Lousy Day or Perfect?

[haulin' daze]

Just had my nastiest ride on my '05. Work sent me down to Atlantic City for a few days. Great! Load up the bike. Check the weather right up until I hop on. I'm on the road Monday and heading back Friday. Only chance of rain is Wednesday. Perfect, I won't be riding then anyway. Wonderful fall ride down. Keep looking at the weather for Friday. Still perfect. Friday comes and I wake up to heavy, driving rain with sustained wind of 30 mph with gusts to 50. Wonderful. Problem is I MUST be home Friday night. Long story short, the first 100 miles up towords Newark were brutal. Then the sun came out, but the wind stayed all the way north of Boston. I get to the Mass Pike (usually 1 hour 15 min from home) and it takes me 4 hours because of traffic. You know what's funny though? I loved every minute being on that bike. Now more than ever I'm sure I made the right choice.    :smt118

[Stretch]

I'm with ya.



I have a meeting in NC this weekend and am going to ride up there.  Low here will be 47 Sat AM when I leave, warming to the mid-60's and sunny.  Good to go.



For the return trip, the forecast is for rain and in the 60's.



I'll just dress the part and consider it a training ride for next summer's Alaska trip.   :smt023

[obxtiger]

what part of nc. i'll be looking. i ride everyday and i've never met another tiger on the road :P

[Stretch]

Havelock.  Going to a Board meeting for our USMC reunion Association.



A nine-hour ride each way for a two-hour meeting.   :roll:



I'll overnight in Havelock and listen to the Whistling Shitcans (Harriers).   :smt003

[TRKTEK]

Hey Haulin',

I spent a couple of days dodging, chasing and generally trying to avoid prairie thunderstorms this summer on my trip out west.... it was quite an adventure and occasionally arduous but after bashing through a few storms I realized (again) that even a lousy day on the road beats a good day at work..... :D



Take care



Steve

[flyingpackman]

Every day is a great day to ride.



Today.  Slightly above freezing.  Rain.  Foggy.  Perfect!!

[haulin' daze]

It just blew my mind that as wet, cold, tired, etc. I was that day, I walked through my door with a nuthin' but love for the bike. Safe to say that I WILL be getting some sort of raingear to stuff in the bag on trips more than a few hours. But that's a different thread all together    :roll:

[obxtiger]

if you have the time you should ride up hwy24 to jacksonville. great dealer there back roads triumph. great bunch of fellows. pony farm road off of hwy 24 past town.

[Stretch]

I'll do that, thanks!  Heading through there anyhow.



I would never have imagined that Jacksonville would have anything worth stopping for.



(I used to be stationed at Camp Lejeune, and knew J'ville just a little too well.)   :smt019  



 :smt003

[Advwannabe]

Had to ride across the Nullabor on our way to the Oz moto GP this year, two days banked over to the right with our helmets pushed up against our faces while we enjoyed the 15 degree weather and the rain that followed us all the way from Perth. We vowed to never do that ride again, but for some reason we have our holidays booked for next year already  :roll:

[Stretch]

OBXTiger,



Had a great ride.  Kinda cool Saturday morning, 42*F when I left the house at 3:30am.  I was glad I had a throttle lock so I could alternate hands between a grip and crotch.   :smt026



No heated grips yet, but they're coming.  The rest of my gear worked great:  Tourmaster Flex jacket with all the liners in it, FirstGear HP2 over pants with  insulated liner, and a couple sweatshirts.



I got to Back Roads Triumph in Jacksonville at about noon and the first thing I see is a Caspian Blue '06 Tiger, right by the front door.  It wasn't a demo, though.  I'll ride one in Atlanta later on.



The rest of the ride to Havelock and back was uneventful, but enjoyable.  A little warmer today, I removed the liners from the jacket during the afternoon.



Thanks for the heads-up on Back Roads Triumph.  



By the way, they said they just bought the BMW dealer in Wilmington, so some changes may be coming.  I asked if they were going to stay in the same location, and he said they didn't know.  Might want to keep up with their web site...



Thanks again.

[obxtiger]

yea i talked to rick he said they had bought the bmw dealer. the previuos owner has the bmw triumph dealership in raleigh and greensboro i think. they seem to cater more to the bimmers. i don't have the heated grips either but heated gloves work just fine. how do you like the tourmaster flex jacket? i've been serching for a good all around jacket.

[Stretch]

I commented to myself,



"Self," I said



Self said "Huh?"



"What a great jacket this is."



No joke, it's the best, most versatile motorcycling  jacket I've ever had.



It starts off as a mesh jacket with armor and pads.  A heavy-denier solid nylon panel zips onto the mesh portions of the outer shell to cover the mesh, making it a traditional armored nylon jacket.  The outer shell is not rain proof.



There are two liners, one wind / water proof, and the most interior is the quilted insulating liner.  I usually leave the rain liner and quilted liner zipped together, and just wear it as a single layer as required, not fastened to the outer shell.  That makes it easier and quicker on the road when conditions change.



When in full mesh mode this summer, air flowed through it well, but it's still a jacket in hot weather.  You know how it is.



In the 60's and 70's, I zip on the solid nylon to cover the mesh.  It's quite comfortable down to about 60*F.  By that time the sun was going down.



At that point (next gas stop) I put on the rain and quilted liners under the shell and swapped gloves (mesh for insulated leather) and was quite comfy for the next hour until I got home.



I'm very pleased with it and would recommend it.  If something happened to this one, I would buy another just like it.



I have ze black one...



http://www.tourmaster.com/xcart/product ... d=35&cat=3



 :smt041