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Tuesday, March 13, 2018

One Hundred Miles

One Hundred Miles / One Hundred and Sixty Kilometers..........

That would be the sum total of miles ridden on the bikes on Saturday.  This time of year in Oregon we expect rain, rain, and still more rain.  Luckily this year hasn't been too bad.

We woke up at about 6:30 am Saturday morning and the temperature was 31˚ F (-0.5˚C).  By 8:45 when we left for coffee the temperature had risen to 37˚F (2.77˚C) and the sun was shining.  We had no real plan for the day other than ride to coffee and ride somewhere after.

We knew we wanted to stay on the valley floor so that the temperatures would be warmer and we could soak up any sunshine.  The forecast was for cloudy skies moving in by noon.

Two other folks also rode to coffee, Andy (aka PolarBear) was there on his orange Triumph Tiger and Aarron was there on his Yamaha Stryker.

A plan was hatched to ride north to Independence and possibly have lunch.  With Troubadour in the lead, me second, Aaron, then Andy tail gunning, we set off.

The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day for a ride.  There was still a chill in the air, but it wasn't cold dressed in thermal long underwear and all the liners in our riding gear. I am sure heated grips helped a little too.

We parked in Independence and I managed a few pictures.  While three of us did a u-turn and parked together Aarron opted to park across the street so he didn't make it into the pictures.

(Troubadour's Triumph Tiger 955 and my Kawasaki Versys 300x)
I had to snap a picture of our two bikes before the picture of the Versys sandwich.......

(One of these things is not like the other)
Aarron suggested a diner across the street for lunch.  Troubadour and I have gotten pretty good at finding plant based options to eat at just about any type of restaurant.  Heck, even BBQ joints have baked potatoes.  Well, at this diner we had the option of a very overpriced salad, no thank you, or french fries/tater tots/onion rings.  So we ordered one side-order of tater tots and one side-order of onion rings to share between the two of us.

Now, while they were house made, they were the greasiest tater tots and onion rings you could ever imagine and I am pretty sure that because they were house made, they weren't vegan.  But we were hungry, so we ate them.  It was hard getting them down because of the grease but we did it.

While eating we tried to figure out our next destination.  We wanted to get across the valley to the east and over I-5.  This would keep us in the valley and would have some interesting back roads.

With PolarBear in the lead we set off.  We eventually made our way to Power Motorsports in Sublimity. This is the motorcycle dealer where I purchased the Versys 300x last April (wow almost a year already).  I thank PolarBear for leading us there since we were thinking of it anyway. I still needed to order a new spring for the center stand and I also wanted to scheduled the bike in for the tail light assembly recall.

Aarron snapped a picture of our four bikes in the parking lot.

(Blatantly stolen from Aarron's facebook page)
We wandered around for well over an hour - maybe two.  I ordered the spring for the center stand for $10 and service department ordered the recall/replacement tail light assembly.  They will call when in so we can schedule a date to get things fixed.  Wonder if they'd install the center stand spring as part of that?

As we were strolling through the dealership, Polar Bear decided to try on a Can Am Spyder for size.  Troubadour then hopped on the back to give him an idea of what it would be like with a passenger.  And in true buddy fashion he couldn't help but ham it up for my camera.

(PolarBear and Troubadour - best buddies)
The sun came and went as we were looking at bikes.  By the time we were ready to leave just after 3:00 pm, the sun was shining brightly and the temperature had climbed to 64˚F (17.7˚C). Layers were shed and we set a course for home with PolarBear in the lead.

We arrived home safely just before 5 pm with 100 miles (160 km) on the trip meter.  It was a great day to be out on two wheels.

I was happy that there were no incidents on the ride and nothing came off my bike.  The last time I'd ridden the Versys I lost the spring on the center stand, and the last time I rode the TW200 the chain came off.  Saturday was a good day.

I apologize for the lack of photos.  We only made two stops on Saturday - once for lunch and once at the motorcycle shop.  Not a lot of photo opportunities.  Maybe one day soon we'll take a photo ride since the trees are starting to bloom.  Spring color is just beginning.

- Au Revoir

" You can always tell when two people are best friends because they are having more fun than it makes sense for them to be having." - Author Unknown
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39 comments:

  1. You are the lucky ones, Brandy! I haven't been on two wheels for a long time, even the Vespa is still patiently waiting the shed to be awakened. But weather had been too cold and roads too treacherous to go for a ride. And the upcoming weekend has another cold spell in store for us. Bring on spring already. Until then... another hike will have to do.

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    1. We may be getting more riding in, but you are hiking more so you will be in much better physical shape than we are for an all day ride.

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  2. Any day on two wheels is a great day, Brandy! How are you finding the Versys on the open road - all good at open road speeds? I'm warming to the idea of a lightweight dual purpose bike for some of the dirt roads and trails in our district. Permission is another thing entirely :-) .

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    1. The Versys has been fine so far. Doesn't seem to drift in the wind and it corners so much better than the Gladius. Smooth power and no notchy throttle. I wish there was a little more torque and the "clutch assist" which make your friction zone almost non-existent is annoying as hell, but other than that I am pleased. Surprisingly good on gravel roads with stock tires as well.

      If Jennie is enjoying that new boat enough, you just may get permission for another bike.

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    2. Might I suggest you continue your recent good taste Geoff. Buy a wee Yamaha for your dirt road work. They make a Super little twin...

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    3. Geez I wish those smaller Yamaha's were available stateside. Some day we are hoping to see the T7.

      One thing about the Versys is that it is ugly. To me it isn't aesthetically appealing at all, but it serves a purpose.

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  3. Cute pic of the BFFs on the Spyder....

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    1. Aren't they cute? They are like brothers from another mother.

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  4. Like others, any day on two wheels is a good day! I'm glad you were able to get out. Now I need to go read some other posts to find out about the spring and the chain!! Not good!

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    1. They weren't big incidents but could have been. Glad that string of bad luck is over though.

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  5. Just wondering if you could have managed that ride in an hour?


    ;)

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    1. Technically 2 hours, speed limit is 55 mph.

      But then we wouldn't have had coffee, lunch, or stopped to look at all those pretty bikes and order parts........It is still winter, we need to ease back into things, lol.

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  6. Nice to get out in the sun. As far as greasy deep-fried food, a friend from China mentioned that drinking hot tea with Chinese food was popular to wash down the grease...

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    1. Great idea with the hot tea. Usually we drink hot tea with sweets.

      Although, when we go to the Marco Polo restaurant in Salem they serve their meals with hot jasmine green tea.

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  7. Great to see you out and about with friends. This must mean it's the start of the biking season - I can't wait to get the Tiger out!
    I sympathise with you - greasy onion rings are just the worst, and as you say, you know they're not even vegan. Hopefully you had some vegan cupcakes ready to eat when you got home!

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    1. It was nice to get out on the bikes. There were a lot of bikes out so it is the beginning of more consistent riding anyway. More cruisers come out when it is sunny and dry.

      No vegan cupcakes, although the ones the co-op makes are really good. In the fall they had chai cupcakes. Yummy. I shall make do with the marionberry pie I bought yesterday.

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  8. Glad you got out on a partially sunny day, and that you are enjoying the Versus. I don't think it's ugly, but then, I ride a GS. 😁

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    1. It was nice that it was warm enough we were cold on the bikes for once. Spring is just around the corner.

      I really do think the bike is ugly, but then I was used to the flashy Gladius for 6 years. And those bright orange tigers I ride with most often. :-)

      I can see some vinyl wrap in my future. At the Portland auto show a company was wrapping an entire BMW car and it was gorgeous. They said they do motorcycles too.

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    2. Wrap it with an ad… Turn riding into a business.

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    3. No ads Richard. I took the Kawasaki badging off as not to advertise for them....mind you they weren't paying me either.

      We were thinking maybe a few of the plastic bits as an accent as opposed to a total wrap. I think it needs some splashes of paisley. :-)

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  9. Jealous of you getting any riding done. Here in Scotland we have just about recovered from the recent snow, and it's now just cold and raining. Thinking of pulling my old Tiger 955i out from the back of the shed to do a turn this summer. Of all the bikes I've had in the last few years I think the Tiger remains my favourite.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I am glad you are recovering from the snow. You've had an unusual amount this year I think. We've been lucky and have only had one quick snow storm go through and it didn't stick.

      Hubby prefers his Tiger 955 to everything else too, but it is 13 years old so he may be thinking of adding some newer technology to the stable.

      Thanks for stopping by.

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  10. Hi Brandy
    Any ride is better than no ride. And don't they just make the cutest couple on that Spyder, it looks like love. Careful Brandy. Wow your riding temps are pretty cold, thats our middle of winter temps unless you live in Tasmania.

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    1. Steve!!

      I agree any ride is better than no ride. And I haven't done nearly enough lately, but it is still winter.

      Those are our end of Winter temperatures. For us Spring starts on Tuesday, bu the temperatures will be the same for a few more weeks before they gradually warm up. Woke to 34˚F this morning. (1˚C)

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  11. And that is a day you will never get again. Living everyday as they come, too many workdays and not enough weekends! Glad you're having fun.

    Don

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  12. Glad to see it is spring somewhere...and 160k is a great way to get back in the saddle. (PS beauty is in the eye of the beholder!)

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    1. Spring just means the rains are staying for a while. We can ride and look at the nice blossoms on the trees, just need to dodge rainstorms.

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  13. It's almost time here to try a ride, maybe just to charge the battery, fingers crossed it starts!

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    1. Hope your bike starts when you want to get out. I imagine it is almost full on riding season there now.

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  14. Oh, nice cover photo! I'm so behind on my blog reading! Always fun to get a nice day ride in with friends, coffee, cute towns, and good food. I changed my blog address. It's now raninplace.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks Barb. I will change your blog address on my sidebar so I don't miss anything. Cheers!

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  15. As ever, an interesting post. Always good to catch up with what you're doing. Got my latest post up too (at long last).

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    1. Thank you Nigel. I am glad you got a new post up. It was good to catch up with what has been going on for you the last year or so.

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  16. So good to check in and see y'all still kicking up your heels. With my new to me bike I have to start blogging again. Can't believe all the good blogs that have vanished, probably due to FB.
    Don't know what or if anything will come of it but I've contacted the H-D museum on help doing an encyclopedia of sorts on the Ironheads from 1957 to 1984, I wanted to do this for The Antique Motorcycle Club of America I'm a member of. We'll see how it goes. I'll probably have to travel to Milwaukee a few times.

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    1. Good to hear from you. Hopefully you will have time to blog again.

      The Ironhead encyclopedia sounds like quite a task. Traveling to Milwaukee a few times doesn't sound so bad. A good excuse to look at some Harleys.

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  17. We are getting all your rain here in southern Ohio! Still cold here too. I am a wuss. I don't ride unless it is much warmer. Hope you are getting out more now, a month later.

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    1. Are you heading into a rainy season? We are just leaving ours. Supposed to see temperatures in the 70's next week. I am looking forward to being warm.

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