Sunday, October 29, 2006

First short real off-road ride

I don’t deal well with being sick, so even though my nose still was running, I couldn’t take it anymore sitting at home and blowing my nose. Actually it wasn’t running as much as yesterday so in the afternoon I got on the XT and took off exploring.

I got lucky and found a dirt road not too far from where I work. It amazes me that there are places like this in Chicagoland, hidden in the middle of this built-up, paved-over suburbia. Now this was just a short little road connecting two parks and honestly I might have been trespassing again, although the gate I rode around said “no parking” on the sign, not “don’t enter” or “no trespassing“ or “ restricted vehicles only“.

This road had many nice features:

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Lake and curves

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More curves

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Plenty of puddles and mud

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A nice setting sun

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Many trees

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Fallen leaves

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Narrow path

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Wide path

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I enjoyed myself a lot, it’s a completely a different kind of riding. This was also my first ride with the Arai DX, I like it although it doesn’t feel like a street helmet, the padding is different, the fit is different. On the way home I had the XT all the way up to 60MPH, fastest so far, I was in the 6th gear already so not sure how much more it has left to go before it tops out.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous11/01/2006

    Looks beautiful in your neck of the woods. I was in the area a couple years ago on my Honda Shadow, commuting from Vermont, home to Cali. I stopped to fly my hawk (I'm a falconer) in a woodsy area that looked just like in your pics. Wish I'd had my DS bike back then!
    Swimmingly,
    Laine MacTague
    2001 BMW F650 GS Dakar
    1974 "Boss-Man" skateboard with clay wheels
    http://ventura-county-dualsport.blogspot.com
    ----

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  2. Laine, I’m curious. How do you transport a bird on a motorcycle?

    Yea, it may be pretty here with all the trees, but really boring for motorcycle riding.

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  3. Great to see you have a blog. Good job :)

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  4. Wow, that seems like a hidden gem in a city. Very pretty area you found. Too bad the road isn't longer for you.

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