The Bullet and the Midget: The Willows

Showing posts with label The Willows. Show all posts

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Cave Idus Martias!

On the Ides of March we had two rides on the MG to celebrate the coming Death of Winter. It was actually a little colder than ideal with temps in the low 40s, overcast, and very windy.

My wife and I took another quick loop around the neighborhood around 11:00 but it quickly turned more uncomfortable than we expected and we returned home. At noon, I took a ride out 252 to the Paoli Shopping Center to take some film to be developed at Ritz Camera and fueled up at the Luke Oil on the corner of Leopard Rd. and 30. I filled the tank all the way to the top since I had made a patch on it last December where I thought the spout was leaking. It turns out that the leak is still there. It may be from a bad cap, that will be the next step. If changing the cap does not work, I will replace the tank. On the way back I took the Sugartown Rd/Church Rd loop and stopped at The Willows for a photo from my phone. No photos, it didn't happen so that was a necessary stop. The pond at The Willows is still completely frozen over.

Speedo/odo with mileage at fill-up

Tomorrow the temps are forecast to go as high as the low sixties so I am thinking it's time to take the Enfield out. We'll see.

Sunday Rides

The Willows in the Snow

Despite the snow last Wednesday, Sunday turned out to be a great day for a ride. Although the day was grey and overcast the temps were in the mid 50s and not a drop of rain came down. Taking advantage of the good weather I took both the Bullet and the MG out.

The Bullet ride came first and it was a short (almost ten mile) jaunt around the neighborhood. It was just a stretch out Church to Saint Davids for a right at Newtown Street Rd to Waterloo and back Church to home. I did a quick stop at the Willows for some pics of the snow. No problems and no worries with the new air filter. When I left the house the odo was at 2570 and when I returned it was at 2579.9.

The MG ride took my wife and I down Church to Saint Davids but we continued on to 252 for a left at White Horse. I wanted to go back to the Melmark School and drive around the grounds if possible. The main gate was open but we were only able to go around the oblong drive leading to the main building. From there we headed back on White Horse to Grubbs Mill and Goshen. Somewhere on Grubbs Mill, we lost the front passenger hubcap but thankfully we both noticed and were able to back track to pick it up. Checking that hubcap needs to become part of the pre-flight checklist because I have noticed that it works loose fairly easily. At Goshen we headed out to Garrets Mill to where that roads runs into 3 and turned around at the little park there. On the way back we went by way of the Sugartown loop to get to Church Rd and home. That ride was a little over twenty miles and the MG continues to purr like a kitten.

There are some issues that still need addressing, however. The gauges don't appear to be working in a reliable manner, especially the gas gauge. The headlight keep blinking in and out without warning. After the ride, the headlights were out and no amount of jiggling of the fuses could bring them back. I also would like to see about coating or replacing the gas tank before the rust in it gets back.

This morning the weather was perfect and I commuted to work on the Bullet. On the way home for lunch I saw a red Ferrari convertible making a right from Spring Mill onto Lancaster Ave. I did not ride back after lunch because the sky threaten rain, which it delivered later on in the day, and I did not want to risk a ride home in the dark and the rain.

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

The Willows

Downingtown and the Willows

At The Willows

Yesterday afternoon, my wife and I took the MG for a spin out to Downingtown.

We headed up Goshen/Strasburg to 352. On the way up Goshen, we saw an orange exotic, I didn't recognize it saw it will go under the unknown category in the tally. At 352 we made a right turn to head north towards Downingtown. Soon after that turn 352 forks with Boot Rd which we took and followed all the way to its end at Brandywine Ave on the edge of Downingtown.

We drove around town for a bit, there's not much to Downingtown, and then headed back the way we came. Boot Rd is mostly rural and wooded with some subdivisions and commercial areas. The wooded parts were just in full burst of autumn color and made for a great "leaf peeping" experience. Unfortunately, as will always happen, I left my pocket camera and phone at home, so no photographic evidence of that part of the tour.

When we reached the Paoli Pike we headed into West Chester to get Lucifer some food since he was almost out and he eats like a little bear. From there we headed back down the Pike to Five Corners for a right towards the West Chester Pike where we hooked up with the Stasburg/Goshen loop.

Once we got home I decided that we should take the car to The Willows for some shots since we had no photos to show for jaunt. The Willows were mostly deserted owning to the lateness of the hour but that was great for photographing the car. It was almost the Golden Hour and the sky was overcast so light conditions were almost perfect. The following photos are from that shoot.