Bucky's Ride

Cold!, Dressed up Rhinos, Somebody's Been Practicin', and Pretty Clouds

2012-01-27T12:17:00.002-05:00

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While you are waiting for me to get the bike put back together, here is a little writeup of a couple of other trips taken recently.

As you know, I usually go out riding on Saturdays, and lately, and I have endured/enjoyed some pretty cold temperatures. A Saturday almost two weeks ago is a good example. The temperature in the morning was only 25F, but there had not been rain for a couple of days, so ice wasn't likely on the roads.

As an aside, amazingly, the day before New Years was up into the mid-sixties. Remember these guys?

Here is a better view.

They were all dressed up for Christmas. I visited them on that warm day.

Back to the cold. I bundled up as I usually do, stoked up the heated grips within the bar muffs, and headed out. A little cold air found its way to the back of my neck, but other than that, I was quite comfortable, despite the calculated wind chill at 40 miles per hour -- about six degrees F. I headed to the south in an attempt to find some interesting scenery or roads.

I didn't see any other bikers on the road -- not tough enough, they, I smugly concluded. (Another motorcycle blogger, an iron-willed rider, has apparently had the same kind of self-satisfied thoughts.)

Well, I really didn't see any other bikers out and about until much later in the day, when it had warmed up a lot -- to about fifty. Anyway, I wasn't cold and enjoyed the ride. In fact, it is an interesting phenomenon knowing that it is cold and windy, but feeling only the effects of the wind but not of the cold. Superheroes must feel like that, I suppose.

Superhero? -- NOT!

I didn't find much in the way of exciting roads that day, but I happened across a place where someone had been practicing. In the boat launch parking lot on Lake Secession, I spotted paint markings on the pavement that looked familiar. A little like this:

I wrote about that last July.

Someone had been practicing his cone weaves apparently, judging from the pattern.

That last cone, shown below, is perilously close to a curb, so I don't know whether the guy practicing was especially good, and able to miss the curb on his last left hander, or whether he simply omitted swinging around the last one to avoid that potentially cruel boundary.

Maybe he just isn't a very good planner.

By the way, Lake Secession was named because South Carolina was the first state to secede from the union in the Civil War. The lake was originally privately owned: One J. Roy Pennell exercised his resourcefulness during the Depression era when he decided to build a dam and sell electric power to the city of Abbeville. With men and equipment standing idle due to the economic conditions, Pennell purchased land at his own expense and built a dam about fifteen miles northwest of the city, thus creating Lake Secession. The project was nearly ready to begin producing electricity when the federal government intervened, declaring that private individuals could not sell power to municipalities. In time, Pennell sold the lake and dam to the city of Abbeville, which uses it now to generate electricity. Note the government takeover of a private venture. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Bureaucrats think they can manage better than free enterprise. They never can, though.

Here s a view of the lake from the boat launch lot.

Kind of a pretty place. I wonder whether the practicing biker improved his technique.

On another, warmer, Saturday, this time about three weeks ago, I went out and rode to Devil's Fork State Park, Oconee Station, Tamassee, and a few other familiar places. Devil's Fork lies on Lake Jocassee, and though I didn't take many other pictures that day, the clouds struck me as beautiful. So, here are a couple of shots of them, against the mountains of the Blue Ridge Escarpment.

We are certainly blessed to live in this beautiful country of ours, cold or warm.
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No Riding This Week

2012-01-19T20:45:00.017-05:00

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I'm not going to ride my Ninja this week.

No, I didn't take a tumble, and it's not the weather. [Edit 1/23/2012: Well, actually, the weather has been rainy almost since I turned the first wrench on this task.]

Instead, I have work to do. See what it is?

Yep. Time for a valve clearance check.

What a pain! You have to remove the seat, tank, air intake box, cylinder head cover, and a host of related brackets and shields. Only then can you see the cams and valve lifters to check their clearances using a feeler gage set.

Naturally, some adjustments are needed, so off come the cams and the bucket lifters, and the shims. Then the micrometer comes out to determine the existing shim thicknesses.

Then to the service manual table to determine what the new shim thickness should be for the eight valves.

Next, to the Ron Ayers website to order the shims. Last time I ordered something from them the service was quick, the phone man was helpful and courteous, and the shipping time was short, even for items not in their stock.

I'll be cleaning things in the meantime, readying the parts for reassembly.

Although I have been a grease monkey for most of my life, this is my first time into an engine that uses shims for valve adjustment. Lots of work to change out some itty bitty parts.

Oh well. It is one of the pleasures of owning a motorcycle: Fixing it yourself.

See you on the road in a few days!

Zipper Fix

2012-01-10T19:58:00.002-05:00

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A short while back, I wrote about a rather serious situation where I became trapped under trying circumstances. I told you, kind reader, about a temporary fix for the fix I was in.

I have since discovered a better looking, more permanent solution. It is called Zipper Mend, and is available direct, and from Amazon. It costs about $3.99 for one, but it is still much less expensive than replacing the zipper entirely.

The replacement zipper pull is made of two zinc die castings that are hinged together.

You squeeze the two parts together, which causes the claws to close through the zipper slide. A detent locks the two castings together so they don't reopen. You can Super Glue the two together, but don't drip any on the zipper teeth or you really will be stuck!

The claw part is a little thick, causing the dog in the zipper that prevents it from slipping down from engaging fully. The zipper sometimes slides down as a result. Not a huge problem, though.

Neat.
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Sweepers Galore

2011-12-31T17:07:00.078-05:00

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Sweepers are today's topic. No, not this kind of sweeper:

This kind:

(I'll tell you where this sweeper is later.)

In particular, this is an account of a day of riding an abundance of sweeping curved roads not too far from home.

About two weeks ago, on December 17, the weather was beautiful for a near-winter day in the upstate of South Carolina. It was about 43 degrees in the early morning, and rose to around 68 in the mid afternoon.

Almost balmy, I'd say!

I couldn't waste this opportunity to get out on the bike, since I hadn't been for a couple of weeks: Working man, here, you know. I selected a place that had just appeared on the ADVRider Upstate South Carolina tag game forum thread, near the Georgia state line, at the southern trailhead for the twenty-five mile long Chattooga River Trail.

Another rider had grabbed that tag the day before, but I had not recently ridden over that way, so I went there just for the fun of it.

I started out from home on SC-93, then took the four-lane US-123 all the way to Westminster, SC. The latter is a mostly featureless road, good for getting somewhere else. I then branched off to the northwest on US-76.

Part way along 76 is where the sweepers begin. There are quite a few, nicely spaced, here. The pavement is also very good on this road, and the traffic is not usually heavy.

I am confused, however, by the curve advisory signs. Many of them advise 25 miles an hour. After a few of these taken at 40, I begin to make that my advisory speed instead. Some of you probably could take them at much higher speed, but I am not very familiar with the road, and don't want a surprise. There are also a couple of places marked with a reverse turn sign like this.

That implies two tight turns in a row...but there is nary a tight reverse turn to be found. Odd. This could make people disregard the advisory signs all together!

I enjoy the ride with the easy turns all the way to the border with Georgia. There, on the right side, is the parking area for the trailhead, my destination where the tag was. There, also, is a place to put in to the Chattooga River for paddlers.

It happens that there is a group of four who are getting ready to go onto the river when I arrive. They say that they are going to put in above Bull Sluice, and paddle the four miles or so to Lake Tugaloo, referred to as Section IV. I naively ask if this is rough water. One guy looks me in the eye, pausing as he is filling in the boater registration form (which is what they use to determine how many didn't come back alive), and flatly states that there are more deaths in this section of the river than anywhere else.

Oh.

A few minutes later, I strike up a conversation with another one of the group who had put in at the beach near the US-76 bridge instead of further upstream above Bull Sluice. Seeing my biker suit, he tells me that he used to ride a motorcycle, but these days he only does things that are safe -- like kayaking in class IV rapids.

Oh, again. Am I missing something here?

This is a picture of the prudent one, playing in the light rapids, waiting for the others in his group to come down the river from Bull Sluice.

I watch for a few minutes, but when they don't arrive, I head back up to the parking lot. The climb is steep and I am laboring to get there.

I don my helmet and gloves again, then turn back in the direction I came. I go to Academy Road and turn left. Historic Long Creek Academy is a little way down this road. This was a Christian school established in 1914 under the Beaverdam Baptist Association and the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. It was one of six "mountain mission schools" in the South including four others in South Carolina. The Academy once owned fifty-five acres. The stately Sullivan Building (pictured below) was completed in 1917.

The Academy closed in 1956, and the buildings are now considered historic sites and currently house the Chattooga Ridge Adventure Center, a whitewater rafting company.

I wind my way back to route 67, then take Chattooga Ridge Road toward the northeast. This road, too, has some nice sweepers, and is in good condition. I turn onto Verner Mill Road to cut off a corner and get to the intersection of SC-28 and SC-107.

Well, here. It is easier to show you the map of my entire ride:

View Larger Map

To orient you, we are at the intersection south of Pushpin "D." There, I turn north on 107. More sweepers and few tighter bends here.

I think this is getting to be a trend.

On the right, Oconee State Park provides a place to rest for a few minutes, and is a great place to go for picnics, hiking, swimming, fishing, cabins, and camping.

I turn north again on 107. This road is a rather steady uphill with more nice turns. (This is a trend.) Uphill turns are easier for most motorcycle riders than downhill turns, and I am enjoying this smooth road, too.

I pass Cheohee Road, also known as Winding Stair Road, a twisty gravel road I took a few weeks ago, then reach the Wigington Byway cut through. There, I turn right. I have written before about this very short road with a nice surprise part way along it.

Today, as the surprise comes into view, my breath is taken away by the vista of Lake Jocassee in the distance. The light is particularly good today, but my photographs don't do it justice by any means. I walk up the road a bit to get as close to the point of my first glimpse of the lake today as possible.

A little closer:

Closer still:

After a stop at this fine overlook, I continue on to SC-130 and head a little ways north to Whitewater Falls. I just stop here to rest a little, then head back south on 130. This road has some very long sweepers, and the surface is mostly very good. A bit of extra caution is required at the intersection of Wigington Byway and at one other intersection, also on a curve, further south, since there is not much sight distance at either one.

By the way, as long as we're talking about sweepers, SC-107 continues north to Cashiers North Carolina and beyond with varying degrees of turns, as does SC-130, which turns into NC-281.

Alas, when I reach SC-11, I must travel on this almost-straight road for about fifteen miles, to the Holly Springs Country Store at US-178. There, I get a chance to make a few more turns before reaching home. I turn in a generally southerly direction on 178, and run the sixteen miles or so back to Easley. The section between the Holly Springs Store and Pickens South Carolina being the best.

(Remember that the section of 178 north of the store is very much twistier, and much loved by bikers here and abouts. I don't go that way today because there may be wet leaves and sand in the shadows, and I don't have any more time to be away.)

I have gone about 156 miles today on a range of roads from straight to mostly sweeping curves, with a few tighter places thrown in.

This would be a good route for the winter to keep away from the more difficult tight twisties.

Try it some time.
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Christmas Message

2011-12-25T00:01:00.014-05:00

[We] are very happy to send our warmest greetings and best wishes to all those who are celebrating Christmas. We join with Americans everywhere in recognizing the sense of renewed hope and comfort this joyous season brings to our nation and the world.

The Nativity story of nearly twenty centuries ago is known by all faiths as a hymn to the brotherhood of man. For Christians, it is the fulfillment of age-old prophecies and the reaffirmation of God's great love for all of us. Through a generous Heavenly Father's gift of His Son, hope and compassion entered a world weary with fear and despair and changed it for all time.

On Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Christ with prayer, feasting, and great merriment. But, most of all, we experience it in our hearts. For, more than just a day, Christmas is a state of mind. It is found throughout the year whenever faith overcomes doubt, hope conquers despair, and love triumphs over hate. It is present when men of any creed bring love and understanding to the hearts of their fellow man.

The feeling is seen in the wondrous faces of children and in the hopeful eyes of the aged. It overflows the hearts of cheerful givers and the souls of the caring. And it is reflected in the brilliant colors, joyful sounds, and beauty of the winter season.

Let us resolve to honor this spirit of Christmas and strive to keep it throughout the year.

[We] ask you to join us in a prayer that prudence, wisdom, and understanding might descend on the people of all nations' so that during the year ahead we may realize an ancient and wondrous dream: "peace on earth, goodwill toward men."

Ronald Reagan,
40th President of the United States,
"Christmas Message,"
December 24, 1981.

Here is a video of Mr. Reagan's television address the previous day:

Dressing for Cold Weather Riding -- Take Three

2011-12-16T19:25:00.000-05:00

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Quite a while back, I posted a couple of articles about cold weather riding. If you missed them, you can find them under Dressing for Cold Weather Riding, and Dressing for Cold Weather Riding - Take Two.

I still use those techniques for keeping warm when it is crispy cold outside, varying the number and weight of the layers as the temperatures warm. In summer, I am down to an armored leather suit, back protector, gloves, helmet, and boots. I never wear anything less when riding, 'cause my skin and bones are too valuable for me to risk. I feel very uncomfortable if I mount the beast wearing anything less, and I cringe when I see others riding with little or no protection.

In fact, I once had occasion to move my bike while at work one day so some maintenance work could be done where it had been parked. I decided to move it to the other side of the plant -- less than a tenth of a mile -- so I wore only my helmet, but no other protective gear. I could not believe how vulnerable and shaky I felt knowing that if I hit a pebble and dumped it, I would probably be hurt. I certainly do not ride recklessly, but I feel much more confident if I am wearing the right gear.

Does anyone else feel that way?

Anyway, back to the cold weather topic.

Found on AdV Rider Forum

I was recently browsing on e-Bay, and entered in "Hippo Hands", since that is one of the things I already have to keep my tender little hands warm when it is cold. They, along with my heated grips, make for a comfortable combination all the way down into the low thirties.

A few items came up including a pair of Ducks Unlimited hand warmers. The price was only $1.00 with a $5.00 shipping charge. Cheap enough to suit me, so I bid a few dollars. Low and behold, I won the auction. When they arrived, they looked much smaller than my Hippo Hands, so I was concerned that they would fit over the bars and controls. They are constructed of Nylon with a smooth liner separated from the exterior shell by foam insulation.

Remember that I installed a couple of metal angle brackets covered with foam pipe insulation to hold the hand warmers away from the levers while underway.

Nevertheless, with some fiddling, I fitted them over everything, and they seemed fine.

Here is a picture of them on the bike:

And, here is a picture of the Hippo Hands:

And the view from the saddle:

The Hippo Hands:

The Hippo hands are certainly more substantial, and are larger, covering more of your arm. The Ducks Unlimited version looks more at home on a sporty bike though, I think.

Once I had the Ducks installed, I backed the bike into the garage for a later test ride. When that day arrived, I dressed as I have described (taking several minutes of time to get everything on and properly adjusted), went out to the bike...and it would not start.

Now what? It was fine before.

It occurred to be that the last thing I had done was install the hand warmers. Maybe I had dislodged the wiring to the engine cutoff switch. Well, I removed the right had muff and looked at everything wiring related, but I could find nothing. Steamed, I shed my gear, and was ready to tear into the wiring and fuses, when I finally came to my senses.

The engine cutoff switch was set to the off position!

I infrequently use the switch, so it did not occur to me that I might have actuated it when I was working on the muff installation. So, I reinstall everything, get dressed yet again, and finally get rolling.

[So, how do they work, Bucky?]

At temperatures of around 38 degrees, the Ducks Unlimited muffs keep most of the wind off my gloved hands, but there is somewhat more draft because of the looser fit around my sleeves, and because of a looser fit around the handlebars.

When the heat from the grips was fully available, my hands were reasonably comfortable, certainly much better than being unprotected.

As the air temperature warmed to the upper fifties over the course of the day, my hands stayed comfortable and my dexterity remained very good. Even in the fifties, they were not too hot.

The openings of the Ducks stay open when your hands are not inside so you can easily get your hand back into them either when stopped or when moving.

Certainly a good purchase, and useful. The old Hippo Hands function a bit better, but the look of the Ducks Unlimited suits the sporty motorcycle better.
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PARI, Placed in Perspective

2011-12-08T12:15:00.003-05:00

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Way back in April of 2009, just when I had reached 10,000 miles on my bike, I wrote about visiting the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute, or PARI for short. This impressive facility is located only a little over forty miles from home, but it is truly out of this world in appearance.

If you remember, as quoted from the PARI website:

"The facility, then called the Rosman Research Station, was a NASA site used during the 1960s and 1970s for tracking manned and unmanned space flights. It was the nation’s primary east coast satellite-tracking facility. In 1981, the facility was transferred to the Department of Defense for use as an intelligence gathering facility for U.S. defense and satellite communications. In 1995, the Department of Defense closed the facility, and turned the site over to the U.S. Forest Service.

"In 1999, the site was purchased from the U.S. Forest Service and given to PARI for use as an astronomical research and educational facility."

PARI hosts homeschool days, public tours on Wednesday afternoons, and Evenings at PARI held once a month to hear about and view the Heavens.

Anyway, I was riding on Saturday November 5 up NC-215 north of Rosman North Carolina on the way to somewhere else, when I turned down Macedonia Church Road toward PARI on a whim. The facility is usually closed on Saturdays, so I really didn't expect to be able to go in. I was surprised to see that the gates were open, so I went on in.

As it turns out, the site was hosting TEDxKatuah: The Art of Discovery.

For you who are not well informed, the TED website says that TED and Katuah are:

...a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading.

Katuah is a name often used to reference the bioregion that includes the mountain areas of North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, southwestern Virginia and northern Georgia. A bioregion is defined by physical, environmental, and cultural features, which mirrors the interdisciplinary nature of this event, TEDxKatuah.

It is said that the word “Katuah” was adopted from a Cherokee name for the mother town, Kituwah or Kituhwa. Although the exact origins surrounding the use of Katuah as a name for the bioregion are murky, the name may have been coined by Peter Berg and Raymond Dasmann in the 1970s.

Oh. Now we know.

The event was organized by TEDxAsheville and featured speakers, exhibits, performances and interactive events.

Well, I had blundered into the middle of it, and was rubbernecking the big dishes and other things around. I didn't stay, though they invited me provided I register, but I did snap a couple of pictures to give you an idea of the magnitude of one of the two largest dishes on the property.

Front view.

Rear view.

This dish has a diameter of eighty-five feet. BIG.

Makes me feel small. Just think of what this dish may have seen through its electronic eye while looking heavenward.

Go visit some time. For five bucks, they will give you a great two-hour tour.

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Tail of the Dragon -- But Nearer By

2011-11-30T18:36:00.001-05:00

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I have never been to the famous Tail of the Dragon at Deal's Gap, but many bikers go there to experience what is claimed to be 318 curves in 11 miles. I've heard that it can be very busy with auto and motorcycle traffic, with the occasional semi tractor-trailer thrown in for an element of increased danger.

I may get there some day, but I have found a place that a few have said is better. And it starts about one third of the distance to the Tail of the Dragoon from home. The best-paved section is 5.6 miles long with seventy-four curves, if I have my count right, or 13.2 curves per mile. Tail of the Dragon has 28.9 per mile. Higher density on the latter, but I made up of the lack of curves per mile by taking seven passes at it before I left.

I couldn't help myself.

It was a bright, clear day. The temperature was in the high fifties, and there was no traffic to speak of. The road surface was almost spotless with only a scattering of gravel in a couple of places, and a little half-lane patching that could create an edge trap in a few places. The sight distances around the curves are adequate in most places, too. There were some piles of pine needles that can act as little rollers for tires to slip on, but they were easy to see and avoid.

The route is also rather scenic, but you have to watch the road unless you are just putting along. I did a little putting, just to see the purdy leaves and to scope out the road, but I also took a few runs at higher speeds, though not as fast as I am sure many others can go on a road like this. By the way, the speed limit is 35 miles per hour. The fall colors were a little beyond their peak, but there was still enough to be inspired.

A view from the road.

Views of the road.

The curves are nicely spaced so the rider has enough time to prepare for each as it comes, for the most part. I had the road almost to myself for the entire time I was on it. Only a couple of cars were seen. What a great opportunity to practice and to enjoy the curves!

Once I had fed my addiction to this road, and time had flown away, I reluctantly headed back to more familiar -- and much busier -- roads to get home again.

What a great day of riding and discovery! I will have to go back again soon. Winter, stay away a little longer.
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Thanksgiving Day

2011-11-24T00:01:00.026-05:00

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On October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln set the precedent for America's national day of Thanksgiving. Prior to this, each state, mainly in New England and other northern states, scheduled its own Thanksgiving holiday at different times.

The document states that the last Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise." It was actually written by then Secretary of State William Seward.

Here is President Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation:

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well as the iron and coal as of our precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.

And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the imposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

Take a few minutes today to thank God for our country, for our manifold blessings, and for our freedom.

Freedom from Want
Norman Rockwell, 1943

Thanksgiving at Bucky's house this year. Yum!
(I have to go take a nap now.)

Well, That Never Happened Before

2011-11-19T21:00:00.367-05:00

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November 12, 2011, about a week ago, I had planned a ride up north to a road I had never been on before, NC-281.

This is the actual route:

View Larger Map

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The weather is clear, and cool this morning -- starting out about 35 -- but it will rise to about 50 degrees later in the day up in the mountains. I have bundled up, so I am comfortable, though.

The point at which I will join NC-281 is west of Rosman North Carolina, and the most direct way to get there is up US-178. I am getting more used to the turns on this road with each traverse, I find, with a little less trepidation and maybe a little more speed in places. Still not fast by many measures, but a little faster than before.

Above Rosman, I turn left onto US-64, a heavily traveled road that I don't particularly care for because of that traffic. I pass by the turnoff to NC-215, an interesting road that leads to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and that has recently been paved. It is smooth as silk. I think about going that way for a few seconds.

[No, Bucky, you have other plans right now, to see some new places. Maybe later.]

I go for a little more than seven miles until NC-281 branches off to the right. There are several side roads for the first two or three miles, but then it gets more desolate as the terrain becomes more rugged.

The road surface is disappointingly rough, and there is gravel scattered in some places. That, coupled with my unfamiliarity with the road, make for a less-than-ideal ride. To boot, two other riders pass me as though I am standing still. Both of them make control of their bikes look so effortless. They are out of sight in mere seconds.

That grinds on me, though I shouldn't let it. On a curvy road, it only takes a short time for another rider to get out of sight, after all, even if he is only going a little faster than you are. Yet, I long for more skill and to trust my machine, its tires, and the road more like they seem to. It is mostly the latter -- the road -- that is the most concern. A patch of sand or gravel could make for a loss of traction in a turn, so I am continually playing it very safe.

I press on to my goal, the dam on Wolf Creek Lake, at Pushpin C on the map. It turns out that this earthen dam is not very interesting. The fall colors are all gone here. A few truckloads of Christmas trees pass while I am stopped looking around -- the only traffic I have seen up here.

I decide that I should turn back instead of going further on 281. I had originally planned to head back east on Charley's Creek Road, to the north. It looks very twisty on the map, and, with my luck today, will turn out to be a bust.

[Bad attitude coming out, there Bucky.]

I retrace my path a little ways to Wolf Mountain Road. I make a left, toward the east, there. It turns into Tamassee Creek Road, and, later, Joe House Road (or Tamassee Gap Road) before reaching NC-215. The road is fairly well paved, and there are some sheer cliffs high above the road along one stretch.

At 215, I could turn left, to the north, ride only about eight and a half miles, and see if the Blue Ridge Parkway is open. The Parkway is almost always a good ride, though it may be closed due to the weather here at the higher elevations today. I have seen some icicles on the north-facing cuts in some places I have been today, so I decide not to go that way.

As I turn onto NC-215 south, I find that there is a glut of traffic. Slow-moving traffic. Nuts, another downer. This recently surfaced road is wasted today. I pull off three times to allow the cars to get ahead, but I catch up to them too soon. These nine miles are not much fun. I ought to just slow down and enjoy the scenery.

All in all, my day has not been the most inspiring. I am bummed out by the trip thus far, in fact. Maybe close to pouting.

At Rosman, I retrace my route back down US-178. The traffic has thinned out here compared to 215 for some reason. I step up the speed a little, since I am more familiar with this road than with others I have been on today. I feel a little better now, and there is a glimmer of hope of enjoyment for this segment of my route. The road surface is clean, so that helps instill a bit of confidence as well.

I am not yet in a great mood, but it is improving a little.

Well, I get to about the same spot that photographer Patrick Welch caught me digitally back in June of 2009, rounding the S-curve here just south of Rocky Bottom. The southern curve has a tighter radius than the northern, so your lean angle has to be greater at the same speed.

See the curves here. The Pushpin is at the tighter of the two curves.

View Larger Map

A photo taken by Patrick:

That is when it happens.

I am doing just fine, and I'm pretty much in comfortable control. [That's nice.] It almost feels as though I have found a "groove" on this turn, as I am not tensed up as much as I have been in the past.

At the tightest spot of the curve, I feel a scraping. Whoa! What's that? I am still in control, not crashing, as far as I can tell. [That is a good thing, generally speaking.]

It dawns on me that the toe of my boot has touched the pavement!

That has never happened before.

A quick post-toe-touch analysis of the moment reveals that I have the arch of my boot, rather than my toe, on the peg. It is more comfortable for my long legs that way, and even though I know putting your toes on the pegs in preparation for a turn provides more clearance, I had never had to put that into practice. My boot is tight against the stay, so I don't think it is pointed outward very much. I have my foot positioned with the toe pointing downward somewhat, so the ground clearance is less than it would otherwise have been.

The evidence:

Let's check that. A closeup, taken from another 2009 picture in that curve, shows me with my other boots on. I had the ball of my foot on the peg instead of my arch then.

Looks like a few inches between the toe and the road, I'd judge. I was probably not going as fast back then as I am today, so the lean angle was less.

This time, the toe of my boot is positioned closer to the ground, so that is probably the reason for the scrape. The peg feeler didn't touch, by the way.

Once I realize that I am OK, not crashing, and that nothing has come loose from the bike, I feel a rush of -- what? Pride? Accomplishment? Amusement? Elation? An I-gotta-tell-all-the-guys moment?

I don't know exactly what the feeling is, but it is a good feeling.

I feel my mood change almost instantly for the better. Maybe it isn't a wasted day after all.

I must note that I did not panic when the grinding began, or thereafter. I didn't chop the throttle. In fact, it felt like just another sensory input.

Amazing.

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At a time I was feeling pretty sorry for myself, on a less-than-great ride, something new and interesting happened. Maybe it wasn't such a bad day out after all.

I'll have to make it a point to ride with my boots further back on the pegs when I am riding faster from now on.

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Fall is Here

2011-11-11T23:11:00.004-05:00

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Last posting, I told about not being out riding much. I have tried to rectify that situation. I got out on a couple of recent Saturdays, and the colors of the trees were really coming out. Tourists were also coming out -- in droves.

So, even though I enjoy seeing the pretty scenery, I also have to be constantly on the lookout for slow and stopped vehicles. They are all seeking to prolong every viewing angle of each tree, it seems. Now I am not exactly complaining, understand, since everyone has his right to the view, but it can be somewhat frustrating if you prefer to go at a faster clip, and it is occasionally dangerous as well. The lady in the Volvo stopped in the lane, and the guy in a pickup only half-way off the road, both in curvy sections and heavy traffic, were highlights of the frustrating part.

I have, on occasion, suggested to other riders to slow down and smell the roses, so to speak, when in tourist traffic or during the winter months when the mountain roads might be treacherous, instead of trying to rush about at top speed. That is easy advice for me to give, since I mostly go slower than they do anyway.

Lately, however, some of the other riders near here who post in on-line forums, say they have resigned themselves to becoming a bit more patient when in these situations -- to just relax and go at the slower pace.

Saturday 1 -- Caesar's Head and Dupont Forest

Well, October 22 is one of those days. After working until the middle of the day, I set out toward Caesar's Head State Park, and to Dupont Forest, a ways beyond there.

This map shows the whole route.

View Larger Map

I ride the gently curving roads to the base of the Blue Ridge Escarpment, then take twisty road, US-276, up the hill. It is very busy -- almost bumper-to-bumper -- today. I pass a few cars on the double-laned uphill sections, but cannot get ahead of enough of them to gain much speed, so I smell the roses instead, so to speak.

The pavement on this road is deteriorating in places, so some care is necessary, but the almost steady uphill and the fairly good sight distances make this road enjoyable to ride. (Downhill here is not as much fun for the reasons I have written about previously, but I notice that I am less anxious about the descent that I will face later in the day than I once would have been.)

As soon as the pack of cars -- with me in the middle -- reaches Caesar's Head (at Pushpin B), we find the parking lot to be nearly full. I nevertheless find a place, and walk the short distance to the overlook.

This is a shot of the lake visible in front of Table Rock. .

The colors at the lower elevations are not yet as well developed as up here, more than two thousand feet higher.

This is a glimpse of both the nearby foliage and that far below me.

The air is particularly clear today, so the view is quite good. Remember that these mountains have always had a naturally-produced bluish haze over them -- not man-made pollution as we tend to think these days. I tarry for a few minutes to gawk at the scenery from here before I continue onward.

The next stop is to be Symmes Chapel, also known as Pretty Place (at Pushpin C), a covered, but open-sided chapel on the YMCA Camp Greenville property. The view is usually breathtaking, but today there is an unusually steady stream of cars going in. I eventually come upon the reason for this: There is an apparently steady stream of weddings taking place here on this fine fall day. When that is the case, they don't want a bunch of other traffic interfering, especially someone on a motorcycle. So, I can't go all the way in to see the chapel today.

Here is a picture from Pretty Place I took way back in August of 2008.

The haze was heavy that day.

Here is a picture taken from here by a friend last November.

Photo courtesy of Fred

It is indeed a pretty place.

I settle for a quick stop for refreshment near a camp athletic field, then head back out the access road. I turn toward the north again, and stop at Dupont State Forest. This is a great place for hiking, fishing, kayaking, horseback riding, motorcycling, and bicycling (road and mountain). There are gravel roads for the dualsportsters, too, but the trails are off limits to all motorized vehicles.

I pick out Cascade Lake Road, to go a little ways on. It is gravel, and fairly well groomed. It skirts Cascade Lake, but I don't go that far today because I am limited on time. I find this little cascade right next to the road, near Pushpin D on the map, though.

There is a large dam further on. The writer of the Life at 60 (mph) blog has a posting about kayaking on Cascade Lake, and there is a picture of the dam from both the lake side and from below. I'll go there, and beyond, another time, perhaps.

I turn around and head out of the forest toward Brevard North Carolina, a few miles north, at Pushpin E. I stop at the Chamber of Commerce, where they have a huge selection of literature about the area, and a group of always-helpful volunteers. ...and a bathroom for those with full bladders (thank goodness).

The makeshift zipper pull on my suit is behaving today, by the way.

I motor through town and turn right at the junction of US-276 with US-64. There are usually war protesters -- possibly left over from the Vietnam era -- on this corner, but there are none today for some reason. The center of town is busy, as there are many little shops open, selling all manner of crafts and other merchandise and services. Brevard is famous for the Brevard Music Center Festival, and for a species of white ground squirrel.

Where US-276 turns to the left and continues to higher elevations, including passing Looking Glass Falls and the Cradle of Forestry, I instead turn right, following US-64. This is easy riding, and after a couple more right turns, I am back in Dupont Forest. I pass through, hit 276, and head southward toward home.

The downhill twisties are slow because of traffic, just like on the way up. I don't get much practice slowing to the right speed for tight turns, but there is one instance where a little braking at lean angle was necessary because of a backup of people buying apple cider from a roadside stand. This stand is not in a good place, as it creates the potential for slow and stopped vehicles where there is only limited sight distance.

Well, it was a nice day to be out. I have ridden only 134 miles, and endured a lot of traffic, but the trees were pretty, and that made it worthwhile.

Saturday 2 -- Tamassee and Some Twisty Gravel

"Where in the world is Tamassee?" you ask. Well, right here in South Carolina, a little west of Salem, of course, not far from the road to Whitewater Falls. I have spotted some interesting roads on Google maps, so I laid out this route:

View Larger Map

The ride up SC-133 is easy, as is the stretch of SC-11, a good get-to-the-more-interesting-places road. I turn right on SC-130, and cruse up this sweeping-curved route that I have taken many times before. The road surface is mostly very good, so you are easily tempted to exceed the 45 mile per hour speed limit; to get that feeling of acceleration in the seat of your pants as you ride.

It doesn't seem to take any time at all and I arrive at the Bad Creek Pumped Storage Facility entrance. I go to the end of the pavement there and stop at the overlook.

That is Lower Whitewater Falls at center, left, and a view of an arm of Lake Jocassee.

Another view of Lake Jocassee, taken from the same spot.

And still another view of the lake.

Sure is nice weather today.

I gear up again and stop at the entrance to the Musterground Road on my way back to SC-130. The Musterground gate is open, since it is hunting season, but I don't go further because I have another interesting road in mind for later.

I ride back to SC-130 and turn right. It is only a short jaunt to the Whitewater Falls parking area. The parking lot is almost full of leaf peepers who have come here on this fine fall day. I trek up the path to the falls and snap a few pictures.

Here is a picture of a lad sitting and taking in the view of distant Lake Jocassee from the falls trail.

And a fine view it is today.

I maneuver from the parking lot and turn right yet again and go for a few miles on NC-281 to Gorges State Park. This display of beauty stops me to snap a picture.

Beautiful foliage (and pretty bike).

At Gorges, there is construction going on, so the best distance views are not available, but here is a glimpse of a nice section of the main park road.

There is good hiking in this park, and there is the gravel Chestnut Mountain Road that leaves from the furthest parking lot. It links with Auger Hole Road, another gravel road, and is said to hook up to the Horsepasture Road. This is definitely four wheel drive or off-road motorcycle territory, as the hills are steep, the gravel is loose, and the road rough. (I know this because I tried a few hundred yards of it one day.)

After I leave the park, I turn south, and enjoy the sweepers again on NC-281 and SC-130, until I reach SC-11. A right for a short distance to find North Little River Road and turn right again. I get to Pushpin D, then turn left onto Whitmire Church Road. The Whitmire Methodist church is long gone, but this marker and the graveyard across the road indicate its location.

Whitmire Church Road turns into Cherokee Lake Road, then I make a right on Jumping Branch Road. (The map above is far easier to understand than this mess of road descriptions.) This skirts Lake Cherokee, a private lake. Don't think you can take a dip or launch your boat here. There are forcefully-worded signs that forbid it.

Finally, I reach the road I have been looking for, Winding Stairs Road, veering off to the right from Jumping Branch. Sure enough it is gravel. You can't tell this from Google maps, or even very well in Google Earth, so you have to take a chance. It looks passable, so I start along it.

It is desolate. There are no driveways or much of anything else along the way for the next four miles or so. The grades are not challenging, so this is fairly easy riding for me on my street Ninja. There are a few places of washboard, and loose gravel, but it is not bad enough to turn back. Most of my molars remain intact, though slightly loosened by the rough spots in the road. Maybe I should bring a football mouth guard with me for use in these situations.

There are steep dropoffs in many places, and not a guardrail in sight. It almost seems as though I am a thousand miles away from civilization. The entire area is heavily wooded, so an accident here could remain undiscovered for a long time. So Bucky's going to be extra careful through here.

Part way along, there is a short bridge across a brook. I park and take in the view.

This place is set up as a campsite. The brook toward the rear looks as though it might offer some good fishing.

The fall colors here are beautiful.

God's paintbrush has surely been at work.

The road ahead looks a little straighter.

And it is, but just as lonely, until I come out on SC-107. There, I find that the road I have been riding is called Cheohee Road instead of Winding Stairs. I think the latter describes it better.

Here is the gravel section by itself:

View Larger Map

SC-107 is a great road that connects Cashiers North Carolina toward the north with Walhalla South Carolina to the south. Actually, it connects to SC-28 before you reach Walhalla in the southern direction. Twenty-eight is called Moonshiner 28, because it was once a route used by moonshiners to deliver their goods. It is a twisty-in-places road favored by motorcyclists, and it reaches all the way to the famous Tail of the Dragon. I'll have to go all that way some time.

I follow 107 and 28 to Walhalla, then over to Westminster, and to SC-123 toward home. The ride from Walhalla to home is about as boring as it can be. The roads are straight, with almost no character. But, it is the fastest way back, so I twist the throttle and get 'er done.

I have gone 162 miles today, and seen some great country and a few new roads. I have had the opportunity to be utterly alone to enjoy a wild place, yet just a couple of miles off paved roads.

Now, here are some pics of the fall color around the house. The maple tree comes first.

This Burning Bush (Euonymus) looks like it is doing as its name states.

Even though it looks like an evergreen, the Bald Cypress is turning brown and will lose its tiny leaves for winter.

Pretty, but I don't know its name.

The Magnolia keeps its leaves for the winter.

The Chrysanthemum is in full bloom.

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And here is a great picture of Table Rock taken by a friend.

Courtesy of Fred

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Veterans Day

2011-11-11T00:01:00.011-05:00

If you see a veteran, or a current service man, take a minute to thank him for his service, helping preserve our precious freedom.
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Take One of These Along to Avoid Being Trapped

2011-11-03T12:26:00.028-04:00

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I learned something important the other day that I need to share with you, kind readers. I almost got trapped by a seemingly simple little problem.

I came through it all right, but for a while there it was nip and tuck, and it could have been bad as well as embarrassing.

Pressure was building rapidly, with no solution in sight.

I racked my brain for an answer before it was too late. My entrapment was causing considerable distress, both physically and mentally.

No solution was coming into my now-desperate mind. Extreme methods were considered.

What was this dire situation, you ask?

You see, the zipper pull on my leather suit broke off completely.

...at a very inopportune time.

...just after dismounting and hurrying into the loo.

Actually, this was the second time the pull has broken. The first time, just the end broke off, the pull being a very thin zinc die casting. The zip was still operable that way, but now, the whole thing came loose from the slider.

Try as I might, eyeballs turning a deep shade of yellow, I could not cause the slider on the zipper to move. It has a little dog inside it that locks the zipper until it is retracted by the zipper pull. That is so the zipper doesn't come open on its own.

The pliers almost came out of my toolkit to do the job quickly...but expensively. The zipper would have to be replaced if I damaged it with my set of pinchers.

Finally, I thought of something. I went back to rummage through my tank bag, and came up with a possible solution.

A paper clip. One of those oversized ones.

I threaded the end of it through the zipper slider, going by feel, since the slider was at the top of its travel, under my chin. It didn't work. Now what to do? I was becoming frantic, with real pain now.

I looked at the zipper slider the best I could using the mirror on the bike to help me see it. I must have had the paper clip in the wrong place, so I threaded it through again. This time, the slider released its grip on the teeth.

I yanked the slider down as rapidly as possible -- to a point -- after which a somewhat slower, more careful technique was employed. Then I had to spend some time extricating shorty because it was cold that day, and I was dressed in layers of underwear.

Finally I reached my goal, and the pressure was relieved. Just in the nick of time, I might say.

So, the moral of the story is:

Always carry a paper clip or two with you when you ride.

It might save you from becoming trapped some day as I was.

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...and maybe you have some papers it could hold together in the mean time.
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Fitness -- Weight for Me

2011-10-12T21:00:00.007-04:00

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I have noticed that I am not getting any younger, and, by way of my keen intellect, I am fairly certain that none of us is. A little study tells us that, as the body ages -- and without our intervention -- two things happen:

our aerobic fitness is reduced
our strength declines

It is critical to offset these factors for a long -- and enjoyable -- life.

You remember I wrote a bit about maintaining fitness back in December of 2009, at that time relative to climbing a bunch of steps up from the viewing platform at a pretty place nearby called Whitewater Falls. Here is a shot of the falls from back then:

...and here are the stairs, from the bottom:

To refresh your memory, here are excerpts from that posting:

"Even though I am advancing in age at an alarmingly rapid pace, I don't baby myself when it comes to exercise. For example, these 154 steps certainly make my heart rate climb, but I make it a point to continue climbing all the same rather than stopping to rest periodically on the way up.

"I am also one who tends to park a long way from the retail store so I can get in a little more walking, and I usually choose the stairs over an elevator whenever I can. I have recently read the book Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley and Dr. Henry S. Lodge. Crowley is an old guy who was seeing his body deteriorate with age and wanted to slow that down. Lodge is a doctor who helped figure out how to do that.

"Anyway, they advocate one hour of exercise six days a week from now on. Weights two days, cardiovascular, the other four. Well, I have been trying to follow that prescription, which is a huge change for me, particularly in the lifting weights department. The last time I lifted weights was in high school about a hundred years ago, and I was pretty scrawny then. ...and I still am, but I think I am beginning to feel a bit stronger as evidenced by the slow progression in the amount of weight I can handle -- and maybe becoming slightly more muscular looking according to my wife.

"The idea is that the cardio makes your heart and other innards work hard and slow their aging, while the weight lifting makes your extended life worth living; keeps you from getting dottery and falling all the time like so many old people do."

I must admit to you that I did not continue to lift weights for long after that posting. One reason was that I could not find a basic strength training regimen for overall improvement that did not seem gimmicky, promising rippling muscles in three weeks, and the like. Some seemed too complex, or required a lot of equipment. I needed something basic for the beginner.

I tried going to a nearby gym, but the trainer there did not appear to understand enough about the methods of instructing an old guy, so I did not continue. He also lost the book I lent him describing my goals, so it was not a good start. ...and a gym costs money, after all.

Well, I have again begun to be concerned of late about the strength portion of my overall fitness. This has, in part, been brought on by the proximity to three score years of age, and noticing some difficulty lifting things when doing yard and mechanic work or moving furniture around the house at the request of my bride.

I searched online amongst thousands of weight training videos and recommendations, but finally found what I was looking for in a magazine at the grocery store, Muscle and Fitness. The January 2011 issue contained an article called Beginner's Luck by Myatt Murphy.

Despite the fact that the article is illustrated with photographs of a muscular young fellow lifting weight that is roughly equivalent to that of a small piano, it seemed to be a basic primer even for those of us who are not very strong to start with.

from Muscle and Fitness magazine

So I started in again.

I have been at this for a few weeks now, and I am building up to heavier weights slowly to allow my tendons, joints, and ligaments to gain strength and flexibility first, since muscle strength rises faster than these other things, and the latter could be injured if I proceed too quickly.

I am also working on my form, both so I don't injure myself and so I get the most from the seeming tons of cast iron I am slinging and toting.

The weight program in the magazine consists of the following, done successively, every other day. (You don't lift every day because your muscles need time to rebuild after each session.)

The article recommends the number of repetitions and the number of sets of repetitions for each type of exercise. It also recommends the increment of weight, week to week.

Note that squats, bench presses, and deadlifts are included on each weight training day. This is because these work a large number of muscles. All of the exercises help to gain not only strength but also to develop neurological pathways and improved balance. The exercises besides the squats, presses, and deadlifts are for a bit of additional training on more specific muscle groups.

I can vouch for the improvement in balance. The first few times I lifted some weights, it was as if I were already that dottery old man I spoke of earlier. With a few weeks of practice, though, I am much more stable.

Now, here is a picture of my weightlifting setup:

Not much to it: Just a barbell, some dumbbells, and assorted weights that came from thrift shops and sporting goods stores. (The latter on sale only, by the way.) The weight bench nearby but out of sight -- another thrift shop find -- has several attachments for leg and arm workouts, but I use it with the free weights instead.

The black thing on the center of the barbell is a section of foam rubber pipe insulation. It helps soften the bar's bearing on my Trapezius muscles when doing squats.

The use of free weights instead of machines requires that muscles and nerves peripheral to the main muscles being exercised also come into play for that balance and stability. Machines stabilize the weights and tend to prevent this important growth.

Here is what Steve Kamb at NerdFitness has to say about the use of free weights:

"When you use free weights, your body has to use every single muscle to keep the weight stabilized as you raise and lower it. Because you’re using these extra muscles (that you’re not using if you’re on a machine) to keep things steady as you lift, you’re getting more done in less time!
"Because you’re using free weights (like dumbbells) you get to work both your left arm and right arm independently, instead of using a barbell, you can find out if your body is out of balance.
"Machines often put your body in weird positions or at odd angles, which can cause injury (shoulder press machines, pec deck machines, etc.) I’ve learned to stay away from because they put unnecessary stress on ... muscles and joints....
"Free weights make you feel better about yourself. You see a weight, you pick it up. The next time you’re there, you either try to pick up that same weight more times than before, or pick up a heavier weight. If you’re on a machine, you’re just pulling a pin or turning a dial. It’s not as easy/fun to see the growth."

I will say that lifting weights is not much fun for me, usually, right now. I have to keep referring to the instructions and videos to maintain good form so I don't injure myself, and so the exercises are most effective. I probably do not push myself as much as I should, but they say that the last few repetitions, when you can hardly complete the movement, are the ones that are most effective in building strength.

So, I try to push harder, and my muscles burn a bit toward the end of each set.

Not being experienced with weight lifting, I am surprised how much it induces sweating and increases my heart and breathing rates. I mean, this is a real workout, with sweat sometimes running in rivulets down my furrowed brow. The ceiling fan in the room, running on high, is vital to evaporate the sweat and keep me cooler. (It also helps blow away any odoriferous aura that may develop.)

I will say that there is a certain feeling of accomplishment when I graduate to a heavier weight. And, in the muscles I worked the day before, I can feel a slight warmth/tightness/soreness that, surprisingly, is not unpleasant. They say this is an indication of the muscles' rebuilding after they have been intentionally damaged by the exercise. Great. That is what I want to happen. .

Here are my current capabilities on the three basic exercises:

Squat 80 lb., 3 sets of 5 reps
Bench Press 75 lb., 4 sets of 5 reps
Deadlift 80 lb., 2 sets of 5 reps

(Now don't be chuckling like that, you musclemen out there. Keep in mind that I'm an old, scrawny guy with no experience lifting weights whatsoever until now.)

I will never look like Charles Atlas, but if I can maintain a level of strength and coordination greater than I would have had without the workouts, that will be a good thing. It should help me to remain active and healthy into my 90s -- maybe even riding a motorcycle!

If so, look out, all.
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Search Me

2011-09-14T12:30:00.054-04:00

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You, kind readers, may have noticed that I have not recently posted here about riding. ...or maybe you haven't noticed.

I am still alive and kicking, just working a lot instead of riding around the countryside on two wheels. That is overall a good thing, because, after all, work provides the means for the play of motorcycling. (Oh, oh, I forgot, I bought the motorcycle purely for the cost saving, right?)

Anyway, it occurred to me that it is a bit difficult to find postings because Blogger does not allow a listing of keywords in the template I use to format the pages.

Below are keywords I have used, along with the number of occurrences so far.

You can enter these words into the search box in the upper left corner of the page and clicking on the magnifying glass icon. Unfortunately, Blogger doesn't always find all of the incidences of the word, and multiple words are not well handled.

Instead, you can use Google search by going to this webpage and entering in any desired search term -- not limited to those listed below -- after "site:buckysride.blogspot.com " in the box at the top of the page that comes up.

650R (10)
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AGV (1)
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armor (1)
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historic site (20)
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humor (1)
in-line skate (1)
instruction (5)
irresponsible (1)
Issaqueena Falls (1)
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leathers (6)
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MSF (6)
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music (2)
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odd sights (5)
park (11)
patriotism (13)
peanuts (1)
people (5)
photo (1)
photography (3)
politics (5)
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technique (5)
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Walhalla (1)
waterfall (7)
weather (1)
Whitewater Falls (3)
Wigington Byway (1)
winter (5)

So, until I get back riding and writing, maybe this will entertain you.

See you soon on the road, I hope!

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Never Forget

2011-09-06T00:01:00.001-04:00

We must never forget what Islamist terrorists did to us in 2001.

We must stand strong against them forever and always.

Direction Needed, Now Found III

2011-08-20T12:30:00.003-04:00

My Christmas present has been very useful in recording my riding routes and in allowing me to devise a route, load it into the device, then follow it along on the road.

In one of my previous GPS posts, I wrote about how to get a route I produced in Google maps into the GPS. It is a bit cumbersome, but works.

Here is another method of doing the same thing, except starting from MapQuest instead of Google. MapQuest is not as easy to use as Google because the roads are not as easily seen and identified on the computer screen in MapQuest. This makes it more difficult to find that special, circuitous route you really want instead of the most direct route MapQuest might select for you. However, MapQuest makes it easier to get the route into your GPS than Google.

Recall these definitions:

Route - Shows how to get from one location to another.
Track - A record of where you’ve been.
Waypoint, Placemark, or Point of Interest (POI) - Terms for specific locations that have been marked on your GPS.

Here are the same two examples as used last time, except starting with MapQuest.

But first....

Disclaimer: All information given here is thought to be correct, however, it is YOUR responsibility to make certain that they work correctly, work with your GPS, work with your computer, and so on and on. Routes generated in various ways may cause you to be routed in the wrong direction -- maybe off a cliff. That, too, is YOUR responsibility. Do not fiddle with your GPS while riding. Always stop in a safe place before attempting to manipulate your GPS screen. There are no warranties on anything here whatsoever, express or implied.

OK. Here is how I get my on-line route from MapQuest into the Garmin 765T.

This is a good example of a simple route between Easley, SC and Rosman, NC, mostly on US-178, one of the favorite motorcycle roads nearby.

The same as Google, the route above is the one that MapQuest found, and it is the most direct.

Now, let's modify the route to use a road further east, SC-135, for the first part of the trip. However, if you drag the route, MapQuest shows the modified route on the screen and in its printed directions, but does not output the modified route when you transfer the Route to the GPS. Unfortunate, that.

Instead, you have to right click a point on the map where you want to route to be, then left click "Directions" on the menu that appears to add that point -- called a Stop -- and revise the route.

The revised route looks thus:

If you make a mistake, you can remove the added Stop, by clicking the X to the right of the Stop just added.

If you want to reorder the stops, left click and drag them to where you want them to be in the list. See where it says "Drag the Icons to Reorder Your Stops" above?

If you want to save the link to your map, click on "Link" near the top of the menu, then copy the link and paste it where you want it. This is a good idea, since MapQuest times out if you don't keep working on it.

If you want to embed the map into a website as I have done in this posting, click on "Send To", then "Your Website", and copy the link and paste it into your website.

Let's go on to the procedure for getting the map into the GPS as a route. This only works with Garmin GPSs as it uses the Garmin Communicator plugin for your browser.

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How to do it:

In MapQuest, click on "Send To", then "GPS".
Once there, click "Route", enter a filename (fifteen or fewer characters), and checkmark the device you want to download to. Press "Send".
Use your operating system's procedure to safely remove the Garmin [USB] drive. Disconnect the GPS from the computer.
Restart the GPS.
Go to "Tools, My Data, Import Route from File". A list of routes will appear. Amongst them will be the one you created, identified by the filename you entered above. Select it, and press "Import". The screen will show "Calculating route", and a percent complete, then "Data imported successfully". Press "OK".
Press "Back" a couple of times until you are at the main screen. Press "Where To?". Scroll down and press "Custom Routes". Your new route will show as one of the items in the list -- the one with the name you just entered. Press it.
The screen will display the distance and travel time. Press "Go!".
The GPS will ask you if you want to "Navigate to the start of the route?". Press "Yes" if you want to do that, but be aware that it will direct you back to the starting point even if you are already beyond it along your route. If you are already on the route, press "No" and it will start you out from wherever you are on the route.

Anomalies:

The route may contain a direction such as "Navigate off road". This is caused by mislocating a Stop while in MapQuest. Be careful to place the Stop on the actual road you want. Enlarge the map view to assist in doing this while generating your route.

The MapQuest-to-Garmin GPS method here generates one route if you enter Stops (Waypoints, POIs) along the way, unlike GMapToGPX used with Google maps that creates a separate route for each pair of Stops.

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Well, now you should be able to create a route in MapQuest and transfer it to your Garmin GPS.

Remember, watch where you are going -- not at the little screen.

Previous GPS Postings:

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Harangue -- Cost of Government Day

2011-08-17T12:30:00.056-04:00

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harangue: An impassioned, disputatious public speech; A tirade or rant, whether spoken or written; To give a forceful and lengthy lecture or criticism to someone.

Wonder what I'm talking about in the title?

According to the Americans for Tax Reform Foundation and the Center for Fiscal Accountability, it is the day of the year "on which the average American has earned enough gross income to pay off his or her share of the spending and regulatory burdens imposed by government on the federal, state, and local levels."

According to the Center for Fiscal Accountability at the Americans for Tax Reform Foundation, “In 2011, Cost of Government Day falls on August 12. Working people must toil 224 days out of the year just to meet all costs imposed by government, a full 27 days longer than 2008." (Emphasis mine.)

In other words, in 2011, the cost of government consumes 61.42 percent of national income. You can see the full report here, with state-by-state figures.

Does that bother anyone? It does me.

Our federal government was intended to provide our citizens their liberty, and to be small, with few responsibilities. Read the United States Constitution,

Section 8
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

...and in particular, the tenth amendment:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Pretty clear to me.

We can't afford any more of this big-government, out-of-control spending, and representation without taxation. (Yes, you read that last part right -- there should be no representation without being a taxpayer. Nearly half of all U.S. residents pay no income taxes!)

We are becoming a socialist state, and socialism has never worked, in the history of mankind. Here is an even simpler explanation of why not.

There may not be another chance to stop this deliberate destruction of our country after the next election, so here is how to register to vote. I urge you to do so.

Previous Harangues:

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Hot!

2011-08-06T12:08:00.024-04:00

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It has certainly been hot lately. ...and the humidity in South Carolina tends to be high, about 50% when it is this hot.

Rain can occur most afternoons as well, sometimes light, sometimes heavy and laced with lightning. It usually makes the humidity worse after the rain, if the sun comes out again.

Sweat tends to stay with you rather than evaporate. Nevertheless, I have been out riding -- in the usual full gear, albeit perforated for some cooling. It helps to keep moving, but at a hundred degrees, the wind is not very refreshing, and the bike radiator seems to funnel its rejected heat right on my legs.

How about you?

How hot is too hot to ride?

Do you throw caution to the wind and dress down?

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Two Keys

2011-08-01T12:36:00.200-04:00

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I have a friend whom I accompanied on a ride sponsored by our church on a cool October Saturday back in 2008. He rides a nearly new looking Honda Pacific Coast motorcycle. That model was mostly produced in 1989 and 1990, with some production through 1998, and it has almost scooter-like cowlings covering the mechanical workings, with lots of storage space available.

The trunk on the bike is extensive, and opens from the top, as in this picture.

I don't think my old '59 Chevy Biscayne had as large a maw for a trunk as this motorcycle.

[That's not me in there.]

There is also a small key-locked glove-box-like compartment on top of the Pacific Coast's tank that swings upward to open.

While we were out riding, we stopped at Whitewater Falls, one of the places I have visited many times over the course of my few years of riding, and he showed me all the storage capability of his bike. Unfortunately, he had left the ignition key in the lock cylinder of the small compartment as he opened the trunk. The seat, mounted on the trunk lid, hit the key and bent it. He straightened out the key as best he could with a pair of pliers, but it would not enter the ignition lock to restart the bike. I lent my expertise to the situation by using another pair of pliers I had in my toolkit along with his. After some manipulation and the fear of breaking the key in two, I retreated to the I-am-hopeful-but-I'll-bet-I-know-the-answer-already, "Do you happen to have a spare key with you?" inquiry.

His answer, as I secretly feared it would be, was no, he did not. I envisioned a 40+ mile ride to get it, and a 40+ mile trip back to the bike, or of having to wait for someone to find his spare key and bring it 40+ miles to get us started again.

Scenes of the day being spoiled danced in my head. He and I had done everything we humanly could do to make the key work, but it resisted our best ministrations.

Wait. "...I-am-hopeful-but-I'll-bet-I-know-the-answer-already...." "Humanly possible ministrations."

Maybe those were part of the problem.

Being an engineer by training (and owning a fine vinyl pocket protector to prove it),

I have a marked tendency to try to solve problems logically, and on my own. After all, I would hope that four years of engineering school and many years of engineering work would not have been proved a waste of time, especially when it comes to simply straightening out a key to fit a lock.

Well, so far both my friend and I had failed miserably at that.

It finally occurred to me that we were part of the riding group from our church. People who attend churches are supposed to pray to God, in part, for assistance. In fact, they say the best procedure when confronted with a problem is to pray, then do what you can.

I turned away a little, while my friend was working on the key some more, and asked God for a bit of help. I felt foolish bothering God -- the creator of the universe -- to help with a simple bent key.

I asked anyway. It was a quick, one sentence prayer. Nothing at all elaborate. Certainly not showy, and my friend did not even know I had done it.

No sooner had I uttered my "amen," than my friend said, "I've got it!" I could scarcely believe what had just happened. I looked at him, then at the key turning in the ignition lock, and back at him. I am certain that my mouth was agape. The key did, indeed, work.

I firmly believe that God guided the hands of my friend, even as I was praying.

We had had it backwards. We did what little we were capable of, then thought to pray.

That was not the only instance like it I have had. You may recall that I had a little "off-road-experience" not long after I bought the bike. (In that case, it was absolutely unintentional, not like some of my gravel road excursions since then.) After a foray onto a grassy berm, my key was bent over in the ignition lock cylinder. It would not operate the lock at all, and I only had the one key for the bike at that time. I tried repeatedly -- and somewhat impatiently, I might add -- to straighten up the key enough to get it working. I hoped that I could then have a copy of it made. Nothing I did seemed to help straighten the key sufficiently so it would function.

I was working on the bike in our garage, and finally, in desperation, dropped to my knees and asked God for help. I then made a further slight adjustment to the key, and it immediately turned in the lock. No resistance whatsoever. A perfectly operating system.

With tears in my eyes both of shame for not having asked earlier, and of joy for the victory, I thanked God for His help with my tiny-to-Him problem.

That time too, I had had it backwards. Why am I so thoughtless and stubborn to suppose that I am on my own and can handle everything myself? When will I learn to lean on God's strong and ever-available arms?

Ah, I can hear some of you saying, "It was just coincidence both times, Bucky."

I understand your skepticism. Remember, I too am inherently skeptical in my nature.

No, these two times -- and many others besides -- were not chance or coincidence. All of my human skills had been exhausted; I was at the end of my rope, yet the results of prayer were immediate and dramatic.

It has to be something else: The power of God.

By the way, now I always carry a spare key
in my pocket whenever I am out.
I think God expects us to be well prepared -- to avoid
needing His help in the first place.

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Direction Needed, Now Found II

2011-07-21T20:00:00.004-04:00

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In one of my previous GPS posts, I wrote about a Christmas present from my wife that is quite useful for those of us who have a propensity to get lost, but who won't ask for directions. I fit in with most men on that last point, I'm told, but technology came to my rescue.

As I related in the first post, it is not immediately evident how to get a special route you work out into the unit so you can follow it in your travels. Garmin has a program called Mapsource, but my unit doesn't come with it, and you know how frugal I am, so I searched for an alternative.

You can enter a route directly into the device, but that method is cumbersome. Most of us who ride our bikes for pleasure and sightseeing would rather enter some circuitous route instead of the most direct.

You may know that I frequently use Google maps to lay out a route. There are two examples below. Google's website seems to be simplest to use for that, especially when you want to alter the route it automatically selects to get you from, one point to another. I almost always want to do that because I like to devise those circuitous routes.

I wanted to be able to transfer the Google route into a turn-by-turn guide for the road, but surprisingly, Google does not directly export a file that a GPS can read, so I had to find another way.

But first....

OK. Here is how I get my on-line route from Google maps into the Garmin 765T that I have.

This is a good example of a simple route between Easley, SC and Rosman, NC, mostly on US-178, one of the favorite motorcycle roads nearby.

Click here to view a larger map that you can manipulate and move around in

The route above is the one that Google found, and it is the most direct.

Now, let's modify the route to use a road further east, SC-135, for the first part of the trip.

View Larger Map

Note that there is a little circle on the route about half way up the SC-135 portion. That is where I dragged the route from the original that had been selected by Google maps.

You can try doing that yourself by clicking the "View Larger Map" link beneath either map, holding down the left mouse button, and dragging some part of the route to a different road. It is quite easy. That is why I use Google maps most of the time.

Next, we'll break for a few definitions:

Route - Shows how to get from one location to another.
Track - A record of where you’ve been.
Waypoint, Placemark, or Point of Interest (POI) - Terms for specific locations that have been marked on your GPS.

OK. Understood. Let's go on to the procedure for getting the map into the GPS as a route.

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What you will need:

A computer with Internet capabilities
A compatible Garmin GPS Product (one that accepts custom routes)
A USB cable for the GPS

How to do it:

Bookmark the GMapToGPX site as described on its opening page.
Firefox: Drag the GMapToGPX link to your browser’s bookmark toolbar.
Internet Explorer: right-click on the GMapToGPX link and “Add to Favorites”.
(Do this only once per computer.)
Enter your desired Route into Google maps
Click on the GMapToGPX bookmark in your toolbar. A GPX file should be displayed over the map.
Note: If your route contains more than two pushpins -- say the beginning pushpin, an intermediate destination pushpin, and an ending pushpin -- GMapToGPX will create a route from the first pushpin to the second, from the second to the third, and so on. If that is what you want, proceed, and treat each route as described below.
(If you want to make one long route, there is a procedure for removing intermediate pushpins described later.)
Copy and paste the text into a Notepad or other text editor file on your hard drive and save it as a plain text file with a short filename you can recognize, but with a “.GPX” extension instead of ".txt". My route was to Rosman, so I named my file rosman.gpx.
Go back into the file and look for some code like this at the beginning of the file, in particular something like the circled "routeO", as in the top half of this graphic:

Change "routeO" to another short name -- with no spaces -- to be able to identify this route amongst the custom routes that you may already have loaded into your GPS. For my Rosman route, I changed the line in the file to "Rosman", circled in the second half of the above graphic.
Save the file again, overwriting the original.
Plug your Garmin unit into the computer via USB. Your computer will recognize it as a USB flash drive.
Copy the file you just created -- rosman.gpx in my case -- into the X:\Garmin\gpx folder (where "X" is the drive letter your system assigned to the Garmin when you connected it to your computer).
(You will probably find a file called "current.gpx" already in the same folder. This is the file that shows where you have been since that last time you cleared your tracks. It does no harm to delete it or move it to your computer if you don't mind not being able to see those tracks on the GPS. A new version will be generated as soon as you begin moving with the GPS turned on.)
Use your operating system's procedure to safely remove the Garmin [USB] drive. Disconnect the GPS from the computer.
Restart the GPS.
Go to "Tools, My Data, Import Route from File". A list of routes will appear. Amongst them will be the one you created, identified by whatever you replaced "routeO" with -- again in my case "Rosman". Select it, and press "Import". The screen will show "Calculating route", and a percent complete, then "Data imported successfully". Press "OK".
Press "Back" a couple of times until you are at the main screen. Press "Where To?". Scroll down and press "Custom Routes". Your new route will show as one of the items in the list. Press it.
The screen will display the distance and travel time. press "Go!".
The GPS will ask you if you want to "Navigate to the start of the route?". Press "Yes" if you want to do that, but be aware that it will direct you back to the starting point even if you are already beyond it along your route. If you are already on the route, press "No" and it will start you out from wherever you are on the route.

If the route you created in Google maps contains intermediate pushpins (destinations) and you don't want the file generated by GMapToGPX to be broken into several routes, go back and edit the file to remove each of the following crossed-out example sections of code (easy to find because they begin with lines that have no indent compared with the other lines of code):

Anomalies:

There may be several points in the route generated by GMapToGPX that show up as flags along the route display and are announced by "GRTP" with successive numbering as you pass them. These are essentially meaningless and can be ignored.

The route may also contain U-turns here and there or have minor errors at changes in direction at some intersections. This is usually caused by slightly misplaced route adjustments and destination locations you selected in Google maps. Being careful where you place the pushpins and how you alter the route helps minimize these. Enlarge the map view to assist in doing this while generating your route. .

While you are following your route, if it tells you to U-turn or routes you in a direction that you suspect is wrong, many times you can continue the way you think is right and it will allow you to skip the U-turn or minor error in direction.

If you are generating one route where you are intentionally coming back the same way or nearly the same way you came, the GPS may become confused about which way to tell you to go if you stop or backtrack to see something along the way that you missed. For example, if you are headed along a road that you will later be taking in the opposite direction for your return, and if you stop along the way, the GPS may think you want to go back already, skipping some of your two-way route.

Look here: My recent weekend in North Carolina included a route I selected where the road to the furthest point is close to the road back from there, in fact, crossing at a several points.

View Larger Map
A couple of times, when I had taken a minor detour toward the return side of the route, the GPS thought I wanted to use that return route immediately instead of continuing to the far point and returning from there. Talk about going in circles!

Rectify this by creating two separate routes, one to get there, and one to return.

However, if you are already following a route that uses the same or close-by roads for both the out and the back routes, and you have the above problem, do this:

Get yourself back onto the route,
in the direction you want to go,
stop the current GPS route,
reselect the route you were on, and
press "Go!"

Do not press "Yes" if the GPS asks if you want to "Navigate to the start of the route?".

The GPS should now direct you along the route in the desired direction.

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Well, now you should be able to create a route in Google maps and transfer it to your Garmin GPS. Pretty easy, don't you think?

Enjoy your new capabilities, but watch where you are going -- not at the little screen -- when you are riding that scooter of yours: Your GPS can't watch the road for you!

Previous GPS Postings:

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Swerve!

2011-07-15T21:00:00.106-04:00

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I learned a little about myself the other day. In particular, I learned about one of my motorcycling skills.

You may recall that I have been riding a little over three and a half years now, starting late in life, on a sporty motorcycle. I took the MSF Basic RiderCourse before buying the bike, and tested for my South Carolina motorcycle endorsement about nine months afterward (and passed the first time).

One of the things we had to do both during the Basic Course and for the endorsement test was to weave around a series of cones set in an offset staggered pattern. Like this:

Ah. You remember them, right? You hated both the exercises and the test related to them, I'll bet. They told you that you had to keep your eyes up, and not to look at the cones. ...and you have to weave through them the hard way, not just a lazy wobble! (I drew in a few cones in my photograph so you would remember better.) And you just knew that later on, it would be absolutely impossible to weave through those cones on that big bike of yours.

Almost all of the students had difficulty with their slalom around those infernal little cones. We practiced and mostly missed, some of us giving up and plowing right down the center of them in frustration. Those poor cones experienced both our ire and a lot of physical abuse that day.

I remember having built up a bit of technique and doing pretty well during practice, then tensing up for the testing at the end of the class.

Anyway, most of us got the technique down well enough to pass the MSF test, and rest is history, so far more than 25,000 miles of riding for me, year 'round.

I went to take the DMV test for my motorcycle license endorsement at their office in nearby Pickens South Carolina. I had practiced on their lot there quite a bit, but was as nervous as I had been when I tested for my first drivers license at the age of seventeen or so in a lumbering '59 Chevrolet Biscayne without power steering. (Did you notice that I have continued a tradition of being a late starter -- first driving, then motorcycle riding?)

I recall the motorcycle examiner's admonition that if you had to dab a foot down they took off points and if you dropped the bike, they failed you on the spot. That was no help to my nerves.

Well, I passed all the tests -- including the cone weave -- and I have since returned to that same lot for periodic practice of the various exercises on many occasions. I almost always find that I am a little rusty at first, but improve with some repetition.

Almost forgot: I also took a Collision Avoidance Class at our church, put on by several motorcycle cops from North Charleston South Carolina.

Now, back to what I learned about myself.

I was following along after a delivery truck in some heavy traffic at a speed of around twenty-five miles per hour, bunched up a little tighter than is usually comfortable, though I was certainly not tailgating. I noticed the truck in front of me move over just a few inches to the left, but didn't see a reason.

That reason very soon became quite evident. His little detour was to avoid running over an automobile wheelcover. He had straddled it instead. This artifact from some earlier traveler along the road was still fully formed, not yet smashed flat by traffic, so it would have been a significant impediment to me.

I was headed right for the shiny bauble, and there was almost no time to think about the action to be taken.

My low peripheral vision identified the object in my path, and I did a swerve to the right and back to the left, drawing a neat, close arc around the obstacle.

And that was it. An automatic response. I surprised myself.

It dawned on me a few seconds later that my actions had been without conscious thought, and I hadn't fixated on the object in my path.

Hallelujah! I did something right! That training and practice undoubtedly helped.

I think there are a couple of lessons in this. One is that everyone should be trained, since handling a motorcycle well is not intuitive. Second, practice is always a good policy, even for those with quite a bit of riding experience. (But don't go to Georgia to practice.)

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While we're talking about training and testing, I should fill you in a little more about that examination area at the DMV. It must have been conceived to intimidate the test taker. First, there are steep slopes down from the pavement on both sides. You can see one side, on the right in the photo above. For added interest, there is a fence at the bottom of that slope.

The other side looks like this:

Yep. That is the other slope, from the vantage point of the bottom, maybe three feet or so below the test lot, this time with some culvert outlets for added spice.

It is very easy to look at and worry about those nearby slopes -- and to go right there as a result! Remember that target fixation works perfectly, even when -- especially when -- the target is somewhere you don't want to go.

The other thing about the test lot is that there is a raised concrete storm drain cover directly in line with the end of the cone weave. You can see that in the top picture. It causes the rider to worry about hitting it -- and tempting him to fixate on it -- just as he is trying to concentrate on avoiding those infernal little cones.

Did I forget to mention that the parking lot is usually filled with cars and beginning drivers when the office is open, so the test taker has to watch for them too?

So, no matter which side of the test course you look at, there is an obstacle tempting you. Clever, those people over at the DMV. Well, maybe this helps them evaluate the examinee better, and helps them assess his ability to concentrate on the task at hand.

Actually, the low speed tests they administer are good -- and maybe the distractions are part of the test -- but I wish they would add a real road test to the examination for obtaining a motorcycle endorsement. That would help determine whether the new rider is ready for the real world of riding -- like avoiding stray wheelcovers in the roadway.

Independence Day!

2011-07-04T00:01:00.134-04:00

Celebrate.

Take some time off.

Go for a ride...

...but remember why we commemorate this day: this country's escape from the tyranny of oppressive government.

Some interesting information you may not know, from Archiving Early America, Wikipedia, and this blog:

Why They Asked Jefferson To Write The First Draft Of The Declaration of Independence
How The Declaration of Independence Was Written
Congress Deletes A Fourth of Jefferson's Text Of The Declaration of Independence
Why The "Declaration of Independence" Is Not The Declaration of Independence

The Real Declaration of Independence: The Lee Resolution

"Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.
"That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances.
"That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective Colonies for their consideration and approbation."

God Bless America posting

Enjoy your weekend!
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Let Somebody Know -- and Give Them This Critical Instruction

2011-07-01T20:30:00.002-04:00

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When out riding, it is always a good idea to let someone know where you are going and for how long. That way, if you are significantly delayed without word from you, they can send out the search party.

It is also a good idea to give your contact information to fellow riders in a group. If you get separated, or one has a mishap, you may be able to contact the others to let them know what is going on.

Beyond that, when riding with others, exchanging names and phone numbers of their families is a good idea, so they can be contacted, especially if there is an emergency.

On that last item, there is an important detail that must be completed by all riders beforehand.

Ready? Here is the critical detail:

Make CERTAIN that whomever
is at home while you are out,

answers the phone,

EVEN IF they do not recognize the
caller's telephone number.
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I have had some first-hand experience with this. I arranged to meet up with a fellow rider, and we diligently exchanged our contact info, including our emergency contact phone numbers. He had the misfortune of running off the road and into a guardrail during our ride. He was wearing full gear (Haven't I heard somewhere about that being an excellent idea?), but needed a trip to the hospital to patch up his injuries.

I pulled out my cell phone to make a call for help, but there was no service. Some others had stopped to help, but their phones were also without service. One of them drove to a place where he could make the 911 call for help. Once the help arrived, I found a place where I could just barely get cell service, and called my buddy's emergency number.

I got no answer.

His emergency contact did not make it a practice of answering calls from unknown numbers. In this day and age of prank callers and unwelcome solicitations, that isn't unusual. However, as a result that day, it was about an hour later that his family was notified of the accident.

I had never given a thought about instructing my emergency contact to answer the phone -- no matter what -- while I am out riding.

I have now. How about you?
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Freedom is Never Free! -- Rally to Ridgecrest, 2011, Part II

2011-06-21T19:08:00.121-04:00

Welcome back to the rest of the long holiday weekend. I hope you are ready for some more riding and fellowship. If you missed it, you can view Part I here.

Sunday morning dawns, and after the devotional and breakfast, we assemble for the ride to the Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery over in Black Mountain. Veterans go first, then the rest of us. Hundreds of bikes are ready to roll the short distance to the cemetery. We are given a small American Flag to carry with us on the way and to leave on a grave. People along the route are out waving and showing their patriotic colors.

Photo on Facebook by Rally to Ridgecrest

The mournful sound of a lone bagpiper is heard once the noise of the cycles stops and we walk closer.

Photo by Asheville Citizen-Times newspaper

The honor guard salutes our flag, we sing the National Anthem, then Lieutenant General William G. (Jerry) Boykin speaks of the sacrifice these who lay in graves nearby made for our freedom -- some making the ultimate sacrifice of losing their lives. Every one of them pledged to fight our enemies, both foreign and domestic. We many times forget how our freedom originated, with a group of wise men over two hundred years ago who penned our Constitution and Bill of Rights. They were godly men who understood the necessity for the leadership of the new republic to also be moral and godly. Those brilliant works -- the Constitution and Bill of Rights -- were meant to be the rule of law, unwavering and firm. The thought that these documents would be bent to suit the whims and vicissitudes of each new generation was inconceivable, but most in leadership today have chosen to trample that vital fact.

A wreath is laid in honor of these man and women. It carries the following message:

"To the families of the brave men and women who rest here….

"Standing on this hillside we reflect on this sea of green blades of grass and pure white stones that gives witness to the price of freedom. Freedom is NEVER free!

"Every white stone here represents the personal story of someone who thought it worthy to give their life for ours. The story of one who out of duty and honor was prepared to sacrifice themselves for the cause of freedom – for OUR freedom. Freedom is NEVER free!

"They left their dreams behind. They left their families behind. They paid the price for freedom and we are forever in their debt. We must not forget. Freedom is NEVER free!

"Such a sacrifice demands our dedication to live our lives in a way worthy of this sacrifice. This is a sacred objective, but in truth it cannot be accomplished. There is no way to earn the sacrifice of a life for yours – a sacrifice of that magnitude is a gift that cannot be repaid.

"This sacrifice is a reminder to us of the sacrifice that Christ made for us on the cross and the free gift of His grace that frees us from the penalty of sin. That gift also can never be repaid. All we can do is live a life that shows we understand the high price that has been paid for us. We must live our lives in a way that is pleasing to God.

"Today, we gather in front of this memorial to remember the sacrifices, the courage, and the bravery of the men and women who fought and died for this country. And we remember those who serve even today around the world in harm’s way and pray for their protection as they fight for freedom. As we pray for these who have fallen, we also remember those who went to war and are still missing.

"We pray that those who rest here have found peace with their Creator, and we resolve that their sacrifice will always be remembered by a grateful nation.

"May God Bless the Untied States of America.

"The Riders
Rally to Ridgecrest
Memorial Day 2011

"John 15:13 says, 'No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends'". Holman CSB

We sing again, then make our ways over this field, paying our respect to these dead. We each leave our flag on a grave, then move back to our bikes for the return to the conference center.

There, we assemble for worship, and hear General Boykin speak again. This time it is that "Freedom is Never Free". It is hard-won by our men in uniform, and is to be cherished, nurtured, and protected by our entire being, on the battlefield, on the streets, in the voting booth.

This bike's license tag asks an appropriate question of us:

Perhaps we should ask instead, "Will we remain free?"

On Sunday after lunch, my roommates depart for home. I had decided a few weeks ago that I would ride home on Monday after a good night's rest, so I will stay one more night.

After they leave, I set out for one more day ride. This time I follow US-70 again to the east, then go up NC-226, and NC-226Alt (two of the roads I skipped yesterday on the way home), then to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I weave up these roads, explore a little, then decide to check out a road that I know is gravel, but that I have been unable to determine is open to traffic. Its name is Curtis Creek Road, or Forest Route 482. I set my GPS to the approximate place where it should intersect the Parkway and go that way. The Parkway is, again, a good ride, though there is some additional traffic today.

At the appropriate point, I find the start of Curtis Creek Road. It doesn't look too bad [Come on, Bucky. Admit it: You really just like to try out gravel roads on your street bike, like these others: Green River Road, Musterground Road, and Toccoa]. The road is a bit contorted as it leads down grade from the Parkway, but the surface is not too bad except for a few sections of loose gravel. I make steady, if slow, progress. A fellow on a dirt bike storms past me, his knobbies better gripping the dirt and stone under him much better than my street tires.

There is a stream -- Curtis Creek -- that parallels the road for quite a ways:

I pull off the road in a seemingly secluded area to take the picture and for a needed break. As I am working through the necessary business, I hear voices. Whoa! Way out here in the middle of nowhere? Well, now that I pay attention, there are three kids playing in the creek a little upstream from me, and a group of about five walking up the road toward me from the opposite direction. This is like downtown New York City here. I pull myself together, put on my gloves, and take off again -- no one being the wiser [I hope].

About a quarter mile down the road, I come across the reason for the crowd: a campground. The Curtis Creek Campground, in fact, about here on the map. Catchy name, by the way, being next to Curtis Creek.

A little further on, I happen across this scene:

This is another overshot waterwheel; similar to the one I saw a few weeks back while searching for a local tag. This one is better preserved, and the building is well maintained. I didn't trace the water source, Newberry Creek, but there must be a dam upstream to provide the head pressure. I believe this is it:

Photo by lakejames.tv

I hit pavement to the south, shortly after the waterwheel, and the remainder of the trip back to Ridgecrest is quick and easy. I feel a bit of regret that this weekend will shortly be coming to a close.

Anyway, here is the route for today, only about sixty-nine miles:

View Larger Map

Sunday night finds us in worship again, though the crowd has thinned quite a bit. Many have already left for home, including my roommates. Before bed, I pack up my saddlebags, tail bag, and tank bag ready for my trip home.

These bags have served me well on the trips I have taken. They hold enough clothing for about three days, but nothing much that is bulky. Everyone else has a pair of jeans, for example, but I just don't have the room, so a pair of Nylon pants must suffice for me. I also have some items that I usually don't carry on day trips, including an electric tire pump, spare bulbs, a clutch cable, throttle cables, jumper cables, dopp kit, motorcycle cover, and 12 and 120 volt chargers for cell phone and camera batteries.

As Monday morning dawns, and I take my luggage out to the bike. I check the tire pressure, oil and coolant levels and give it a general look over. Everything seems fine. No parts have fallen off over the course of the weekend despite my rattling over some pretty rough roads. Nothing seems loose or out of place. I am a bit concerned about the chain, however. The jerkiness that its uneven stretch causes can't be good for the sprockets or for the transmission output shaft and bearings. (The new chain arrived and was installed shortly after the weekend trip.)

I towel off the seat of dew so I don't get a wet bottom first thing, then dress in some lightweight but long sleeve and long leg synthetic fiber underwear because it is a little cool this morning, then don my back protector, leather suit, and boots. I have my alarm control, my identification, and my signal whistle around my neck, too. I slip on my helmet and gloves and motor over to the main building, then eat breakfast. I don't eat heavily this morning, but the food is again tasty. Afterward, we go to the auditorium for prayer and final goodbyes.

The scooter guy and a couple who rode their two bikes from over near Walhalla have decided to ride with me on the way home. I suggest a route that is a combination of freeways and a little stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway to bypass the heavy traffic of Asheville. The three seem glad to be part of a little group and like my proposed route. We travel west on I-40, cut off on US-70, then enter the Parkway headed south. We travel only about eleven miles on the Parkway, but it is a pleasant trip through a tree-lined corridor. We exit the Parkway near the North Carolina Arboretum, and follow the French Broad River for a mile or so before we turn to get onto the I-26 freeway. We zip along with traffic there; veer off on US-25 until we turn on SC-11, the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway. After a few miles, I leave the others and head south as they continue toward the west, all to our waiting homes, loved ones, and best of all, our own beds.

My route home:

View Larger Map

I arrive about 11:30, so the day is still young.

The weekend activities have been inspirational, the fellowship grand, the honor of veterans and service men heartfelt...and the weather has been good for riding ever since Saturday morning, affected, I believe, by quite a number of prayers.

Nice as it is to get away, getting home is always sweet. In fact, my sweetie is there waiting for me. I shrug off my riding suit and other stuff, shower, and sit down to a light lunch she has waiting. What a girl!

Cross above Ridgecrest Conference Center

Well, we have covered about 565 miles in total, and I hope you have enjoyed tagging along with me this holiday weekend. Thanks for traveling these roads, and do remember that freedom is never free. Here in these United States, that freedom was granted by God, organized by devout leaders, and won by patriots who shed their blood.

So, the next time you meet a veteran or a current service man, let him know that you appreciate his putting himself in harm's way for you and me. Pray for him, and pray for our freedom, in grave peril today from without and within.

Links to related postings:

Freedom is Never Free! -- Rally to Ridgecrest, 2011, Part I
Rally to Ridgecrest Facebook Page
Memorial Day 2010 Weekend Rally
Memorial Day 2010 Weekend Rally, Part II, The Ride Up
Memorial Day 2010 Weekend Rally, Part III, Saturday
Memorial Day 2010 Weekend Rally, Part IV, Sunday and the Ride Home

Biography:

Jerry Boykin joined what would become the world's premier Special Operations unit—Delta Force—in 1978. The only promise: "a medal and a body bag." What followed was a .50 caliber round in the chest and a life spent with America's elite forces bringing down warlords and war criminals, despots and dictators.
In Colombia, his task force hunted the notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar. In Panama, he helped capture the brutal dictator Manuel Noriega, liberating a nation. From Vietnam to Iran to Mogadishu, Lt. General Jerry Boykin's life reads like an action-adventure movie.

Today he is an ordained minister with a passion for spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and encouraging Christians to become warriors for God's Kingdom.
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Freedom is Never Free! -- Rally to Ridgecrest, 2011

2011-06-14T18:30:00.092-04:00

My Memorial Day long weekend this year was again spent at the Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina; a weekend of honoring our military, riding, fellowship, learning, music, and the hearing of speakers who have lived the military life and who are Christians.

Here is the story of just one example for you, Master Sergeant Raul (Roy) Perez Benavidez, in written form and in video.

The occasion for the weekend away was the annual Rally to Ridgecrest, where motorcyclists this year from as far as 1100 miles away got together.

As usual, I planned to make a day of it getting there, so here is the route I wanted to take. (You will find out about what route I really took -- and why -- in a minute.)

View Larger Map

The desired route includes US-178 from SC-11 to Rosman North Carolina, NC-215 from there to the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Parkway to NC-80, NC-80 to near Old Fort, and a short section of gravel to see Andrews Geyser nearby. These 160 miles of roads are mostly curves and twists, with lots of pretty scenery around.

A great route...if only I could see much it.

The weather starts out poor: Rain. I decide right away to forgo the US-178, NC-215, and part of the Blue Ridge Parkway sections of the ride, and head toward Asheville North Carolina on the four-lanes. I can easily get to those close-to-home roads on a quick day trip like this one. At Asheville, it does look promising toward the west:

Maybe I can skate through all the way to my destination in this opening of clear weather.

Alas, it is not to be on my Friday's jaunt. The rain and fog become so heavy in the higher elevations I can only see the tarmac directly in front of me. That causes the going to be slow, with the four-way flashers on. Not fun.

This next photograph is the view at the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center parking lot, milepost 364.6. Fog is the only thing I can see from here right now, but the rhododendrons are a beautiful sight near here in the spring. The other motorcycle there in the misty center of the picture came in from the other way, and the couple riding it told me that the same conditions prevailed in that direction.

So, I am at a decision point. I figure out where I am relative to my destination and decide to backtrack about eighteen miles, then head east to Ridgecrest by way of lower-elevation main roads. I am disappointed, but that is the prudent thing to do today.

On good thing: My raingear is serving me well on this ride, I am pleased to report. I am trying out my [ugly] blue-green Frogg Toggs for the first time, and have combined them with my Tour Master Deluxe Rain Boot Covers and FieldSheer Overgloves, all available from MotorcycleCloseouts, and bought a couple of years ago. They keep the rain out the whole way.

See, I told you. Ugly! Right? I have no other defense except to say that they were on sale! The street price of about $60 is too high a tariff for me. The high-visibility reflective vest is a must, especially for poor visibility conditions.

The overgloves in use.

And the boot covers.

(I did tuck the boot covers into my rainsuit pant legs before I started out.)

By the way, in the photo of the glove covers you can also just see the edge of the rain solution for my non-waterproof GPS setup: A Ziploc bag. Clever, eh? My tank bag has its rainsuit on too, as do my saddlebags and tail bag. We're all bundled up against the onslaught.

I am surprised how well the Frogg Toggs work, their being made of a non-woven Polypropylene material with no apparent coating. They seem very flimsy, so we will see how they hold up in the long run. They are, however much easier to get on and off than my one-piece rainsuit. (Read a now-slightly-humorous aside about a dire rainsuit experience half way through this posting about a rainy, late-night trip from Lawrenceville Georgia.)

I am also not enjoying the passing scenery because I find that I cannot not see very well at times, despite having my Foggy Respro Breath guard in place in my helmet so it doesn't fog.

The problem is that the mist is so fine that it coats my visor and doesn't run off very well. I wipe it with my glove but that doesn't help much, so I try opening the helmet visor. I can see better, but this introduces the very uncomfortable feeling of icy needles penetrating my tender face. Fortunately, I ride out of the rain and fog when I get to the lower elevations.

The ride east on I-40 is dry and easy, but the trucks are numerous and running above the speed limit, many of them. I get buffered by their wake, but it is just a little uncomfortable, not unnerving. I try to stay out of the other traffics' blind spots, and make sure I am not between another vehicle and any of the freeway entrances or exits.

I go right past Ridgecrest (On purpose. Yes, I know -- you thought I was getting lost again.) and on to Old Fort, then up to Andrews Geyser. When I get there, I find that it is not turned on today. "Turned on?" you ask. Yes, that is correct. It is controlled by a valve almost two miles away (at Pushpin "A" on this map, the geyser being at Pushpin "B"), and about 500 feet higher up the mountain, that directs a flow of water from a lake near the Inn on Mill Creek. In a dry year like this one, they periodically turn it off to allow the lake to refill. You can find out when it will be turned on by looking at the inn's Facebook page.

Right around here are also a series of loops in the railroad, called the Old Fort Loops for the nearby town of Old Fort, devised a century ago to scale the Blue Ridge Escarpment, which was a formidable barrier to development of the land west of here.

Here is a great fall aerial view of the inn and their lake, taken by Nick D'Amato.

As it turns out, Nick is also interested in railroads. He put me onto a book written about the railroad loops near the Geyser. It is The Road by John Ehle, which is historical fiction but describes the building of the railroad through here. For a better description of the area, see Part II of my postings from last year's Rally to Ridgecrest, whose links are listed at the end of this post. Nick has some other of his very professional photos posted on Railpictures.net.

Here is one at the geyser, taken by Mr. D'Amato in October of 2010. Notice the locomotive beyond and considerably above the geyser:

Prints are available from Nick D'Amato

This is another photo taken near the geyser by BurghMan in Railpictures.net. He describes the scene: "Although not much of the train is visible, I believe this photo demonstrates the formidable challenge of the Old Fort Loops. Local train P57 was starting into the first loop. Less then two minutes later, it passed in the opposite direction on the higher track."

Another shot near this place is from the website of the fictional Charleston, Roanoke, and Eastern Railway, an N-scale model railroad. The railroad loops near Andrews Geyser were an influence on the model railroad's layout.

This year, the gravel part of the road between the geyser and Ridgecrest is a little more challenging, with some slick mud. I am careful and get through just fine, but my bike gets a fair splattering that is destined to remain through the weekend.

The road winds up the grade toward Ridgecrest, roughly paralleling the railroad, below and on the right of the road in this photo.

Here is the route I have taken from I-40 to the geyser and back to Ridgecrest:

View Larger Map
The geyser is at Pushpin "C". My visit last year, with quite a bit of descriptive info, is located here.

A little while later I arrive at the Ridgecrest Conference Center. I park in front of the main building, doff my helmet and rain gear, and walk in to register.

Several of the rally officials recognize me from last year and welcome me like an old friend. They must have good memories.

After I register, I note that sport and sport-touring bikes are in the minority again this year, most of the crowd riding Harleys, Gold Wings, and the like. The people range from a bit shaggy to well dressed. (I will later tend toward the former: I forgot to bring my razor.) Throughout the weekend, all were well behaved, as is appropriate for a gathering at a Christian conference center. Even the loudest pipes were not too bad.

I am the first one here from our group, so I park in front of our room and begin to unload. My Ninja waits alone for my return.

Since no one else from our group is here yet, I get back on the bike. I know a trail to an overlook further up the mountain that I want to see the view from there yet today. I motor upward on the conference center roads, then split off onto a gravel path. (Yes motor vehicles are allowed.) The overlook is at the Pushpin on this map:

View Larger Map

From here you can see I-40 clearly, that white slash at right-center:

I get my picture made while I gaze at the scenery for the first couple of minutes.

This sign is nearby. Good advice.

I decide to stay for a while, looking at creation unfolded below me, then head back down, park at the room again, and get myself cleaned up for supper.

While writing this, it occurs to me that the reason I was so easily recognized when I registered is that I have worn the same suit as last year.

2010 photo by Rally to Ridgecrest

As it turns out, I think I am the only one in full leathers again this year. Many riders are wearing jackets and jeans, some riders are wearing motorcycle-specific jackets and pants, but many riders are without protective gear of any kind except helmets, which are required in North Carolina. I don't understand the lack of protective gear. Why take the additional risk of riding without appropriate protective gear?

Soon enough, the others arrive and settle in, and there is a constant stream of bikers finding their places for the weekend. One of our group, David, is a strapping fellow who rides the 400cc scooter in the foreground below. He could keep up quite well with the rest of us, thank you, and he had much more storage room than our bikes as well. Maybe he has the better idea.

There were a fair number of attendees who trailered their bikes in, including this group from Florida. In fact, all together, there were quite a few from the Sunshine State. Several from there who are acquainted with another member of our group, Jimmy (who rides the V-Strom just behind the scooter above), had trailered their bikes to his house in Walhalla, then rode with him to the rally -- a nice part-day ride.

I walk around the conference center a bit, and find that a shrunken version of Noah's Ark has apparently landed here. Hmm. This isn't Mount Ararat, so this seems odd. Actually, it is a playground fixture for the younger kids who come here for the many programs they put on year around.

In the evening, we meet for supper in the dining room. The food is quite good for cafeteria-style dining. You can have as much as you want, too. Later, we gather in the auditorium for singing and to hear a speaker. The music is mostly Christian rock again this year, so I don't get into it much. I think Gospel music is much more appropriate to get you into a worshipful mood.

There are several breakout seminars after that. I choose "What Do You See?" The theme is safe motorcycling, but the subtheme is evangelism -- reaching those who do not know Jesus Christ as their only way to heaven -- while teaching riding classes and inviting riders to join group rides. There are many bikers out there who realize they might be killed on the road just around the next curve, but have no idea what will happen to them after they die. The reality is that there is only one way to heaven, by accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior. All other paths lead to an eternity of pain and suffering.

After the seminar, we bed down for the night. The room sleeps as many as four in bunk beds and a conventional queen-size. I am asleep almost before my head hits the pillow. It has been a long day. I sleep soundly.

The next morning, I am up early to go to a devotional on the steps outside the main building. The chaplain speaks plainly, so it is a good start to the day. The weather is to be hot today, the same as for the next few days. Breakfast is a robust mix of scrambled eggs, bacon, grits (yuck -- not for me), fruit, and other goodies. I eat a fair amount -- I don't want to get weak during the day, you know.

Shortly after breakfast, I start out on a ride. Many others are also going on rides too, but I don't like riding in large groups and with people whose riding skills and style I don't know, so I strike out by myself.

I plan to go up the Blue Ridge Parkway to the north to around Boone, and to the original Mast General Store in Valle Cruces, and then return by other secondary roads. This ride is longer than most of the others mapped out for the rally, but I want to see as much of the countryside as I can as long as I am here.

My route has been laid out in Google maps as usual. Here it is, about 180 miles:

View Larger Map
The first leg is east on I-40/US-70. I-40 is a rather steep, sweeping, high-speed trip downhill from Ridgecrest. The semi tractor-trailers have to stop before the downgrade to view a sign that shows the route, the grade, and the location of the runaway truck ramps on this stretch. Fun.

Once US-70 branches off at Old Fort, I get on NC-80, also known as the Devil's Staircase. It rises more than 2,500 feet in just 10 miles, ending at the Blue Ridge Parkway, Pushpin "B" on the map. This is a favorite of motorcyclists in the area.

It is a challenging road, with many twists and turns. To my surprise, there is a photographer, Blind Kenny, near the Parkway at this spot snapping photos of passing traffic. If I had known earlier, I would have put on a little more speed. As it is, I am just putting along:

I thought about going back for an encore performance, but didn't take the time. Oh well, my slowpoke reputation is intact, and now documented a second time. The first time, back in June of 2009, is described here.

You might be wondering how they came to be called "Blind Kenny" Photography. I wondered the same thing, so I asked them. It seems that Kenny and Donna Behm share a deep love of blues music. They found a Muddy Waters single at an on-line auction site that they wanted to bid on, but did not have a username as yet. They created the name Blind Kenny in homage to all the early blind blues singers like "Blind" Lemon Jefferson. When they started their photography business, the name stuck, it being both short and memorable. I will certainly remember it.

Actually, I have to say as far as riding recently, that I have had far fewer "oh, oh" situations on this trip than previously. By that I mean situations where I find myself fearful of the immediate riding situation, like entering a corner hotter than I am comfortable with. This may be because of two factors:

I go relatively slowly -- certainly true on unknown roads.
I am becoming more skilled -- however slight that improvement may be.

One other thing: I must be certain that my confidence is not outpacing my ability. That is easy to do until some crisis presents itself. I don't think that is the case lately, though.

I still, on occasion, talk to myself when riding, mostly reassuring myself that the bike can handle the conditions, and convincing my brain to handle them as well.

In the above-mentioned time on route 80, I am going slowly because I don't know that road at all. My biggest fear is a patch of gravel or sand on the road, or some other hazard around a blind curve. You never know what might be there -- and there is no penalty for going too slowly, only for going too fast. The road today has very little traffic, so there is no one on my tail as I ride. That takes off a little pressure, though I usually pull over if someone continues to follow too closely or seems impatient.

Once I reach the Parkway, the road is without traffic and crossroads.

To find your way around on this spine of a road, here are some good, printable-in-sections maps available at the Virtual Blue Ridge website. They also sell motorcycle-specific maps of the Parkway, touring guidebooks, and they sell replicas of the famous motorcycle warning signs; the lower one in this shot.

Photo by Ryan

This is mighty fine motorcycling today, if I may say so. I don't stop to take many pictures, and I don't stop at the visitor centers. I just ride for the pleasure of riding. Maybe I am getting the kind of satisfaction from riding today that I have read about on the 'net. If so, I am liking it.

I do stop at one overlook, at milepost 329 near NC-226, and find that it has an explanatory sign for an engineering feat, the Clinchfield Railroad loops. This is a series of loops and tunnels, not unlike those near Ridgecrest, begun in 1905, completed in 1908, and now part of the CSX system. There are eighteen tunnels in this 13-mile trackage section, needed to overcome the elevation change of the Blue Ridge Escarpment. The distance is only about four miles as the crow flies, however! The ridge was a formidable barrier here just as it was near Ridgecrest and Saluda. Mostly Russian, German, and Italian immigrants provided the labor for this project.

Here is a map of the railroad route:

You can't see much of the route from the overlook, but the Frograil railfan website has a good description of it. (Search for "Clinchfield Loops Overview".) That site does not have many pictures, but is intended to document the best places to view the track and the trains running on it. You can experience a simulated a trip up the loops in this video.

I continue on for many miles, passing Grandfather Mountain near Linville at milepost 305. I stopped there last year. The road to the top is steep and tight, but the view is great.

I use the Parkway all the way to near Blowing Rock, exit and head to Boone, and then to Valle Crucis. According to Wikipedia, the name of the town is Latin for "Vale of the Cross", a reference to a valley in the area where three streams converge to form a shape similar to an archbishop's cross.

Sounds a little far fetched that streams can come together looking like that, but maybe they saw something I don't.

Anyway, I have come this far to visit the original Mast General Store, which opened in 1882.

Photo by Mast General Store, Valle Crucis, NC

They have a lot of old-time items, and a lot of new-fangled, high-priced goods too, in an annex nearby.

On the back porch, there are a couple of older gentlemen strumming guitars and singing for a small group of visitors. As I walk through on my way back to the bike, one of the strummers stops and drawls with slow precision to his listeners, "I sure don't know what that was that just went through," in reference to my appearance -- again. I smile and continue on my way.

I don't spend long at the store because it is hot today and it is not air-conditioned. I need to get moving again to cool off. I go back the road I came in on, and head south on US-221. This is a twisty two-lane with some good views including one glimpse of the Lynn Cove Viaduct. I missed taking a picture of that last year, and I repeated it again this year. There just isn't a good place to stop or turn around nearby, but you can see a pic of it at the Wikipedia link just above.

About now, I find myself becoming fatigued. Maybe it is the heat and maybe I have been too ambitious with the mileage today. I had planned to take NC-194 to US-19E, NC-226 to Little Switzerland, and NC-226Alt back to NC-226, back to US-70 and Ridgecrest, as on the map above.

I know that NC-226 and 226Alt are technically difficult, and I would really like to go there, but I don't think it is a good idea today.

So I decide to take US-221 all the way back to US-70 instead. Like this:

View Larger Map
It is still an interesting route, just not as challenging. This way, I can come back when I am more rested.

I get back mid-afternoon, shower, and get ready for supper. I am famished from my ride today, so I eat heartily. Pastor Dave Burton speaks tonight on "There Ain't Nobody Like Him!"

Photo by Rally to Ridgecrest

The meaning is that God can do anything, natural and supernatural. There are untold numbers of accounts of this being the case in the Bible, but also in more recent history and in real life today. He recounted many.

After the evening worship, we attend another seminar. This time I select "Sharing Your Testimony in Three Minutes". When you want to tell others about how to get to heaven, many times you only have a few minutes to do so. The attention span of most people is about three minutes long -- not much -- so you have to make it count. The steps the teacher Marc Merritt describes are as follows:

Tell about your life before you met Christ,
Tell how you met Christ, then
Tell about your life now.

He even gives out a sheet with some examples of how to explain these things succinctly.

After the seminar, I spend some time with David, the scooter rider. He speaks fondly of his family of six children, five of which are adopted. He and his wife are providing a good home and upbringing for these kids who have had a tough life so far. We talk for a few minutes longer, then head to the room for some shuteye. I am certainly ready for that again tonight.

Well, you have read a recap of the first two days of the long weekend. I'll continue the account in the next post. There is more riding and other good things to come, so don't forget to come back and experience them with me!

Links to related postings:
Freedom is Never Free! -- Rally to Ridgecrest, 2011, Part II
Rally to Ridgecrest Facebook Page
Memorial Day 2010 Weekend Rally
Memorial Day 2010 Weekend Rally, Part II, The Ride Up
Memorial Day 2010 Weekend Rally, Part III, Saturday
Memorial Day 2010 Weekend Rally, Part IV, Sunday and the Ride Home
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25,000 Miles Ridden -- and a New Chain

2011-05-24T12:28:00.172-04:00

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I passed a milestone today. I have ridden this motorcycle 25,000 miles since I bought it. You may recall that back in April of 2009, I wrote about another milestone passed, 10,000 miles at that time.

Remember that this is my first real motorcycle, not counting the old minibike I had when I was a teenager, so I have ridden only this motorcycle 25,000 miles. The milestone was passed on an evening joy ride near the house.

Right here:

You can see that I have my saddlebags and tail bag mounted, ready for a long weekend trip coming up.

I bought the bike in September of 2007, so I have owned it about forty-four months. That is about 565 miles per month on the average, including two periods of not riding for a couple of months each. I do ride year around though to keep my skills at their meager level of development, and maybe improve them a bit...and because it is fun to ride, after all!

The bike has performed well over this part of its life. It has had a couple of oil changes -- now to a synthetic (Mobil 1, Racing 4T), a coolant change, and I am working on the third set of tires (one rear was retired far too early due to a puncture). I certainly get a lot of mileage out of the tires, especially, compared with some much more aggressive riders.

I was recently surprised, though, that I began to feel the bike acting as though it was misfiring. There seemed to be no problem evident with the transmission in neutral, and the exhaust sound was steady under all conditions. So what could be wrong here?

A clue to the jerkiness came when I was checking chain tension. I put the bike on the rear stand and rotated the rear wheel until the chain was tightest. The tension checked good there. The tension was, however, very much looser at other sections. That seemed strange -- after all, the chain was fine when it was new. What could be wrong?

I did a little research on line, which revealed that my chain was probably past its expected life. The tooth profile of the sprockets was still OK, so a new chain should do the trick.

The chain I settled on as a good mix of quality and price is an EK 520SRX Quadra X-Ring with 114 Links, part number 701-520SRX-114 and a rivet-type master link, part number 520SRX-MLJ. The prices were $57.10 and $4.80, respectively, plus about $12 shipping, from Amazon seller Powersport Superstore. The chain arrived in just a few days and I set to work.

I had bought a Stockton Tool Company Chain Breaker and Rivet Tool Kit (#28165) from Cycle Gear when it was on sale, and a cheap pneumatic grinder (#52847) and a pack of 2" cutoff wheels from Harbor Freight Tools, so I broke them out, deciphered the translated-into-English-from-some-foreign-language instructions for each, and began.

Since this is my first riveted chain replacement, I go slowly, learning the tricks of using the chain tool properly despite the cryptic instructions.

The grinder neatly removes the heads of one of the chain's link pins. The chain tool presses out the remains of the link, and I fit the new chain, rivet the master link, check the link according to the Kawasaki service manual instructions (easier to understand than the others recently read, by the way), tension the chain (nice and even, now), and clean up.

The first ride confirms that the chain was the issue with the "missing" problem. The bike almost feels like new now -- smoooooth -- and ready for the next 25K.

...I still wonder how far I rode that little minibike.

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Not Too Far Away for an Enjoyable Quick Trip -- or More

2011-05-23T12:52:00.008-04:00

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One of the best places to see some great scenery and have an enjoyable ride in the mountains is not too far from home here in Easley South Carolina. In fact, it is only about 51 miles from home.

And, there is no commercial traffic on this road whatsoever.

By now you probably know I am talking about the Blue Ridge Parkway. You can look up all of the details of this 469 mile-long road, but it is, surprisingly, not only a good place to go for an extended adventure, but also for a part-day jaunt of only a few hours.

A couple of weekends ago, I went out on Saturday and took the following route:

View Larger Map

All together, I was out only five hours, but it was a pleasurable time of looking at the scenery, traveling winding roads, and meeting interesting people.

One thing you will note on the map is that I used twisty roads to get to the Parkway, but used mostly divided highways and other main roads to get back home. The idea is that I can enjoy the more challenging roads when I am freshest, and the less technical roads later on. Do any of you readers do this as well?

OK. Lets review the route in detail. I start out on US-178 in Pickens, SC, and follow it to the intersection of SC-11 (Pushpin "B" on the map), where the Holly Springs Country Store is located. That is the most popular place around here for bikers to meet, plan rides, and brag -- er, talk -- with one another. There are about ten bikes there, but I don't recognize any of them, so I move on, staying on 178 all the way to Rosman North Carolina (at Pushpin "C").

This last section is very popular with bikers, sightseers, and law enforcement officers alike. If you need some excuses for riding this section, here are a few links, with plenty of other information there about places to ride and to visit:

The day is beautiful and just the right temperature in the mountains -- about 65 degrees -- and the humidity is still low -- not dripping like it will be in the summer. The sky is clear and beautiful, with just some wispy clouds here and there.

I gas up at the station in Rosman, and head north. The Parkway is only eighteen miles from here on NC-215. They have recently paved this road, so it is quite smooth. There are scatterings of gravel left over from winter, but I am fooled by something else on the pavement that looks like gravel, but isn't. The white spots spoofing gravel are petals off the flowering trees. That is better than gravel any day. I am told, however, that every time they mow the berms, they scatter the clippings but also the gravel back over the road again, so watch out.

I stop at a gravel pull-off just south of the Parkway entrance, and meet another biker. He disappears into the brush for a while. I suspect that I know what he is doing over there, so I also have a discrete go while he is gone. He reappears, and I introduce myself. It turns out that his name is Steve, an information technology guru from Dallas, working as a consultant to the Marine Corps.

Now, Dallas is about 950 miles from the place I have met Steve, so he has some real miles under his belt. He is combining work with a vacation: He has ridden his bike up here on his way to the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. His entire trip there will be about 1450 miles one way. I note that he is also a Patriot Guard Rider.

Once he finishes his work near D.C., his wife will be flying in to join him, and they will ride back home via. the Tail of the Dragon and some other good motorcycle roads. I envy the opportunity he has to get away for a while.

I tail him leaving the pull off, then tag along on the Parkway for a spell, and finally pass by him stopped at one of the overlooks. He waves farewell. I hope he has a good trip.

On the Parkway, one must still watch for some hazards. One of them is the tendency to use excessive speed, since the road is limited access, and has no commercial traffic. Tempting as it is, that would be inadvisable, and the fines here are in the $300 range.

You also have to be careful of motorhomes, pedestrians, gawkers, slow-moving vehicles, bicycles, animals, and tunnels. It is easy to come upon one of these with too little warning and get into trouble quickly. The tunnels can be wet (and icy in the cooler season), bicycle riders may be inside, and it is difficult to see well at first entry.

There are, in fact, two ways to enjoy this road -- and you can switch from one to the other instantly!

The first way is to ride just for the sake of riding a reasonably easy, well-maintained road with some twists amongst the turns. The second way is to poke along, stopping often to take in the view at every opportunity.

Today, I am doing more of the first way than the second, so I don't have many pictures to show you. The traffic is not heavy, except in a few places, so I can go along at the speed limit without too much trouble.

This is a view of US-276 taken from an overlook just south of that entrance to the Parkway. The Parkway is the road at the top center. Route 276 snakes down the mountain.

US-276 is also a good way to get back home. The section just south of the Parkway is twisty, then there is a long, unchallenging ride until you get near Caesars Head where the twistiness starts again with a vengeance.

Here you can see a map showing this alternate route.

View Larger Map

I find that the landslide that had prevented my passage going north last year when I went to the Rally to Ridgecrest has been fixed. The Parkway was closed then just before I reached milepost 405, so I had to take NC-151 off the Parkway. The first part of that road is known as the "Devil's Drop", a technical and very challenging road that has about a 7% downgrade and many tight curves. It is located north of Pushpin "D" on this map of that ride.

View Larger Map
Remember that you can explore the map by holding your mouse button down and moving it about. You can also see a larger version with routing instructions if you click on the "View Larger Map" link.

Today, I motor along pretty much without long stops. Just as I come to the place I am going to leave the Parkway, I stop at the overlook of the French Broad River.

According to Wikipedia: "The French Broad River was named by white settlers centuries ago because it was one of the two broad rivers in western North Carolina. The one which flowed into land claimed by France at that time was named the 'French Broad River', whereas the other, which stayed in land claimed by England – the Colony of North Carolina – was named the 'English Broad River', later renamed simply to the 'Broad River'."

There is a good view of the Parkway bridge over the river, and there is a somewhat limited view of the river itself. There I dismount for a swig of Gatorade and spot a delivery truck. Now, commercial vehicles are not allowed on the Parkway, so I am curious why it is here. I come closer and note that it belongs to the Williams Piano Service of Whitesville North Carolina. Since I am interested in pianos, and own several player pianos, I strike up a conversation with Danny Williams, the driver. I tell him about my pianos, and he says that as a matter of fact, the piano he has in his truck here is a player piano that he will be restoring for a customer. We talk [piano] shop for a few minutes. (It is surprising how long a conversation can be when the topic is one you are interested in.) Danny says that he is about to leave the Parkway, so I don't say anything about his truck being here.

I finish my drink, and continue. I exit the Parkway, and turn south, eventually reaching an entrance to I-26 and US-25. These are quick ways to get there, but not very interesting. I find a rest area along the way and stop to wolf down a couple of snack bars. This little guy seems very interested in a snack. I leave him a few crumbs, but the rest are in my stomach.

I turn toward the east off US-25 at SC-11, the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway. I want to stop in at Perdue's Mountain Fruit Farm to buy whatever is in season. Unfortunately he is still closed -- it is too early in the season -- so I backtrack, and wend my way back home on familiar roads.

When I reach there, I find that I have ridden 170 miles on all types of roads. The temperature is up to 79, and has been a great day to enjoy God's creation.

I have been out less than five hours all together, so this is a trip you can easily take in an afternoon. Beware, though, if you dawdle along the way, you can spend a day or more!

Come join me for a few hours next time.

If you go:

Look at this website or call the Parkway information line, 828-298-0398, to learn of any closures, which may occur in any season. The three visitor centers are open year around.

Some good, printable-in-sections maps are available on the Blue Ridge Parkway Guide website.

Other times I have ridden the Parkway are documented here.

Wheels Through Time
Ride to Mt. Mitchell -- Highest Point East of the Mississippi
Rally to Ridgecrest 2010, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

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Saluda North Carolina -- a Tag Grabbed, and More

2011-05-04T12:47:00.029-04:00

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April 2, 2011, about a month ago.

I had to find it. What? Another tag by Stretch in the CarolinaRiders Forum Tag Game. Recall that Stretch is a pretty good one at posting tags that are interesting and somewhat difficult to find. And here is another one Stretch posted. I have prided myself in finding a few of his tags, but this one looked quite interesting to me because of my engineering background.

It is an old waterwheel, and his clues were are follows:

"Here's a tough one. The Carolina mountains are covered with old water wheels. What makes this one unique is its proximity to the water. Bonus points if you can tell me how it worked.
"If you ride down a road in NC with 21 hairpins in about 2 miles (there's only one), you'll find the new tag about 11 miles from the last hairpin turn."

One of the other inmates [members] on the forum posted this:

"Can I ask questions?
"For instance; can I find this road with "21 curves in about 2 miles out of Saluda, NC?"

Stretch replied:

"It may be near Saluda. I'm having a little trouble remembering just now .
"On the return trip I recommend passing the unnecessarily twisty road and taking the next right instead. I find it a more enjoyable ride and it will return you to the same town, whatever that town may be."

...and provided a couple more clues:

"When a group of businessmen from Spartanburg, SC needed more power for their mills, they bought land in NC to build two dams. This mill wheel is near one of the two resulting lakes but predates Dam.
"Look for a road named after a famous Golfer."

Well, one cerebral part of motorcycling is to figure out clues like this.

I am sure the twisty road Stretch is referring to is the most contorted piece of civil engineering I know of around here, Green River Cove Road. I tested out a downhill rear-braking technique here last year, but I don't like the road much because the turns are very sharp, and visibility of oncoming traffic is poor.

I carefully map out another eleven miles from the last (lowest elevation) turn on that road, and find that it is beyond the northeastern end of the road, so I must have to go one way or the other after that. I looked up waterwheel, but found nothing close. Well, the only golfer I know of besides Tiger Woods is Arnold Palmer (being the sportsman I am), so I try Palmer Road. There is one up that way. We'll see if the clues will lead me to the right spot.

I finish up a Google map, print it, slide it into my tank bag, and head out. It is 42 degrees, so I bundle up a bit, but not too much, as it is supposed to reach about 70 later.

I go north on SC-135, then SC-186, US-276, SC-11, US-25, and turn off on the Greenville Watershed Road. This is a moderately twisty road that winds its way uphill through a watershed for a reservoir from which the city of Greenville gets some of its drinking water. There is no stopping allowed along this road to help prevent water pollution in the lake. The road is used extensively by bicyclists, so you have to be careful, since some of them ride in the middle of the lane, it is slow going for them going uphill, and there are blind curves in some places. The pavement has become rather poor, with lots of cracks and potholes. It is pleasant enough road nonetheless, but the posted speed limit is probably the most prudent way to travel here.

View Larger Map of the Greenville Watershed Roads

Soon enough, I reach the town of Saluda. I park, and go right over to the M. A. Pace General Store to visit Mr. Robert Pace, son of the original owner who opened the store in 1899. He is getting up in age now, so I want to say hello to him once again. Each time I have come through here on the bike, I have stopped, and every time, for some unknown reason, Mr. Pace has commented on the fact that I look like I just stepped out of a spaceship. Strange, don't you think?

Here is a clear view of his store from my parking spot.

I walk over to the front door. Sadly, I find a sign that says he passed away in his sleep last October at the age of eighty-seven.

His last few years were spent meeting visitors and explaining the history of the business, the steep railroad grade that crests here, and of Saluda itself. That seems like a good close to a life here on earth.

Even though it has been several months since he left this world, the stock in his store is as it was. Only the refrigerated items have been removed. The ancient stock of dry goods remains, as do the more modern items.

Those are boxes of new old stock shirts, and shoes on the shelves to the right.

Mr Pace was a former insurance and real estate broker, and a 1945 graduate of Wofford College. He served on many committees and boards that were instrumental in bringing business to the area.

Here is a picture of Mr. Pace I took in April of 2010.

Although I did not know him well, I will miss him. I had hoped to be able to shake his hand just once more.

I walk down the surprisingly busy street -- after all it is a beautiful day to be out in the mountains -- to the offices of Saluda Realty and Construction. I find Mrs. Eargle sitting outside in a rocker with her dog leashed nearby. I speak with both, pet one of the two on the head (guess which one), then inquire of Mr. Eargle's whereabouts. I venture inside the office where I am directed, and find him at work at his desk. As soon as he turns, he flashes a huge grin, and says he remembers me from my last visit. I am flattered. Maybe the clothes are the reason he recognized me. It had worked with Mr. Pace, didn't it? Or maybe Mr. Eargle is just one of those fellows who remembers everyone he meets. He seems to be genuine, not put on, in his treatment of others.

We chewed the fat for a few minutes. Mr. Eargle told me the story of the old Thompson’s Store and Ward’s Grill (referred to in my earlier posting and pictured below).

A gentleman named Clark Thompson now owns the store and grill, and writes a blog called Saluda Memories. Mr. Thompson was born and raised here, but went away to college and to work elsewhere. He returned in 2010 to keep the spirit and nostalgia of the Old Store and Grill alive. Mr. Eargle's construction company has been restoring the structures.

After I leave Mr. Eargle's office, I give their dog a little more attention, then survey the remainder of the main street, and saddle up again. I want to get that waterwheel tag before anyone else does.

Off I go, leaving Saluda (at Pushpin "A") toward the northeast, Interstate 26 (Pushpin "B"), and beyond.

View Larger Map

I could take the first left after 26, Green River Cove Road, the contorted one that Stretch referred to in his clues, but straight ahead, Holbert Cove Road, is more uniformly twisty, with none of those very tight turns all packed together. And it ends up in almost the same spot. The road has recently been tar and chip surfaced, so it exhibits a uniformly good grip with no potholes or cracks. The work must have been done long enough ago that the loose stone has all dissipated, so I cruise along smartly. The only thing is that there are few advisory speed signs, so it is difficult to know whether there is a decreasing-radius turn or some other hazard lurking somewhere ahead.

After about 9-1/2 miles on Holbert Cove, I reach Silver Creek Road (Pushpin "C") and make a left. I pass this end of Green River Cove Road, then after 1.7 miles from where I turned onto Silver Creek, I see Palmer Road to the left and Lake Adger Road to the right (Pushpin "D"). I take Palmer Road and begin watching closely for my target. I come across it, in about 1.2 miles, on the right.

Here it is, at Pushpin "E":

35°19'42.49"N 82°15'9.72"W

The waterwheel is an example of an overshot style.

Types of waterwheels are described on this website.

The source of the water was Bright's Creek a bit upgrade -- toward the left in the picture above.

Up a steep slope from my parking place, there is a corrugated steel pipe, shown below, that directed water from upstream to the top of the wheel, probably pouring onto the wheel from a wooden flume, now gone.

Water exited the wheel through a cut or culvert just in front of my bike, joining the nearby creek across the little gravel driveway here.

The wheel has a large bull gear on the side that engaged a much smaller pinion, providing an increase in RPM to drive a generator.

There may have been a mechanism to govern the flow of water to maintain the correct voltage and/or frequency. (You electrical engineers: Was this likely to be a DC or AC generator?) If you want to do a few calculations on the power provided by waterwheels, here is a website to help.

This photo shows the pipe at left-center, upstream of the wheel, at the entrance to Bright's Creek, an upscale golf development with a Tom Fazio-designed course. (Now I know another golf-related name besides Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer.)

Wherever the pipe connected with the creek upstream must have been some distance away judging from the height of the pipe versus the creek bed beneath the bridge. I couldn't follow the likely path of the pipe any further because the golf development is gated, and I'm not a resident. That's OK, they pay just a bit more than I do for a place the live -- lots start at $200,000 each, so a little extra privacy is their privilege.

A little waterwheel history:
The waterwheel was installed in the 1950s by Dr. Marion C. Palmer, landowner and lover of gadgets, according to an account written in 2003, found on the Tryon [NC] High School class of 1971 website. (Search for "water-wheel".) The story speaks of the lady of the household, Mrs. Palmer, having to tell the tenant farm family to turn off their lights so she could use her electric iron. That leads me to think the output of the waterwheel was around 1000 watts, or about 9 amperes at 110 volts. Commercial electricity reached this area in 1962, with telephone service following.

A view of the area.

Well, it is pretty country here, but I have to get back, so I retrace my path back to Saluda on Palmer Road,...

...Silver Creek, and Holbert Cove Roads, then head west on US-176. There are a couple of tight turns on this last road, one in front of a quarry entrance. That one can be treacherous due to spilled gravel.

I turn south on US-25, then veer off onto Gap Creek Road, hit SC-11, then SC-8, SC-135, and home to Easley. The complete trip map is shown here:

View Larger Map

I don't rush, but I also don't tarry on my way back home. After all, I have to post the tag grab photo before someone else does.

By the way, if you remember, Stretch challenged the tag grabber to describe how the waterwheel worked. I think I get the extra credit for doing so. (Whew, I'm glad that those four years of engineering school weren't wasted after all.)

Once at home, I rush to the computer, post my photo, and I can now lay claim to bragging rights, at least until someone finds the new tag that I have posted.

I have ridden 147 miles today, in beautiful weather, looking at natural scenery and an engineering project not quite as old as I am. You can't beat a day like this. Thanks Stretch for providing an interesting tag in a beautiful part of the country.

Oh, here's the new tag I posted. See if you can find it.

Clues:

"This bridge spans a small river.
The river has something to do with twelve miles, and it must be tired -- as it needs to lay.
The bridge is not far from woodside two.
If you go further on the road you will find Elfwing and Magic Mountain, both centrally located."

If you go:

The Saluda walking tour is another activity you can do while in town.
A Very Twisty Road and a Downhill Technique Tried
Saluda North Carolina, the Saluda Grade, and a Friend Who Helped Me Learn to Ride

New tag answer

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GPS Goodies

2011-04-11T19:29:00.008-04:00

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In my previous GPS post, I wrote about a Christmas present from my wife that is quite useful for those of us who have a propensity to get lost, but who won't ask for directions. I fit in with most men on that last point, I'm told. Technology came to my rescue in the form of a Garmin GPS.

I am working on the step-by-step instructions to get a route into the unit, and on getting the track made during a ride out of it, but meanwhile, here is a listing of useful goodies for the user of a GPS.

These websites will answer almost any question you may have, and provide software to do almost anything you can think of.

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Basic Must-Have Software:

Your GPS may have come with some software. However, according to Tom on his Random Connections blog, there are three other tools that "EVERYONE ought to have." ...and they are free!

I quote Tom's advice here:

EasyGPS - This is a great tool for creating and organizing GPX files. In addition to being able to save these files, you can transfer selected locations directly to the GPS via cable. You can view and edit POIs, tracks, and routes. There is also a geocaching mode. EasyGPS works with most GPS units, both automotive and handheld.
GPSBabel - If your GPS unit uses something other than GPX files, GPSBabel is essential. It can convert just about any type of GPS file from one type to another. It’s also very handy for converting Google Earth files into GPX files for GPS units. More on that later.
Google Earth - Given the HUGE number of resources available for this program, it only makes sense to include it. Google Earth can read GPX files so that you can view your tracks and locations on a map, however, the free version doesn’t write GPX files. That’s where GPSBabel comes in. You can take any placemark in Google Earth, save it to a KML file, then use GPSBabel to convert the file to something your GPS understands.

Other Resources:

Route, Track, Conversion Tools, and Other Useful Goodies:
(Shamelessly stolen from DRZ Charlie's mashup over at the ADVRider Forum.)

Data/Language conversion tools to convert from one format to another.

Address to Coordinate converter

Convert address to Long and Lat and determine elevation at a given address

POI Converters

Convert CSV, GPX, OV2, KML, KMZ, LMX. ASC, TXT, GPI Files

GPX File Repositories

Route to Track Conversion Tutorials

Route to Track conversion Tutorials

Track and WayPoint Converters

The following Web sites allow you to plot your GPX data on a Web map:

Tyre - Google maps to Gps works with Garmin and Tom Tom
GPS - GPX Interactive Map (View GPX files on Google Maps)
GPX Loader for Google Maps (View GPX files on Google Maps)
GPS Planner (for routes)
GPS Visualizer (Convert GPX to SVG maps and elevation profiles)
GMapToGPX (View GPX files on Google Maps)
PONIkiller -- Software that removes Points of No Interest from route files generated by GMapToGPX.
Innersource (View GPX files on Google Maps)
Marengo GPS Route Planner (View GPX files on Google Maps)
Online GPX Viewer (View GPX files on Google Maps)
SnowRanger (ski resort maps)
Track Viewer (View GPX files on Google Maps)
uTrack (online GPX track report generator)
GPS TrackMaker

Online Gpx Applications

Multiple Platform Support

Combine multiple mapsets into one file without the need to run MapSource.

GMAPTOOL Note* you will need to un-rar this file with an un-rar tool

Data in GPX form is available at the following Web sites:

Macintosh GPX Software

GPX-enabled software for Mobile Phones and PocketPC and Palm PDAs:

Online Route Planners

Harley-Davidson -Ride Planner

Free (legal) Map Resources

Flying Google Earth - How to

TEST-Helicopter flying a "Mapsource" Motorcycle Route in "Google Earth

Books and resources

Outdoor Navigation (by Gps)

Historic Anniversary

2011-04-02T00:01:00.081-04:00

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Most of us would have missed this historic anniversary. Do you know what it is?

Here are some clues:

It is today.
It is not motorcycle-related.
The event occurred four hundred years ago.
It provided important information, first hand, to those who previously were without.
It has changed lives.

Give up?

Look below. Read the whole thing (after you click on the pages to enlarge them). I believe you will see that it is perhaps the most important and influential modern text in history.

Influential? Absolutely.

Life changing? It can be if you let it.

Give it a try. It will be the best decision you have ever made.

Text credits:
Text of a copywrited article by Vicki Barker, associate professor of English at Carson-Newman College, in Life Words, Bible Study for Life, Volume 5, Number 2. Published by Lifeway Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, One Lifeway Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234.
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Harangue -- More Wasted Tax Dollars

2011-03-21T19:30:00.004-04:00

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harangue: An impassioned, disputatious public speech; A tirade or rant, whether spoken or written; To give a forceful and lengthy lecture or criticism to someone.

Everyone who has half a brain knows that our government is spending far too much of our (and our children's, and grandchildren's...) hard-earned tax dollars, in an attempt to spend itself into prosperity.

Well, my mama knew better than to think that. She understood that her thrift would make her more prosperous -- not necessarily wealthy, but certainly better off.

Mama was right.

Even drunken sailors know that. Look here:

Remember when I rode over to the mill town of Newry? It is a sleepy little village with not very many inhabitants. It is certainly not a prosperous town, but the people who live there do the best they can economically, likely on a very slim budget. Their tax dollars are being spent frivolously, right in their town.

Look here.

That yellow thing is an installation of the government-mandated detectable warning surface on sidewalk curb ramps to alert visually impaired people to potential hazards. There are raised "truncated domes" on the surface, so that you can feel them when you step on it.

[photo from ADA Solutions]

Well, on the surface (pun intended), this seems like a good idea. People who don't see well might avoid stepping onto the street inadvertently. Of course, that is why they make curbs -- to keep vehicles mostly in the street, and to make a clear demarcation between the sidewalk and the street. A person with limited sight many times uses a white cane, and the curb is easy to feel with it. The "truncated domes" are not as easily detected using a cane, and if the color difference is desirable, paint applied to the curb is an inexpensive alternative. (And what about jay-walking visually-impaired people? They might step off a curb anywhere.)

Ah, but I forgot. This is government protecting us.

It occurs to me that the domes also have significant disadvantages. They are more easily tripped on by those who don't pick up their feet when they walk. If there is snow, it cannot be removed from between the bumps, leaving a potentially slippery area right next to the street -- not a good thing. Also in cold climates, snow and slush collect at the lowest points, usually near the curb due to road crowns, so the ramp is a natural place for that stuff to collect and refreeze, making it very hazardous. Curbs don't have that problem.

Here is another disadvantage. Those who might be in a wheelchair will have much more difficulty getting over the bumps than if there were a smooth ramp instead. Mothers with children in strollers, and toddlers riding tricycles along with mama will also have more trouble.

I have always thought of myself as reasonably able to safely navigate along on my own two feet, but I have many times tripped, even on one of the smooth concrete sidewalk ramps, because it is difficult to see where the slope starts compared with a very distinct curb. I don't think this is just a matter of my clumsiness.

The Virginia Department of Transportation evaluated warning surfaces for detectability by the visually impaired and their ease of maneuverability for the mobility impaired. Their study pointed out the above disadvantages (except for my tripping-on-a-ramp problem).

There is one more disadvantage, and it is a doosey. Ultimately, Virginia's study reported that 15,000 new sidewalk curb ramp installations are needed within the state right of way alone. The estimated cost of these ramps is $7.3 million, or about $500 for each ramp. I'll bet that is a low figure, when you have to consider cutting out the old curb and sidewalk, pouring the ramp and installing the truncated dome material.

That last little issue hasn't stopped the spending.

Furthermore, the bumps are required in private, commercial construction as well, so the cost of this regulation is much higher. Who pays? We do, in higher prices and in lost opportunities to spend the money to better advantage.

Periodic maintenance is also a consideration -- and cost.

Look at the ramp in Newry again, from a different angle.

Yep. You're not seeing things -- or it would be better to say that you don't see something you expected to see.

There is no sidewalk anywhere nearby, only the new ramp.

What on earth good is a ramp without a connecting sidewalk? I even went back to Newry three weeks later, thinking maybe they would have installed a sidewalk to connect with this fine new ramp. Nope. Nada. Zip. Not a sign of one. No stakes in the ground. Nothing.

How many disabled people would need the ramp, if they have already walked across the uneven turf to get there? They're not stupid. They would probably walk in the street instead. ...and even though this particular ramp is located on the Newry town square, there is very little traffic to be protected from.

Did you also see that pile of leaves that has collected at the foot of the ramp? Couldn't those become slippery if they were wet? Who will sweep them away to protect us?

Maybe I'll get flamed for this post, but wouldn't it be a good idea to forgo these ramps and their fancy bumps -- and a whole lot of other government waste -- so we can concentrate on not spending against our future prosperity?

Then again, we may all be walking soon because we'll be so poor that we can't afford cars or motorbikes. But what use will the ramps be?: To protect us from the [lack of] traffic on our roads?

The voting booth is the place to be next November to finish off the liberals who enjoy spending our money so freely.

Meanwhile, I am certainly glad they are spending your tax dollars and not mine for things like this.

Previous Harangues:

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Direction Needed, Now Found

2011-02-25T12:46:00.168-05:00

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A few posts back, I wrote of having a terrible time finding my way around, especially if my selected route is complex and unfamiliar. Usually, I make a Google Map, then mark it up by hand in large enough letters so I can tell at a glance what the road names and numbers are, then refer to that map while it resides in the clear pocket of my tank bag. Even then, I sometimes get lost because I miss a turn, or the road names are different. U-turns are getting easier for me as a result of the practice I am getting.

You might ask why I don't just wander around the countryside, as I might find something unexpected. True enough, but I have limited riding time, so I like to find some places on the map or that I have heard about, then map out a -- hopefully -- interesting route to get there and back in a reasonable amount of time.

I also wrote previously of having borrowed my son's GPS to help me get around. It didn't.

Well, that isn't the whole story. It didn't help me partially because I couldn't see the display with it tucked into that glossy map pocket, but mostly because I couldn't hear it at all with my earplugs in, the music of the bike mechanicals serenading me, and because of the wind noise of my swift (?) riding.

I was fairly certain that I could find a way to mount the GPS on my bike so I could see it, but what about the sound? Without that, I might still miss a turn. I commenced doing some research on how to solve these problems -- and, as long as I was at it, I delved more deeply into what GPS unit would be best for my purposes, so I wouldn't have to borrow my son's any more.

Here are my selection criteria:

Custom Route -- ability to accept my custom-generated routes rather that settling for the route generated by the GPS on its own. That way I can take the road less traveled by, (And that has made all the difference...as it might have for Mr. Frost.)
Sound -- earphone jack for audio and/or Bluetooth compatibility for in-helmet sound.
Tracks -- able to show where I have actually been.
Price -- Less than $150.

Since I was familiar with our son's Garmin, I started with that brand. I looked at the Garmin website to narrow down the choices. I also scoured the on-line forums for advice, and PMd a few users for their advice.

I was quite disappointed in the Garmin product selection pages. I did decide that I could not spend $450 for, say, the designed-for-motorcycle-use zümo 220 or 660 or nüvi 550. Their site mentioned some features of the many models available, but it was not readily apparent which had audio jacks and custom route capabilities. I found myself going through each model's features page one at a time, and making notes. Not good. I was not patient, knowing that it would have been easy for them to expand the number of selection criteria there. I resorted to their support e-mail system. At first they responded but didn't answer my questions. Strange. I tried again. This time, they told me what units have custom route capability, but they also said that none of the units has an audio output jack.

Anyway, after many hours of poring over specs and advice from others, I settled on the nüvi 765.

The next thing was to find the best price for the gadget. Retail is $299.99. Too much. I searched ebay to no avail, then went to one of my favorite merchandise sites, Amazon, and found a reconditioned unit for $159.58. Actually, it is a 765T, which includes a radio receiver for showing traffic congestion in big cities.

Bingo. I put it into the shopping cart.

But wait, there are accessories listed nearby by those clever Amazonians. There is a nice RAM mount, and a direct-wired power cord, and a leather carrying case, and a clear screen protector. Can't do without those, now can we? All into the cart they went. Now, to place the order...

Oops. One small problem. Due to some prior negotiation, this device is supposed to be a Christmas present from my bride, so I can't just push the "Place your order" button and have them send me the stuff.

I humbly approach her and suggest that she log on and push the button herself.

...and she does!

I'll be really surprised when I open my presents on Christmas morning!

I somewhat patiently wait for the big day, and unwrap my new toys, er, navigation equipment. I pore over the instructions, and note that the unit has an audio output jack after all. I wonder why Garmin didn't know that.

I attach the Cradle Holder to the back of the GPS.

That is the thing that has the ball mount receptacle on the back so it can mount to the windshield suction cup, and it provides the place for the factory power cord to plug in.

Next, I assemble the RAM mount, and find that it clamps onto the motorcycle handlebar easily, to the left of center between the bike's handlebar clamp and the Hippo Hand over there.

Catalog pic.

The real thing.

I snap the GPS with the attached cradle holder into the RAM mount cradle. It seems quite secure. I adjust the location and angle so I can still see the instruments on the bike. I turn the bars, and note that the mount does not interfere with the tank bag or with the windscreen. The mount is easy to adjust using a large wing nut, and it is very stable when tightened. So far, so good.

I will have to take off the fuel tank to mount the direct-wire adapter in an out of sight, and protected location, so I will save that installation for later.

Edit: This direct-wire adapter plugs into the GPS's mini-USB port rather than into the 18-pin port on the Cradle Holder. When power is received through the mini-USB port, the GPS goes into "office" mode with lower brightness and reduced volume -- not good for motorcycle use. The solution is to use either the original power cord or an 18 pin power supply cord with a much thinner cable. (see below under "What I Bought".)

Right now, I will use the standard power cord plugged into the lighter receptacle I installed under my seat a couple of years ago to charge my cell phone and camera batteries while en route.

I tinker with some of the GPS settings, turning up the screen brightness and audio to maximum. I then set out for a quick trial run. I enter the address of my workplace, and press the "Go" button. I can barely hear the synthesized voice, but the display is pretty legible. I follow the screen prompts, and it gets me there, albeit, by a route that isn't as fast as the one I normally use that has fewer stop signs. After work, I set it for home, and it gets me there by the same route.

I note that I can fairly easily manipulate the touch screen -- only when stopped, by the way -- with my Shift Carbine summer gloves on. Some of the smaller screen buttons, such as for entering an address by name are pretty difficult. A stylus for a PDA might work well for that, but so far I have not needed one badly enough to get one.

Since the built-in speaker's audio output is not loud enough to hear with my earplugs in and the GPS on the mount, I need some way to amplify it. I begin studying the on-line forums again. Some have advocated in-helmet speakers. You can buy some -- one source is Helmet Audio -- that are quite expensive, and you can get an amplifier to pump up the volume. You can even connect it to a Bluetooth receiver for wireless communication with the GPS.

Because I am frugal -- well, actually, the word cheap may be more accurate -- I figure I can concoct a pair of helmet speakers myself instead, from a discarded computer headset. I do some surgery, extracting only the speakers from the headset housing. I try them out with my earplugs in, but can hardly hear them. Since I won't ride without earplugs, that isn't going to work. Now what?

A few riders use Koss "The Plug" Portable Headphones with memory foam earpieces. They work like earplugs that you compress and stick in your ear, where they expand, and are supposed to reduce the ambient sound level. I go back to Amazon again and find a pair for $12. This time I have to press the Pay button myself.

When they arrive, I find that they come with two sizes of soft earplugs. The larger of the two keep the headphones in my ears fairly well. I wiggle my helmet on -- then take it off again and try a second time because I have dislodged the earplugs -- and see how they work on another test ride. The sound is excellent. The wind and motor noise are somewhat attenuated, but not nearly as much as with real earplugs.

Well, these will have to do, as the budget is limited right now. Someday, I'll come up with a better solution, maybe using the Bluetooth wireless communication feature.

Oh, I forgot one other vital accessory. Since this GPS is not waterproof, I have to carry a zipper-top plastic bag with me to protect it should I get caught in a shower.

Next GPS post: How I use the 765T, including getting my Google Maps route into it, and getting my track out of it.

What I bought:

Garmin nüvi 765T -- $159.58
Direct-wire Adapter, Model: GA-NHWC* -- $13.49
RAM Bike / Motorcycle Handlebar Mount, Model RAM-B-149Z-GA26U -- $34.40
Case -- $3.00 (doesn't have space for the cradle holder)
Screen Protector --$1.42
Koss "The Plug" Portable Headphone, Model 156407 -- $12.09
Total = $223.98

...and a zip-top bag. Here is a better solution for powering the GPS at full volume and brightness if you don't want to use the original power cable. Garmin Model: 010-10747-03 -- $12.65 A few places to go for GPS advice:* Garmin GPS Tricks, Tips, Work Arounds, Hints, Secrets and Ideas GPS Discussion - Your Final Destination forum gpsreview forum Garmin nüvi 765T specs: Physical and Performance
Unit dimensions, WxHxD:	4.8"W x 3.0"H x .8"D (12.2 x 7.6 x 2.0 cm)
Display size, WxH:	3.81"W x 2.25"H (9.7 x 5.7 cm); 4.3" diag (10.9 cm)
Display resolution, WxH:	480 x 272 pixels
Display type:	WQVGA color TFT with white backlight
Weight:	6.48 ounces (183.8 g)
Battery:	rechargeable lithium-ion
Battery life:	up to 3 hours
Waterproof:	no
High-sensitivity receiver:	yes

Maps and Memory:
Basemap:	yes
Preloaded street maps:	yes
Includes lifetime map updates:	no
Ability to add maps:	yes
Built-in memory:	internal solid state
Accepts data cards:	SD™ card (not included)
Waypoints/favorites/locations:	1000
Routes:	10

Features:

Voice prompts (e.g. "Turn right in 500 ft."):

yes (internal speaker)

Speaks street names (e.g. "Turn right ON ELM STREET in 500 ft."):

yes

Voice-activated navigation (operate device with spoken commands):

Lane assist (guides you to the proper lane for navigation):

yes (with junction view)

trafficTrends™ (calculates routes based on predicted traffic flow):

myTrends™ (predicts routes based on user's navigation behavior):

3-D building view (displays buildings in 3-D):

yes

Auto sort multiple destinations (provides most direct route):

yes

Auto re-route (fast off-route and detour recalculation):

yes

Choice of route setup (faster time, shorter distance, off road):

yes

Route avoidance (avoid highways, tolls etc.):

yes

Bluetooth® wireless technology:

yes (with A2DP technology)

Garmin nüLink! Services: (receive accurate real-time travel information):

FM traffic compatible:

yes (receiver and lifetime traffic included)

XM® compatible for U.S:

Speed limit indicator (displays speed limit for most major roads in the U.S. and Europe):

yes

Where Am I? (find closest hospitals, police & gas stations, nearest address & intersection):

yes

Garmin Locate™ (marks position when removed from windshield mount):

yes

ecoRoute™ (calculates a more fuel-efficient route) :

yes

Qwerty or ABC keyboard (choose keyboard layout):

yes

Custom POIs (ability to add additional points of interest):

yes

Garmin Garage™ vehicles compatible (download car-shaped icons to your device):

yes

Garmin Garage™ voices compatible (download custom voices to your device):

yes

Photo navigation (navigate to geotagged photos):

yes

World travel clock, currency & unit converter, calculator:

yes

Picture viewer:

yes

MP3 player:

yes

Audio book player:

yes

FM transmitter:

yes

Headphone jack/audio line-out:

yes

Garmin Lock™ (anti-theft feature):

yes

Touchscreen:

yes

Motorcycle-friendly:

no (oops!)

Trucking-friendly:

Geocaching-friendly:

Marine-friendly:

Bucky's Ride

Cold!, Dressed up Rhinos, Somebody's Been Practicin', and Pretty Clouds

No Riding This Week

Zipper Fix

Sweepers Galore

Christmas Message

Dressing for Cold Weather Riding -- Take Three

PARI, Placed in Perspective

Tail of the Dragon -- But Nearer By

Thanksgiving Day

Well, That Never Happened Before

Fall is Here

Veterans Day

Take One of These Along to Avoid Being Trapped

Fitness -- Weight for Me

Search Me

Never Forget

Direction Needed, Now Found III

Harangue -- Cost of Government Day

Hot!

Two Keys

Direction Needed, Now Found II

Swerve!

Independence Day!

Let Somebody Know -- and Give Them This Critical Instruction

Freedom is Never Free! -- Rally to Ridgecrest, 2011, Part II

Freedom is Never Free! -- Rally to Ridgecrest, 2011

25,000 Miles Ridden -- and a New Chain

Not Too Far Away for an Enjoyable Quick Trip -- or More

Saluda North Carolina -- a Tag Grabbed, and More

GPS Goodies

Historic Anniversary

Harangue -- More Wasted Tax Dollars

Direction Needed, Now Found

Garmin nüvi 765T specs:

Physical and Performance

Maps and Memory:

Features: