Shuey's Heading North to see Phil on Feb 2nd

Shuey

Shuey

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Location
Niceville, FL
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FJR1300 ES, 2018
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Well, heading North to glorious Punxsutawney, Pa, to witness Phil's annual Winter prognostication in person . . . if the roads are clear!

Starting later than normal so I can meet up with Jamie, "V65infla", and his friend who are riding up from South FL for an Alabama adventure. Always look forward to meeting new riders. I'll ride along a little then head up towards Chattanooga.

Phil comes out of his burrow at 7:20 am ST on Saturday, Feb 2nd to whisper his forecast to the President of his Inner Circle and I have high hopes of joining in the celebration. Sees his shadow . . . 6 more weeks of Winter. Supposed to be blizzards today and tomorrow but colder and sunny on Saturday. Could be bad news! I understand it's pretty crowded, so I'll try to pull in about 6am or so.

Anyone else going to be there?

I plan on heading from there up to Clarion, PA, for a sub at Bob's Sub and Sandwich shop . . . home of my favorite subs in North America! I'll post it up on the RTE Forum if anyone wants to join me (again, clear roads permitting).

I'll spend the night in Cranberry Township with a jog down and back to Pittsburgh for dinner with a friend. Then back to Pittsburgh Sunday for the opening of a photo art exhibit at the Undercroft Art Gallery. Probably stay an hour or so, then it's back on the road to Cincinnati for Sunday night and watch the SuperBowl. From there to Knoxville on Monday. Schedule uncertain after that.

Not taking a laptop, but will try to check in from hotel computers from time to time. Otherwise, text or call my cell which I check whenever I stop. I can usually see texts displayed, but have no mic ability to talk while riding.

I'll keep an eye open, as usual, for STs along the way.

Shuey
 

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Thanks for the update, looks . . . incouraging!

What I read:

40% chance of clear
40% chance of clear
50% chance of clear
60% chance of clear
70% chance of clear

Look'in GOOD!

Shuey
 
I'll do my best Mac.

Weather looks . . . good, still! Coming in as predicted.

Spent the night in Cleveland, TN, temp now 26. Tonight I'll be in Indiana, PA, if ice/snow doesn't stop me. They have plenty of time to get roads clear, so I think it's going to work out.

Another update tonight.

Gotta go, Phil's waiting . . .

Shuey
 
I'm pretty sure that "optimist" is Shuey's middle name!

Have fun Shuey, be safe!!!!
 
Anyone heard from Shuey? We got some snow in this area the last couple days, nothing major but just wondered how Shuey was getting along.
 
I asked the same thing on his RTE thread. I live about 30 miles from Clarion
& about 70 miles from Punxatawny. It snowed most of Friday & all day Saturday.
Is he really on his bike??
Kevin
 
Just exchange a text message with Shuey. He made it to see Phil and back to Cincy and is currently safe and sound watching the Super Bowl.
 
Update. Yep, made it all around . . . on UBB, not a cage! Funny guys. :)

Meet up with Jamie (v65infla) and his friend Gary in Crestview on Thursday for a late lunch. Then as they headed on up to enjoy some Alabama riding, I split off and rode NE. Stopped in Cleveland, TN, then had breakfast Friday morning with Bob Donaldson in the morning (thanks for a great breakfast Bob), then on up to Indiana, PA. Getting cold. Interstates in good shape, but US 19 between I-77 and I-79 almost ended the trip. Slushy with fresh snow from the New River Bridge North, but sun was shinning and keeping tire lanes wet. Fortunately I reached I-79 before sunset and it was clear. 5am Saturday, it's up and at'em making it to Punxsutawney. Cold and easy to find. You could see fireworks from 15 miles away. Lot's of people there, and as many as were there, I'd estimate that many more left early and kept the shuttle busses full and rolling . . . they got there earlier and were just frozen.

Riding a motorcycle, with FL plates, Punxy and State police couldn't have been kinder. Let me through roadblocks to park behind a patrol car about 50 yards from the top of Gobblers Knob. :)

Short walk, great fun. Lot's of inebriated people at 7 am! Phil didn't see his shadow, so an early Spring is expected. -2 degrees on arrival, +2 degrees on departure according to the people in the Weather Channel Van. (Spring as in actual weather, not a calendar date) Hope he's right!

Then it's North to I-80 to head to Clarion. Yep, it was snowing from the time I got on I-80 at Brooksville and headed West. Had a really GREAT sub at Bob's Sub shop. It was as good as I remember, maybe better since it was FREE. Was looking dicey in Clarion while waiting for my FREE sub (owner liked my story) and car wheels outside were starting to spin some. So got going riding carefully and steadily out of town back to I-80. Plan was to get up on I-80, check it out and if to bad, get off at the next exit, return to Clarion and a hotel. Trucks carving two paths in the growing slush on I-80. It didn't take long for me to be following the slowest semi. Other trucks and cars all moved over into the left lane and passed. Me, I wasn't crossing any of the slush mounds, just stayed on the trail; 45-50 in the 65-70 zones worked just fine. I was concerned about making the curve off of I-80 to I-79 South to Pittsburgh and there wasn't a cleared path. Another plus for the PR3 tires, they are slush grabbers! Made it around, then onto I-79. Stayed in the right lane and it wasn't long before I was behind the slowest semi again . . . perfect.

Made it to Cranberry Township for the night passing through two serious slowdowns for vehicles that had slid off the road, two turning over. Me, I'm staying in the groove left by the semi in front of me the whole way. While roads were passable, the hotel parking lot was a nightmare. It hadn't had any care through 2 1/2 days of off and on snow. Managed to get up to the front door. Spent a snowy night there then shoveled a path out to the street in the morning to get out. Slick, but I made it. Roads after that were fine. Well cleared and mostly dry. Lot's of snow flurries from Pittsburgh all the way to Columbus, but ran out of them about 40 miles south of town. Dry road from then on.

South to Pittsburgh for the opening of a friends art show, then on to Florence, KY, to watch the Superbowl with a brother. Great game! On to Knoxville in the morning to have lunch with Kreis "H2Orider." From there, nothing special other than riding home. Spent last night in Athens, TN. Rode home today. Nice to be back in the land of warmth. Crossed the TN border at 41 degrees, crossed the FL line at . . . 65! Wonderful!

Great trip, great adventure, improving bad weather riding skills, visits with friends, old and new and UBB still running strong.

Note: The Ballistics battery never failed to start the bike. Cranked an extra turn or two, probably due to thickened oil, however, the clocks and trip data reset to zero 3 times during the coldest parts of the trip. Once started, the battery monitor indicated it was putting out full power. No problems or degradation as far as I can tell. I'll look at it more carefully the next couple of rides.

So, any questions?

Shuey

PS: After departing Florida, I didn't see a single motorcycle, of any kind until I saw one in Knoxville on my return South. Must have been a National Riders meeting somewhere I missed . . . :)

PPS: Pictures coming soon.
 
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Shuey said:
PS: After departing Florida, I didn't see a single motorcycle, of any kind until I saw one in Knoxville on my return South. Must have been a National Riders meeting somewhere I missed . . . :)
Click to expand...

You could have seen mine, but you did not stop by and look in the garage!
 
Thanks for sharing your ride Shuey. I had a similar ride behind the slowest semi for whatever mileage it is from Jackson MS to Monroe in December '86. Crossing the Mississippi at Vicksburg a car started passing on the bridge and I thought, "holy smokes, this guy is gonna lose control and I'm gonna end up in the River". As he got around, I saw his plate and he was from Ohio, so I knew he could handle the 6-8" of snow in the fast lane. He was only going about 30.
 
Good to see you made it home Shuey. I would never ride in the snow like that.....wait a minute I did one time. LOL. But never again.
 
Glad it was an exciting and, more important, safe trip! I had a fair bit of chair cushion clenched reading the tale...while I have ridden in snow, and will again, its unpredictable enough to add a LOT of tension and excitement to a ride!
 
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