adammounsey
New member
Last week I did a lovely 130+ mile ride round the Cotswolds. Taking in Stratford upon Avon, Bourton on Water, Chipping Norton and others. Great day out with a mate on his Limited Edition BMW 1200 GS.
Where was your last ride?
- Thread starter Stove Pipe
- Start date
Santorini's Greek Cuisine restaurant in DeLand
Bright and early (9 AM), Saturday, we had a group of 13 bikes/16 riders depart Orange Park here in Florida for lunch @ Santorini's in DeLand. Our little trek took us 3 hours just getting there with only one rest/fuel stop. What was nice about the ride is that the temperature started out a "little" cool and the sky was overcast. I was thinking that at any time now we we're in for one of our "famous" instant rain storms with no where to go to escape/hide. It took about 90 minutes before the "sun came out" and the temps raised to a respectable 90+ degrees. And then it was almost TOO hot to ride ... just needed to keep going ... just a little bit faster! Our Road Captain mapped out some really cool, country roads with a lot of "twisties" to sharpen our "training." Next month, we plan on doing the Ozello Trail ride which is a miniature version of the famous Tail of the Dragon run here in The States.
Bright and early (9 AM), Saturday, we had a group of 13 bikes/16 riders depart Orange Park here in Florida for lunch @ Santorini's in DeLand. Our little trek took us 3 hours just getting there with only one rest/fuel stop. What was nice about the ride is that the temperature started out a "little" cool and the sky was overcast. I was thinking that at any time now we we're in for one of our "famous" instant rain storms with no where to go to escape/hide. It took about 90 minutes before the "sun came out" and the temps raised to a respectable 90+ degrees. And then it was almost TOO hot to ride ... just needed to keep going ... just a little bit faster! Our Road Captain mapped out some really cool, country roads with a lot of "twisties" to sharpen our "training." Next month, we plan on doing the Ozello Trail ride which is a miniature version of the famous Tail of the Dragon run here in The States.
Bring it! The temps have been great .... it's the damn rain that's the problem. You can be riding along and run smack dab into a rain shower from hell but just a little bit up the road, it's sunny and clear! You definitely can see the the rain clouds and just know you HAVE TO go that way, you just pray that eventually you WILL run into GOOD weather prior to getting back to where you want to end up! So far, I've been REALLY lucky on my weekend rides with the rain especially considering that my latest ones take me hours from home.
I can relate to that! Considering the location of my work, it usually rains a LOT (north end of town). So IF I do ride to work (usually great temps/weather), I can watch the clouds come in and drench the parking lot. And then when I get out of work, the weather has gotten nicer BUT I end up sitting on a wet bike and then I don't know IF the bike will start ... at all!We have had 3 days of sunshine in a row here ! Just so I can ride back and forth to work .
Palatka wet ride
Saturday, we were suppose to head out to Ozello Trails, just below Tampa for 50 curves in 9 miles. Florida weather had other ideas .... HEAVY storms throughout northern Florida, especially the west coast. A shorter ride was scheduled (closer to home) resulting the group going from 34 riders/28 bikes down to 8 bikes. Our new destination: Wendy's in Palatka for some Frostys. The skies were overcast, didn't look too great but a ride is a ride! We pulled into Wendy's just as it was starting to sprinkle. As we all got to the counter to order .... the heavens opened up BIG TIME! It was so bad that for almost 20 minutes you could see absolutely NOTHING outside thru the windows. I think we remained in Wendy's for almost 45 minutes before we dared to go out. It took that long for the rain to lighten up enough for us to even consider heading out on the bikes. Halfway back, on the way home, the clouds opened up AGAIN and this time we're out running at 60+ mph with no protection ANYWHERE! Once you're wet, you're wet, I guess. I must of ran my flashers for about 15 miles, couldn't see ANYTHING ahead or behind but I knew that there were cars back there! I could barely see the bikes ahead of me (I was running tail for the group). Roughly 10 miles from the house, I ran into BEAUTIFUL skies and 80+ degree temps, somebody turned off the rain! So as I pull into the driveway, I'm BONE DRY, my socks are soaked in my boots and the bike is as dry as can be! I have a funny feeling that this is not going to be my last adventure like this before the year is out!
Saturday, we were suppose to head out to Ozello Trails, just below Tampa for 50 curves in 9 miles. Florida weather had other ideas .... HEAVY storms throughout northern Florida, especially the west coast. A shorter ride was scheduled (closer to home) resulting the group going from 34 riders/28 bikes down to 8 bikes. Our new destination: Wendy's in Palatka for some Frostys. The skies were overcast, didn't look too great but a ride is a ride! We pulled into Wendy's just as it was starting to sprinkle. As we all got to the counter to order .... the heavens opened up BIG TIME! It was so bad that for almost 20 minutes you could see absolutely NOTHING outside thru the windows. I think we remained in Wendy's for almost 45 minutes before we dared to go out. It took that long for the rain to lighten up enough for us to even consider heading out on the bikes. Halfway back, on the way home, the clouds opened up AGAIN and this time we're out running at 60+ mph with no protection ANYWHERE! Once you're wet, you're wet, I guess. I must of ran my flashers for about 15 miles, couldn't see ANYTHING ahead or behind but I knew that there were cars back there! I could barely see the bikes ahead of me (I was running tail for the group). Roughly 10 miles from the house, I ran into BEAUTIFUL skies and 80+ degree temps, somebody turned off the rain! So as I pull into the driveway, I'm BONE DRY, my socks are soaked in my boots and the bike is as dry as can be! I have a funny feeling that this is not going to be my last adventure like this before the year is out!
Yeah but he STAYED dry! No such luck for those of us who are out in the middle of nowhere and no rain gear!
zebra03
Member
That cop looked at us like we were crazy . He wasn't too far off .
2 for the price of 1
Yesterday I started out with a motorcycle riding training session at a local high school parking lot. Several different courses were up with cones to hone one's maneuvering capabilities. It was definitely an eye opener in my case ... I suck! Even though I've been riding for 30+ years, my basic skills needed some improvement! I purposely showed up with about half a tank of fuel so the Dino wouldn't be top heavy, can't really say IF it helped. About the only area that I did do GOOD was braking. The ABS showed it's stuff! We had 7 bikes: 3 sporties, 3 Harleys ... a full dress, an old kick start only, and a Softail plus my DN-01. The full dress and my bike were the only ones with ABS. What surprised me was that all three sporties occasionally would lockup their rear tires and sometimes the front resulting in some "scary" stops. The non-ABS Harleys seemed to do fairly well, probably due to the heaviness of the machines or it could have been due to lower speeds. As far as getting around the cones, I believe the long "stretch" of the DN-01 played a major negative factor. After a few hours of training, I was off to meetup with another group for lunch and a possible swim. A couple of the sporties followed me to the Outback Crab Shack on the river for eats. We got there about 10 minutes before the other group showed and got a table. When they did get there, we had to move to a larger table .... quite a few people showed up (a lot of sporties)! Food was great and pricey but what seafood isn't! From there we rode to a "private" pool to swim and finish off the day. Which was good because the temps were a killer ... hot and more hot!
Yesterday I started out with a motorcycle riding training session at a local high school parking lot. Several different courses were up with cones to hone one's maneuvering capabilities. It was definitely an eye opener in my case ... I suck! Even though I've been riding for 30+ years, my basic skills needed some improvement! I purposely showed up with about half a tank of fuel so the Dino wouldn't be top heavy, can't really say IF it helped. About the only area that I did do GOOD was braking. The ABS showed it's stuff! We had 7 bikes: 3 sporties, 3 Harleys ... a full dress, an old kick start only, and a Softail plus my DN-01. The full dress and my bike were the only ones with ABS. What surprised me was that all three sporties occasionally would lockup their rear tires and sometimes the front resulting in some "scary" stops. The non-ABS Harleys seemed to do fairly well, probably due to the heaviness of the machines or it could have been due to lower speeds. As far as getting around the cones, I believe the long "stretch" of the DN-01 played a major negative factor. After a few hours of training, I was off to meetup with another group for lunch and a possible swim. A couple of the sporties followed me to the Outback Crab Shack on the river for eats. We got there about 10 minutes before the other group showed and got a table. When they did get there, we had to move to a larger table .... quite a few people showed up (a lot of sporties)! Food was great and pricey but what seafood isn't! From there we rode to a "private" pool to swim and finish off the day. Which was good because the temps were a killer ... hot and more hot!
I think you have to be crazy to be willing to ride a vehicle that has only 2 wheels and wants to fall over whenever possible.
zebra03
Member
Today was more of a dash than a ride . Started out on some back roads and then mentioned to Mrs Z about being hungry and a short 30 mile burst to Primanti Brothers .
WELL DUH !!!
She is really getting the hang of the DN-01 . For me , I miss the "Dino" but , My Burgman is a nice ride .
WELL DUH !!!
She is really getting the hang of the DN-01 . For me , I miss the "Dino" but , My Burgman is a nice ride .
zebra03
Member
I took my test on a Honda Reflex and it was quite easy to pass the test . I think if I had to do it on the DN-01 , I would fail .
The Dino IS a cool bike BUT, I agree, not one that I would use to TRY to pass the riding test!
I like the idea of having both bikes at one's disposal ... depending on the rider's mood. That is why I also garage a NT700V with my Dino ... different "rides" requirements yet a lot of similarities!
Last edited:
Scooter ride
Hooked up with the 7 Bridges Scooter Club yesterday for a breakfast ride (38 miles). I was suppose to meet with a few friends as we waited for the rest of the club to show up ... my friends didn't show but did intercepted the group later en route. 18 scooters and one DN-01 "scootering" the back roads to our destination: Bayard Cafe. We had about a 30 minute wait, the place was packed. The temp outside were a bit warm .. hot! Finally got in but we had to split the group into 3 tables, to fit everyone in. It's been quite a while since I had pancakes ... I should do them more often! After socializing for about an hour, we all went our separate ways ... I stopped at Open Road Leathers on the way home and picked up a few more stickers for my helmet. (A work in progress)
Hooked up with the 7 Bridges Scooter Club yesterday for a breakfast ride (38 miles). I was suppose to meet with a few friends as we waited for the rest of the club to show up ... my friends didn't show but did intercepted the group later en route. 18 scooters and one DN-01 "scootering" the back roads to our destination: Bayard Cafe. We had about a 30 minute wait, the place was packed. The temp outside were a bit warm .. hot! Finally got in but we had to split the group into 3 tables, to fit everyone in. It's been quite a while since I had pancakes ... I should do them more often! After socializing for about an hour, we all went our separate ways ... I stopped at Open Road Leathers on the way home and picked up a few more stickers for my helmet. (A work in progress)
At least she has good taste ... just kidding!! I have ridden with a few Burgmans, and have been very impressed with their performance and features ... someday, maybe. (My half helmet is a carry-over from my Harley days ... putting stickers on it, that is, and of course, it is BLACK!)