Day Ride: Sycamore, IL

Considering that just two days it had snowed, I was ecstatic to be able to ride today. My ride was just a short one, 100 miles total. I left in the early afternoon heading West, temperatures remained between 43 and 48 degrees, no wind, no clouds. The sun felt warm but not warm enough, I had the heated grips and the Widder electric vest on the whole ride. I noticed the trees were starting to bud, a definite sign that Spring is finally here.



I go though Saint Charles all the time but I never stop, since today was such a beautiful day, I decided to take a picture next to the Fox River



Ducks on Fox River



Some old building in Sycamore



A duc in the cornfields

I'm in the March Rider Magazine

Well, it’s time to start a scrap book because I finally have something worth putting inside ...he he.



In the new sport-touring section there is an article on Femmoto and there is a picture of me sitting on a Buell. And there is a short quote of mine printed in the article too. Way cool!

Arrived: FREE front Pirelli tire

My FREE Pirelli Strata front tire is here - amazing!

Kenosha & Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

I left the house at 8:15AM, it was 42 degrees outside, slightly breezy, but the sun was out. There was another strong storm heading this way, supposedly scheduled to arrive late afternoon, winds were supposed to pick up to 30MPH. I met up with Alex in Des Plaines, apparently the city boys, Andy and Dan were lost. They were at a McDonalds a few miles away from the meeting spot eating breakfast waiting for us to get them.

The four of us headed to I-294 and then zipped over to Kenosha, WI to the ST.N coffee meet. We arrived at around 10:30AM. The pace lead by Alex AKA fast beemer was just like his name.

The coffee place named Common Grounds was located on the shore of Lake Michigan. I’d like to come here in the summer time when it’s warmer, the wind off the lake was cold today, making it feel less then 40 degrees. I had to put on my mittens to keep my paws warm while standing around loitering in front of the coffee house.







Cold enough to wear mittens



Andy’s new ride



Let me try that on for size

After some coffee and a lot of chit chat, a small group of us headed to the beach to check out the light house. The waves were big, the winds were frigid.











Kenosha beach and light house in the background

After some pictures we took off to Lake Geneva to grab some lunch, the sun already disappeared behind the thick colds, the temperature stayed in the mid 40’s. It was supposed to be a high of 51 today but I doubt it ever got there. I had the heated grips on all morning, I was trying to wait until I was frozen stiff before I turning on my Widder electric vest.



Lake Geneva



We grabbed some parking spots near the shore of Lake Geneva, there was still a thin layer of ice on the water, a reminder that Winter was still here. Lunch was at Popeye’s, not related to the similarly-named fast food chain. Popeye's of Lake Geneva is a local institution that serves rotisserie-cooked meats, as well as burgers, steaks, and seafood.



Ice on the lake

After lunch we split up. I took off around Lake Geneva, and rode though Williams Bay down to Harvard, then Marengo, finally Burlington then home. The clouds were really thick now and threatening to release their contents. Winds were picking up also, but still nothing like yesterday. My clutch hand was also hurting me, a reminder that I haven’t been riding the Duc lately, haven’t been squeezing the tough hydraulic clutch. After a few regular weekends of riding I’ll be used to it again.



There is an easy way to spot a sport-tourer even when they are not on their bikes… look for the black textiles and tank bags

I pulled in to my driveway at 4:30PM with a gimpy left hand after almost 200 miles riding. The rain started an hour later.

Day Ride: To Genoa for crumpets

I haven’t ridden my bikes in 58 days. That’s almost two months, that’s a long time. February was cold and any warmer days we had came in the middle of the week, always on days where I couldn’t ride to work. Then two weeks ago, the only day it almost hit 50 degrees I had stomach flu.

So today I finally got to ride. The forecast was calling for 60 degrees, with a chance of rain and 20MPH winds. But what do those weather people know… it was already 64 degrees when I left the house and gusty, that was at 12:30PM. I started getting ready an hour and a half earlier, but since all my bike stuff was put away, it took a while. I disconnected the 954RR from the trickle charger, it started right up.

My first stop was the Honda dealership. I been loosing washers, clips and bolts off the bike, some just fell off, but some I accidentally dropped in to the bike and couldn't get them out even with my magnetic pick up tool. $17 later I was on my way towards Genoa to meet up with my friends. But only Rick was there, Jay was delayed and would meet up with us later.





I hadn’t eaten yet, so we headed for downtown Genoa to grab some food. There was a parking spot right in front of the Crumpet’s Tea Room & Restaurant, so we went in side.



Outside this place was ordinary, but inside it was very nice. There were cute little round tables scattered about with pink tablecloths and napkins. The wallpaper was full of roses, the furniture was a mixture of antique and country.





We sat down and were given books. I got “The Little Women”. The menu was inside the book. I ordered Turkey Florentine, Rick got Crumpets and Tea.







Jay called and he was on his way, since we still had time to kill, we decided to get dessert. All the food was great.



Then we were finished and went to wait outside. The clouds were starting to roll in, rain was expected by 6PM today.



Jay arrived and we took of and hit 3 twisty roads.







I got home around 6PM, only managed to put on 120 miles today. I was dressed too warm today, as I rode back through the suburbs the bank thermometers said 70 degrees. The rain started falling an hour later.

My traveling monkey

I noticed that many long distance riders take mascots along on their rides. Let me introduce you to my monkey… I don’t have a name for him yet.



I was on the lookout for a mascot since last year but nothing caught my eye, then a month ago I saw this monkey and I knew he was the one that I wanted to share my adventures with. I like monkeys, I like the word monkey and my Chinese zodiac sign is a monkey, so it fits.

I think this weekend I’m going to take my monkey for his first ride to see how he likes it. And to my surprise, I’m not the only one touring with a monkey ..he he.

http://fourbikersandamonkey.blogspot.com/

My FREE Pirelli tire #44

Two weeks ago I participated in a promotion, buy a back tire, get a front tire for free. Well, I received my back tire last week and my free front tire request was processed. I think this promotion started with almost 1000 tires, my tire request was #44.

In 4-6 weeks I should be receiving my free front Pirelli Diablo Strada.



http://www.getpirelli.com/home.html