A
Anonymous
Guest
I listed in the meetingplace that I was taking Leela to the Beach this past weekend. It turned out to be a nice ride. The wife and kids followed me in the car, which turned out to be interesting in and of itself. Now my family heads down to Cape Henlopen State Park each year for an extended family vacation/reunion with my dad's family. You'd think that after driving the same route every year, you'd have it down pretty good by the third or fourth year. Well, there are a few spots that I tend to miss each year. To make a long story short, the wife had some difficulty keeping up in the Mazda as I made quick lane changes and wrong turns. It worked out okay in the end. By the end of the 3 hour ride, she had cooled down enough to not kill me when we arrived at the state park.
What made the trip the most interesting was the fact that a couple weeks ago, I lost my gloves. You don't really realize the value of a good pair of gloves until you spend 3 hours riding on the highway. To compound the issue, the antibiotic I was on has sensitivity to the sun as one of the side effects. So 150 miles of windburn, road dust from the 18 wheelers and sensitivity to the sun made the backs of my hands feel like ground beef. I spent the weekend trying to find a nearby bike shop where I could get a pair of gloves. All I was able to find was a Harley shop in Rehobeth. Of course, all they carried was genuine Harley Davidson merchandise. The nice lady on the phone said they were right on the main road not even 15 minutes from the state park. I think she got her north and south mixed up cause I never found them.
Any way, the trip home was uneventful. My hands didn't feel as bad after the ride home as they did after the ride down. The cloudy weather on the way home may have contributed a bit. It was nice and warm and sunny on the way down.
This was the first ride of any significant length that I had taken. I never realized how stiff and sore one can get on the back of a bike. I have an almost straight set of handlebars on Leela, so when I ride I'm not sitting up as far as I would on a cruiser, but I'm not bent over as much as on a sport bike. My glutes are still stiff from the ride home on Monday.
We got a good downpour on Saturday. Leela didn't like being left out in the rain. I spent some quality time with her on Sunday and she was roarin' and ready to go Monday morning. She ran smooth the whole time both ways. I had no trouble with her at all.
One question continues to bother me though... How comes motorcycles have to pay the same toll as cars? For larger vehicles, there is a surcharge for having more than two axles. Shouldn't there be a discount for having only two wheels? Also, where is the best place to keep toll money to make the stop at the toll plaza quick and smooth? I tried my back pocket, but it was still tricky separating bills. In the car you can have the toll money ready half a mile before the toll plaza. How do you do it on a bike?
Anyway, It was a good experience and after the soreness passes, I'll be ready to do it again. Maybe next time we can send the kids with my parents and the wife and I can ride down together.
What made the trip the most interesting was the fact that a couple weeks ago, I lost my gloves. You don't really realize the value of a good pair of gloves until you spend 3 hours riding on the highway. To compound the issue, the antibiotic I was on has sensitivity to the sun as one of the side effects. So 150 miles of windburn, road dust from the 18 wheelers and sensitivity to the sun made the backs of my hands feel like ground beef. I spent the weekend trying to find a nearby bike shop where I could get a pair of gloves. All I was able to find was a Harley shop in Rehobeth. Of course, all they carried was genuine Harley Davidson merchandise. The nice lady on the phone said they were right on the main road not even 15 minutes from the state park. I think she got her north and south mixed up cause I never found them.
Any way, the trip home was uneventful. My hands didn't feel as bad after the ride home as they did after the ride down. The cloudy weather on the way home may have contributed a bit. It was nice and warm and sunny on the way down.
This was the first ride of any significant length that I had taken. I never realized how stiff and sore one can get on the back of a bike. I have an almost straight set of handlebars on Leela, so when I ride I'm not sitting up as far as I would on a cruiser, but I'm not bent over as much as on a sport bike. My glutes are still stiff from the ride home on Monday.
We got a good downpour on Saturday. Leela didn't like being left out in the rain. I spent some quality time with her on Sunday and she was roarin' and ready to go Monday morning. She ran smooth the whole time both ways. I had no trouble with her at all.
One question continues to bother me though... How comes motorcycles have to pay the same toll as cars? For larger vehicles, there is a surcharge for having more than two axles. Shouldn't there be a discount for having only two wheels? Also, where is the best place to keep toll money to make the stop at the toll plaza quick and smooth? I tried my back pocket, but it was still tricky separating bills. In the car you can have the toll money ready half a mile before the toll plaza. How do you do it on a bike?
Anyway, It was a good experience and after the soreness passes, I'll be ready to do it again. Maybe next time we can send the kids with my parents and the wife and I can ride down together.