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Mnrider
| | Posted on Thursday, July 05, 2012 - 02:01 pm: | 
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Yup hotter than a pistol up here in the northland.
No A/C in the shop and the cars heat the shop up even more.
My flowers love the warm nights though. |
86129squids
| | Posted on Thursday, July 05, 2012 - 02:49 pm: |
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News a couple of days ago mentioned a pond in S. Knoxvegas had a hot weather fish kill, to the tune of 10,000 bluegill... public works had to come in and clean things up...
Talked with a buddy who works for TWRA out in Dandridge today, the WATER temperature was 96 degrees. Yeesh.
At least we've got storms on the way this afternoon, hopefully they won't beat us up too bad- they look pretty bad as they get spooled up though... |
Gunut75
| | Posted on Friday, July 06, 2012 - 10:49 am: |
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Before I left work yesterday, I did the soak your t-shirt under your jacket trick. I went from Lake Villa, IL to Silver Lake, WI and the t-shirt was dry. 16 miles at the most?............
Gotta say though, I'll be doing that again before I leave today. Thats like A/C!........better! |
Xl1200r
| | Posted on Friday, July 06, 2012 - 10:52 am: |
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Gunut - Make sure you are not using a mesh jacket and the vents are at least mostly closed.
I did this while across the Arizona/Utah/Nevada desert, mid-afternoon in the summer of 2010. First time I left the main vent open on my jacket and my shirt was bone try in 15-20 minutes. After that I closed it and it stayed at least damp for at least an hour or so. |
Gunut75
| | Posted on Friday, July 06, 2012 - 11:03 am: |
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Yes, it is a mesh jacket. It's only a 30 minute ride home though. This was the first time I ever tried soaking a shirt. Under the full leather, it would work awesome. I'll certainly keep it in mind for long rides in the sun. |
Etennuly
| | Posted on Friday, July 06, 2012 - 11:09 am: |
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We got some heat related, going the wrong way, sombiches of a storm last evening. I watched as a 4x8 sheet of aluminum, that had been along side the back of my shop for at least eight years, fly/tumble/drag its way about three hundred feet from where it started.
The winds were like a jet just below my shop. My 19' boat is sitting there on it's trailer, moved four feet from where it started. I have never seen the weeds blown flat in my property before. power was off for about four hours.
I will have to walk our neighbor's pasture to get our pool floaties back. Crap! Some of them are way up in the tall trees. Until this storm we had an umbrella for our yard table. It is now shreaded and lodged half way through some tall Cedar trees. It looks like all of our chairs landed on our property. |
86129squids
| | Posted on Friday, July 06, 2012 - 01:20 pm: |
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Yeah Vern- them winds were bad here too! Watched the whole thing coming in as I was trying to secure a tarp over my boat, worried about my GF driving home from work through S. Knoxville back here... walked around front to keep an eye on things when my neighbor drove by- as I waved at him, the wind actually pushed me forward from where I was standing!
Given the graveyard across from me and its big, beautiful trees, it's a miracle none of them came down...
Yeesh! |
Sifo
| | Posted on Friday, July 06, 2012 - 11:32 pm: |
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Gunut, try soaking your helmet liner too. It helps to complete the AC effect.
We were just talking to a couple who rode from FL out to the west coast on a BMW. He uses a shirt from LDComfort. It's made to hold water exactly for this purpose. He said that under a jacket with limited venting he will stay cool for about 2 hours. I may have to look into those.
It got so hot today that mid afternoon I actually had to take off the polar fleece I had on under my Aerostitch!
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Starwolve
| | Posted on Saturday, July 07, 2012 - 12:19 am: |
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It's been about 105 in Afghanistan the past week, but getting up into the 110's this week. Not too bad, until you throw on body armor, all your gear, and head out in a truck with broken A/C!!! |
Two_seasons
| | Posted on Saturday, July 07, 2012 - 12:29 am: |
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Starwolve:
Was 106 here yesterday. Cooled down some...to 104.
We were out in our older car w/o ac too.
THANK YOU for your service to the USA  |
Fltwistygirl
| | Posted on Saturday, July 07, 2012 - 09:00 pm: |
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Taught a fabulous three wheeled class with 4 (four!) hacks in the twin cities today. Was very happy to finish before the day turned warm and the a/c was necessary. Got a little spoiled wearing sweatshirts recently on the north shore, I'm not liking the heat at all and today was not even horrible.
Good thing I've got one more "cool weather" stop before heading to the sweatbox known as the F-L-A.
Hope I have to break out the long johns while there...woo hoo! |
Sifo
| | Posted on Saturday, July 07, 2012 - 10:38 pm: |
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Starwolve, Thanks for your service and stay safe! You military folks do the imposible.
Headed south again today down 101 and then highway 1. We took 128 back out to 101 again and stopped for the night.
128 was closed for a while. We were at the front of the line. A group of 6 bikes coming the other way had one of their guys misjudge a curve and went down hitting a car head on. They said "he was fine, only a broken leg and collar bone". I guess for hitting a car head on with a bike that is fine, but still... The road had been very twisty for us and straightened out quite a bit right there for a long ways. For them this would have been the first tight curve after many miles of fast sweepers. You can never let your guard down.
Here's a few of today's shots, nice and cool by the ocean...
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Sifo
| | Posted on Saturday, July 07, 2012 - 11:04 pm: |
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Somehow on this trip we've logged over 3250 miles so far without getting a single drop of rain. That's got to be a personal record! |
Boogiman1981
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 10, 2012 - 04:15 pm: |
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saw 227 on the coolant temp readout on the way home yesterday. skip spark starts at 230 right? |
Sifo
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 10, 2012 - 09:32 pm: |
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Sure was hot today crossing the desert on route 50. The plugs that the dealer didn't replace as I asked fouled in the middle of nowhere and I had to pull the tank, air box, etc. to swap them out. At least I had picked up a spare set.
Amazing views on 50. If you ever get the chance it's pretty unique ride. Last night we stopped in Ely NV and got a room with a nice balcony where we propped out feet up and watched the sun set over the mountains. It was a tolerably cool evening!
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86129squids
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 11, 2012 - 12:29 pm: |
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Glad you're having such a nice/epic ride! Keep the pics coming...
OK, FINALLY I wake up to a steady, soaking light to medium rain event! We've finally been blessed here in TN with a few days worth of easy rains, which should help turn things around with the grass and gardens. Our garden has miraculously survived, tomatoes producing while the plant obviously suffering, peppers LOVING life- cucumbers/squash/zucchini crapping out, all despite regular watering with the hose. Saw a friend who works in the nursery at the Co-Op, she was kind enough to give me 3-4ish squash/zuke/cuke plants, gonna give them a new home when the rains let up.
Still got a lot of pickling & canning to do yet! GOTTA have our homemade sauce and pickle stash for winter...  |
Sifo
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 11, 2012 - 09:12 pm: |
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Finished up Utah this morning. UT has some of the most phenomenal scenery that just can't be captured by a lens. Here's my best shot at it anyway.
Last shot of UT at a place called Spotted Wolf Canyon. Colorado lies ahead through the canyon!
Stopped in at the visitors center in CO and found they had a nice Vietnam Memorial. I can't walk through something like this without getting choked up.
We were heading down to Montrose, CO for the night and wanted to take a nice scenic route. The GPS wanted to head East a ways on 70 past Grand Junction and turn down RT 65. I never would have picked this from a map (it didn't show on our paper map) but we thought we would give it a try. It turned into miles of twisty roads following a river with sections that had canyon walls going straight up on both sides a couple hundred feet, often higher. Never saw a spot that looked safe and promising for a picture though. Whoever says they don't like to follow a GPS, I understand where they are coming from, but I love it when my GPS does this to me. Great way to finish a long hot day! |
Xl1200r
| | Posted on Thursday, July 12, 2012 - 01:21 pm: |
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Sifo - you're in my favorite part of the country, enjoy it!
How are you liking the Sprint? My GT and I are beginning to really gel. |
Azxb9r
| | Posted on Thursday, July 12, 2012 - 05:24 pm: |
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UT has some of the most phenomenal scenery that just can't be captured by a lens
Any time I look through the pix I have taken in Utah I am always left thinking the camera just isnt big enough to capture it all...you just have to see it for yourself. I hope you had a chance to go to Arches while you were in Moab. The whole park is incredible, but the crown jewel is the hike out to the delicate arch. You constantly see pix of it, but you really have to see it. |
Sifo
| | Posted on Thursday, July 12, 2012 - 11:09 pm: |
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Started the day nice and cool in Montrose, CO. Headed north toward Glenwood Springs, then back down through Aspen. 82 south of Aspen is a great road. Then north through Leadville where we had lunch. Picked up 70 at Copper Mountain and made it into Nebraska. Should make for an easy last two days home.
Colorado has some great views too. This is about 12,000 feet up.
The ST has been a fantastic tool for this ride. Great on the superslab, yet very capable in the twisties. The power is fantastic, even at 12,000 feet. My biggest complaint about it is that it's a bit thirsty. It's been averaging 41 mpg on the trip. My lighting would certainly be in the low 50s. Certainly digging the triple though.
Azxb9r, We didn't get to any of the national parks. We did many of the parks in UT about 8 years ago on a long mountain biking vacation. Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, Brice. They're all amazing. Unfortunately on this trip UT was just a pass through state. Still a great state to pass through! |
Xl1200r
| | Posted on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 10:27 am: |
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Wow, that is a thirsty girl. My GT averages around 50, will get into the low 50's superslabbing at 80mph or so. I have the same reaction as you - 'good 'nuff' on the highway and can tear it up in the twisty bits. |
Azxb9r
| | Posted on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 06:51 pm: |
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I love the diversity of the scenery, sounds like you have had a most excellent trip. |
Sifo
| | Posted on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 10:08 pm: |
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It has been an excellent trip. We stopped at a rest area today and as I took my helmet off I was thinking "boy, I'm starting to smell bad". It was a hot day after all. My wife took her helmet off and said "WOW, smell those cows"! Thank God, it was the cows!
We had a coil go bad on the wife's Street Triple. It's been fouling plugs for an unknown reason and had gotten worse. End of the day and a new plug no longer fixes the situation. We are stopped 8 miles from a dealer. We will be in their lot when they open. Either they will have a coil or we will limp it home on 2 cylinders. I did manage to call one other shop before they close that is close to our route home, but they didn't have a coil. I'm getting pretty fast at tearing it down to the plugs, and my wife is learning to anticipate the tools I need.
It's been about 5,500 miles on this trip so far and have not had a drop of rain. We haven't even tried to avoid any rain either. There is possible rain in the forecast on the way home though. I hope any rain will cut the heat for us. Either way it's been a great adventure. Something everyone should jump at when life deals the necessary cards to make something like this happen. I hope my stories and pictures may have helped to inspire someone to do the same. If we make it home tomorrow it will be 17 days, 5,800 miles and countless smiles. |
Sifo
| | Posted on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 10:49 pm: |
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One more thought on the Sprint ST. This is the bike that I was hoping Buell would build with the 1125. I'm disappointed that if never came to see the light of day. An EBR 1190 ST would be killer. I hope this may happen some day. Sadly the Sport Touring market is close to non-existent in the US. |
Xl1200r
| | Posted on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 02:40 pm: |
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Sifo - I know what you mean. The Sprint is in a dying category - The VFR800 is no more, the Ducati ST2/4 and the Aprilia Futura suffered the same fate.
Now we get 700 lbs luxo-cruisers that have a little forward to lean to them and they call them ST bikes. Not in my book. |
Sifo
| | Posted on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 07:03 pm: |
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We made it home with little drama. The Street Triple limped home on 2 cylinders. Both bikes are due for their major service intervals. That means valve adjustments for you Buell only folks. That is one thing that I really like about my XB!
5,800 miles and not a drop of rain! Our grass has barely grown. I haven't mowed it since before the trip before this trip. It still doesn't need to be mowed.
One of our trees is in bad shape from storm damage. It will have to go. Our neighbor cut up what came down and put it by the curb. The village is supposed to be coming around to pick this stuff up. There are piles like ours all over the place. Sounds like a nasty storm we missed.
My new smoker got blown over and suffered minor damage.  It's still usable, but the fold out tables on both sides got pretty bent up. Our old gas grill took a real beating. Pieces of that were scattered around our yard.
The house seems to be unscathed. Feels awesome to be on my own couch! |
Fb1
| | Posted on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 08:32 pm: |
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Sifo, I have quietly followed your journey, only slightly (ok, ok, a TON!) green-tinged with envy.
Good on you and the missus. Great to have you both back, and congrats on you both gettin' it on ya while the gettin' is still good; a lot of folks wouldn't have had the courage.
FB |
Sifo
| | Posted on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 09:31 pm: |
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Xl1200r, glad to hear you are getting better milage from your GT than I am from my ST. I did go one tooth smaller on the front sprocket from stock so I'm spinning a bit faster at highway speeds. I'm sure that has some impact.
Fb1, glad you found it worth following, even if with envy. Hopefully it will lead to you expanding your comfort zone of adventure someday. There certainly was a certain level of apprehension in starting this trip. There were also challenges along the way. The funny thing is that most of the challenges that come are not what had you worried at the start.
It's hard for me to cross the Rockies and not think about the early travelers crossing by horse and wagons. Those folks faced real challenges that I find hard to fathom. My biggest challenge was not missing one of those "No gas for 1xx miles" signs while crossing the desert. |
Fb1
| | Posted on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 10:54 pm: |
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Fb1, glad you found it worth following, even if with envy. Hopefully it will lead to you expanding your comfort zone of adventure someday.
I've done some around-the-country rides in the past; several of them are chronicled in the Tale Section here on BWB. Hopefully I've got a few more left in me. 
Best,
FB |
Fltwistygirl
| | Posted on Friday, July 27, 2012 - 09:59 pm: |
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Everywhere I've been this summer, with the exception of the North shore of Lake Superior, people have been complaining about the heat.
The last leg from Colorado back to Florida was particularly bad, especially Kansas and Missouri with highs in the triple digits before heat indexes. I can't imagine living in either of those places without a/c and the morning news show near St. Loo showed volunteers who were equipping those in need with a/c units. Literally very cool.
It's been typical here in our little corner of Florida since we got back and in typical fashion, we are counting down the weeks before mother nature's sign of changing seasons appears: lovebugs. No after noon showers for the past couple days. Finally today we had our deluge just before sunfall and the lawn welcomed it. The frogs too!!
Can't seem to get those rocky mountain roads or lower humidity outta my head...might have to start planning another trip out that way. |
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