Breaking the ice for 2014

[WVRider]

Well didn't really have to literally break the "ICE" as most of it has melted in the last couple super nice warm days here in WV. Took the dog out this morning at 7 a.m. and when I saw this moon in the sky I knew today was the day I have been waiting for since December. It was going to be a motorcycle kind of day.



I had to help a friend of mine move some furniture with the truck and as soon as that was done, her and I both decided to get in a few miles on the bikes. She was able to get in 70 miles before having to get ready for work.



Of course I felt so bad for her I kept on riding. )



I have broken the ice for 2014 with 126 wonderful miles of WV fun. Didn't even have difficulty missing all the potholes. It felt sooo good !

 

[vzshadow]

DJ,
Glad you were able to get out and ride. In Maine I see little hope for any sort of ride for the foreseeable future. Keep posting so those of us living on the frozen tundra can live vicariously through your rides.

 

[skiper]

Hey - I got out for first time since December also. MY my was it invigorating for the feverish spirit to chill awhile .. chill awhile - chill awhile .. NT got a little fresh gas mixed and performed admirably , all the while keeping the evil winds off me .. Sunny and about forty degrees , roads washed pretty well , had a little terrible terrier chase me - do their little legs break the laws of physics when running full tilt ? Any which way - had a great ride day.. back to cold weather here in Central New York ..

 

[Rob]

Awesome DJ!

I'm a real slacker and haven't ridden since December. Maybe November. Longest stretch of not riding since I started!

 

[WVRider]

Well checked out the radar EDITOn Sunday morning) and felt I had enough time to ride west to meet it, then beat it back east. That plan was working great as I rode a little north on Rt.339 where I picked up Rt.550 west at Barlow OH. Watching the clouds as I headed west I was able to enjoy a clean roads. Edit: (2nd ride of the weekend).





While heading west on 550 I drove past this cool looking old church building. I love the design of many of these old country churches.



Was planning on riding to Athens Ohio and then cut back another route, however by the time I was closing in on Amesville Ohio I could see the rain clouds rolling in from the west so I decided to head south on Rt.329 and do a shorter loop over to Rt.50 and head back east.





Along that road I found some left overs of the snow and ice that has been melting so rapidly.





Well as I rolled through Stewart Ohio I saw a sign the said road closed. As I eased past it to see the problem I found the river was over the road from flood waters from all the fast snow melt. So I had to turn around to make shorter loop by taking Rt.144 out of Stewart only to run onto this about 5 miles out of Stewart.







After finding the flooded roads I had to retrace my route. When getting back to Rt.550 I started getting a few sprinkles so my pace picked up well over the posted speed as I headed east, all the while hoping the Ohio Highway Patrol was working a different road. Thank goodness I did not come across any troopers and was able to stay ahead of the rain arriving home 15 minutes before rain started. It's all good and the quick trip home reminded me why I love the NT. The handling, the gearing, the brakes, the acceleration, it's all fantastic. Ride on !

 

[Phil Tarman]

Glad you stayed dry!

 

[elizilla]

I love that season in the spring when there's just a faint green haze in the trees, and you can follow it north. Beautiful!

 

[Cameron]

My morning commute into Philly was another interesting one, with the snow flurries all around me. A covering on the grass and just a light layer on the side of the road. Still, the road surface was merely wet as they had brined yesterday in anticipation. Fun to watch the cars pass over the light stuff and watch is swish this way and that. While it remains colder than normal, the morning's precip has dried so the ride home should be without issue. Weathergirl is hinting at another "storm" this weekend possibly, but they're all so nervous now that they have to assuming anything will result in more snow, so you really can't believe 'em.

 

[WVRider]

Weathergirl is hinting at another "storm" this weekend possibly, but they're all so nervous now that they have to assuming anything will result in more snow, so you really can't believe 'em.

Well, I work for the Office of Emergency Management in our County and there is a grim outlook for this weekend in WV. They are so certain of the 8 to 9 inches of snow, on top of the small amount on Saturday night and then freezing rain before it starts the heavy wet stuff on Sunday evening, they are already having planning meetings on how to handle all the downed trees and power outages. Not sounding good, that's for sure. Getting the bike out last weekend is really killing me now.