Steel Ice grab - ADV Tag

Odo 224

Wacky worm - ADV Tag

First Glee PA ADV tag, and bruced.

Odo 201

Glee

The discovery pick texted to wife yesterday.

 The trade this morning.

Dark Park

Loaded for an overnighter in Cherry Springs, PA.  

Mark and his Wee: stopped for a wee.

Apparently northeastern PA was really devastated by Irene and Lee. I knew that the Susquehanna flooded, but was surprised at the many bridges and roads lost upstate.  We were detoured, re-routed, and turned around several times.
This stop was about 15 minutes.  It turned out to be several miles of single-lane road under repair.  Mark takes advantage of the break to chat up the PennDOT flag chick, as viewed thru my bug-encrusted screen.



Arrived at Cherry Springs close to sunset.  It seemed like Mark was all set up before I even dismounted.


The amazing amount of crap hauled on two motorcycles.  I think the tents and bedding might have already been set up at this point, so there's even MORE stuff not pictured that came along for the ride.  Somewhere in there is the new pocket rocket stove, which was all I'd hoped for.

Camp Stupid, and further happiness with the cheapie Marmot and Pakmat.
Some random things to recall with a smile later:
It was movie night across the street, so we watched a NASA film about the Apollo program with the girl who was camping next to us (she's from Allentown).  She travels with her job and packs ultralight gear so she can hit national parks around the country.
The DCNR had telescopes set up for moon and Jupiter gazing.  It was two days off the full moon, so the "dark" feature was upset: not optimal star-gazing timing. Moonset was at 4 or 5 am - I set an alarm to get a look at the stars but it was just too bright.  Nature called relentlessly all night.

Mark and I split up on Sunday morning so I could take rt. 6 back.  The iphone charger quit and the GPS powered itself down, too.  Stopped at Best Buy at the Lycoming Circle mall in Muncy, PA for a new charger.  I'd jerked around so much with no GPS or route planned that it was already about 4pm - another race against the sun.  Tentatively planned a second overnight solo but made good time home, arriving - as seems to be my pattern - with only a few minutes of daylight left.
The following day Mark I both discovered that we had ridden past the ADV PA tag location at rt80 and 93 several hours apart.
Will definitely go back to Cherry Springs during a new moon.


View Dark Park in a larger map

Catskills Trip

Shortly after hurricane Lee, IIRC.  State Park at the top of this mountain closed.  GPS located 3 campsites in Phoenecia, NY, about an hour from here, with about an hour and a half of daylight left.
 

Two campsites in Phoenecia, NY still closed/ under water.  This one is open, but severely damaged. 

Wherever there wasn't mud, there was deep sand.  This was not fun to turn around in.

Maiden voyage of the Marmot.  This campsite was under ~ 18 feet of water a few weeks prior.  One of the two bridges into Phonecia was still closed, having also been under water for a few days.  Was fully pitched and unloaded just as the sun set.  Firewood all soaked, no fire.  Ate BD cake from a jar in the tent in the dark.


View Catskill flood moto weekend in a larger map

How to get your bike hit

Park it in the middle of the road like this - really hog up as much of that blacktop as you can.  That way, a car has no choice but to knock off a hand guard and break your clutch lever.

Drop

 

Trexler Game Preserve

Grab

 

Darby Free Library

Micro ADV leg one

Trip approval 8AM.

After a stop at Kent's, Don and Barb's, and Melinda's (including an accidental loop from Doylestown back to Quakertown), I headed north on the turnpike - where at speed, my right side mirror worked its way loose.
At a gas stop just north of Hazleton at 93 and 81, I consulted the map and found 239, which seemed to be a nice twisty relatively direct route to Muncy.  239 winds thru farmlands in the shadow of the Berwick nuke plant.
Arrived at Grizzly in Muncy to find the tent sale over and not long before closing.  A guy approached me in the parking lot about the Vee, which led to a chat about the metric wrenches inside (I couldn't find them), and Renovo, which, according to this helpful stranger had a place called "Yesterday's", with good food and cheap rooms.  With about an hour of daylight left, and new wrenches and a secure mirror, I headed west.
Arrived in Renovo in the dark.  GPS found "Yesterday's," but thought it was in a residential area.  After looping around a block which did NOT contain a hotel, I kept heading west in the dark figuring I'd find something eventually.  Happily, at the edge of town, right on the main road, was "Yesterday's."
Room 214 booked for $50.
Unloaded the bike, changed, and headed to the restaurant for some chicken parm.  Tired and head-achey, I went to the room and fell asleep watching TV.

Yesterday's Room 214

 

Retro (original) Room 214 bathroom

 

Vee in Yesterday's lot, Renovo

 

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Micro Adventure Leg 2

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Loop one

View Larger Map

Drop

Grab

Drop

Tag grab?

Google Maps Biker

Huh...

Drop

ADV tag - Trolley Car Diner, Philly

Tag Drop

Hellertaggin'

40.35.05.21N 75.20.36.39W

Hellertown Democratic Club - won

More taggin'

40.31.08.50N 75.31.38.47W
Blackman's - the drop

40.51.55.33N 75.34.06.29W
Homestead Tree Farm, Strohl's Valley Rd, off 209 near Beltzville Lake.
Won

Tag Drop: Topton, PA

40.29.47.25N 75.41.55.64W
Droppin' in Topton

Some old church

40*57' 53.54N 75* 45' 47.47W

Another ADV tag - won this one.

Flaming Vee update

The plastic guard screw loosens, allowing the the guard to rotate into the pipe.
Here's where it should be - holding the brake line AWAY from the pipe.

A cooked brake line.

... and a dumped bike.

On fire.... again @#$%^!!!

Last fall, "moto weekend" (a planned trip to Skyline Drive thru Virginia) survived a last minute riding partner bail-out and dark skies and light rain. I lost the back brake an hour from home near Reading, PA. Still undaunted, I called work and had Steph google me the closest Suzuki dealerships and entered them in my GPS. Limping in to a dealer near Hamburg, PA, I finally conceded defeat and headed home. They didn't have parts in stock anyway.

Today while riding around Boyertown/ Pottstown, I was trying to find a big dealership (can't remember the name, but I know I'd been there). Sure enough, there in my GPS are two Suzuki moto dealers, so I plotted a course and headed for the first one. When I hit rt222, I knew I plotted the wrong one, but I was only a few miles from Hamburg, so I pushed on. Back brakes died pulling into the first one, which was "closed for business." Onward to the second dealer - I limped into that same dealership from last fall with no back brake at all. Curious as to where the leak was, I pushed the pedal, heard a squirt, and caught the bike on fire.

Apparently the back brake line is perilously close to the rear pipe, and the leak directed fluid right onto it, which somehow caught a plastic guide on fire.
Hurried into the dealership to ask for a bucket of water because my bike was on fire out front. After what seemed like FAR too long given the circumstance, the dealer guy reappeared with a bucket, which did the job.

Needless to say, they don't stock the part.

I disconnected the pedal to avoid more squirting and zip-tied the burst line to the frame away from the hot rear cylinder exhaust pipe. With a strange sense of deja vu, I rode home from the Suzuki dealer in Hamburg with no back brakes and screwed up riding plans.

Stainless steel Galfer lines on order from Blackman's.

Zuke DL1K vs. tall touring

Fitzer's Reading Ride video

The last hurray for the Dunlop D607. Still some snow on the ground.

3/9/10. I think the scratchy dialogue at the beginning is:

Steve: "you suck."
Fitzer: "uhhnnn."

Don't take pics with your throttle hand

The Vee scoots down 22W thru the LV.

Cliff in the rear view.

Cliff on the C50 - I think this is between Airport Rd and Fullerton Ave exits.

I'm guessing that's the new stuff on the south side of 22 right at the Airport Rd exit - can't make out the sign.

Cliff waiting to turn onto 512S.

I think it's the same spot as the last pic.

Assorted moto-type happnin's

Last Sunday, 3/7, rode to the Reading woodworking show with Kent. Sticking to the back roads for some enjoyment was probably a mistake - lots of cinders and gravel still out on the roads (especially the back roads, and especially in the curves) and my bald back tire was not wanting to hang on.

New tire ordered. Conti "Trail Attacks" are highly reviewed and won some German tire comparison for wet + dry traction and mileage. A new Dunlop D607 in 150/70 - 17 (a crappier tire) is $50 more than the TA.

Installed the 18T front (45T rear) such that I'm now approximating the golden 17/43 ratio. A few runs up and down the street confirm that it's a much happier bike. 17/41 (stock) was too tall, 17/45 was too short, hopefully 18/45 - 17/43 is the sweet spot.

21,000-ish mi.

Brrrrrr

40.347285,-75.902438

Fire Tower in Reading, PA. Another advrider tag, another Brucing. I saw a guy on an adv-type bike heading out on rt. 71 as I was heading in to tag. He gave me a weird hand signal that I didn't understand - like a "yahoo," finger circling in the air.

Turns out it was Cap, on his new BMW, who Bruced me. I later learned the hand signal meant "turn around - I already got it."