Dreams

Phil Tarman · Apr 16, 2016

junglejim said:
Phil, don't forget about "Pete".

Oh, Lord, no -- I wish I could forget about Pete.

Pete was definitely "interesting," though -- in the sense of the old Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times."

Pete was touring on a TU-250 that he'd customized in interesting ways. Panniers, a windshield, etc. But he'd also customized the electronics and it had quit working. Supposedly, he'd been to Ushaihia. But he was an even more aggressive talker than I am. He invited himself into our room, he invited himself to come to dinner with Jim and I and he kept inviting himself to be our company. We finally got rid of him by riding away when he was talking.

junglejim · Apr 16, 2016

Phil Tarman said:
Oh, Lord, no -- I wish I could forget about Pete.

For those of you who know Phil, you will understand how hard it was for him to be "out talked" by Pete (and it wasn't even close). It started out being "interesting" but progressed to "funny" then to "irritating" and finally to "intolerable".

But most people I've met while motorcycle touring have been good. Pete wasn't one of them.

karl · Apr 21, 2016

mikesim said:
Karl:

I plan on embarking on my 4,000 mile Civil War battlefield tour in mid-May. I suspect I will be in Yankee territory at the end of May. You are welcome to join me as I head back West.

Mike

Thank You Mike, You are welcome to stop here on your journey. I think I will be leaving here in June.

karl · Apr 23, 2016

Loaded up the bike and took a ride to New Hampshire to see my Granddaughter there. Kind of a fine tune ride to see how the load works. Had a wonderful ride up and met my spouse that had been there all week. Lunch Ladies get spring break too. Spent too short a time with family and headed for work again the next day. Go to load up and have the "new" rear tire flat. Had to use a spray bottle with some soapy water to find the problem. Thin metal something, had left the plug kit at home. National Powersports in Pembroke, NH was willing to take a look at it and plugged it to get me home. Thanks guys. Spent the wait looking at the bikes they have for sale to include a silver non abs with the big lids. Clean and low miles. Took the highway home to get to work on time. Still enjoyed the ride.

My nice is planning a Roth Family reunion for the 4th of July. That kinda puts a damper on my plans to head West early June. Really don't want to rush the trip. Need a new tire. Found out I have a Grandson due in Aug. Life is good even if it doesn't work the way you want at times...

Phil Tarman · Apr 23, 2016

karl said:
My nice is planning a Roth Family reunion for the 4th of July. That kinda puts a damper on my plans to head West early June. Really don't want to rush the trip. Need a new tire. Found out I have a Grandson due in Aug. Life is good even if it doesn't work the way you want at times...

I've got a simple solution for you, Karl. Start the trip after the family reunion and spend a couple of days with us in Spearfish before heading on west. Easy-peasy!

karl · Apr 24, 2016

On the way home from Korea years ago I met a friend I had served with at USA Port Pusan at Ft. Sheridan in Chicago. Drove his Sirocco back to Brookings, SD. so he could recover from his broken right arm. my last stop in SD just a few years ago. Mapquest shows that as an Easy-Peasy 30 hour jaunt from the reunion site to Chris' Campground. It would be nice to meet some of the people I "wasted so much time with" over the last 5 years or so. A Nelson Rigg survivor edition waterproof bag arrived yesterday. Thing is huge and very Yellow. Check.

Phil Tarman · Apr 24, 2016

karl said:
A Nelson Rigg survivor edition waterproof bag arrived yesterday. Thing is huge and very Yellow. Check.

Jungle Jim Rau has a huge yellow waterproof Ortlieb (IIRC) bag that rides on the back of his bike. It shows up from a long way off and carries a vast amount of stuff.

karl · Apr 25, 2016

New rear tire ordered, Bridgestone T30 free three day shipping $123.00 Check.
Plug is holding air, rode the "snot" out of it on the way back...

karl · May 7, 2016

The new tire is still propped up on my riding gear locker in the garage. Got more riding in theis Feb and March than April and May so far. Another Cold wet day.

JQL · May 8, 2016

If you ride in the wet get Michelin PR4s. They handle in the wet like the BT030 do in the dry!

Notes:

Phil had a bad experience with the PR4s. We don't know the reason why. Phil is blaming the tyre - it's possible a European tyre got into the batch for the US (I understand a different compound is used in the US to Europe due to the differences in the road surfaces). Nearly everyone else seems to have had nothing but good experiences with them.

On Gravel and mud PR4s tend to be a bit "twitchy" but, then, I don't ride on either.

Comanche · May 8, 2016

JQL said:
Phil had a bad experience with the PR4s. We don't know the reason why. Phil is blaming the tyre - it's possible a European tyre got into the batch for the US (I understand a different compound is used in the US to Europe due to the differences in the road surfaces).

Yes, I still wonder about that too. When I needed new tires, I seriously looked at other brands, but my retailer said he had heard nothing about any problems. I swallowed hard and bought PR4s again, and I'm having normal wear. I have about 5,400 miles on the rear, and it looks normal. I have enough confidence in them to where I'll take a 6,000 mile trip on them this summer.

karl · May 9, 2016

May try a set of the others some day. At the moment I would be happy to get the bike ready to tour. Been too wet and cold to ride let alone do any work outside...

swingshiftssuck · May 9, 2016

Too wet and cold to ride? Do it anyway, look at it as an opportunity to thoroughly assess you gear. You'll be glad you did. If you plan to "tour" eventually you will find yourself riding in unsavory conditions.

Dee G · May 9, 2016

WHEN you start the ride to Washington (notice the when, not if), keep us updated on location and ETA. We'll have to try another NT rider PNW Edition get together.

Dee

karl · May 11, 2016

I am wearing the tee shirt. I spent my trip money on a Morgan replica they didn't let me import to the US. Waiting for that check to come back. My moon suit must have shrunk in the wash. Can't zip the bloody thing up any more. Rode more in Feb and Mar than April and May so far. I need to do this.

karl · May 29, 2016

A cold spring has gone right to too dam hot. My plan was to roll out in a couple of days. "The best laid plans of mice and men..." how does that go. My better half has a pre-surgical hing the day after tomorrow. I will be there. My side of the family has a function the 4th of July. I will be there for lots of reasons that make sense to me. Walk past the new tire oil and air filters every day and I need to ride west before the snow flies here again.

karl · Dec 14, 2016

Weather is cold the roads are icy, have my first grandson my wife has recovered from surgery and is doing better than ever. Jezabelle is almost back together and I just finished reading a book about http://www.historicus20.com/historic-us-route-20.html and that got me thinking. (almost never a good thing for me) There was a time that the reason to take 20 to Boston was I could not afford the tolls on the Mass Pike.
Remember looking at a map in Germany with my brother the student while I was stationed there as an American soldier and asking about a particular route and his answer was "too much like route 20 all stop and go. I run one stretch or an other of it every day going to work. Would be cool to have a photo in my personal album of both ends. Loading military equipment on rail cars for transport is precision work to keep thing safe. I want the planning for this trip to be much more relaxed. A route that has Yellowstone in the middle keeps looking better.

Miairhead · Dec 14, 2016

US 20, like the Lincoln Highway does slow you down sometimes on route. If you take the Lincoln Highway end to end you can apply of coast to coast award. I've road many miles on both US 20 and 30 but seem to be almost a circle never to the ends. Of course the National Motorcycle Museum is on route with Lincoln.

karl · Dec 15, 2016

My goal is to have a good time and generate some good memories. I have all the awards I will ever need for this life.

Phil Tarman · Dec 15, 2016

I just finished a book called "Route 66 Still Kicks: Riding America's Main Street," by Rick Antonson. It's the story of he and a buddy spending two weeks driving a Mustang from Chicago to LA and finding and driving as much of all the strips of 66 that they could find. it was a good read and reminded me that driving any of the old roads -- 50, 20, 2, 24, 36, 34 -- is a way to see parts of the US that are greatly different from the view from an Interstate.

Karl, I'm hoping your ride on US-20 is as good as your dream!

Dreams

Growing old disgracefully