Grubbs Mill Road

Yesterday's ride began as a further exploration of the Grubbs Mill area.  The first leg was a regular run up Goshen towards the right turn at Grubbs Mill Rd.  From there to the White Horse fork and following that to the Davis Rd turn.  Davis Rd is a short, wooded, country lane that Ts out at Warren Rd.  A left turn at Warren goes through more wooded and farm areas on a double yellow that eventually comes to Providence Rd.  At the other side of Providence, Warren turns into a dirt lane that Ts out on Goshen.  I have been thinking about taking that portion of Warren for quiet a while but I haven't done it yet.  Instead, I took a left onto Providence towards Goshen for another right there.  I noticed quite a bit more traffic than I have seen before in this area and I also noticed a cop hiding out in a driveway before Hibid Farms waiting for speeders.
I took Goshen up to Reservoir Rd for a run to Paoli Pike and the Sugartown loop to Church Rd and home.  I briefly considered continuing on Sugartown to Dorset so I could stop at St. David's Episcopal for some pictures but decided against it.  I also briefly considered turning off from Church at Valley Forge Rd but I had a tailgater and some traffic at that intersection and I didn't want to risk a crowded left.

As I headed up the hill home, a chipmunk ran out of the woods and right into my path.  The only reason he didn't get run over is because the gods did not will it.  It could have been very ugly.  Ended up with 1135.7 miles on the odo.

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Inver House and Ellis Preserve

This last week we had our great-niece visiting from Louisiana so there was not a lot of opportunities for motorcycle riding.  I did, however, get in a couple of short rides on July 12th.  Having received in the mail a Canon S100 which I picked up on ebay, I was looking forward to trying the camera so I took a short ride in the morning more as an excuse to take a couple of pictures than anything else.

I headed towards Darby-Paoli Road to take a picture of the old gate that is just of the road.  My assumption was that this gate was part of the entrance to the old Ardrossan estate that was left as a vestige when that part of the estate was subdivided.  This assumption was completely wrong.  I had seen the gate many a time before, but I had never stopped to take a closer look.  On the top of each pillar under the lions, one can see very clearly the inscription "Inver House".   It turns out that Inver House was built in 1936 on the place of Laurento, another Main Line mansion.  Nothing remains of it now except for the gate and driveway leading nowhere.

 After the I continued on Darby-Paoli to a left on St. Davids, passed the roundabout and the under pass of 252 for another left onto 252.  From there I took a right on Goshen and followed that to Grubbs Mill Road where the llama farm is.  I took Grubbs Mill there and followed it for awhile, this was the first time I have been on this road.  Grubbs Mill is a true country lane with plenty of rolling hills, twists, and no dividing marks.  It crosses over Crum Creek on a single lane bridge and then comes to fork with White Horse Lane.  I followed White Horse which also crosses Crum Creek again and runs alongside the creek in a very picturesque manner.  Lots of old barns and farm houses but not much room to pull over and take pictures.  White Horse forks with Davis Rd but I followed White Horse to a right at South Valley Road which continued to merge with Grubbs Mill eventually running into 252 where I took a right.  I followed 252 to the new light at Sawmill and took that home after doing a neighborhood loop through that subdivision.

When I left the house the odo read 1076 and on return it clocked 1093.

Later that day, I took a ride over to Ellis Preserve to take some pictures of my great-niece on the Bullet and from there we rode to Honeygrow, in Radnor, for dinner.  When we returned, the sun had already gone down and we were riding in the dark.  This is the first time I've ridden the Bullet after dark and I was glad to see that, despite some things I've read on the internet, the stock headlights worked appropriately.

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Sunoco at Lunch

Made a run to get gas on the way back to work after lunch.  I could have gone to the Shell on Spring Mill Rd but I think that is the most expensive gas in the Mid-Atlantic.  Instead of going for the easy road back I took a left at Darby Paoli Rd to the dog leg turn at Brooke and Church.  I wanted to stay on Church, cross Conestoga to Aberdeen and then to the Sunoco at 30 and Aberdeen in Wayne.  However, Church was completely closed off by a work crew so the left fork to Brooke Rd was the only viable option.  That minor alteration meant a ride down Brooke to a right a Conestoga and a left a Aberdeen.  That is just as nice a ride as the Church portion, just a little longer.

After gassing up at the Sunoco I simply took 30 to the left at Spring Mill for the trip back to work.

At the Sunoco the tank took 2.455 gallons to fill up and the odo read 1068.5 miles.  This time the mileage was a little better than average figuring out to 70.61 mpg.  I don't know what caused that but it is a nice surprise.  Next fill up will have to be by 1268 miles.  I would have like to have a picture of the odo at 1066 but it completely escaped me until I noticed the mileage at the gas station

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Five Great Vintage Style Motorcycles

Gear Patrol has a listing of what they consider to be five great vintage motorcycles and a Royal Enfield is included.

RE Classic - Photo Credit: Gear Patrol

The list features the Triumph Scrambler at $9009, the Moto Guzzi V7 Special at $9290, the Honda Rebel at $4190, BMW R Nine T at $14900, and the Royal Enfield Classic at $6595.  While not the least expensive bike on the list it is definitely on the more affordable side and with definitely a lot of style points on its favor.

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Big Loop for Lucy

Today I just ran a big loop in the late afternoon, it was a rough day and I needed to clear my head.  It started on the regular Goshen Rd. loop but I took a right on Sugartown to Providence.  There I took another right and stayed on Providence to the West Chester Pike.  I left the Pike with a right turn at Delchester Rd and followed that back to Goshen where I took a left. I followed Goshen to a right on Reservoir Rd and then on to the Paoli Pike.  Instead of keeping on the Paoli leg, I left the Pike with a right at Sugartown back to left on Goshen and then home.

Most of this ride, except for the portions on the pikes was done through country lanes with nice turns and easy hills.  At this time of the day, with the sun going down, there are some nice long shadows but the sun was still high enough not to be in my eyes.  Providence Rd is mostly wooded and shady and there are two four way stops between Strasburg and the Paoli Pike that slowed the run quite a bit.  The Paoli Pike was not busy and this was a rather enjoyable right for a change.

At the end of the ride the odor clocked 1044.9 miles for a total of 31 miles.

I think I'll begin keeping track of exotic cars I see in my rides.  Yesterday we ran across a white Lamborghini and the day before it was a yellow Ferrari, both on 926. 

Last night we had to put down our dog Lucy.  She was fourteen years old and had developed a tumor on her spleen.  She was a sweet old dog and we will miss her tremendously.

Lucy

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Goose Creek Grill

V Stoms at Goose Creek Grill

 Yesterday I noticed what looked like a cool place to have breakfast while on my ride on 926 and I made a plan to come back today with my wife.  We left the house about 09:00 and headed up Goshen to Providence road where we made a left turn.  Today that intersection was littered with gravel that was not there yesterday.  I don't know where it came from but luckily I saw as we approached so I was prepared for it and took the turn without any problems.  

We continued up the West Chester Pike and made the left at 926.  We crossed over 352 and found the Goose Creek Grill on the left soon after that.  As we pulled into the parking lot, we noticed a large group of riders on the side of the building.  We pulled up and parked next to the other bikes and before we were off the Bullet we had a group around us.  The Bullet draws attention everywhere it goes.  We talked to everyone about the Bullet and the bikes they had.  There was a majority of sports bikes and modern standards (including two V Strom 650s like Phillip's, my friend in Idaho), however, there was also a 1968 Honda that someone had on a trailer.  There was also a 2005 Bonneville T100 and a Ural sidecar that looked really nice.  I talked to the owner and he said that, even though he had bought the adapter kit for the Bonneville, he had a devil of a time getting the sidecar installed.  This was a great group of guys and, although they don't generally ride together, they meet at the Goose Creek Grill every Saturday around 08:00 and have breakfast together.  I don't think I will be able to make it next Saturday but we are making a plan to go the following Saturday.

Bonneville T100 with Ural sidecar

After breakfast and a walk around the park, we headed back on 926 to 353 across the Pike and to Strasburg for the way home.  Another great easy ride, the Bullet turned over 1000 miles shortly after we left the Goose Creek Grill parking lot and we added another 13 miles before getting home.

The HBC 100 plus communicators worked well for the trip out but once we turned them on for the trip back one of them refused to work.  I can hear my wife on mine but she can't hear me on hers.  I tried turning them off, rebooting, and re-synchronizing but none of these things seem to work.  I put in an email to UClear but I don't expect to get a reply at least until next Tuesday.  Very aggravating.

After this trip, the odo clocked 1013.8 for a total of 24 miles on the run.

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Brandywine Battlefield Ride

This morning the sky was still severely cloudy and the threat of rain and storms from Hurricane Arthur where still hanging in the air so any riding had to be postponed for better weather.  While it rained a little during the morning, by one o'clock the clouds were beginning to break up and the sun was beginning to poke out from behind them.  I made the decision that there might not be a better time so I headed out for a ride.

I didn't have a set flight plan when I left but while I debated going out Church I went up Goshen instead.  At Providence Road I made a hard left towards the West Chester Pike, I hadn't been on this run in a while and I enjoyed the nice easy turns and rolling hills.  At the Pike I made a right turn following it 926 where I took a left on that road.

This was my first time on 926 on a bike.  The portion between the Pike and 352 has some nice tight turns and a couple of good hills.  After 352, the road runs to some wooded areas and some developed areas but it is mostly straight if not necessarily flat.  I continued on 926 until I saw the first road sign for the Battle of Brandywine just past Birmingham Road.  I took the first left turn into a no outlet subdivision right after Birmingham Rd and used that as a turn around.

I thought about taking a left on 352 to hook up with Strasburg Road on the other side of the Pike but since the best part of 926 is past 352, I decided to stay on that to link up with the Pike.  The right exit from 926 to the Pike is a short off ramp with a stop that leads you to a blind merge onto the Pike.  I did not like that blind merge so, in the future, I may exit 926 by turning left on the Pike.

From the Pike, I took a left on Delchester Rd to reach Goshen and from there home.  However, when I got to the 252 interception I made a hard left and followed that to Sugartown to Church for the ride home.  I just felt like adding a couple of extra miles to the run.

Overall, a real nice run.  Glad to have begun exploring 926 as this will give access to the Baltimore Pike for runs into Maryland and to the Chester County Dragon that I plan on running soon.  No rain, no issues, just a fun run.  At the end of the run the odo clocked 986.2 miles for a total of 42.7 miles on this ride.

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Riding a Spyder in Idaho

Fueling up on the way out

I was out in Boise, Idaho, the last couple of days on a work deal but that doesn't mean that you can't ride.  Luckily, I was able to hang out with my friend Phillip who rides a Suzuki V Strom 650 and we did some cruising.  Phillip hooked me up with Birds of Prey Motorsports in Caldwell, just outside Boise, where they rented me a Can Am Spyder RT for only $129 a day.  Since I was not going to be in Boise long, I only got the one day rental but Phillip and I made good use of the time I had.

Phillip on his V Strom

On the evening of July 1st, we took a long ride out east of the city.  I'm not quite sure of the route as Phillip was leading and I was just trying to get used to piloting the Spyder.  (Addendum 06 July from my friend Phillip - "from SE Boise, east on e. Warm springs ave, s on hwy 21, s. Federal way, crossing I-84, s. Eiseman, west on gowen (south of BOI and air guard base), s on pleasant valley road past the quarry and two state prisons, east on kuna mora rd, which turns into black creek.  Blacks creek terminates at gravel road, which is called foothills...so we covered all of blacks creek road!")  This Spyder was the automatic model, without a clutch and with a thumb shifter, which took a little while to get used to but that I enjoyed none the less.  I figured the eventually we ended up on East Black Creek Road for quite a while.  This road links up with the Oregon Trail and runs part of the trail.  Whatever the route, the ride was very enjoyable with enough twists and hills to make it entertaining.  The terrain was very western high desert and we saw some rabbits and quail along the way.  On the way back we ended up on I-84 for a little while and I tried to push the Spyder to break the ton but I was only able to reach 91 mph as we approached our off ramp rather quickly.  We clocked a little over 60 miles on this run.

Me on the Spyder RT

The following morning we rode out towards Idaho City via Route 21 (Ponderosa Pine Scenic Route).  This is a really great ride rising from the high desert towards alpine meadows and mountains.  Roble's Creek runs along this route and there are several dam lakes and very scenic areas through out.  At about less than 10 miles from Idaho City we ran into road work and we turned around there because we were on a tight schedule.  We headed by to Boise and probably clocked a little over 40 miles on that run.

Phillip was nice enough to offer me a ride on his V Strom before we headed out to return the Spyder.  The V Strom is a really sweet ride, I did not go very far on it, just a little down the road in his neighborhood but I can tell there is a lot of pep in that bike.

On the way to Idaho City

On the way to Idaho City

I followed Phillip back out to Caldwell to return the bike but that ride was mostly done on I-84 so not much that another 40 miles on freeway conditions.  On the way to the airport we stopped at a Cycle Gear store in Meridian where I bought a UClear HBC 100 plus dual pack communicators.  When I test them out I will review them here.

The Old Toll Road

The Old Toll Road

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Wildlife Encounters

Friday's afternoon ride took me to West Chester via the Paoli Pike.  The original flight plan was to head up Goshen/Strasburg to get to the West Goshen Shopping Center on the Paoli Pike via the West Chester downtown.  That was the target because I need to go to the pet store there to buy treats for my new kitten, Lucifer.  When I reached the 252 and Goshen interception I made an on the fly decision to change the plan and take 252 to Darby Road, Devon Road, and the Paoli Pike to test traffic conditions in the early afternoon on the Pike.  As I headed up 252, I startled a red-tailed hawk that was on the grass at the right side of the road.  She took flight and at first attempted to fly across my path to the trees on my left but as soon as she was up, she veered right and came to perch at the top of a phone pole on my right.  The reason she was on the grass was that she had caught a snake which she took with her to the top of the pole.  If that was not a good omen from the shades of my ancestors, I don't know what is.

The rest of the ride out to the shopping center was without incident, traffic was light and moving at a good pace.  Traffic in the opposite direction was fairly light as well.  After stopping at the pet shop, I continued up the Pike into town and used the Wawa, right after the merge of the Pike with  Gay Street, as a turnaround and refueling point.  At that point the odo clocked 895 miles and tank required 2.597 gallons to fill up, still averaging 67 mpg.  Next refuel at 1095 miles.  While at the pump, a guy that had pulled up on a sports bike came over and asked me "what's that?"  We talked about Enfields for a while; he had never heard of them and was really interested in learning.  It was nice to chat with someone about the Bullet and it really confirmed that people will just walk up and ask about the thing.

The path back followed the usual run down Strasburg/Goshen and was nice as ever.  At a point shortly before reaching Bartram's Covered Bridge on Boot Road a big fat ground hog ran across the road from my left to my right.  I say him with enough time to react and slow down so there was no problem but it definitely was amusing to him waddle across the road.  Since I had slowed down almost to walking speeding, I decided to pull over on Boot Rd and get a shot of the Bullet with Lewis Run and the covered bridge in the background.  The bridge is not really visible because of the trees and the quality of the phone photos is not great but is not a bad shot overall.

I continued down Goshen all the way to it's end over Darby Creek at Darby Paoli Road.  Took a left after the creek and followed Darby Paoli to Godfrey for a run by my office.  I stopped in to check on somethings I had forgotten to do before leaving earlier in the day and the headed back home on my regular commute route.

It was a great ride, no problems from the Bullet, great to see wildlife up close without any negative effects, and to be able to put in some more easy miles on the odo.  At the end of the ride, the odo read 917.5.

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A Long Way on a Royal Enfield

Getting started in Sydney

Found this bit on Jorge Pullin's blog.  There is a young man in Australia that has set set of to make the journey from Sydney to London on a 1969 Royal Enfield Bullet 350.  At least I think it's a 350.  His name is Jonathan Gibson, a former bartender and urban designer from Sydney, and he is keeping a record of his travels in his blog, The Answer is Always Yes.

He started of on March 26, 2014, from Sydney and has endured an incredible run of bad luck with breakdowns, lost gear, and dead kangaroos.  The last entry on the blog is from June 6 and he has gotten as far as Darwin where he is stopped with a hole in the piston and serious engine issues.  The blog is a really good read and I hope he can continue, on with better luck, to regale us with tales of his long journey.

1969 Bullet 

I wish him fair seas and following winds.

Photo credit The Answer is Always Yes blog.

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It Did It Again

On the way

 Well, this morning the Bullet started, sputtered, and died.  Several tries later, all that happened was that the ignition would try to spark but there was no engine catch.  Tomorrow the tow truck is supposed to come to take it back to Kiss Honda.  Maybe they can figure out what's wrong.

At Kiss Honda

Addendum (24 June 2014): Tuesday morning, Bill from Peg's Towing showed up as scheduled and picked up the bike.  We made it Pottstown without any problems.  After I dropped off the Bullet, I watched as the service technician got on it and it turned over right away without any issues.  Of course it would!  They'll be keeping it to see if they can figure out what the problem is.

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First Casualty of the Thump

Missing rear shroud round head bolt

I noticed yesterday that the rear round head bolt holding the muffler shroud had fallen out with the shake of the Bullet.  Figured that it was around a 6mm bolt, I tried removing one of the others to checked the length but at the time they were both still firmly attached so I judged from the cavity that it would not be very long.

Today, on my diagnostic trips around the neighborhood, I took a jaunt to the True Value Hardware Store in the shopping center on the West Chester Pike and 252 to get some bolts.  The shortest I was able to find was a 6mm x 12.  I settled for that and brought it back home.  Once home, I was able to remove the side bolt and it turns out that it's probably a 6mm x 6.  I put the original bolt in the rear hole of the shroud, where I have lost the original, and the replacement 6mm x 12 in the side hole.  That fits much better there, I could probably get away with a 6mm x 10 in that spot but in the rear spot it really stuck up.  I used blue Loctite on both bolts.  When I next go to big box hardware store, I will look for a 6x6 or a 6x10 to replace the 6x12 I have now.  I will also have to keep an eye on it just in case.

Original front shroud round head bolt

Replaced rear bolt with original side bolt

Hardware store 6mm x 12 temporary on the side bolt  hole

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DK Diner in West Chester

At the DK Diner

This morning my wife and I headed out on the Bullet for a late breakfast at the DK Diner in West Chester.  I had a little trouble getting the bike started because it seemed to be struggling to catch.  Once the throttle was engaged and the engine started to rev things seemed to settle down.

 We took our usual route up Goshen/Strasburg to the West Chester Pike and into West Chester.  The ride up Goshen/Strasburg was perfect, the llamas were out in the pasture and I thought for a second to pull over and get some pictures but I saw a pelotón of bicyclists assembling off Goshen under a tent and I did not want to get caught up in their madness.  The Parcae smiled on us and we hit every stop and light without opposition and were able to reach the Pike from 252 without putting our feet down once.

Charlene at the DK Diner

The DK Diner is on Gay Street before getting to downtown to it was an easy off right into the parking lot for a prime parking spot.  After breakfast we headed up Gay into downtown West Chester and then turned around on New Street to take Market Street out of town.  We took the Paoli Pike to the Chester County Book and Music Company and hung around there for a little while.  When we returned to the Bullet there was a gentleman in his pickup truck waiting to talk to us about the Bullet.  He was a flat track racer and had Triumphs and BSAs when he was still riding.  He had been born in West Chester and had grown up in the area but had eventually moved to San Francisco a lived there most of his adult life only returning to West Chester after retirement.  Besides motorcycles we talked about things California and because I grew up in Southern California (Anaheim, to be precise) we ended up talking about In-N-Out Burger.  You can't talk about California without talking about In-N-Out.  It was great to meet him and to talk about motorcycles and burgers, it really is hard to go out on a Bullet and not meet someone.

Enjoying breakfast

Enjoying breakfast

We headed back up the Pike towards West Chester to turn around towards West Chester Pike.  I didn't want to stay on the Paoli Pike because my rides on that road have not been enjoyable and I did not want my wife to have an unenjoyable ride.

From the West Chester Pike we got back on Strasburg and followed that down all the way to 252.  The light caught us there and when it turned back to green the Bullet gasped and died on the spot.  I tried to restart it and despite the engine priming and the electrical giving it the best it had it refused to ignite.  After the next light cycle, I trundled it off the thoroughfare and began again.  After several unsuccessful tries we both decided to trundle it across 252 to the parking lot of the Newtown Square Presbyterian Church.  This, of course, had to happen just as people were arriving for services and filling the parking lot.  We found a spot in the far end of the lot and I began trying to restart the Bullet again.  I tried with the kick start but despite several tries nothing improved.  Eventually, I could feel the engine trying to start at the bottom of the kick so I switched to the electronic ignition and it finally caught.  We went straight home from there and after dropping my wife off I did several starts and stops, a couple of loops around the neighborhood, and even as far as the hardware store on West Chester Pike and 252 without any other problems.  I have no idea what the issue could have been.  I will keep using the bike with the intention on taking it in to have it checked by next Saturday regardless of a repeat of the episode.

At the end of the day, the odo clocked 822.7 miles.

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Valley Forge Ride

National Memorial Arch, Valley Forge

Headed out towards Church Road with no particular flight plan in mind.  There was a work crew doing some repairs to the grounds by the old Ardrossan gate.  I have had that gate in mind as a place for a photo but with the crew in the way and the grass being all torn up it didn't seem like a good idea at the time.

General Mad Anthony Wayne

Not having that possibility in mind I continued down Church towards Waterloo and once there followed Waterloo to Valley Forge.  Once in the park I just followed the roads and wound about the hills, this is a good ride for a helmet camera video.  Some of the side roads were closed, I assumed for repairs or debris removal, but most of the park was accessible.  Made two stops for photos, first in the parking lot behind the National Memorial Arch and then at the Mad Anthony Monument.  The bit of cobble stone in front of the Arch was no fun to negotiate, have to take it slow through there or you might jar your teeth loose.  The road that winds up to the Mad Anthony Monument winds down to 252.  Traffic on Waterloo/252 on the way up was rather heavy from the Baptist Church in the Great Valley (another target for photos) area to the Chesterbrook turn off so I decided to follow turn right on 252 under 202 rather than to take Waterloo back.
After clearing the one way bridge on 252 traffic started getting heavy there too so I took the Sugartown turn off to Church for the way home.

I would like to do the Valley Forge ride again with a helmet camera and earlier in the day when there are less tourists in the area.  The park wasn't congested but it would have been nicer with fewer cars.  Great weather, clear and nice temps with just a little wind.  The heavy forecast for yesterday's rain did not really materialize.  It stated raining around 13:00 and probably stopped a little after 16:30 and it was never heavy rain.

After the morning commute the odo was probably clocking at around 758 miles.  By the end of the Valley Forge ride it is at 786.8 miles.

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Yesterday's Early Evening Ride

After a day of forecasted rain that never materialized, an early evening ride was definitely the way to go.  Tried for a little variant on the Goshen run that included a loop around Providence Rd towards Sugartown Rd.  Once at Sugartown I made the big block back to Goshen and then for a second run on Providence in the same direction as before.  At the T intersection of Providence and Sugartown I took that road towards the Paoli Turnpike and then the Darby and Devon roads loop to the Sugartown Rd beyond 252 to Church and home.

That ride is also a great load of fun.  The Goshen Rd. terrain is continued on Providence with nice twists and low hills.  As the sun was low in the sky there were good long shadows and cool temps but in some stretches of Providence the sun was right in my eyes.  On the first turn from Providence to Sugartown I wanted to take Dutton's Mill Rd and do that loop to Goshen, giving me a longer run on Goshen before the second turn on Providence, but I miscalculated where Dutton's Mill comes out on Sugartown.  It is beyond the Providence T towards the Paoli Pike not in the direction of Goshen.  There was a Verizon crew on Sugartown, close to the Pike, but the timing worked out right and I got the go ahead without having to stop.

After the morning commute there were about 727 miles on the odo, did the Ithan loop on the way home which must add a little mileage.  By the end of this ride the odo is close to 749 miles.  Trying to get to 1500 by the end of July if possible.

Today the forecast was for heavier rain.  It is now 11:30 and it hasn't happened yet.  However, I needed to use the car for work today so no commute on the Bullet.

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Oh, the Humanity!

Ouch!

First ding.  Don't like that, first implies that there will be others to follow but that is the nature of things.  Have no idea how this happened.  Found it last night when I came back to work to pickup a couple of things I had left behind at the office and as I walked towards the bike I noticed the scrape. The first suspect was the Fox Tactical Fork Bag; it could have scraped the parking sticker so the bag is gone now.  On close inspection of the bag, however, there was no sticker residue and nothing hard enough on the bag itself to have caused this scrape.  It is a pretty serious scrape that has taken a whole layer of paint off.

My next thought was that somebody had tried to scrape the parking sticker off and caused the damage but I can't imagine why.  The parking stickers are cheap enough as to be practically free so there really is no reason to try to steal one.

The Bullet is never parked close enough to cars for this to be a door ding and it isn't a ding but a scrape.  So, that leaves that option out and it doesn't appear that the Bullet had been hit hard enough by a door to cause this much loss of paint without leaving a ding.

It has me baffled, I guess I'll never know.  The next step is to get some touch up paint, clean off the goop left behind by the sticker's adhesive, and cover it up as best I can.

As Tony Soprano was fond of saying, "what're you gonna do?"

On the way to work this morning, I stopped at the Shell station on the corner of 30 and Spring Mill to fill-up.  This is never a good idea because this Shell has to be the most expensive gas station in the whole tri-state area.  The odo was at 720.2 and it should have been good to go up to at least 747 miles but last night on the way back from work the gas light was flashing intermittently.  Supposedly, that light comes on once you are into the reserves and stays on solid.  Didn't think there was any need to risk going dry even when it meant having to pay extra for the gas.  The tank took 2.52 gallons to fill and it should be good up to 920 miles for the next fill-up.  Mileage figured out to 67.82 mpg.

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Lunchtime Ride to Bartram's Covered Bridge

Lunch today was taken over by a short ride to check on one of my old cameras.  Left work via Ithan to Conestoga.  Ithan Rd has been completely resurfaced south of 30.  This is a very good thing because the stretch in from of the Agnes Irwin School had gotten pretty bad since the winter snows.  There was some electrical line repair going on in front of the school but they had divided the remaining lane for traffic and there was no need to stop. 

From Conestoga I took Spoul out to Bryn Mawr Ave and out to the West Chester Pike heading away from Philadelphia and out towards Chester County.  Traffic on the Pike was fairly light for midday and the lights seemed to be in my favor as there was a run of several clear greens past 252.  The Pike brought me to Providence Rd where I headed north to the intersection with Goshen.  A right turn there led me back towards 252 and home for a little lunch.  

Bartram's Covered Bridge

One of the reasons for this ride was to test my old Fuji S9100 as a possible carry camera on these jaunts.  The Nikon D7000 and D80 are to big and bulky to carry comfortably on the bike and the D80 lacks live-view which would require helmet removal to take pictures.  As intended, for a while, I stopped in front of Bartram's Covered Bridge, the last covered bridge left in Delaware County, and snapped a couple of shots.  They didn't turned out half bad but I still think I would rather have a good pocket camera so as not to have to carry a bag.   

On crossing the road back to the Bullet, there was a one pointer feeding on the edge of the road just about 75 yards from the end of the bridge.  The capture is not the best as this is a crop of the resulting shot taken with the lens cranked out all the way to 300mm.  The little buck bolted away back into the woods to avoid the oncoming truck not giving much of a chance to get much more than this one shot.

One pointer feeding by the covered bridge

The way back from the covered bridge followed Goshen home, although the detour around Goshen east of 252 is still in place.  After lunch just took the regular commute route back to work and now to wait for maybe a ride this afternoon if it doesn't get much hotter.

The photos below are test shots of the S9100 taken this morning in the parking structure.  The mileage on the odo after this lunchtime jaunt may be around 700 miles if not a little over.

In the parking garage

Ten miles since yesterday morning

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Bullet Engine Schematic

We did not ride out to Adamstown but I ended up there Sunday afternoon doing a little antiquing with my wife.  It would have been a nice ride on the Bullet but not very practical if we had bought something like a framed poster.  Not that I bought a framed poster but I came close.  As I was wandering about one of the shops, Adamstown Antique Mall to be more precise, I noticed high on a wall an engine schematic for a Royal Enfield Bullet.  They wanted $75 for it and I thought that was a little much for a disintegrating poster but it sure was cool.  It appears to be English and from the fifties.  Here is a fuzzy cell phone picture of it.  

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Today is Ride to Work Day!

Nice commute to work this morning.

Leaving the house

At the garage at work

666 miles!  Oh, oh!  XD

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Father's Day Brunch in West Chester

For father's day my wife and I headed out on the Bullet to West Chester for brunch in a downtown restaurant.  We didn't have anyplace special picked out we just wanted to go and find something there.  The quickest way would have been to head up West Chester Pike but the more fun and twisty ride is up the Goshen/Strasburg to West Chester Pike route.  We both love that route because of the scenery, the hills, and the twists and turns of the road.  No geese on the road today but as we crossed 252 we picked up a New Yorker in front of us who must have been leaf peeping in the wrong season, the guy could go no faster than 30 mph.  All that road is double yellow and with many blind turns so it's hard to pass someone.  Luckily there was a spot along the horse farms before the Providence Rd. intersection where it was clear enough to make a break for it.  Once we cleared him the ride was definitely more enjoyable.

The downtown area of West Chester runs between Gay St. and Market Street from about Bolmar St. to New St.  As you head into town on the Pike it turns into Gay St. and continues up through downtown as a one way street.  At some point, if you bear left, the next street over is Market which runs the other way back to West Chester Pike and the Paoli Pike turnoff.  We followed Gay all the way to New and made the turn to come back on Market settling on a parking lot near the corner of Gay and Walnut.  Leaving the Bullet there, we walked along Gay to find a place for Brunch.

We settled on the Side Bar because they had seating outside and a good looking menu.  The food was great and the weather was perfect for an outside brunch. While we were waiting for our food, a nice older gentleman approached us and compliment me on the Bullet.  We chatted about it for a little while and he was surprised to learn that they are still being made.  He though it was a vintage bike not something with just a little over 600 miles on it.

After brunch we headed back on the reverse route.  No New Yorkers this time and the road was free an clear.  At a couples of places, where I had a tailwind and a downhill slide, the Bullet reached and maintained a little over 60 mph on less than half throttle.  It's nice to know that even with two people on board it is still game. Much fun was had by all.  By the end of the ride we had clocked  a little over 661 miles on the odo.

Looking forward to Ride to Work tomorrow.

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