Oh where has the time gone....

I have really been delinquent in keeping this Blog up to date. Life and riding have both just gotten in the way. I need to try and do a slightly better job of writing in here.. at least a couple times a month..

Lots has happened in the last year.. I did the Labrador trip last year, along with a trip to Montreal and finished out the year with a SS 1000 IBA ride. In October I added a Ural (purchased a used 2005 Gear Up model) side car rig to the stable. I will be adding some coverage on that later also.

This year, I already attended Moonshine... alas in a car as a result of a knee issue and I did not feel safe doing a 1000 miles over night.

Planning to be at Rolling Thunder DC, doing an Adventure run to James Bay Quebec, along with an August trip to Montreal.

Thats it for now... I will work on playing catchup..

Pat in NH

Successful SS 1000

I Made It!!!

A successful SS 1000 to Mitchell Indiana. It was heavy rains most of the way, and then couple that with the riding all night and I made quite a few stops after midnight.

Total elapsed time ended up being 23 hours, so I used most of my available time. I did pretty good the first 6 hours but as the rain moved in newar Newburg NY, and then stayed with me all the way to Akron Ohio, I started to lose time. It was heavy at times and the truck traffic just put up a spray to blind the rider from seeing the road more that a few feet... I naturally slowed down.

Good ride overall and upon my arrival, I found Barb Smith to sign my witness sheet. Barb had done a SS herself the previous day!

Next up, Labrador and the TLH!

Pat in NH

Ready For SS1000

Hi Everyone... I am way behind in keeping this up and I apologize... I have some updates to do that will be backdated to fit in, specifically related to the "Grasshopper" (My F650GS and upcoming Labrador trip...) Suffice it to say, the bike and gear are all ready for that trip...

Tomorrow, Thursday June 11th, I leave for Indiana. I will be departing at about noon from work and planning to do an Iron Butt Certified, SS 1000. Thats 1000 miles in less than 24 hours.

I will be riding straight through all night and planning to arrive in Mitchell Indiana on Friday late morning.. The event I am attending is the annual Founders Feast for the MTF. I will return home beginning Sunday and take 2 days to make it back.

I have the SPOT tracker set up at http://jasonjonas.org/spot/tripViewer.do?id=1649
You can track me out and back via this link.

I will attempt to update this tomorrow after my arrival!

Pat in NH

Installing the Bar Risers

Mentioning comfort... I am also sending my seat out for a little work. That actually will go out onMonday to Spencer in Florida. There are surely other better options but they are all so pricey... Everyone I know who has a Spencer Mod at least says it was improved... No, it will never rival a Renaczo or Russell, but for the price I am anticipating it will be enough improvement.. If I want to ride 1000 miles a day, I am takingthe Wing...

Now to the bar riser...here are the simple parts.....

First .. removed the 4 screws holding the plastic housing with the ABS and Hazard flash switches...Then I removed the 4 bolts from the cap on the bars...

At this point the bar (according to the directions) just lifts off... Not Mine!! I was at my 2nd job last night when I started. I had nothing to try and knock it off. The parts are cast aluminum and I did not want to pry for fear of cracking them.I dropped a note to 2TTW for his opinion and he was thinking making just some corrosion.I suggested a mallet maybe to tap them off and he concurred, so I put it all back together and roadhome late at night.Today,I took it all apart again.... it still would not loosen, so I went and got the "persuader"

I tapped at the bars with little to no success, so then I tapped the caps from the side. I got them loosenedbut the bar still would not lift out.With the caps removed, I was able to tap on the right side of the bar, it broke loose and then the left followed..

Disassembly is complete...

Next up, I will put it all back together......

Pat in NH

F650 Improvements in 2009

Here is the bike somewhat as it ended last season..



So far this year I have added:Full size Cee Bailey (already mentioned)Tourtech Fairing GuardRam Mounting for a SPOT Tracking UnitSpoilers for the Hand Guards.Touratech Tank bag with Tank Panniers.. A friend gave me the TT bag wth panniers. I had been looking for some tankpanniers to use with my BMW tank bag... I tried this and liked it so I will be using it on the trip.The tank panniers actually knock some of the wind off of the legs.

I have also added Cee Bailey Headlight GuardClear Aircraft Grade

I then ordered ...TT Rain Cover for the tank bag...a bar riser from Twisted Throttle

a set of cheap Highway pegs... The bars of the engine guard are too small for mounting pegs.. I plan to get a hose (or some other such object) approx 1" OD and a 1/2" ID to use as a spacer.Split it, slide it over the bar and then tighten the peg on over it for clamping.

I also bought some items from Powerlet to "electrify" my tank bag. With this kit, the tank bag will plug into the accessory outlet and inside the bag will be electrical connections for my GPS, Heated Liner,and cell phone charger.

Next .. Installing the risers....
Pat in NH

F650 Farkles....

Ok, as most of you know, I picked up a used "stock" F650 GS last year... love it so much I am planning a trip to Labrador this June.. via the Trans Labrador Highway.. unlike what we consider a highway.... now, my disclaimer... I am not the prolific writer as some are here ... nor the photo man extraordinaire as we also have here... But I wanted to share as best I can .. how my ride has transitoned from stock to my TLH Pack Mule...
Here it is.. as naked as can be....






I added a BMW engine guard... along with a set of Caribou Panniers which I really do like...Picked up a used set of BMW hand guards (not great, but better than nothing...( I added air spoilers to them this season)




I hated the stock windscreen, tried a dakar and it was better, then got a cut down Cee Bailey from 2TTW to try and it was much improved. At the end of last season, picked up a Laminar Lip used for the stock WS but planned to add it the cut down CEE when spring arrived. I still have it sitting there, unused, as I stumbled on an uncut neearly new full size 22" Cee Bailey which is now mounted and a "keeper".





I also added a Kildala Tail Rack which I really like. I can strap on a carry bag, my lunch bucket for work, firework for camp.








Here is a shot with the Caribou Panniers, the Kildala and a Lee Parks bag that bungies right to the Kildala





I later added some reflective tape to improve visibility








Ok, next I will move into what I am doing this year....

Pat in NH

SS In-State Ride Report

Now that I have recovered (read as "eat & sleep"), I thought I would write up a more detailed report on the Ride of May 2nd. Some of you know that I am hosting the MTF Regional SS1000 in NH on May 16th. I wanted to do this ride as it is on the agenda for the 16th but as the host, I cannot do it myself then as I have to sign people in and out. In addition I, wanted to verify the route and receipt locations and that the receipts would be valid for the IBA (Iron Butt Assoc). I had been to the Start/End station and was comfortable there also the one in Bow. I wanted to specifically verify Lebanon and Littleton as I found the stations but had not been there myself. (These are all supposed to be 24 hour stations, I had called in Dec).

I had previously mentioned being successful, but also some logistics issues. Ok, first I awoke at 2am, got up and started to get ready. Took my stuff out to the bike, it was supposed to rain but was not, so I was pleased. It was also quite warm, like 62 deg. This was 2:30 in the morning. I had layers and extra gloves already packed. I thought about grabbing my Warm&Safe electrics but it was 60?

Logistics Issue #1: I even had to open the vents on my jacket I was so warm. I was less than 50 miles out when the rain started and the temp dropped like a rock. 55 Degrees and by the time I was half way up I-89 it was down to about 48. I stopped at a rest area and added a sweat shirt. Later in the morning when I hit Franconia Notch, the temp was down to 35 deg. I guess the warm morning and needing to open up my jacket vents lulled me into a sense of "stupidity". I do wear it well too.

Logistics Issue #2: My Lebanon 24 hour station was closed! I checked as some actually have the pumps running but no luck. Went the opposite direction and those stations were also closed. I headed back down to the next exit. They advertised 24 hour gas. I headed in towards Dartmouth, rode about 5 miles (seemed like 30) with no luck. Went the other way, right into the little town of Lebanon. Nothing open, drove around the circle and back out. Saw a convenience open with pumps and pulled in. Pumps worked, about half way through pumping, the lights outside came on. I went in the store and asked and the only 24 hour was the truck stop (which I already could find). They gave me directions and when I got back to the highway, I just returned to my route. I had already lost a lot of time and could maybe find it in the daylight on the next lap. Next exit down was (2) 24 hours stations but quick math said they were est 10 miles from the original, I had about 60 miles of safety in the route. If I cut to there, that would be 20 miles lost each of 4 laps, may not have enough miles. (It was only 5.4 miles so maybe it will work for the 16th, I will have to calculate). When I came back later (lap 2) I found the truck stop. Not bad to get to but it was set back and I missed it in the dark.

Logistics Issue #3: My station in Bow was good, I had been there before. Pumped my gas, hit YES for receipt.. whirr.. whirr.. Printing.. ERROR. It did not print a reciept. I had to go into the store and get one. No big issue, but more wasted time. This happened on 5 of my 6 stops here!

Logistcs Issue #4: Ok, how can we top the first 2 fuel stops??? Well, start with no receipt, I go in and get one, and ask if they are 24 hour?? No, not any longer. I asked where was the closer, just down the street at Cumberland Farms. I got back on the road and the next 2 laps went right to CumbyFarms to get a reciept and there were no issues.

Logistics Issue #5: How can there be more?? I have accounted for all the gas stops. Well I-89 is under construction for paving, bridges and who knows what all else. There are signed claiming 24 miles of construction one way, along with smaller 6 and 8 mile warnings. The other direction has 13 mile warnings and multiple smaller ones. There are lanes closed (only 2 good ones to start with). In one area the right lane is closed, so you move to it for a few miles then they tell you to move back to the right as they close the left. The pavement was pretty rugged on the single lane bridge changes. Normal speed limit of 65 was now mostly 55 with a couple 45 mph sections. There was plenty of Law Enforcement on this stretch to hand out performance awards. I saw them on every lap in both directions.

I maintained a steady pace and basically did it in about 20 hours. The biggest delays were the slow down on I-89 and the delay in finding a station in Lebanon on that fist leg. When i got in, I got my witness signatures and then went out and had a good breakfast!

Someone asked, about the boredom of Multiple laps.. The first leg was out to Lebabon from the start in Nashua, then 3 identical laps of Lebanon, to Bow, to Littleton andback to Bow and then Lebanon. That is lap 1, now repeat twice! When finished, repeat the first Leg in reverse, Lebabnon back to Nashua. Sounds boring doesn't it?? It was actually not as bad as I anticipated.

I-89 has valleys and rivers along it as you head towards the CT River... and Lebabon
I-93 has the city of Concord, then further north is the Lakes Region (where Laconia is), then the White mountains, then you pass through Franconia notch... coming out about 20 miles form the turn around in Littleton..

The first full lap was dark still coming down from Lebanon to Bow... It was cloudy and the sunrise was pretty well under the cloud cover when I turned in Bow.. It drizzled off an on and got cold in Franconia notch and was still darkish from the clouds. As I made the turn and came back through the notch, it started raining worse, visibility was limited with the rains and clouds, yet I could see the snow on the mountains of the notch. I checked the temperature passing through the notch and it was 35 Deg. By the time I reached Bow (9:30am) and headed to Lebanon, it was starting to clear the rains had stopped and the clouds were breaking up. I was able to see some of the beauty of the views along I89, the peaks and valleys looked beautiful and peaceful.

Turning in Lebanon, I start lap 2. It is now almost 11am and the sun is starting to break through and the temperature is warming up. In the south direction, there are some lakes and rivers quite visible right along the road. The Lake Sunapee area is gorgeous! I watched these views and noticed the tranquility as the miles rolled by. Heading back North on I93, I was again impressed with the mountain views heading north. Also the many rivers, some we crossed several times. The skys were now blue, the the remaining clouds cast shadows on the mountains which I always found to be very picturesque. Franconia Notch was gorgeous now that the overcast and rain was gone. The rugged rock face and stone that fell to the bottom was something you do not see everywhere. I even stopped at one the turnoff's, took a break and just looked around at the natural beauty. I made the turn-around in Littleton, and as I approced the Notch from the North, I noticed snow on the sides of many of the mountain faces off in the distance., Previous lap I only saw the snow right in the notch. I was probably more relaxed and looking around more at my surroundings. This was the first time I noticed the rapids in some of the fast moving streams, likely still swelled frm the melting snow. I did notice some waterways off to my right on the north bound I89 this lap. That section was starting to bore as a result of all of the construction.

Lap 3 started about 4:30 in Lebanon. The sun was quite bright at this time and it added a different hue to the valleys in the Lake Sunapee area. By the time I was back up to the White mountain area, it was getting later, the sun was now lower in the west and with the clouds, the mountain ranges looked completely different than earlier. I took a break in Littleton, grabbed a snack and some juice and mentally prepared for the last 250 miles. South on I93 went well and as I neared the turn in Bow, the sun had gone down, and daylight was fading fast. It added a new veiew to the scenery, and heading NW on I89, I could see the dim skys from after the was down and the clouds looked "dark" because of the lighting.

The rest of the way and then back home was all at night, in full dark. I was tired and not looking much for scenery, I just wanted to get back to Nashua and get off the bike.

Pat in NH

Home Safe!!! SS Successful

Hi Everyone!! Susscess!! I completed the 1000 miles in less than the required time. Home safe and sound! There were a few logistical issues but they were overcome.

Gonna grab some sleep and and a full report will follow..

Pat in NH

SS1000 In State NH

Hello Everyone!!
I am doing another ride, this time its an Iron Butt SS 1000 (1000miles in 24 hours) but entirely within the State of NH. I plan to hit the raod between 2 and 4am on the morning of May 2nd 2009.

Many will say you cannot ride 1000 miles in such a small state, well you can with 4 laps!!

I will be slabbing it most of the way, starting in Nashua, up to Lebanon, down I89 to Bow, up I93 to Littleton... then back down to Bow, up to Lebanon and repeat 2 more times ... then back to clock out in Nashua...
You can track me at the following link...
http://jasonjonas.org/spot/tripViewer.do?id=1364

I will try and send an OK message (green) at each of the 15 stops so by counting those you can tell what lap I am on!!

Wish me luck.. if the projected rains get heavy I may cancel...
Pat in NH (aka RockyNH)

Exploring in Southern NH

Over on adv.com has been a thread about some good off road locations near me. I headed out alone to explore a little of them today. Did a nice little loop... Picked up the South Chester TP and yes, its all paved... headed north, cutoff on Raymond Road (dirt) and then it turned into a trail mostly... narrow, some soft stuff and loose rock. It looks very promising but being alone, I backed to the Chester TP and continued North.

Start of TP

Raymond Road

Raymond road narrows

Heading back North, I came to the start of the dirt on the CTP, just North of route 27. You can see the end ahead, the road is gated right at Candia road ... so I made the right on Candia... saw the house mentioned in an earlier post on ADV and the road narrowed up from that point on. Just a short ways down was a fork, left appeared clearly marked Private (though later on the map the left fork looked like the road) and the right fork was downhill slightly and fully leaf covered. Being alone, I reversed direction and headed back towards the North entry to the Chester TP.

Where CTP turns to dirt

My bike at the fork, before turning...

When I got up to the North section of Chester,it was also gated... I was a little disappointed as these were mentioned on the forum and I expected that they were open. Anyway, I headed back towards home... I looked at the Epping links provided on the forum, but it was gonna be getting late for that. Decided to head back where I found Raymond Road and take the dirt east... There was not much there, wide graded and short before hitting pavement so I headed down by Lake Massabesic ... and then Rte 121 down to 102 to head home... By the LakeI stumbled on two more sections of the turnpike, one off of Candia Road and the other just north of 102. The first went back a ways and might be worth exploring more... The 2nd was short and marked as a dead end.

"Old Chester Turnpike"

More OCTP

All in all, a good day... cool but dry...Not too many more good riding days left this season so we all need to make the best of them.Be safe...

Pat in NH

Trans MA Trail

I put a post up on ADV.com and also sent a couple emails about wanting to ride the Trans MA Trail, the route layed out by Keith from ADV. None of my friends could make that weekend but we had a few resoponses during the week from ADV. I suspected we may get 4 or 5 riders including Keith who did the route. Saturday we received heavy rains and there was some concern about the morning of the ride, and also the condition of the roads.

Turned out to be a Great day.... Road to Winsted CT to the start point.. by the time 9:30 rolled around we had a total of 9 bikes.. KTM 990 Adventure, Vstrom, R1200GS, 2 F650GS's and 4 KLR's. All had knobbies except the 1200, the strom and my 650...

We spread out and basically each road their own ride.. Keith led and was followed by the faster riders and those who ran a more relaxed pace... (me and the strom!) stayed more rear ward. For the most part, we never lagged behind much, usually just when it got a little bit loose gravel or rocky... Keith would hold up when encountering an intersection until we were all re-grouped. It worked well and he did a nice job. The roads were great, and actually in better shape than I expected after the rain!! Not much different than the PDR or Baley Hazen. Once section was washed out pretty good and Keith led the strom around it, I did it without much trouble... just slowed a bit..

We stopped about noon for lunch, 3/4 of the way in. 4 of the bikes peeled off after lunch while 5 of us continued on to Greenfield. The strom left us in Greenfield as the last 4 of us did a section of the PDR up towards route 9.. splitting up there, Keith and I headed east and parted company at 91... I then took 9/7 and 101 back through Keene... arriving home about 6pm

Here is Keiths ride report with a few photos.. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7825394&postcount=43

Pat in NH

Baley-Hazen Military Road

I had previously gotten data on this road from ADV.com and decided on August 25th that I would do either this or the Trans MA Trail over Labor day weekend. I put out a notice and Yigal responded and we discussed the 2 routes. I was flexible and after looking at the various mileages and info on the routes, we decided to do the Baley-Hazen on Sunday, September 7th.

Here is a link to info on the trail itself.... Interesting history... with a map..

http://www.jcarton.com/BayleyHazenIntro.pdf

It was gonna be over a 400 mile day, with 200 miles of that just the return home. Yigal and I met at 5am and rode to Wells River VT where we had breakfast at the P&H Truck Stop. Tom met us there just after 8am and we headed out on the trail after breakfast.

After the trail, Tom who lives in VT, suggested we do Smugglers Notch and then Stowe before we broke up for home. He led us on a nice scenic tour on some great Twisty roads.

Here is a short ride report I sent to ADV along with a few photo's...

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7770468&postcount=31

When I got home, it was about 450 Miles and 14 1/2 hours!! A great time with some great company on some historic roadways!

Pat in NH

Puppy Dog Ride Report

Ok, now that the ride is over and things have settled, it is time for a little recap of the weekend.


I had read much about the VT Puppy Dog Ride and gathered data from the website.Dave met me at my work at about 2:00pm on Thursday the 10th of July. We headed out, down to 101a in Nashua/Amherst and then picked up 122 to 130, to 13 down into MA where we hopped on Route 2 west. Our destination was Greenfield and the Super 8 Motel. We arrived there about 4:30, got checked in and then just hung out a bit until Peggy arrived.

Peggy is from the "Chain Gang" (f650.com), a forum for the F650 BMW. We had never met but we had conversed on the forum and she was close to where we were staying. She had contacted us to meet and have dinner before our departure. She arrived just after 6pm, we kicked tires a bit inthe parking lot before heading in to town for dinner. It was a pleasant evening and great to meet Peggy. She had just done this ride about a month prior. After dinner she headed home, Dave and I gassed up the bikes and headed up to get some sleep.




We were up early Friday morning, got our stuff packed up and ready to go. I had a cell phone issue that caused a slight delay but then we got on the road. It was expected to be warm and clear all day (and in fact all weekend). We had both the route sheets and also a GPS file. Later we would switch to Route sheet only)












Once on the trail, we were able to enjoy the scenery and the tranquility of the ride. During the morning ride, we got off route (via GPS) a couple different times. In both cases we discovered the deviation and then used the route sheet to get back on to the main route. From that point, it seemed that the GPS routing had some issues so we reverted to working primarily with the route sheet.

"On The Trail"

"One of the Covered Bridges"

"Our Lunch Stop"

"Back on the Trail"

As we neared the end of the first day, we were pleased with the scenery, the roads and the weather. It was a good day of off road riding. The route had us crossing the Floating Bridge in VT. It was closed earlier this season to traffic as it is actually sinking now so we plotted a detour around it. We did stop to see it before we went to the camp ground. We took a short break, walked around the area and snapped a few photo's before headed around to our campsite at Allis State Park.




The campground was very nice and we went and picked a site out in a field away from the roads. After setting up camp, we ran in to the nearest convenience store and grabbed some food. Picking up some firewood, we returned and had a small fire before turning in.

In the morning, we broke camp, headed out for a breakfast sandwich and fuel, then took to the trail again. The weather again looked to be on our side again with clear blue skies with just some white puffy clouds. Temperature was mild and I stayed with my mesh jacket.




The North section, in my opinion was a better ride. We are more into the Green Mountains and the scenery just seemed to be much better. There were many nice vista's as we climbed up out of wooded sections.

Some of the trails were also a bit more technical (re:difficult) and this was challenging to our riding skills. A couple of these are not much more than single tracks through the woods.






Along some of the ridges in the North was a lot of open farm land. You could look out from these clear areas and see for miles. Very breathtaking. The other added plus was the GPS routinhg semmed to be dead on. We made great time during this leg. Granted, some of the GPS issues yesterday were probably my fault, this made the 2nd day ride much smoother.





At one point, we crossed the Bayley Hazen Military Road. This will be the subject of a future ride and today, we crossed it at one section and traveled on it for a few miles.

This is an old road from the Revolution and a good percentage of it is still open today. I plan to do that before the summer is out.




Even with several photo op's and a few scenic stops, we finished up the north Section earlier than planned, ending around 2:15. It was early enough that we decided to abort the 2nd camping night and go ahead and start heading home.

A few hours later, we were back home safe and sound. Another successful adventure complete. Yet so many more to do.... now its time to Rest!






Ride Safe!
Pat in NH

The eagle has landed....

The eagle has landed. We completed the puppy dog run. Today was an excellent ride. GPS was dead on, all the routes, turns were just perfect and we got down so smoothly that we came all the way back home so we're actually home and safe and sound. Hope everybody had a good weekend. Good bye. listen

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The eagle has landed...

The eagle has landed Allis State Park in VT. We parked & set up a camp. We are gonna go get something to eat and then some wood for a fire . All is well, no oopses today, everybody survived, weather was good. Goodbye. listen

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Can't finish if we do...

Can't finish if we do not start? It's 5:30 AM, up and about getting ready to load up the bike. Breakfast will be at 6, and we hope to be on the road by about 6:30. Looking forward to a good day, it's clear skies and warm. Hope everybody has a good weekend. Goodbye. listen

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Mohawk, trail, beautiful...

Mohawk, trail, beautiful scenery , rides going well, excellent weather, weve seen mountains, rivers, weve got blue skies white fluffy clouds and very nice temperatures, all is going well. goodbye. listen

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The eagle has landed....

The eagle has landed. We are in Greenfield Massachusetts at the Super 8 hotel and we are getting ready to check in. All has gone well. We'll get checked in, we'll get our rooms and wait for Peggy to show up for dinner in a little while. Goodbye. listen

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On the road again. We're...

On the road again. We're on route 2. Just made a stop in Alfro(?) Massachusetts. We departed Mark(?) Hamster(?) approximately 2:00pm as planed. We're about 35 miles from our destination for the day in Greenfield, Massachusetts. All is going well, everybody be safe. Goodbye. listen

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T Minus 14 Hours

I am getting ready for work and gonna load the gear on the bike. 14 Hours until our departure time. All apears in order. It is damp this morning as it rained pretty heavy last night. I am on paved roads today so will not encounter slippery until tomorrow.

I will gas up on the way to work and then be all set for departing at 2:00 pm. I will test the JOTT Blog transmission also before I leave.

Have a good day, weekend and be safe!

Pat in NH