumas. I frequently cross the boarder and enjoy riding the Northwest. Alternatively for our Washington friends there are some decent rides around costal and inland British Columbia.
Alternatively, are there any maxi scooter groups in the area already established?

For the attention of Winger61 in particular but all will be welcome:

The Saturday Rideout on May, 12th will probably start around 10.30 - it always takes time for us to get ourselves together and we don't rush but I suggest that if you're coming, aim for 10.00 or just before.
It'll also give time for introductions to be made.
One 'rule' we have when setting off on rideouts is 'Full tanks, empty bladders' and we sort-of follow the staggered formation on the road. It's not hard-and-fast but discourages 'free-lancing', not that anyone does these days but gives a guide to riders who haven't joined in before.
We also do 'Second or Third man drop-off' if the need arises.
Steve Rocket (with the yellow and white Burger) usually takes the Tail-gunner' position as he's easy to spot in rear-view mirrors!

It's not strictly done - we want to enjoy the ride - but saves having to worry too much about what someone else might do.

Edit:- And I've just remembered.....we watch in mirrors for the rider behind; if he stops or falls behind, keep him in view by slowing or stopping. If everyone does it the leading rider maintains contact with the tail-gunner and no-one gets left behind or lost (at least, that's the theory!) even if the line gets strung out.
I'm sure you know all this already.

Thanks Mike
We are both aiming to be at North Kyme on the 12th May - about 30 miles from here. Looking forward to meeting you.

Graham