Where did you ride today?

Did a 230 mile run off the island around the West Coast.
A run to Inverary via a detour to the top of the "Rest and be thankful" using the single track back roads to Lochgoilhead (very tight & twisty).
Wing at top of Rest.jpg
Took a picture of the Wing (see my separate post about scratching an itch :) ) and then rejoined the A83 and did a high speed blast along the Glen and around the loch shore to Inverary to catch up with my cronies (as my wife calls them).
Lots of bikes congregating there, had a hot drink & bacon roll, then over the hill to the head of Loch Awe, headed West to the bridge at Connel and then North to Appin and a cafe that overlooks Castle Stalker.
Castle Stalker.jpg

A hot chocolate and some cakes, then on to Ballachulish and through Glencoe (a magnificent view as you eventually come up on top of the moor and see the skies to the East framed by mountains on either side), and on to the Green Welly cafe at Clifton for a top up of fuel and a comfort break.
Continued South from there, past Crianlarich, down the side of Loch Lomond to Tarbet, through Arrochar and around the head of Loch Long, up through the Rest and be Thankful (open with traffic lights after the recent landslides) and a fast (though short) run through Glen Kinglas to the turn off for the Cowal Peninsula.
Headed along the side of Loch Fine, right at Strachur and through Glendaruel (a nice fast run) and onto the ferry at Colintraive.
Six bikes, from a 125cc learner, through a Suzuki Bandit 600, a Kawasaki Z 1000, a Honda Deauville, a Triumph Rocket and a Goldwing and six fairly tired guys ranging from 35 years to 70.
Big smiles all round, a lot of good craic and a great time.
Hopefully get another few runs in before the weather clamps down.

Don :)
 
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About 15 miles. A short shakedown cruise for my "new to me" '04 ST1300. Everything seems to be in order, but new rubber and suspension needs work, as expected
 
Coromandel Coast for me today; this is a legendary local loop for us, beautiful scenery and really challenging/fun roads. We had beautiful Spring weather, calm, blue skies, no wind, and temps around 20C (or 70F). I had a play with my Maxto M3 camera, as shown in the 5 min clip below. Very happy with the image quality, haven't fitted the speakers for the full bluetooth headset experience as yet.


My 1300 was just wonderful, calm and serene and cruisy one minute, then braking and carving like a heavy sportsbike the next.

Stopped off at the Sir Keith Park memorial on the way back through Thames (his home town).
1601713043998.png
 
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Today I continued my journey of returning to motorcycling after a decade away. I took the bike from Columbus to Circleville via Rt 23. At Circleville I hopped on Rt56 which is the gateway road to the best roads in Ohio - Hocking Hills! My plan was to ride there and then pick up Rt93 and head south. These are roads I have been on many times in years past on my ST1100 and both Interceptors. I was younger and had many tens of thousands of miles on the saddle with lots of confidence. Ten plus years later I have about 600 miles since I got the bike not quite two weeks ago and feel very out of practice and without a ton on confidence.

The weather was in the low 50s with cloud cover. I opted to put in the quilted liner of both my jacket and pants and a heaver glove. This was the right choice for the temperature. While on the divided highways I hid behind the screen. This is suck a nice feature to have as none of my previous bikes had it. As soon as I got to the twisties, I lowered it.

My mission today was to ride "The Pace" and work on getting my feel back. I resolved to set up my corner entry speed before turning and apply a steady throttle throughout the turn and looking when I wanted to go.I also resolved to avoid and stab & grab on the brakes. SMOOOTH was my mantra. I feel like such a newbie because I am! I also resolved to stay below my 75% Perfect - which Keith Code discusses in Twist of the Wrist II. Bad things happen above 75% of ones limit including those dangerous SRs - Survival Reactions.

Once in the Hocking Hills I rode only Rt56 which is the main road. The surrounding roads are incredible but also very challenging and today was my first time riding anything twisty like this. I am pleased to report I stayed about 50% of the limit the whole time. I trusted the bike and took it as slow as I felt. If a car came behind, I let them pass. This was my pace for the ride. I navigated the Rt56 section successfully and connected with Rt93 and headed south. Rt93 is less twisty - another intentional choice - to enjoy a beautiful ride with all the trees, hills, and gentle curves. When I arrived at the town of Jackson, I had a choice: stay on Rt93 to the Ohio River (about an hour more but in more twisty and beautiful state forest) or hop on RT35 to being the journey home. I elected remember my 75% limit and head home as I still had 2 hours ride to get home.

All in, I rode 220 miles today and averaged 42.6MPG. I did not stop and take any pictures today. I love to be able to ride that far on one tank and still have what looked like another 100 miles of range!

Next weekend looks even better weather to head back to that area and get in more miles!
John
 
Decided inland would be too hot. So I rode down I15 (@91F) to SR56 and went west to the beach. Stopped off at Torrey Pines State Beach and drank a Pepsi. After about a 30 minute break, I took off north, keeping close to the ocean where it was only 75F. I then had to jump on I5 and headed north to SR74 (Ortega Hwy) and headed back east! The farther inland, the hotter it got. At one point it was 100F. Due to traffic I wasn't able to do more than 45-60MPH during the whole ride over Ortega.

I then rode back to I15 and headed south to home.

Total ride was 156 miles. And I made two stops.
 
From Prince Edward County, northeast to Tamworth for lunch, then east to Parham and back.
It’s a shakedown run for my new to me 1300. Getting used to the difference (from my 1100) in weight, braking and the optics through the windshield.

Very much enjoyed the heated seat today! That and removing chicken strips .
 
I skipped out a bit early today and took a ride over to Dillon State Park. I went to the beach area, looked at the water, and headed back home. Beautiful weather but very gusty winds - 20+ made it a bit tricky on the way home. A nice 85 mile ride in the afternoon!
John
 
Those burgers are awesome. We used to camp yearly at Jalama Beach with my son's scout troop.

I took my $850 gov't auction bought ST1300 on a trip to Yosemite yesterday. Limited visibility due to the fires, but no crowds. Just a handful of people which made it a very enjoyable ride.
 

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Absolute great roads that run off of SR-56. You can spend a day going inbetween SR-56 and US-50 on the various north-south roads. I do try and hit the Hocking Hills area on a weekday if I have a choice, much less traffic.


STJohnS said:
Today I continued my journey of returning to motorcycling after a decade away. I took the bike from Columbus to Circleville via Rt 23. At Circleville I hopped on Rt56 which is the gateway road to the best roads in Ohio - Hocking Hills! My plan was to ride there and then pick up Rt93 and head south. These are roads I have been on many times in years past on my ST1100 and both Interceptors. I was younger and had many tens of thousands of miles on the saddle with lots of confidence. Ten plus years later I have about 600 miles since I got the bike not quite two weeks ago and feel very out of practice and without a ton on confidence.

The weather was in the low 50s with cloud cover. I opted to put in the quilted liner of both my jacket and pants and a heaver glove. This was the right choice for the temperature. While on the divided highways I hid behind the screen. This is suck a nice feature to have as none of my previous bikes had it. As soon as I got to the twisties, I lowered it.

My mission today was to ride "The Pace" and work on getting my feel back. I resolved to set up my corner entry speed before turning and apply a steady throttle throughout the turn and looking when I wanted to go.I also resolved to avoid and stab & grab on the brakes. SMOOOTH was my mantra. I feel like such a newbie because I am! I also resolved to stay below my 75% Perfect - which Keith Code discusses in Twist of the Wrist II. Bad things happen above 75% of ones limit including those dangerous SRs - Survival Reactions.

Once in the Hocking Hills I rode only Rt56 which is the main road. The surrounding roads are incredible but also very challenging and today was my first time riding anything twisty like this. I am pleased to report I stayed about 50% of the limit the whole time. I trusted the bike and took it as slow as I felt. If a car came behind, I let them pass. This was my pace for the ride. I navigated the Rt56 section successfully and connected with Rt93 and headed south. Rt93 is less twisty - another intentional choice - to enjoy a beautiful ride with all the trees, hills, and gentle curves. When I arrived at the town of Jackson, I had a choice: stay on Rt93 to the Ohio River (about an hour more but in more twisty and beautiful state forest) or hop on RT35 to being the journey home. I elected remember my 75% limit and head home as I still had 2 hours ride to get home.

All in, I rode 220 miles today and averaged 42.6MPG. I did not stop and take any pictures today. I love to be able to ride that far on one tank and still have what looked like another 100 miles of range!

Next weekend looks even better weather to head back to that area and get in more miles!
John
Click to expand...
 
seitz729 said:
Those burgers are awesome. We used to camp yearly at Jalama Beach with my son's scout troop.

I took my $850 gov't auction bought ST1300 on a trip to Yosemite yesterday. Limited visibility due to the fires, but no crowds. Just a handful of people which made it a very enjoyable ride.
Click to expand...
WOW! This is an amazing picture!
 
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