Retired and Trippin

At noon today, as I was headed out to have lunch with Carl and our dad, I checked the outside thermometer and saw it was already a little over 40 degrees. I thought this would be a good day to give the new Falken car tire on the rear of my GW a test spin. After lunch I had some other commitments (us retired people can get awful busy) so I didn't get a chance to go riding until nearly 5:00. By then the temperature had dropped to 39, according to the temperature indicator on the motorcycle. I took a short ride out to I-435, north to K-32, west to K-7, south to K-10, east to I-435, north to Johnson Drive, east to Quik Trip for gas, and then home. I only rode 37 miles but I gave the tire a pretty good evaluation. I hit 90 mph with no ill effects. I drug the highway pegs on the ramp from I-435 to K-32 and again from I-435 to Johnson Dr. There was no sliding at all. I had no problem with handling at slow speeds around my neighborhood. It did require that wee bit of a nudge to...

Today I put the wheel with the Falken tire on my motorcycle. It (we) are ready to ride! Bring on the warmer weather.

I mounted the Falken Ziex ZE912 on the rear wheel of my Goldwing yesterday. It looks good. I am anxious to get out on the road and test it out.

No, I’m not turning to devil worshipping nor am I turning into a werewolf. Two web sites that I know of refer to a motorcycle rider who rides with a car tire on his motorcycle as a dark sider or darksider (one or two words, depends on the web site). http://lifeisaroad.com/stories/2004/10/27/theDarkSide.html http://gl1800riders.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=31 There are several reasons provided for going to the dark side but the one that drew me in was the possibility of getting more miles out of the tire. Motorcycle tires on the rear of my Goldwing have been lasting 10,000 miles at best, my last one only 4,000. It seems that motorcycle tires are engineered to wear out quickly. And they are not cheap. A very good car tire costs less than a motorcycle tire. A friend of mine recently crossed over to the dark side. He purchased a car tire, a Pirelli Eufori, installed it on his Goldwing, and rode it for one or two thousand miles before the cold weather grounded him. He is pleased w...

Here it is nearly Christmas. I'm tired of the cold already and I'm ready to ride . . . anywhere.

Chris has a cousin, Deb, who lives in Montrose , IA. Deb, besides being a relative, is a very good friend and she is battling breast cancer. Friends and family planned a fund raising benefit for Deb on Sunday, November 8, 2009 at the River Valley Lodge and Campground in Farmington , IA. Chris and Deb are pictured below: Saturday; November 7, 2009 Chris' brother Gary has a new Harley Davidson Road King with about 3,000 miles on it. When we found out the family was going to make a trip to Deb's benefit in southeast Iowa we decided to ride our motorcycles and Chris decided to ride with me. The rest of the family rode in Gary and Allison's Suburban. We were very fortunate that the weather cooperated. It was sunny and in the mid-60's when left home at 10:00 AM. We rode north on I-35 to Bethany , MO , east on Hwy 136 to Wayland , MO , north on Hwy 27 to county road J-62 and then east to Deb and Tim's house near Montrose , IA. We gassed up in Bethany , M...

Before I comment on today I feel compelled to comment on our lodging last night. While it was very nice to have a motel so near the restaurant where we ate dinner, the 1876 Inn ( http://www.1876inn.com/ ) was not good. It was relatively inexpensive but even at that it was not worth what we paid. My bed had a big ole brown stain of suspicious origin on the bedspread. The bed had no blanket so if you needed more than a sheet you had to use the bedspread . . . NASTY! The fitted sheet, which would not stay on, had grease stains on it. The counter and sink were about thigh height. (It was a good height for Wild Bill but not for me.) There was mold around the sink faucet and on the shower tiles. The shower itself had good pressure but the nozzle was about tit high. (Again – good for Bill but not me.) The pillows were like rags. I would not recommend this motel for future stays. When we went outside in the morning it was quickly obvious that it was colder this morning th...