| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
Tonight, I'm in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. Tomorrow morning, I'm heading for East Troy. I don't expect to see anyone that I know; I do want to take a picture of the Sportster in front of the EBR factory, though. If I thought it would help Erik save the company, I'd go to work for him for free. | ||
| Two_seasons |
Ah, the tale of the two Fitchburg's. Welcome to our great state. What time will you be in East Troy? It's 23 miles from me and I would like to meet you at EBR and join you for breakfast if you'd like. | ||
| Crusty |
I should be there around 9:15 or so. I'll be on a black Spurtster that's loaded for traveling. | ||
| Crusty |
Pain and Sadness I went by 2799 Buell Drive this morning. The Hero/Amsoil truck is parked beside the building. There were three cars in the front parking lot. I was flooded by memories of trips there in the past; hundreds of Buells along side the building, Erik signing bikes, Court and Dave sitting at a table signing copies of their book. I parked the Sportster in front of the Motorcycle Parking sign beside the front door. I took a couple of pictures of the bike and the building, then left. I've been filled with a deep and profound sadness since I arrived there. The shit that's going on with EBR really sucks big time. I have a tattoo of the Buell Pegasus logo on my left bicep. I got it done at the 20th anniversary of Buell Motorcycles. Hardly-Ableson wouldn’t give Buell any money to have a Homecoming in 2003, so the owners got together and had their own. It didn’t cost a fortune and everybody who attended had a great time. I made up a bunch of aluminum drain plugs to replace the plastic plugs that came stock on tubers and contributed them to the rally. A few of us went to a local tattoo artist and got Pegasus tattoos. We all believed in Buell Motorcycles.Henry Duga and Kim Tordic(?) led us all on a ride to the Farm, where Erik started, then to the “Quonset Hut” in Mukwanago. Henry told us stories about the early days, and we were all fascinated. Then there was the Homecoming in 2008 for Buell’s 25th Anniversary. Terri, Andrea and I all rode our Buells out from Massachusetts. It was a great time, and I thought things could only get better. However, Keith Wandell, the CEO of Harley and a jackass who had never ridden a motorcycle in his life, killed Buell in 2009. Erik wasn’t done, though. He came back as EBR and started building bikes that were even better than the previous bikes built under the constrictions of the MoFoCo. Hero Motorcycles from India was investing in Buell, and things were starting to look bright once again. On Tax Day (April 15) it all came screeching to a halt. Then, to go there this morning and see the carcass of an American Dream just waiting for the vultures to pick it apart really cut me to the depths of my soul. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Chin up bubba! I don't think Mr. Buell is done yet! | ||
| Ourdee |
Where you at next. 50 miles southwest of East troy and I can give you a bed, shower, food, and locked garage for the bike. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
Crusty, stay in East Troy tonight because there's a huge beer tent wit a great band playing tonight! Bella Cain starts at 8:15 and I' going to be there! | ||
| 1313 |
ETBT!!! Amazing, as a former resident of East Troy, that I never took in the ETBT... I'd probably not fare as well as I once would, 1313 | ||
| Ourdee |
I get the feeling he is long gone. I'm going for a ride. | ||
| Two_seasons |
Crusty, sorry I missed you yesterday. I stopped checking this board too early  | ||
| Crusty |
Stevie, I'm sorry I missed you, too; but I probably wouldn't have been very good company. Ourdee, Thanks for the offer. It would have been far superior to the Mosquito Preserve That I spent the night in. However, I only have Internet access when I stop at a McDonald's, so I usually only get online once a day in the morning while I'm luxuriating with my Sausage McMuffin and Senior Coffee. | ||
| Crusty |
Floods and Mosquitoes Sometimes, it’s better to take the Interstate. I’ve eschewed the mega highways as much as possible on this rambling journey, but yesterday I was looking at the Greater Chicago vicinity; and if you don’t take an Interstate, you might just wind up riding through some pretty rough slums (Like we did in 2008, on the way to Buell’s 25th Anniversary). So, I jumped on Interstate 39 with my destination the Carl Spindler Marina and Campground in Peoria. I stayed there on Friday night of Memorial Day weekend and liked the campground quite a bit. I made it to the entrance of the campground without any undue problems, only to be confronted by two very Official HumVees with blue and red roof lights and a sign saying CAMPGROUND CLOSED. I looked beyond the HumVees and saw water covering all the area. I’ve seen a lot of high water on this trip, but now I’d seen flooding. I figure that the space where I’d camped just over a month ago was under at least 6 feet of water. So, I decided to ride down to Springfield and stay at the Riverside Park campground. As soon as I stopped the bike in the campground, I was beset by mosquitoes. So, Before I even started setting up my tent, I covered my bare skin (arms, neck & face) with Avon Skin-So-Soft. Then I sprayed my T-shirt with DEET. between the two, the blood sucking parasites stopped trying to use me as a Boom Town. When I got up this morning, I had to reapply the Skin- so-Soft so I could break camp in relative peace. Since I’m in Springfield, I’m going to try and find a Laundromat and wash my clothes. I’ll hit the Credit Union that doesn’t charge an ATM fee for having an account at another bank, and I’ll stop at Wally World and get another can of stove gas and another spray thing of DEET. Then I’ll head down to Du Quoin for tomorrow’s Mile at the Fairgrounds. I camped at the Fairgrounds back in 1999, but I don’t really remember what the campground was like. Of course, in 16 years, a lot might have changed, anyway. A good campground might have gone to hell, or a bad one might have had improvements made and might be excellent. I’ll find out when I get there, I suppose. Well, it’s time to get started. Onward and Upward! | ||
| Cyclonedon |
Crusty I rode to East Troy yesterday and drove down Buell Drive. It's kinda like memory lane with all the fun Buell Homecomings in the past. When I went by there there wasn't any cars just the Hero/Amsoil semi parked on the West side of the building along with a couple of other trucks! It was a sad sight but one can only hope a company can purchase it and bring it back to life! I'm still hoping that Harley buys the company. With Keith Wandell gone, I think Harley would truly benefit with having an American Sportbike again! | ||
| 1313 |
 | ||
| Ourdee |
And the prosecuted shall be violated. | ||
| Ourdee |
I kind of figured the window of opportunity was small. May be next time you are out this way. I rode up into Wisconsin last night. I stopped once and was almost devoured by their state bird. It has been pretty wet around here. This is the first dry week in a while. I'm still using the key chain.  Donald, I don't think Buell and Harley will ever be a good fit. Most know that there was one Buell Motorcycles and two Harley Davidsons. One Harley built motorcycles the other Harley owned motorcycle companies. (if I have this wrong, I'm sure someone will be along shortly to straighten me out) Mr. Wandell is not a motorcyclist. He was not hired to be. Mr. Wandell was hired to run a company that happened to own motorcycle manufacturers. At the time consumer spending was decreasing. When faced with saving the ship, the choices of what to do were becoming very clear to the people that had all the information at the top of the ladder. Some people told lies to Mr. Wandell and paid for it. In the end the choice came down to closing plants. A strike by union workers would have crippled any chance of keeping the ship afloat. What input do you think was given by union leadership concerning those non-union accepting Elves and their hollow tree? I heard Erik's take on Mr. Wandell's decisions. He never once said anything bad about the man or the path he charted. Quite to the contrary, I believe Erik conveyed that he would have made the same choices had he been dealt that deck of cards. I was sad when I went to the plant after 2010. And again this year. I'm amazed when I see things that have been in the works for years. | ||
| Two_seasons |
Where are you Crusty?  | ||
| Ourdee |
That's what I was thinking. (Message edited by Ourdee on July 06, 2015) | ||
| Crusty |
From Here To There and Back Again I’m sitting at my brother David’s house drinking flavored coffee and waking up slowly. I got here last night and it was very nice to not have to set up the tent. I’m going to fix dinner tonight. I’m thinking that seasoned roasted chicken with Yukon Gold potatoes some Le Seur peas baked in oil and Pillsbury biscuits would be a good alternative to all the fast food junk I’ve been eating. The Du Quoin Mile was spectacular. During Practice in the afternoon, the track was very dusty and slick, but once the evening rolled around, it got fast and the racing was superb. As an event, it was a strange mixture of success and failure. There were almost no vendors there. Vance & Hines had their trailer there, and a local Harley dealer had a set up and there was the usual T-shirt vendor, but that was it. And the food vendor completely dropped the ball. They only had two “Meal” items on the menu. A mediocre BBQ sandwich for 4 bucks and 3 dollar hot dogs, and they ran out of both well before sunset. There was very little promotion of the event, as well. I met a couple of local people who told me that if they’d known about it, they would have gone. The stands were more than half full, so I think that if it had been publicized a little better, it could have been a pretty successful race. I hope that it was successful enough that the promoter does it again next year, and that that everyone involved puts a little more effort into doing it right. At least get a food vendor like the one at Springfield who offers Rib Eye and Butterflied Pork Chop sandwiches. The track at Du Quoin is easily the most beautiful on the circuit, with the lake in the infield, and well designed and attractive Fairgrounds; it deserves to have a first class event.With just a little effort on the part of the people involved, it could be. The racers and teams don’t need to do anything different, however. The racing was close with many changes in leaders and the finish was so close that I couldn’t tell who won. Brian Smith edged out Jared Mees by .002 of a second for the win. Think about it; after 25 miles on a horse track with speeds reaching 135 MPH, the finish was that close Third place was a distant .018 of a second behind second, You could have literally thrown a blanket over the top three finishers. On Sunday morning, I decided to head south from Du Quoin. I had remembered that when I was traveling with David Kaelin and Chuck Thieneman, we had ridden across two bridges and hit three States in something like a mile or two. I checked out a map on Google and figured out that it was US Route 62 just south of Cairo, Il (it’s pronounced Kay-ro Like the syrup). I rode down, but the bridge over the Mississippi River into Missouri was closed and there were barricades across the road. So I turned east and rode over the bridge over the Ohio River into Kentucky and set a course for Cincinnati. I had been thinking that it would take me a couple of days to get from Du Quoin to Cincy, but I realized that I could make it before sunset along about mid-afternoon. I called David and let him know I was on my way, and even though I took a few wrong turns along the way, I arrived just after 9:00 as it was getting dark. I’m going to lay low here for a couple of days, then I’ll head to Indianapolis to see the Mile this Saturday. After that, I’m going to ease my way up to Buffalo to see Don, then make my way back to Massachusetts to the shop to get new tires and visit with friends then up to Maine to see Megan and Rocky (my daughter and son-in-law), then back to Massachusetts for the 28th for my Doctors’ appointments. That’s my very tentative plan for now; but it really is subject to change. | ||
| Crusty |
White Castles and Drunkin Donuts Coffee Today is a low profile kind of day. It cloudy and supposed to rain and the humidity is high enough that even though it’s not really hot, I’m sweating profusely. I searched out a White Castle for lunch. I love those little Sliders, and I don’t get to eat them very often. Like many of the foods I really enjoy, I know they’re bad for me, but I love them anyway. Kind of like Tina’s Red Hot Beef Burritos or Kayem Natural Casing Franks for breakfast. Anyhow; I misunderstood David’s directions and couldn’t find the Place before noontime. I had made plans to be at a local Loony Noonie, so I went to the meeting then went searching for the White Castle afterwards. It did rain on me for just a couple of minutes, but that was all. The hourly forecast showed the rain not coming until after 2:00, so I figured I had enough time; and I did. The lunch was wonderful, and afterwards, I went in search of a car wash. My poor bike was looking pretty “Roady” and really needed some attention. I got it cleaned up a bit and it only cost me a total of three bucks for both the wash and a Super Large Drying Towel. I washed the bike and wiped it down and got it looking better; but it really needs a good spit shine. The rain held off and I saw a Drunkin Donuts on the way back to the house, so I stopped and got a coffee. I like Dunkie’s coffee, though I think their donuts and pastries have gone to the dogs. After not having any for a couple of months, I drank my medium hot, cream only (with a 5% Senior Discount) and truly enjoyed it, then made my way back to the house. David doesn’t get home from work until about 7:30, and I think we’re going out for dinner tonight. There are a lot of weird things that run through my mind when I’m riding down the road. For instance, there’s a chain of Pizza joints out west called Papa Murphy’s. The idea of going to an Irish Pizza place is right up there with going to Mama Sophia’s Corned Beef Palace. Although my Sicilian grandmother loved Corned Beef and Cabbage; so maybe it’s not as bad as I think it is. I bet the chain (Papa Murphy’s) started in California. Like they really know anything about Pizza? Those Bozo’s put pineapple and ham on Pizza. Idiots. There are so many animals that I’ve seen for the first time on this trip. I saw Storks in the wild for the first time in South Dakota. They were unmistakably storks and not any other of the long billed long legged birds of the Crane or Heron types. They looked pretty cool. I saw a bunch of Marmots in the higher elevations. Marmots are also known as Whistle Pigs. They do whistle, but they don’t look like a pig in the least. They do look a little like Guinea Pigs; maybe that’s the connection. But I really don’t know why. Marmots, however, I’ve seen on several occasions in the past.That Buffalo that I was right beside in Yellowstone Park was pretty impressive. I’ve seen buffalo in the past, but I’d never been that close to one. They’re big. Fortunately, he was in a mellow mood. I’d hate to be that close beside such a large and solid animal if he was pissed off. Now that I’m back in the land of high humidity, I’m really missing the dryness of western Colorado. When I was in Montrose, the highest I saw the humidity was 20%. 95 degrees there was easier to take than 80 degrees at 75% is here in the East. Maybe after I get back from Australia, I’ll move out there. We’ll see. I know it’s too early to really predict the weather in Indianapolis for the Mile this Saturday, but the forecast is looking pretty positive. I hope so. I hope the racing is as good as it was last Saturday in Du Quoin. After that, I’ll start easing my way back to good ol’ Taxachusetts so I can get new tires for the bike. After that, I’ll probably head North to Maine to visit with Megan and Rocky. | ||
| Lake_bueller |
" I made up a bunch of aluminum drain plugs to replace the plastic plugs that came stock on tubers and contributed them to the rally." Would believe that I still have that drain plug in it's original package?!?! Spidey, Dana (BadS1) and I had a great time planning that homecoming. One of the best IMHO. It showed the spirit of Buell and their owners. | ||
| 86129squids |
Thanks for the posts, RoadCrust. Sounds like you're having a splendid time! A couple of things: I've always been a Tennessee boy, I thought "whistlepig" was the same as groundhog. IIRC, marmots are quite a bit smaller...but in the N'awlins/Delta area, Nutria are pretty dang big I've heard. Might be good eatin', since guinea pigs are a delicacy in Peru. But I digress/digest...  Never tried Papa Murphy's, given up on Papa John's, here at my house, IF I HAVE to order pizza delivered, we've gotten to appreciate Marco's around here. They're actually pretty dang good if we don't feel like cooking, although I lived in FL for a while, and would LOVE to see a Hungry Howie's around here. (I know, Murphy's is only takeout and then cook yourself. How that beats DiGiorno's, I dunno.)  Anyhoo, ham and pineapple is kinda a Hawaiian thing... we've discovered that pineapple and anchovies on a homemade pizza is pretty good. I'm sure the pizza we made also had some kind of pork...  (Message edited by 86129squids on July 07, 2015) | ||
| Crusty |
The End Is Coming! Retire! The end of phase one of my happy homelessness is rapidly approaching. It’s coming faster than I expected; courtesy of Dunlop Tires. When I was preparing for this trip, I knew that I was going to need to put new tires on the bike. I had just about decided to buy Conti Milestones, when Dunlop had a $50.00 rebate offer on their American Elite tires, so I bought them instead. To be blunt, I really dislike the American Elites. They were a royal pain in the butt to install, they don’t stick worth a damn in the wet, while you feel every minor road irregularity, the traction is pretty minimal when cornering. I figured that they would be good for 20,000 miles, but they’re down to the wear bars at 12,000. I think there’s enough life left to get me back to Massachusetts, but that’s about it. So I changed my plans and I’m going to head back to Boston via Buffalo from Indianapolis this weekend. I’ll be back a couple of weeks early, so I’ll visit for a couple of days and get the new tires mounted (Michelin Commanders), get a haircut at Woody’s in Sterling (I really need a haircut; I look like a tramp), get to the Nooner in Fitchburg and visit with friends. Then I’ll head up to Maine and visit with the kids. I’ll be back in Mass for my Doctors’ appointments on the 28th and then Phase 2 begins. I’m not ready to settle down, just yet. I still want to see the Cadillac Ranch and Carhenge, I want to get a steak at the Big Texan Steak House in Amarillo, I still want to get Mexican Food in Albuquerque and I still want to ride the complete Going-To-The-Sun Road in Glacier National Park and I still want to see the Grand Canyon. When I was in Arizona last month, the thunderstorms had me going north. Now I want to actually see it. I think I want to ride through Monument Valley one more time, as well. I also didn’t get to ride over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel, which is something I’ve wanted to do for years. Plus, there’s Wolfridgerider’s rally in West Virginia in August, the Springfield Mile on Labor Day weekend, and a Half Mile in Delmar, Delaware on September 19th. Plus whatever else catches my fancy as I travel along. I sure hope that the Michelin Commanders are easier to mount that the Dunflops were, stick better in the wet, corner better in the dry and last as long or longer. If not, I’ve heard that some people on the Sportster forum have had pretty good luck with Metzler ME-880s; I’ll try a set of those. Life as a Tramp is looking pretty positive at the present time. When I get close to the end of Phase 2, I’ll be looking at Phase 3 - Taking a long airliner flight to the land Down Under. But l don’t want to get too far ahead of myself; for now, I’m going to stick to the present and more immediate concerns. | ||
| Ourdee |
The immediate concern is getting a decent doughnut in ya. And what luck you are in. Indianapolis, Indiana, home of Long's Bakery. Melt in your mouth glazed yeast doughnuts. 2300 W 16th St, Indianapolis, IN 46222.  | ||
| Crusty |
Shuffling Off To… Indianapolis? Indianapolis is a funny place, to me. I both really like it and really dislike it. There’s a lot to like about Indy; the city had a very comfortable feel to it, the Speedway is deservedly world famous, The Fairgrounds are very pretty and immediately make me think of prize horses, cows and pigs, I can see families enjoying themselves while looking at blue ribbon quilts and other neat things. I see barkers selling all kinds of items from fried dough to Pork sandwiches to ears of corn; brought in by the truckload, fresh from the farm and dipped in melted butter. Back when the Indy Mile was held during the State Fair, I spent the day checking out the Fair, and the night watching motorcycles tearing around the track. However, there’s a bit of negative to Indy, as well. There seems to be a fairly large criminal element. and greed seems to be more blatant than at other places I’ve been to. Every time I start to really like Indy, something happens that turns me off to the place. I got to the Fairgrounds yesterday afternoon. The woman at the gate told me it was $5.00 to park. I told her that I wanted to Camp and she waived the parking fee and told me where to go for camping. The tent camping area was pathetic; it was all broken up asphalt, concrete and rocks with some clover growing where it could. I had to move my tent over because I couldn’t get the stakes into the ground. For “Facilities”, there was a pink Port-o-can of the type you see on construction sites. I figured, “What the hell; I’ve camped in worse places” so I finished setting up the tent and rode over to the Grandstand to watch Practice and Qualifying. There was a much better food selection than at Du Quoin. I got a corn dog and went and found my seat. A week of rain followed by a hot sunny day made prepping the track difficult, but eventually, it was deemed ready to race on, and the bikes came out. When the first group came down the front straight for the first time, they raised so much dust that it was like being in a real “Pea soup” fog. I couldn’t see anything. After a few laps, though the dust settled down and things got better. The maintenance crew went out between sessions and added water which helped keep the dust down, and the track got less dusty and became faster, as well. I watched all the practice and qualifying sessions, then took a break to walk the parking lot and check out the bikes. I saw the usual majority of Harleys, but there were some interesting bikes of other brands, as well. There were a few Ducatis, one neat old loop frame Moto Guzzi, several newer Triumphs and an assortment of Japanese Harley clones. I even saw two Buells; a Blast and a Ulysses that was parked with an EBR 1190 RX. Among the Harleys, there were only a very few Sportsters, which I found interesting. Another thing I found interesting was the lack of older Harleys. There were a few Shovelheads, but no Panheads, Knuckleheads or Flatheads. I guess they’ve gotten too rare to ride to some mundane event, like the Mile. The racing was excellent, and they ran an abbreviated program; as the National Weather Service was predicting rain. They wanted to get the National in, so they ran the races in the order of Importance. There were only three heat races for the Experts, with no semis. Then they ran two heats for the GNC2 class, then the Expert Main followed by the GNC2 Main then, if the rain held off, the Dash for Cash. There were a few Red flags during the Main for crashes. It almost felt like they were tempting Mother Nature to cause them to cancel the race, but the rain held off and the race was another barn burner with a finish that was only a few thousandths of a second between the first three places. This time, Brad Baker won with Brian Smith second and Jared Mees third. I watched the GNC2 race, which was another close finish and they even got to run the dash for cash, which Smith won. Once again, the Weather Service performed up to their usual level of accuracy. I want back to my Tent and almost retired for the night. I was just drifting off to sleep when an official from the Fairgrounds woke me wanting twenty bucks for camping. Why is it that the crappiest campgrounds want the most money to pitch a tent? No showers, no decent restrooms, not even a picnic table to sit at, nor a place for a campfire. There wasn’t even any Senior discount available. Maybe they’re trying to discourage tent camping. If I’d known how bad the Thunderstorms were going to be, I would have gotten a room at that motel I’d seen for $49.00/night. The extra thirty bucks would have been money well spent. The Thunderstorms. I was awakened at 1:00 AM by a Huge crack of thunder, followed shortly by a patter of rain that turned into a very loud tattoo of a pounding deluge accompanied by lots of very bright flashes of lightning and booming thunder. Every time I thought it was starting to slack off, the rain would increase in intensity, and the lightning and thunder would increase in frequency. My tent, as usual leaked like a sieve, and I was soaked, along with everything else in the tent. The thunderstorms eventually ended around 4:00 AM. I slept until 5:30, and I was thinking I should get up when the rain started again. Fortunately this time, there was no thunder and the rain only lasted about ten minutes. I got up about 6:00, packed up all my soggy gear and rolled out of there by 7:00. So once again, I’m sitting in a McDonald’s drinking my third free refill of Senior coffee ($0.69) while drying out and typing this. Now I think it’s time to meander off to Buffalo and see Don and go to the Dinosaur for BBQ. | ||
| Two_seasons |
Should be a dry ride Crusty. I'll bet you're taking a lot of breaks today, what with all that "cushion" under your tent last night. | ||
| Crusty |
I left Indy hoping for good weather, but expecting rain. I'd looked at the weather radar on Intellicast, and saw that the rain that soaked me and all my gear had moved east. Since I was heading that way, I figured I'd run into it. I decided to just take the Interstate. I wouldn't enjoy the backroads in the rain, and the Interstates would be a more direct route. Unlike a lot of people, I do enjoy traveling on the Interstates, on occasion. So, I headed east on I-70 from Indy. Along about Noon, I was passing through Springfield, Ohio, so I stopped at Rudy's BBQ for lunch. I've eaten there a couple of times in the past and enjoyed it and I was looking forward to some really good BBQ from the time I realized I'd be passing by around lunch time. My intake of good BBQ has been on the very low side this summer and it was time to take some steps to correct that. Rudy's had a buffet available, so that's what I went for. I ate Pulled Pork, Pulled Chicken and some thick slaps of Turkey, some really good scalloped potatoes and some great BBQ baked beans.It was all wonderful. They have three sauces on the table, and while I thought the mild sauce was best with the chicken, I preferred the hot sauce with both the pork and turkey. As I expected, I ate way too much, but loved every bite of it. I got back on the road, it took a while before the sun began to be obscured by clouds. Along about Ashland, as I was heading up I-71, I finally caught up to the rain. Unfortunately, I got pretty wet before I could stop and put on my rain pants. My Darien jacket is waterproof, but my Wranglers and cheapo Chinese boots are not. The rain was intermittent as I rode along, so I had the rain pants on for a couple of hours until I rode through into sunlight again. I decided that if I pushed a little bit, I could be in Buffalo by nightfall. So I called Don. He gave me instructions on which exit to take off the Throughway, and we met up just as it was getting dark. One thing I noticed was as I was riding up I-90; as I crossed from Pennsylvania into New York; first was a sign saying Welcome to New York followed almost immediately by a sign that said, Stop for (toll) Ticket 1/2 Mile. Yup; I'm back in the land of Tolls. When I leave Buffalo, I'll definitely be taking secondary roads. Another thing I noticed was that the price of gas went up about 25 cents a gallon. New York sure loves to Tax people. I guess they have a lot of politicians and need to come up with enough dough to pay them all. Or somethin'. Anyhow, I looked at my rear tire, and it looks like it has enough tread to make it to the shop, so I'm not going to worry about it. Tonight, we're looking at hitting the Buffalo Dinosaur. It's funny; the Dinosaur here has a bad reputation. Alicia, a friend of Don's told me that I should go to either the Rochester or Syracuse Dinosaur instead. I've eaten at the Syracuse, Troy and both Harlem locations, and enjoyed the food at all of them. It's kind of hard for me to believe that the food at the Buffalo location would be bad. It's possible, but I'm still wanting to go and check it out for myself. If it is bad, I'll let everyone know, including the staff at Syracuse (the original and (to me) the best location. I plan to stop there for lunch on my way back to Massachusetts. Besides; I have to go by the Mohawk Power and Light Building in Syracuse. It is truly a work of art. It is undoubtably one of the greatest examples of Art Deco architecture in existence. I wish I had the photography skills to take some decent pictures of it. That's it for now. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Metzler ME-880s I can attest to the longevity of these tires. I ran them on my old CB900K, lasted forever. | ||
| Jaimec |
 I get about 20K out of a set of Metzeler ME880s on my K1200LT. One of the reasons I always bitched about the tire life from my Buells. Then I got the scooters and the tires on those things didn't last much longer than the sport tires on the Buells. If I could, I'd use those tires on EVERYTHING... but they don't come in the right sizes. I use the Metzeler FeelFrees on the scooter now. They look just like the ME880s but don't last even half as long. | ||
| Crusty |
The End Of The Beginning I admit it. I’m being lazy and spending money foolishly. I got a motel room for tonight. There were no campgrounds near to my route for the last 50 miles or so, and the sun is sinking fast. Also, I know that my tent, sleeping pad and sleeping bag are still wet from the Indianapolis deluge and it’s cool enough that they won’t dry out before dark, so I wimped out and got a cheap room. Buffalo was interesting. Don took me out on a guided tour on Monday, and I got to see a lot of really nice parts of the city. We also went to the Dinosaur BBQ in Buffalo for dinner. To be honest, I was a little disappointed in the Dinosaur there. The food was good, but the decor seemed a little too gentrified. Since the forecast was calling for 100% chance of rain, sometimes heavy for Tuesday, I decided to stay over until today. Don and I did go out, yesterday in his S.O.’s car to Paula’s Donuts. They make amazingly good Fat Pills. I can recommend either the Bavarian Cream, Apple filled or Key Lime (my favorite) donuts enthusiastically. Alyssia, (Don’s S.O.) loves the other creme filled donuts (I forget what they’re called, but they use a different filling), while Don goes for the Key Lime donuts and Bear Claws. If you’re a Donut freak, it’s worth driving to Buffalo just to get donuts at Paula’s. Today, on my way through Syracuse, I stopped and had lunch at the original Dinosaur. It’s still the Real Deal. And it’s still my favorite of the five locations I’ve eaten at. After a truly wonderful lunch of Pulled Pork and BBQ Beans, I rode over to the Niagara Mohawk building and admired the Art Deco Architecture before heading back out. I came across New York on U.S. Route 20, and it’s the best way to cross New York State. I got to see a lot of small towns and I got to view the countryside in between them. New York has a lot of really attractive scenery. There’s a lot of beauty to be missed if you take the Throughway. Anyhow, I’m now back in good old Taxachusetts. Tomorrow, I plan to get to Tammy’s place (She’s going to put me up for a couple of days), I’m also planning to get over to Fitchburg for the Nooner, go over to Sterling to Woody’s Barber Shop and have Betty cut my hair and go by Candy and Ernie’s and sort through my mail. Friday, I’m hoping to spend the day at the Shop putting new tires on my bike, and pulling a little maintenance. Phase one of my trip is drawing to a close. Probably on Monday, I’ll head up to Maine and visit with Megan and Rocky. |
