The Bullet and the Midget: Bentley

Thursday, June 4, 2015

3K+ Maintenance

Royal Enfield line up at Kiss Honda

This morning I had a maintenance appointment at 10:30 in Pottstown at Kiss Honda. I left the house shortly after 09:15 with 3800.1 miles on the odo and headed out to Pottstown. The plan was to take Church out to Waterloo and follow that out to Valley Forge. However, after I short run on Church, I realized that it probably would be best to stay on Church to Sugartown and take 252 all the way out to the park because road conditions on Waterloo above 30 were not very good last time I was there.

That plan worked fairly well because by this time of the morning the morning rush hour had died down and volume on the road was not bad. Once on 23 I quickly turned off at Valley Park Rd because of the closure of 23 at the Pickering Creek. I followed Valley Park to White Horse and took the right there. Traffic here was seriously backed up so instead of staying on Whiter Horse, I made the left at Pothouse Rd. I got a little turned around after making that left so that when I came out on 29 I took another left instead of the right and started heading the wrong way. I realized my mistake soon enough and just did a quick turn around at a wide spot on the road and headed back towards Phoenixville. Once there, I got back on 23 and headed out to Pottstown.

3827.8 at refuel

At the Sunoco on the corner of 724 and Bridge Street I pulled over to refuel. The tank took 1.505 gallons of Ultra at $3.249 per gallon for a total of $4.89. Since last refuel we've ranged 98.9 miles for a mileage of 65.71 mpg. I had to be very careful filling up because the pump had no medium speed, it was all or nothing, and I was afraid to overfill or spill over.

The gas station is only about seven miles from Pottstown so I was able to make my scheduled appointment time without any problems. I had the 3K miles check and inspection done and I asked to have the kickstand switch removed. The mechanic told me that they couldn't do that because of liability issues but that I should be able to do it fairly easily. It took them less than an hour to have the Bullet ready. In the mean time I played with the pug and took a couple of pics of the yellow Continental they have in the show room. Not sure if I like the yellow better than the red but it's still a very nice looking bike. The price on the sticker is $5999. Let's see if it's still around at the end of the summer.

The ride back involved a different route to avoid the congestion problems on White Horse. I got to 29 and took that to 30. It didn't help to change the route, there was an Oregonian bound and determined to ride her brakes all the way from 23 to 30 and a huge Home Depot truck maneuvering in the middle of 29 to make a delivery. At 30 I took my new preferred route to Old Lincoln and Warren but at the Paoli Pike I took that to Darby, Devon and 252 for the shorter route home.

When I got home, at 12:15, I looked a the kickstand switch, followed the wire to were I found a connector behind the battery box and unplugged it. The switch is no longer an issue. At home, the odo read 3865.7 for 65.6 miles on this ride.

It was overcast and chilly all the way there and all the way back. I layered up but I should have worn leather instead of the mesh jacket. It wasn't miserable but it was not enjoyable. I guess the temps were in the mid 60s but the wet in the air and the overcast did not help.

Didn't see any exotics or classics on this ride but yesterday on the commute home from work there was a blue Bentley making a turn on Ithan from Conestoga by the Agnes Irwin School.

The exotic tally stands at 15 Ferraris, 14 Teslas, 11 Maseratis, 5 Bentleys, 3 Cobras, 3 McLarens, 2 Austin-Healeys, 2 Lambos, 2 Unknowns,1 Rolls Royce, and 1 DeLorean.

Continental

3800.1 at departure

3865.7 on return

Friday, May 22, 2015

Dixie

"I wish I was in Dixie..."

To celebrate the beginning of Father Peter Fridays I planned a ride out to Dixie. This morning on my way in to work I stopped at the gas station on the corner of 30 and Spring Mill to fuel up. I usually avoid that station because it is the most expensive in the tri-state area, for example today I bought gas at $3.99 a gallon for premium, but I wanted to have a full tank on the way out of work to do this ride. When I stopped at the station, the odo read 3495.5 and the tank took 1.557 gallons for which I paid $6.23.

I left work at noon with 3496.0 miles on the odo. My plan was to head out Ithan to Sproul and out to Goshen to follow that to 926. However, I ended up making a detour by home to drink a shake before heading out because I was getting hungry. On my way home I saw a silver convertible Ferrari by the Agnes Irwin School. The first of many sightings on this ride. I did not stay home long, just grabbed a shake and was out on the road by 12:15.

I followed Goshen out to 926 and the ride was pretty easy on they way out. Most of the holes on 926 have been fixed and in some areas there has been complete repaving so the road surface is miles ahead of were it was a couple of weeks back. The temps were in the low to mid 60s with blue skies and some wind so almost perfect riding weather. Somewhere pass 202/322 I saw a red Ferrari 308 GTS headed in the opposite direction on 926. I don't recognize very many Ferraris by model but the 308 GTS is hard to miss.

Shortly after crossing 52 I fell in behind a line trailing a big piece of farm equipment. This was the first "hazard" I encountered. It plugged along all the way just before 82 where it turned off to the right and I was able to take the road. That piece of 926 pass 82 and all the way out to 41 is a really great ride. Some good twists and turns with hilly terrain that has good wooded cover on both sides of the road. That probably was the most enjoyable part of the ride.

Maryland State Line

After crossing 41 the road opens up on some farm land and here the wind began to make its presence known. This portion wasn't as bad a the part after making the left on 10. On that part of the ride the road is bordered by open farm land on both sides and the wind really threw me around. I got worse on Route 1 South. I was able to keep up with traffic and out run an 18 wheeler who was bound and determined to pass me but I was really getting pushed around a lot. Route 1 runs as a divided highway for about 7 miles out after 10, from there on it is just a two laner and you get to the Maryland line in less than two miles. As soon as I saw the Maryland signed I pulled over to get some pictures. The Mason-Dixon Line sign is on the northbound of Route 1 so I took a couple of pics from the southbound side got down to the crossing and then turned north and stopped at the sign to get some more pics. At this point the odo read 3548.3 miles and it was 13:35. I was grateful to get a couple of minutes out of the seat in the 52 miles since take off and frankly I was not looking forward to the ride back. Specially the portion between the line and the cut across 41 on 926 where I would begin to be protected from the wind again.

As always happens, the way back was "shorter" than the way out. The wind was still a factor and I pushed me pretty badly on 1 but I got on 926 without any problems. However soon after crossing 41 I fell in behind a gravel truck that I was not going to shake. I followed it out to 82 and there I pulled in to check out a place to eat that I had seen. I figure I could get a little rest and let the gravel truck get the hell out of my way. Somewhere before that I saw a white Tesla going in the opposite direction on 926.

The place I wanted to check out was Savona Bistro. I pulled up to the parking lot and got off the Bullet but I didn't go in. It looked a little too snooty for what I was looking for which was a bowl of chili and a sandwich. I checked their menu on my iPhone and decided to move along. After getting back on 926 I saw another Tesla, this time dark grey, running in the opposite direction. The truck was long gone so I had a nice run down to 52 there I got caught at the light and the red New Beetle (with a "Red Bean" sticker on the back) in front of snoozed through the change making me miss that light as well. When the next light came I fell in right behind a metallic light blue mid 60s 'Vette with historic Maryland plates that had just turn right onto 926 from 52. I followed him all the way down to 202/322 where he made the left.

I thought for about too seconds about turning in the strip mall there to get some food but it was starting to get really tired with well over 80 miles run and was wanting to get home. I continued on 926 and at the intersection of 352 saw a blue Bentley (which reminds me of the light gray Bentley I saw on Sproul just past Godfrey on the commute home on the Bullet on Wednesday).

From there I just ran my regular loop down 926 to Garrets Mill and Goshen. When I got to Goshen and 252 I had 3594.5 miles on the odo and to make sure I would make a century on this ride I took the left to the traffic circle at St Davids and that to Chruch getting me home with 3599.2 miles on the odo at 15:10. That guaranteed the century which is the longest the Bullet has ever run. I now has three states on its tires, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland and we have crossed into Dixie.

It was a tiring ride with some really good parts and some aggravating parts due to traffic on the road. I did not enjoy the wind, especially on the highway, and I don't know that I will try this ride again. At one point I had wanted to make a run to the Susquehanna but I don't know that I will now. I might just stick to my shorter rides, they are more enjoyable.

The exotic tally stands at 13 Ferraris, 13 Teslas, 9 Maseratis, 3 Cobras, 3 Bentleys, 2 McLarens, 2 Austin-Healeys, 2 Lambos, 2 Unknowns,1 Rolls Royce, and 1 DeLorean.

The classic car tally is now three Nash Metropolitans, three 1950s Jags, one MGA, one Hot Rod, one 1960's 'Vette, one 1950s Chrysler, one 1950s Oldsmobile, one 1950's Plymouth, one Karmann Ghia, and one Ford Model A.