First Motorcycle Ride of 2012
Today was the first day of weather that was good enough for a real long ride in Central Ohio. The weather was about 65 degrees, but the ground’s still cold, so still a little bit of a chill.
Ohio (Photo credit: DBduo Photography)
Great to get back out on the bike, even though it may have been the easiest Ohio winter that I remember. Sorry, no photos. No time for that on the first day back out. Motorcycles were everywhere and cars were doing their usual stunt driving. 2 turned left in front of me on State Route 13. Both were just leaving bars. Hopefully, they’ll crash and put themselves out of commission before they get someone else.
The weather is calling for an unseasonably warm week. If you ride get out and enjoy, if you don’t watch out for motorcycles. With the price of gas starting to rise, you may find yourself on 2 wheels soon enough.
Related articles
- More Motorcycle Museums (motorcycleinsurance.com)
- Bike Ride January 7, 2012 (mostlyaboutnothing.wordpress.com)
- What a pro-motorcycle law looks like (hellforleathermagazine.com)
Go Anywhere Motorcycles
Here’s a look at 3 big bore dual sport motorcycles that can go anywhere or do anything.
- BMW R1200 GS – Best On Road at about $18,000
- KTM 990 – Best Off Road at about $14,000
- Yamaha Tenere – An even split for road/off-road at about $14,000
Motorcycle Air Bag Suit
Here’s a video of an inflatable motorcycle suit that acts as an airbag. Probably not a workable solution in my lifetime, but maybe in the future. The video does have some cool animation.
Humorous Motorcycle Oil Change Video
Well worth the viewing, even if you don’t own a motorcycle – How To Change Motorcycle Oil.
End of the 2011 Motorcycle Season
I post the first and last days of motorcycle season(at least for me) for my own amusement. The first day of the 2011 motorcycle season in Ohio for me was March 12, 2011. March thru December, can’t complain for Ohio. This year, the first snow fall was today, December 17, 2011.
Our Motorcycles on the Muskingum River
This year was just a bunch of short rides, my favorite being the ride with The Motorcycle Morons. They were a good bunch of guys and their sense of humor shows with the name of their group. The second best ride was with my wife down the Muskingum River to Marietta, Ohio. The rest were just short rides around Central Ohio. Financially, long rides were out of the question. Here’s to hope for a better year next year. Thankfully, things seem to be turning around at least a little.
Living in Ohio, a motorcycle enthusiast just has to be patient through the winter. Winter is a good time to pursue other interest that spark the imagination for better destinations when the weather is good. I’ll be turning to writing my blogs and photography for the most part to get me through the winter months.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!
Related articles
- Returning to the roads: Getting back on two wheels after the winter break (blogs.confused.com)
Motorcycles I Helped Ship Today. Sometimes I Get to Have Fun
I helped ship these fine motorcycles today. Fun.
The Silver Triumph was my favorite. It was done by Orange County Choppers. The black one came from West Coast Choppers.
This One Came From West Coast Choppers
Trike That Drives Like a Car – The Morgan 3 Wheeler
The Morgan 3 wheeler uses an S&S Harley knock-off motor for power. The design flaws are obvious; the motor is up front and will be destroyed in any collision, not to mention catching any road debris. The body looks like an upside-down bathtub. The single rear wheel will have no traction in snow or mud. The worst quality is the price. At $50,000, it had better be a lot of fun and from the reports I’m seeing, it is.
On the upside, it’s great on gas and handles like a sports car. It’s even fast enough for racing.
Related articles
- Guest Reviewer Jay Leno Drives the New Morgan 3-Wheeler (wired.com)
- First Drive: 2012 Morgan 3 Wheeler [w/video] (autoblog.com)
- Designing a Visceral Experience: The Morgan 3-Wheeler Seems Less Like a Car, More Like a Low-Flying Sopwith Camel (core77.com)
- Morgan Three Wheeler review (telegraph.co.uk)
Motorcycle Ride Along Muskingum River and Into the Southeastern Ohio Backwoods
My Honda Shadow And Tami's V-Strom On The Muskingum River Shore
On July 10th, my wife, Tami and I took the motorcycles on a 200 mile trip that turned into an adventure. Ohio in general is one of the best states for motorcycling when the weather cooperates, but Southern Ohio is outstanding. Picking any 3 digit state route in in Southern Ohio, and many parts of Eastern Ohio, and a biker is off for a great day. I noticed there were boat races in Marietta, Ohio, so it sounded like a good destination point to aim for.
The ride to Marietta is a pleasant ride along the Muskingum River when you take State Route 60 south from Zanesville, Ohio. On a hot summer day, it’s much cooler as you ride along the water and the view is pleasant. There are a couple small towns along the way that are nice to stop at, but not large enough to hold up the ride.
Rokeby Lock South Of Zanesville, Ohio.
Once reaching Marietta, we watched the boat racing. The heat and humidity made it miserable, so we ate lunch, and got back on the road after watching one race. I learned that boat racing really isn’t that much fun to watch, at least when compared to riding motorcycles. I’d heard about state route 26 going east out of Marietta. It turned out to be a great road for riding, but 18 miles into it, the road was closed.
Hune Covered Bridge On State Route 26 East Of Marietta, Ohio.
The Heldman Farm On State Route 26 Near Marietta, Ohio.
With the road closed and no map, I had to just guess a way around it. Usually, I can figure out a way around, but after seeing 2 other motorcycles head down to the closure and return, I gave up and hit the back roads. The blacktop road I chose didn’t take long to turn into gravel. The views were stunning and there were some interesting places deep in the woods. One of the most interesting was a mobile home with a sheet metal steeple to indicate that it was a church. Riding road motorcycles on gravel is like riding on marbles. The rider wears down quickly trying to steer through the ruts. The bike wants to drift around and the only thing you can do is ride slow and loosen up and let the bike just flow with the gravel. The name of the road was 15 Mile Creek road and it seemed more like 30 than 15 miles of road when it finally ended into a nice paved road.
Happy to reach the end of the gravel, we soon found a country store. We were hot and covered in road dust at this point, but we’d also finally found some more great roads. After many more miles, we found Interstate 77. Interstates immediately take the fun and adventure out of a ride, but it was time to get home, so we took the fast way home.
A ride like this has it’s problems, but if you keep plenty of water in a cooler and plenty of gas in the tank, it’s not bad. The best way to find the best motorcycle roads is to just head out into the country, get lost, and see what happens.
The Frogman Trike
Tim Cotterill On His Hemi-Powered TrikeImage by Images by John 'K' via Flickr
Tim Cotterill is an artist/sculptor who’s work has transcended into his trike, a hemi-powered monster of a machine.
The trike is incredible. It takes quite a person to transform a dream machine like this into a reality. The video is really well done too. It’s amazing what one can create when they’re put their mind and talents to work.
