DE OPPRESSO LIBER
Official *******
So, after unwittingly hijacking a thread from Dave (much apologies amigo!), a ride was put together to satisfy the dirt
itch of a few folks here in the Northeast. As it turned out, the ride was also part of a Duck Hunt from ADVrider.com.
As with many rides when one is trying to remember things, sometimes the details get lost or cloudy from trying to cram in so many at one time. This was exacerbated for me by starting a day long ride after having worked a 12 hour over-night shift beforehand. But, I will say that this ride was so much fun, that I never felt tired once during the ride! I was so looking forward to it that several times during the night, I went out to just go mess with the bike! :lol: I'm not sure who was more lonely, me or the KLX!
I created my route using low tech GPS at 0400.
We were to meet at Hooya's in Brimfield, Ma for 9:00 a.m. I was only late by a couple of minutes because I had missed a turn but figured it out within a couple of miles and my gut telling me to turn around . The low-tech GPS was awesome, it wasn't yelling in my ear at every turn but could've been helpful in not missing the turn. No biggie, I thought.
Of course no thread is complete for the Northeast group without food ****!! This one's for you Fred, since you couldn't make it on the Manstrom!
Here were the bikes involved, starting with MrBill since this was his ride. This is a 650 Enduro and looked/sounded like well put together piece of machinery. She could scoot, too! But I was on a weed whacker, so hard to really compare apples to oranges.
This is Sam's Suzuki, it too is a 650. His bike I believe had Trailwings (affectionately referred to as Deathwings by some :huh: ) and were more dual purpose without knobbies. This led to some cornering issues on the gravel that wasn't hardpack since we were moving at a moderate pace, but he did a good job of keeping up.
Alan (non-Ionbeam type) was riding a stocker WR250R that seemed to be comparable to my green machine. I had recently changed my front sprocket to a smaller one for improved low end grunt as well as ease of low speed maneuvering with less clutch play but it seemed just fine to me. It ran smooth and we were able to maintain highway speeds without any issue. His only complaint about the bike that I could pick out was that he thought it was anemic on torque.
The day started as overcast and had rained during the night. My ride from work getting to Hooya's was dry except for the water dripping off the trees. We started out dry, but soon found ourselves in the rain; mostly light but there was enough rain to get me soaked through my gear. Fortunately it was warm enough that I wasn't cold. I thought the day was going to be warm and sunny, so I had brought my off road sunglasses instead of goggles. This was to prove a mistake! The rain, even though light, stung at speeds over 40 mph. Not bad, but enough to give me an appreciation (relative term) for those who go without a full face helmet or no helmet at all! It was also a mistake because it was hard to see in the dimly lit wooded areas where the sun wasn't out and the foliage absorbed the rest of the available light! Ooops! Lesson learned...
The sunglasses held up well, though. They are ESS brand, which many of our fine men and women in uniform use due to their ruggedness. I bought them for that reason, but also because they are designed to fit under hearing protection and fit snug to the sides of your head. They also have short arms which, combined with the low profile, makes them ideal (for me) to use with a full faced helmet. YMMV. Here's the group at one of the stops in the morning getting to the Trans Mass Trail. We started out in Brimfield, then traveled south and west through Connecticut to get to the beginning, about 80 miles.
As the day progressed and we made ourselves northward along the TMT, we stopped where it crosses over the Mass Pike, just east of Lee, Mass. By this point my gear was dry but my base layer was still wet. This actually proved to be a good thing because even though it was warm outside, I was kept cool by the evaporational cooling process! B)
Well, time to make the doughnuts, so will be back tomorrow for the second installment!
itch of a few folks here in the Northeast. As it turned out, the ride was also part of a Duck Hunt from ADVrider.com. As with many rides when one is trying to remember things, sometimes the details get lost or cloudy from trying to cram in so many at one time. This was exacerbated for me by starting a day long ride after having worked a 12 hour over-night shift beforehand. But, I will say that this ride was so much fun, that I never felt tired once during the ride! I was so looking forward to it that several times during the night, I went out to just go mess with the bike! :lol: I'm not sure who was more lonely, me or the KLX!
I created my route using low tech GPS at 0400.
We were to meet at Hooya's in Brimfield, Ma for 9:00 a.m. I was only late by a couple of minutes because I had missed a turn but figured it out within a couple of miles and my gut telling me to turn around
. The low-tech GPS was awesome, it wasn't yelling in my ear at every turn but could've been helpful in not missing the turn. No biggie, I thought.
Of course no thread is complete for the Northeast group without food ****!! This one's for you Fred, since you couldn't make it on the Manstrom!
Here were the bikes involved, starting with MrBill since this was his ride. This is a 650 Enduro and looked/sounded like well put together piece of machinery. She could scoot, too! But I was on a weed whacker, so hard to really compare apples to oranges.
This is Sam's Suzuki, it too is a 650. His bike I believe had Trailwings (affectionately referred to as Deathwings by some :huh: ) and were more dual purpose without knobbies. This led to some cornering issues on the gravel that wasn't hardpack since we were moving at a moderate pace, but he did a good job of keeping up.
Alan (non-Ionbeam type) was riding a stocker WR250R that seemed to be comparable to my green machine. I had recently changed my front sprocket to a smaller one for improved low end grunt as well as ease of low speed maneuvering with less clutch play but it seemed just fine to me. It ran smooth and we were able to maintain highway speeds without any issue. His only complaint about the bike that I could pick out was that he thought it was anemic on torque.
The day started as overcast and had rained during the night. My ride from work getting to Hooya's was dry except for the water dripping off the trees. We started out dry, but soon found ourselves in the rain; mostly light but there was enough rain to get me soaked through my gear. Fortunately it was warm enough that I wasn't cold. I thought the day was going to be warm and sunny, so I had brought my off road sunglasses instead of goggles. This was to prove a mistake! The rain, even though light, stung at speeds over 40 mph. Not bad, but enough to give me an appreciation (relative term) for those who go without a full face helmet or no helmet at all!
It was also a mistake because it was hard to see in the dimly lit wooded areas where the sun wasn't out and the foliage absorbed the rest of the available light! Ooops! Lesson learned...The sunglasses held up well, though. They are ESS brand, which many of our fine men and women in uniform use due to their ruggedness. I bought them for that reason, but also because they are designed to fit under hearing protection and fit snug to the sides of your head. They also have short arms which, combined with the low profile, makes them ideal (for me) to use with a full faced helmet. YMMV. Here's the group at one of the stops in the morning getting to the Trans Mass Trail. We started out in Brimfield, then traveled south and west through Connecticut to get to the beginning, about 80 miles.
As the day progressed and we made ourselves northward along the TMT, we stopped where it crosses over the Mass Pike, just east of Lee, Mass. By this point my gear was dry but my base layer was still wet. This actually proved to be a good thing because even though it was warm outside, I was kept cool by the evaporational cooling process! B)
Well, time to make the doughnuts, so will be back tomorrow for the second installment!
