[banglenot]

So I'm out on Interstate 78 coming back from a ride in the country today. Here in New Jersey I-78 is a straight shot from Pennsylvania through open country. Doing 70-75 in the middle lane, enjoying the bike and getting used to it. Guy in a Mustang Cobra pulls up next to me, slows to match my speed. I figure he wants to run, but I'm not interested. Actually, no run in mind. He looks at me and gives me a very deliberate thumbs up. Nods, smiles and accelerates away. Huh?, says I, that's different -- never had anyone do that before. :kaz:

Later on (a few minutes), two Japanese econoboxes come up on both sides at
80 or so. Maybe they're goofing on each other. I'm a bit startled by this,
so I drop a gear and twist. Suddenly (and I mean suddenly) I'm at 110 and
they're a quarter mile behind me, so I ease off thinking, holy crap, what
was that? I have never been on a bike where this kind of power is available at 80 mph. The dyno curve peaks at 5K rpm -- and that's where you are at 4th gear at 80. Very weird to have 110 HP at 80 mph.

Yipes. Like driving a locomotive -- the power keeps on coming.... lause:

Very interesting bike. Different than what I expected. Very complex set of tradeoffs...

Enjoy, because I certainly am --

 

[banglenot]

Out today--

Great day for it. Makes up for an ungodly winter around here. Don't know why this one was so crappy; just never seemed to end.

Also got in 2 hours of bicycle riding with my son. Average speed a bit lower than 110, tho. Hope you enjoyed your ride. Where's some nice twisties in PA, a couple of hours from Joisey?

(My wife just came up behind me, read my earlier post and gave me a dope- slap on the back of my head for driving that fast. Ah, well, she's an ex biker-gal who just wants me to keep the tires on the road, not up in the air...been on every bike I've owned and is a great rider. :kiss: ).

Enjoy---

 

[banglenot]

I'm not convinced it's really over yet, banglenot.

Well, I don't ride much in E. PA, so I don't have any recommendations for good mtn rides over that way. Seems like there should be some good riding in the Poconos, tho.

Has your wife been on the v-rod yet?

It's over -- she's got a good attitude and sense of humor. And no, she won't be on the v-rod anytime soon -- she's concerned about my 11 year old son so wants to make sure only one of us "takes a chance" on the bike. She had the bad luck to get dropped by a friend of ours who was driving like an idiot in NYC on his bike with her, and broke her arm many years ago. I've always been careful so have never been down. So, I sympathize with her reluctance at the moment.

But, there's no grief given to me about it...she understands how much I like to ride and there's never a cross word about it. I figure I'll let her get used to having a bike again for a few months and try to talk her into it...and if she doesn't, then I'll just have to ride where and how I want to, whenever I want to :rofl2:. By myself...just gotta make sacrifices once in awhile.... :thumb:

I'll try the Poconos some time. Nice country up there. I take it you're in Southern PA, since you mentioned the Amish?

Take care--

 

[banglenot]

I can see her point of view. I don't think I would have started riding if the kids were much younger. In fact, I was just about ready to give it up when my DH had his first crash when we were just starting. He was a widower when I met him and I suddenly realized how terrible it would be for his kids to lose another parent (duh...), but he was completely hooked by then, they knew how much it meant to him and decided they would ignore the risks -- but they were 16 & 18 at the time. Our riding especially bothers my daughter who has a chronic illness and has to be more dependent. But when we stopped riding for awhile after his crash and I was such a bear, even she decided it was better for us to continue. At least on separate bikes, the likelihood of us both being wiped out at the same time is less than what your wife went through.

I'm in Central PA, St. College area, but alot of Amish families have been moving up here in the past 10 yrs. They are running out of land in the Lancaster area and the taxes are too high. Land is cheaper up here.

I know LOTS of nice twisty rides up here, if you get up this way.

Val

Thanks, Val -- if it looks like I'm going to get out that way, I'll let you guys know.

Different topic: I'm going to upgrade to Doc's LED tailight, but I've also heard about a device that makes your headlight flash a bit every second or so to keep the cagers aware that you're there. Do you know the name of the device?

Thanks--