Polyphemus

On departure 3676.5

On Thursday evening I headed out for a ride on Bishop Hollow Rd.  My intention was to head out on Bishop Hollow to 352, make the left there and go the my gun club to check and see if the pistol league had started already.  Then the plan was to come back on 352 to Bishop Hollow again and take that back home.

But plans are just that.  As I headed out on Bishop Hollow I remarked to myself how much improvement had been done on the roads since our last trip there.  A lot of the preliminary work had been completed and big portions of the road had been completely resurfaced.  However, soon after passing Chapel Hill Rd, the road was mostly in a state of preparation with no repairs completed.  Large portions of the road had been torn up leaving large rectangular open pits with at least a four inch drop from the primary road surface.  I hit the first one pretty fast, to the point that I worried I might blow a tire.  From there I slowed down to me the transitions in and out of the pits but by pit number five or six the rattling must have been too much for the Bullet.

After negotiating the jump out of that pit, somewhere past Featherling Lane but not quite to Steeplechase, the headlight jump out of the bucket.  Luckily the wires held and the headlight remained attached to the bike and light but dangling like a large cyclopean eye from its optic nerve stalk.

Polyphemus after meeting Odysseus

I pulled over on the side of the road and assessed the situation to see what could be done.  Nothing had fallen out and been lost although one of the clips holding in main bulb was lose in the housing.  I reattached that and determined that it was all a matter of resitting the bulb and tightening the top screw on the light housing.  Since I was here, however, I took advantage to make a mod that I've been wanting to do for quite a time: the removal of the jumper cable disabling the light on/off switch.

The jumper cable is the short group of wires between the two read connectors on the lower starboard side of the headlight nacelle.

Here's the jumper cable after I pulled it away from the nacelle.  From here it's just a matter of disconnecting the two white couplers from each other, removing the cable and connecting the red couplers together.

Red couplers with the jumper removed before being attached to each other.

Jumper cable

All back together with the top screw nice and tight now.

Once this simple operation was done I was out on the road but by this time I did not want to continue on down Ridley Creek Rd because I could see several more pits from my vantage point.  So I just turned around just past Steeplechase and headed back on Ridley Creek/Bishop Hollow.  The return lanes had all been fixed to this point so there were no hazards to negotiate on the way back.

At Providence I took a left and headed towards the Pike.  I crossed the Pike with the intention on staying on Providence to its end at Sugartown.  At the intersection with Goshen I saw a dark blue Maserati making a left in front of me onto Goshen.  This was not the same Maserati we saw on Sunday afternoon on Goshen because although they both appeared to be the same model this one was a much darker blue than the one on Sunday.

I continued on to Sugartown took the left there and another left at Goshen for the trip back home.  Despite the hassle with the headlight and the fact that I cut the ride short after that it was a good ride with not too much traffic and with good roads in the portions that have been repaired.  I will wait at least a week before I venture out on Bishop Hollow again.

On the way out the odo had 3676.5 miles and on return 3698.2 miles for about 22 miles on this run.

The exotic tally stands at 15 Ferraris, 13 Teslas, 11 Maseratis, 4 Bentleys, 3 Cobras, 2 McLarens,  2 Austin-Healeys, 2 Lambos, 2 Unknowns,1 Rolls Royce, and 1 DeLorean.

3698.2 on return

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Chester County Antique Car Show

Chester County Antique Car Show

Sunday morning, after my short ride to refuel the Bullet, we headed out to Kimberton for the Annual Chester County Antique Car Club Show.

We headed up 252 to Darby Rd and followed that to 30 West.  From there we took the right at 29 to Charlestown Rd and followed that to Coldstream Rd.  There we made a left and continued on to Hare Hill Rd for a right.  The turn at Hare Hill Rd is pretty tight and steep and I was glad to have my newly deflated tires to take that that turn on the hill.  Hare Hill runs to Kimberton Rd, where we made another right, and that runs to the downtown area of Kimberton to the Fair Grounds back entrance.  I should have taken 113 and come in that way because we found that entry to the grounds was limited  but we were able to pull into the overflow area and park under a tree.

Jim Mooney's F100

This is a fairly good size show with a huge showing of Mustangs since it appears to be sponsored or related to a Mustang club.  We saw some cars we have seen before, Pepe's 1940 Buick and Jim Mooney's F-100, but there were several that we hadn't seen anywhere else.  There was an Anglia, a couple of Crosleys, and a  a couple turquoise and and white Nash Metropolitans.

The show was not organized like the HCCP shows, cars were parked as they arrived with what appeared to be minor exceptions.  The older cars, early 1900s were all clustered together by the food trucks and, of course, the Mustangs had their own area.  The show was in an open field with not much shade so we didn't stick around long.  We took some pictures, did a once around the showfield, check out the flea market and got out of Dodge.

Pennsylvania Barn on Coldstream Road

 We headed back on a reverse route except that once we got to 30 we took Old Lincoln Highway to Warren and followed that all the way back to Goshen.  We even took the dirt road portion of Warren between Providence and Goshen.  The ride there and back was very picturesque once off the main roads, mostly rolling hills and wooded country with some open valleys.  Next year I would like to make it to this show at an earlier time and come prepared with some umbrellas for shade.

When we reached 252 on Goshen there was a dark metallic blue Maserati that led us all the way home.  That sure is one nice looking car.

The rest of the show pictures are in my Cars Flickr set.

The exotic tally stands at 15 Ferraris, 13 Teslas, 10 Maseratis, 4 Bentleys, 3 Cobras, 2 McLarens,  2 Austin-Healeys, 2 Lambos, 2 Unknowns,1 Rolls Royce, and 1 DeLorean.

Flamin' Anglia

Spirit of Ecstasy

Nash Metropolitan No. 1

Nash Metropolitan No. 2

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Maseratis, Oldsmobiles, and Teslas.

On departure 3442.3 at 18:22

Yesterday after work I took the Bullet out for a couple of errands and then a short ride.  I also used the Bullet to commute to work and on the way back, as I was making a right onto Darby-Paoli Rd from Godfrey, I saw a black convertible Maserati making the left from Darby-Paoli onto Godfrey.  I took my regular commute route out in the morning but in the afternoon I came back via Ithan Rd to avoid the congestion at Spring Mill and 30.  I've been doing this route in the afternoons for the last couple of weeks and I think it will become my regular.  The ride down Ithan is definitely much more enjoyable than Spring Mill/Sproul ever was.

I had to go to the pharmacy in Newtown Square and after that I went by AC Moore to get some more paint for the MG TC model I've been building.  I'm getting close to finishing it.  At the parking lot of AC Moore I pulled up to a guy in a pick-up truck who thought the Bullet was an original.  I gave him the elevator speech about Royal Enfield and he was just dumbfounded that they still made the things.  It's always nice to talk to people that are interested in the old bikes.

When I left AC Moore, as I turned left onto the West Chester Pike from Springfield Rd, there was a 1950s convertible red and white Oldsmobile waiting to make a left from the Pike onto Ann St.  I thought I might have seen it at the show on Sunday but on looking back at the photos that I took I did not see anything like it.  It might have been there but I doubt that I didn't take a picture of it if it was.

I headed out the Pike to 252 and took that to Goshen.  I followed Goshen/Strasburg to the Citadel bank at the end of the road, used that as a turn around point, and headed back home on a reverse route.  When I reached Providence Rd, there was a purple exotic headed in the opposite direction on Goshen.  The emblem looked like the Bentley spread wings emblem but it certainly did not look like a Bentley.  It was a low slung, two seater, sportster more in the look of an Italian exotic.  It'll go in the tally as an unknown.

This was just a short ride so as not to waste the day.  The road conditions have been improved dramatically over the last three or four weeks.  There are very few pot holes left and that made the ride much more enjoyable.  Because of the lateness of the hour there was not much traffic either so it allowed my to have the road mostly to myself.  I had no issues on the ride but on the way out to the pharmacy on 252 I lost power and I had a similar issue on the way home on county line road.  I've scheduled the 3K mile maintenance for June 4th and I will definitely have that kickstand switch disconnected then.

On the way home for lunch this afternoon, I saw a white Tesla on Darby-Paoli just after the Godfrey turn.  When I left the house yesterday afternoon the odo read 3442.3 and on return 3468.6 for 26.3 miles on this ride.

The exotic tally stands at 11 Ferraris, 11 Teslas, 9 Maseratis, 3 Cobras, 2 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 1950s Chrysler, one 1950s Oldsmobile, one 1950's Plymouth, one Karmann Ghia, and one Ford Model A.

On return 3468.6 at 19:34

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Dixie Picnic, Car Show, and Amish Country

Pepe's 1940 Buick

After my morning ride on Saturday, Charlene and I took a big spin on the MG.  We began by going to breakfast at a place called Dixie Picnic in Frazer.  To get there we just headed up 252 and made a hard left at 30 until we got to Frazer.  The food wasn't bad but it wasn't particularly good either.  I had an omelette that was very eggy, maybe their sandwiches are better but the breakfast was not worth going out of the way for.

From there we just headed West on 30 to get out to Amish Country.  We didn't have any particular destination but Charlene wanted to go to Stolhfuz's Nursery on Newport Road in Intercourse so we headed in that general direction.  We did not take the 30 bypass and drove through Downingtown which turned out to be a good thing because we noticed a small car show going on in front of the VFW.  We pulled over, parked the car, and strolled it.  It was a show sponsored by the Delaware Valley Oldsmobile Club so it was mostly that, Pontiacs, and Buicks.  Mostly newer stuff but there were a couple of interesting cars like a 1940's Caddy and a Sequoia Cream 1940 Buick owned by a guy named Pepe which was amazing.

1956 Dodge in Paradise

After hanging out at the show for a little while we continued on West on 30 and stopped at Paradise Motors, surprisingly enough in Paradise, to check out some of the old cars on the lot.  By this time had already overshot Newport Road but we were unaware that we had done so.  As always, there were some interesting cars in the lot, a '56 Dodge for $9K, a '72 Bug for $8K, a rusted out Valiant, and a nice Corvair among others.  Every time I stop there I find something I like.  I wouldn't mind either the Dodge or the Bug.  When we got back in the car two little boys who were in the lot with their father came over to ooh and aah over the car.  One of them said, "real old school" and asked me where our kids rode.

From there we went on to Cackleberry Farms to do some antiquing.  After leaving there we followed Waze to get to Stolhfuz's but it led us through a wild goose chase all over Amish farmland were we saw countless buggies and Amish bicycles.  It's amazing that even Amish boys wave and give the thumbs up when they see the car.

Eventually I figured out that we were just driving around in circles and I had Waze lead us towards Intercourse because I knew that Newport Rd ran through there.  Once there it was easy enough to just follow Newport Rd until we found Stoolfuz's.  After stopping there we ran back to 30 and went to Gap to fuel up at the Wawa on 30 and 41.  At the Wawa the tank took 6.175 gallons at $3.069 a gallon for $18.95 total.  Since the last refuel we had put 143.7 miles on the odo and it read 3550.  The MG is doing 23.27 mpg which I think it's pretty good for this old car.

1811 Barn

We headed back on 30 this time taking the bypass to 100 and that down to 202 and the West Chester Pike.  While on the bypass, a black Maserati convertible passed us like we were standing still.  We took the Pike to Ellis Rd and that to Strasburg.  At the corner of Ellis and Stasburg we found an antique shop in an old barn and stopped there.  The lady that runs the shop has a cute Old English Sheepdog called Waldo and the barn has a date of 1811 scratched in the stucco.  I think the barn is older, the house is from the 1700s but I think it was stucco'ed in 1811 and that is why the date is there.  We bought an old chair from her that I'll have to go back and get because there was no way it was going to fit on the MG.

We had a great long ride, unfortunately, the sun was brutal.  I ended up pretty sun burned on my arms, neck, and face.  But despite all that we had a wonderful time and we found some nice places to cruise to again.

The exotic tally stands at 10 Ferraris, 9 Teslas, 7 Maseratis, 3 Cobras, 2 Bentleys, 2, McLarens,  1 Austin-Healeys, 2 Lambos, 1 Rolls Royce, 1 DeLorean, and 1 Unknown.

Dixie Picnic in Frazer

Delaware Valley Oldsmobile Club Show in Downingtown

Delaware Valley Oldsmobile Club Show in Downingtown

Delaware Valley Oldsmobile Club Show in Downingtown

Delaware Valley Oldsmobile Club Show in Downingtown

Delaware Valley Oldsmobile Club Show in Downingtown

Paradise Motors

Paradise Motors

Paradise Motors

Paradise Motors

Paradise Motors

  

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Valley Forge Ride

Sans hubcaps

Saturday was a beautiful, clear, blue sky day so we took a ride out to Valley Forge National Park in the early afternoon to take advantage of that great weather.

We headed out Darby Paoli/Church to Waterloo and followed Waterloo all the way out to Valley Forge.  On the way out, I noticed a gun metal gray Maserati a couple of cars ahead of me at the intersection of 30 and Waterloo.  I followed him for a bit but he peeled off and we continued on Waterloo.  We stopped at Mike's Consignment Shop in the Gateway Shopping Center because it's one of our favorite consignment shops in the area and it's on the way.  We weren't there long but when we came back to the car I noticed a big pool of liquid coming out from under the front.  I freaked out a little bit but on closer examination I realized that it was antifreeze.  Montse doesn't use antifreeze, it was probably from the car parked in that spot before us.  A little bit of a scare but nothing to it.

From there we continued on to the Park, it was full of Scouts and people with kids and dogs.  We got lots of thumbs ups and waves.  At one point a group of Scouts held their thumbs up asking for a ride so I pulled over and offered them all a ride if they could fit in the back.  We all had a big laugh over that.

We looped all over the park enjoying the twisty roads and then headed back home on a reverse route.  We had a short deviation, following Church to Conestoga and Wayne Street to check out a big manor house that is now visible because the leaves have not returned.  On Conestoga, we saw a blue Tesla and a blue Maserati in short succession.

A great ride even if not very long we were probably out for about an hour and a half to two hours.

The exotic car tally now stands at 9 Ferraris, 6 Teslas, 2 Lambos, 5 Maseratis, 2 Cobras, 2 Unknowns, 1 Bentley, 1 DeLorean, and 1 Austin-Healey.

Valley Forge Farm House

Abandoned restaurant on the edge of the Park

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The Second Day of Christmas - The Feast of Saint John the Apostle. bis.

St David's Chapel

After returning from the ride in the MG I decided that the weather was too good to waste and took advantage of it for a short ride on the Bullet.  This time I headed out Earles Lane towards Goshen despite the steel plates, I just skirted around them.  Once on Goshen I followed that to 252 for a right turn towards Sugartown Rd.  Traffic was light on 252 and I used that opportunity to open up the bike since the road was free and clear.  The Bullet reached 75 mph without trouble and was able to maintain it but that was as high as it got.  While on 252 I noticed a black Maserati headed in the opposite direction.  That is two exotics in one winter's day.

At Sugartown I turned right towards 30 but I had no intention of going that far, the plan was to go to Devon for a right turn and follow that out to St. David's Church for some pics.  I already have some pics in front of the church but I wanted to go up the hill to have a picture in front of the chapel.  Curiously, the chapel is about five time larger than the church itself.  While on Devon, I passed a group of kids playing in their front yard and one of the little girls stood up to wave wildly at me.  I waved back, it always brings a big smile to my face when kids wave.

I pulled into the empty lot at the top of the hill and no sooner had I set up that a SUV pulled up and parked on the other side of the divide.  A man an two women stepped out carrying cameras and tripods and the man started walking towards me.  It turns out that not only is he an avid photographer but also rides a Triumph.  We talked for a while about bikes and photography and the man asked if he could take a pic of the Bullet.  I of course agreed and asked if he posts his work on line.  Turns out that he has a Flickr account at Live2RideRide2Live with a ton of really awesome stuff.  They were really nice people and it really was a great pleasure to meet them and talk to them.  The pic he took of the Bullet can be seen on his Flickr page here.

After saying goodbye to them I continued on South Valley Forge Rd towards Church.  At Church I made a right and rode all the way back to Waterloo.  There I made a left and followed that to Newtown Rd and then took that to St. Davids to come back to Church.  At Church I caught up with another rider and just followed him out.  He was headed my way but continued past Spring so I followed him.  My intention was to follow him as far as Goshen and then go back home that way.  However, he made a ride at Goshen so I had to continue following him.  When we got to Malin he got tired of me being behind him and he pulled out fast.  I made no attempt to catch him but continued on Goshen towards Earles Lane.  At Earles Lane there was a three wheeler in front of me which I followed until the entrance to my subdivision.

The weather held through out the ride and I'm glad I did not waste the day.  The nicest thing was meeting Rob Royer, his wife, and his sister at St. David's and being able to connect with such nice people.

At the beginning of the ride the odo was at 2643.6 and at the end it read 2636.6.  Twenty mile exactly.  This ride ties my last ride last winter which happened on the 27th of December.  Last year I clocked approximately 2100 miles between April and the 27th of December.  This year, I've clocked 2636.6 miles on the Bullet, not counting the miles I had on the VStar before I traded it.

The exotic car tally now stands at 9 Ferraris, 4 Teslas, 2 Lambos, 3 Maseratis, 2 Cobras, 2 Unknowns, 1 Bentley, and 1 DeLorean.

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Ellis Preserve, Old Cameras, and Llamas!

Saturday we had a friend visiting so the Bullet stayed in storage and the MG stayed in the garage for most of the day.  Early Saturday evening I took our friend for a short spin around the neighborhood.  He took some video on his phone which he promised to send to me so when I have that I will post it here.  It was a cool evening so we didn't go very far or stay out very long.

On Sunday morning, after I took our friend to the train station in Philly, we took a little spin up Goshen/Strasburg.  It was really cold and despite having the heater running full blast we decided to come back home without going any further.  

In the mid-afternoon, I took the MG to Ellis Preserve to try out an old Minolta XD-5 camera that I've had laying around for a while.  The pictures in this post are the result of that shoot.  The camera is over-exposing by at least one stop so I adjusted the levels in Photoshop to get the results you see here.  I like the camera so I will adjust the exposure settings and test it out again.  On the way out to the Preserve, I ran across a blue Maserati on Goshen for the exotic car tally.

The exotic car tally now stands at 6 Ferraris, 2 Lambos, 3 Maseratis, 1 unknown, 1 Cobra, 1 Bentley, 1 DeLorean, 1 Tesla, and 1 MGA.

Later that afternoon, after 18:00, my wife drove me out to the storage area so I could bring the Bullet home to have for the week's commute.  I was rather cold by then, so I just rode straight back home with out any side trips.  On Monday morning the temps were down to the mid 40s so the Bullet stayed home until the afternoon when I used it to go back home.

Llamas!

Today the temps were much higher, in the low 60s in the morning and up to the mid 70s in the afternoon, so the Bullet did the whole commute.  After supper, my wife and I took a ride on the MG down Church Rd to Sugartown and 252 to pick up the developed film at Ritz Camera.  On the way back on 252 we took a detour through Grubbs Mill out to Goshen.  It was early evening, the light was beginning to fade and the Harvest Moon was low and golden in the sky.  The ride was beautiful through those country roads.  We stopped in front of the llama farm because they were out feeding and I took a phone camera shot since I never seem to have a good camera handy when they are out.  

Tomorrow, I'm taking the MG in to Gene's.  I've fooled around with the horn, trying to get it fixed, but I haven't been too successful.  I hope they can get it fixed quickly.

To see the Montse Flickr set, click here.

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Chadds Ford and Delaware

This is the longest run the Bullet has ever made.   I left the house at about 14:45 on Friday afternoon with the intention of doing the Chester County Dragon and headed out towards Goshen.  When I reached there, found Goshen closed to traffic headed towards 252 so I made a left and headed towards Malin Rd.  At Malin I made a right turn to reach Bryn Mawr Rd and from there to the West Chester Pike.  I followed the Pike to 926 and that all they way to Creek Rd (Rt 100) for a hard left.  Keeping the exotic car tally, there was a silver Ferrari headed east on the Pike at 926.  Later on in the ride I saw a silver Maserati at the intersection of Smiths Bridge Road and 100 in Delaware.

Creek Rd is the first leg of the Chester County Dragon Loop or The Loop so once I reached that on 926 I followed it to Chadds Ford, across US 1, over the Brandywine, and across the Delaware border.  This route, 926 and 100 runs mostly across wooded country with scattered farms along the way.  It is full of good turns and some nice hills making for a really fun run.  Rt 100 is a double road with no marked divider and the surface can be sketchy in areas but overall it's not a bad road.  Just before getting to US 1 at Chadd's Ford I pulled into the parking lot of the Chadds Ford Historical Society.  The Society is in what looks like and old converted barn that made for a really nice photo.  It would have been nice to pose the Bullet in front of it but the lot is made up of loose gravel and the idea of the Bullet taking a nose dive did not appeal to me.

After that brief stop I crossed over US 1, this is a dog leg left because 100 does not cross it straight and the road directly across, Station Way Rd, is a one way in the opposite direction.  From there 100 continues its twists and turns along the Brandywine and at one point crosses over it by way of a nice looking old bridge, almost Roman in character.  Shortly after that it crosses the Delaware border; I caught a glimpse of the Delaware sign and it kind of threw me because I did not expect it that soon.

In Delaware Creek Rd turns into Montchanin Rd and continues on with its country road character.  At the Smiths Bridge Rd four way stop I realized that it was taking more time than I thought and if I didn't turn back soon, Friday afternoon rush hour traffic would be upon me.  This is where the silver Maserati came from my left on Smiths Bridge.  Less than five hundred yards beyond Smith's Bridge I saw a long driveway on the left and I turned into that to make the return.  Thank the gods I had the presence of mind to check my six before making the turn.  I had a couple on a Mercedes Benz 360 SL with Delaware plates on my tail since crossing US1 and at this point the genius decided that he was either following to close or that he couldn't wait for me to make the turn so we would pass me on the left.  If I hadn't checked my six and slowed the turn he would have blindsided me and probably done me serious harm.  There was one second in which I intended to cancel the turn and give him chase but I am trying to give up road rage and my Seny overcame the Rauxa.  To give the good with the bad, as I pulled into the log driveway to check get my bearings on Waze, and older gentleman in a pick-up truck pulled in behind me to check if I was OK.  I gave him the thumbs up and we were both on our way.

I made the return on 100 in the opposite direction, overshooting Station Way Rd and having to make a quick turn around on the empty road before a force right on US 1.  Rt 100 in the opposite direction seemed a little more fun and faster because, it appeared to me, the most challenging twists are on the downhill.  I had previously decided not to make the blind merge onto the West Chester Pike from 926 so I cut across the Pike to Garrett Mill Rd.  This road cuts across Garret Mill Park and Okehocking Preserve along Ridley Creek and is designated a scenic route.  It is short but it is well worth the ride because of the feel of the road and the great scenery.  There is one spot that where a single lane bridge crosses over Turtle Rock Run with a big red barn serving as backdrop that would make an excellent photo.  No place to pull over but I might have to figure something out to get that shot.

Garret Mill Rd comes out on Goshen just yards above Sugartown Rd.  I made a quick change on the fly to take Sugartown avoiding all the construction drama going on at Goshen and 252.  This meant taking the Sugartown - Paoli Pike loop to Church and home.

This was a great ride, the longest the Bullet has ever since in terms of miles, 55 miles, and time, an hour and 45 minutes.  It is too bad that the timing required an abort on the flight plan and an early return.  The new plan is to leave directly form work next Friday with the same plan.  I am considering reversing the route by going 926 to 82 and then to 100 but we'll see what next Friday brings.

On leaving the house the odo was reading 1159 miles and on return 1214 miles.  The exotic car tally stands at two Ferraris, one Lamborghini, and one Maserati.  (I saw a blue Maserati later that evening but I was not on the Bullet so it doesn't count.)

My editor, Lucifer, "helping" with this post 

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