Under a Threatening Sky

On departure

Yesterday morning I took the Bullet out for a spin after almost a week away.  I headed out Bishop Hollow with the intention of doing a loop out to my gun club to see the progress on the storm repairs and then maybe do a longer run from there since I had the day off.

I was surprised by the level of debris and gravel on the road.  We had some rain the day before and throughout the evening but nothing that would bring the level of debris on the road.  The really worrying bit was the amount of large gravel on the road way.  In some places cars had already cleared a path but the large chunks of rocks on the sides and center of the roadway were intimidating.
Keeping all of this in mind plus the messages that the club have been sending about damages to the area the plan had to be changed.  At 352 I took a right and headed all the way out to the West Chester Pike to refuel at the Wawa and to come up with a new plan.  As I headed out that way I noticed the sky getting darker and more ominous to the point that when I finally got to the gas station it looked like rain was coming at any minute.  Not wanting to be out in it I just headed home via Goshen to try to beat the rain.  About half an hour after I got home the sky began to clear with never a drop having come down.  I could have stayed out but that would have been a sure way of having a deluge.

At the gas station

On leaving the house at 09:00 the odo read 4311.6.  At the gas station it read 4329.1 and the tank took 1.814gallons of premium at $3.199 a gallon for a total of $5.80.  Since the last refuel I put in 104.5 miles on the Bullet for a mileage of 57.6 mpg.  On return at 10:00 the odo read 4338.9.

The last time I rode the Bullet was on Tuesday, 30 June, to commute to work.  On the way home from work I saw a black Ferrari convertible turning left from Conestoga onto Ithan and when I was on Sproul headed towards Godfrey some high speed low drag exotic blew by me on the opposite direction.  It was moving too fast and had very little time to figure out what it was, mostly it was a blur of metallic cooper with googly headlights going by.
This tow encounters bring the exotic tally to 19 Ferraris, 17 Teslas, 11 Maseratis, 5 Bentleys, 5 McLarens, 3 Cobras, 2 Austin-Healeys, 2 Lambos, 3 Unknowns, 1 Rolls Royce, and 1 DeLorean.

On return

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Sunday Morning at the Office

It has been quite a while since I've taken a decent ride on the Bullet.  Unfortunately, this weekend did not afford me much of an opportunity to remedy that situation.  Saturday it rained all day, sometimes hard, sometimes barely at all, but it rained all day.  This morning broke blue and clear with very nice temps and very little humidity.  The Bullet was almost dry and I needed to go to the office for a little while so I left the house shortly before 10;00 and headed to my favorite refueling spot at the Wawa on the end of the Goshen loop.

The ride there and back was smooth and enjoyable and, since I had to go to the office, I continued on Goshen all to way to its end on the Darby Paoli Rd.  There, just after crossing the bridge on Darby Creek, I took the right to Roberts Lane where I made a left to Sproul.  I took Sproul to a right at Cove and that to a left on Ithan all the way to County Line Rd and my office.  This is the first time I've done this run on this direction since I mostly use this route to come home from work but I've never used it to go to work.  There was still quite a bit of debris on the road from the last two storms we have had and the twists and turns on Ithan are a little more challenging in this direction since they are mostly uphill.  I am pretty sure this will not become my regular commute to work but it will be another nice loop to try on weekends.

When I left the office blue had turned to cloudy so I just took the Spring Mill/Sproul/Godfrey route to get back home.

When I left the house I had 4214 miles on the odo, with just enough gas to get the Wawa.  At the gas station the odo read 4224.6 and the tank took 2.419 gallons of premium at $3.159 a gallon for a total of $7.64.  Since the last refuel I put in 149 miles on the Bullet, running almost to my safety line, for a mileage of 61.59 mpg.

At refuel

Sunday morning at the office I can park wherever I like

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The Lost Week

Ahlanna at the wheel

For the last week and a half we had our great-niece staying with us as she does every summer and, other than for a couple of errands, I didn't get to ride the Bullet very much because we were busy doing other things.  However, Ahlanna and I did enjoy several rides on the MG.

We took several short rides around the Goshen loop and then last Monday we took a real long ride on the Dragon.  We first stopped at Thornbury Farms to get some cookies.  Being a Monday there was no one else there and when paying I noticed a picture of a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang reproduction that I had seen at the Chester County Antique Car Show in May.  I pointed it out to Ahlanna and the girl behind the counter told me that it was their car, her father, the owner of Thornbury Farms, had made it for her and her siblings and that they took it to several shows.  I showed her the picture I had taken of it at Kimberton and we chatted about it for a while.  She said it was built on a 1929 Model T and that it was very popular whenever they showed it.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Kimberton

From there we rode down to the Birmingham-Lafayette Cemetery and took some shots of Ahlanna in the car in front of the octagonal school house.  Then we continued on down the way to get on the Dragon.  We had taken the precaution of fueling up the night before at the Wawa on the West Chester Pike and 352 so we didn't need to stop at the Sunoco on Route 1 to fuel up.

(When we fueled up on Sunday night, the tank took 3.520 gallons of Premium for a total of $11.79.  I had to take a picture of the pump because it didn't give me a receipt.  Since the refuel the week before we had put on 86.3 miles on the odo which, at refueling, read 4229 miles.  (This will become important on a later post.)  The mileage on this tank was 24.51 mpg.)

4229 miles on 21 June 2015

We stopped at the Taqueria Guadalajara for some carne asada tacos and horchata that we both enjoyed tremendously.  Instead of staying on the Dragon we veered off to stop at Baldwin's Book Barn.  We took a little break there and then doubled back to Birmingham Rd to catch 926.  On the way back we took Route 3 back to the edge of West Chester to run some errands but came back home via Strasburg/Goshen.  All in all we put almost 100 miles on the car on this ride.  It was the last opportunity that Ahlanna and I had to ride together (although we got two or three shorter rides before that) and she really enjoyed the car and the attention.  There were several instances were I noticed young boys her age who could not figure out where to look, at the car or the girl.  It was great fun for both of us.

On this Monday ride we saw two black Ferraris, a dark colored Tesla, a hot rod, and a late 40s early 50s pickup.  That brings the exotic tally to 17 Teslas, 17 Ferraris, 11 Maseratis, 5 Bentleys, 4 McLarens, 3 Cobras, 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, three 1960's 'Vettes, one MGA, two Hot Rods, one 1950s Chrysler, one 1950s Oldsmobile, one 1950's Plymouth, one Karmann Ghia, one 1950s grocery-getter, one 40s/50s pickup, one Triumph TR4, and one Ford Model A.

On the way for a ride on Wednesday night

Wednesday night

At Thornbury Farms

Birmingham, Lafayette

Birmingham, Lafayette

Snuff Mill

A natural at the wheel

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The Sugartown Moose

The Sugartown Moose

On Sunday night, 14 June, Charlene and I took the MG out for a short ride and refuel since we were close to hitting the bottom of my 150 miles per tank safety mark.  We did a Goshen loop out to the Wawa on the Chester Pike and 352 were we refueled.

When we fueled up, the tank took 6.378 gallons of Premium at $3.329 a gallon for a total of $21.23.  Since the last refuel on the MG we had put on 159.2 miles on the odo which, at refueling, read 4143 miles.  The mileage on this tank was 24.96 mpg.  From there we headed back home the long way going down Dutton Mill and Sugartown, where we got a shot of the flowered moose by slowing down on the middle of the road, and then turning around just past the Paoli Pike to retrace our run down Sugartown.  We took a couple of detours on some side roads but eventually took Providence, from Sugartown, and then cut back on Warren to Davis and back to Grubbs Mill.

Weather was perfect and it was another great ride.

4143 miles on Sunday, 14 June, 2015.

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Two Half Dragons

Friday morning I commuted to work on the Bullet as usual and stopped at the Most Expensive Gas Station in the Galaxy,  the Shell on the corner of Spring Mill and 30.  The reason for the stop was so that I could leave straight from the parking lot at noon and head out towards the Dragon without having to go home or stop somewhere for gas.  I wasn't sure that I could make it all the way out to Chadds Ford  before refueling and that is the most convenient station on this route.

At the station the Bullet had 4075.1 miles on the odo.  The tank took 2.182 gallons of premium at $3.999 a gallon for a total of $8.73.  Since the last refuel the Bullet had racked up 128.7 miles for a mileage of  58.98 mpg.

A little after noon I headed out Ithan with just a little oover 4075.1 miles on the odo.  I followed the Ithan loop to Sproul and took a left there to Roberts for the Right at Darby Paoli to Goshen.

From there I followed my regular loop out to the Dragon and stayed on that all the way until I entered Kennett Square.  I used the parking lot of the Gran Sasso, on the corner of 82 and Walnut as a turn around point and took the same route back.  The run in reverse was just as much fun but I did get lost on Mt. Cuba again.  This time I took the wrong fork and realized as soon as I had done so I did a quick turn around and got back on 82.

I think I have reached the limit of the envelope on this ride.  There are some curves the really scare the bejesus out of me but I am taking most of them as fast as I am going to do it.  The two way ride was really very enjoyable because it drops out the boring part of 926 but it is a little tiring.  Despite all that I think I will keep at it for most Friday afternoons from now on.

I got home at 14:38, figuring getting on the road about 12:15 that makes for a little under two and a half hours on the ride.  The odo read 4152.6 making this loop a little over 77 miles.  A good ride all in all, not mechanical problems, and no traffic problems.

On return

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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

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Thornbury Founders Day Show

Thornbury Park

On Saturday afternoon Charlene and I took the MG to the Thornbury Founders Day Celebration Show at Thornbury Park.  This was a small invitational show put on by HCCP for about 20 cars.  Jim Mooney had secured and invitation for us from Bill Kinnett so we were able to show Montse there.

The show began at 17:00 so we headed out of the house at about 16:30 to go to the Liberty Station on the West Chester Pike and Winding Rd for a refuel.  When we made the right at Winding Rd there was a green Tesla waiting for the light on the left turn lane.  I'm starting to think that Teslas are as thick as fleas around here.  At the gas station there was a white McLaren fueling up right next to us.  The guy was fueling up and I wanted to take a picture of the car but he looked a little sour faced so I didn't ask.  At the pump the odo read 3854 miles for 160.8 miles since the last fuel up.  The tank took 5.410 gallons at 3.699 a gallon for a total of $23.71 and a mileage of 29.72 mpg.

From there we headed up the Pike for the left at 926.  We followed 926 across 352 and made the left on Tanguy.  We stayed on Tanguy until we reached Cheney University and made the left onto Cheney Rd.   I had planned on taking Thornton off Cheney but I missed the turned and continued on Cheney until we reached Glen Mills Rd.  I made the right but soon found the road blocked.  I turned out that the blockage was part of the Founders Day Celebration, they make people park at outlying lots and ferry them in, so the guy just let us right through.

The Turners 1910 REO

When we got to the park most of the cars from the club were already there so we found a spot and parked.  We pulled out our chairs and set out to join the rest of the club.  We met the Turners (1910 REO) and the Alexanders (late 40s Chevy) and sat with them.  They were really nice and welcoming and we really enjoyed talking to them about car shows, tours, and the car life.  Also got to finally meet Jim Mooney in person, another great guy and very interested in photography so we had a ton of stuff to talk about.


Later on in the afternoon, Jim pointed out that there was an MG parked at the edge of the park.  It wasn't in the show area but evidently they let him in to the park.  We could see it from where we were standing and I could tell right away that it was a replica.  We walked over and took a look at it.  It was a white London Roadster, which I determined before I saw the plaque.  It was in good shape but not as good shape as Montse.  One of the things I noticed is that it had a Pennsylvania Antique plate, this is something that I want to get for Montse so I will have to do some research on that.  I had a huge brain embolism and didn't take a shot of it.  I don't know what I was thinking about but I didn't get a picture and I didn't leave a note with my number.  I would have liked to talked to the owner about the car.

We really enjoyed the picnic, there were some food vendors and we got a roasted pork sandwich form Duffer's that was really good.   We have passed this place quite a few times on 352 but have never stopped.  We are going to put it in as one of our food stops in the rambles.

We didn't stay until the fireworks, leaving early at around 20:30 to avoid darkness and mosquitoes.  It was a great time and we are definitely planning to do more club activities.

We took the same route in reverse and enjoyed the early evening ride.  I could tell that some grubby fingered ankle bitter had put his little mitts all over the hood because I could see sticky hand prints everywhere.  Not a big deal, simple wipe with McGuire's Ultimate Quick Detailer and it was good as new again.

The exotic tally stands at 15 Ferraris, 14 Teslas, 11 Maseratis, 4 Bentleys, 3 Cobras, 3 McLarens,  2 Austin-Healeys, 2 Lambos, 2 Unknowns,1 Rolls Royce, and 1 DeLorean.

For the rest of the show photos, see the Thornbury Show Set on Flickr.

Thornbury Park

1960s Excalibur Roadster

Jim Mooney's 1970s Blazer

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The Dragon on the Bullet

3708.9 on departure

Friday being the second Father Peter's Friday of the season and not wanting to repeat the beating of riding out to Dixie I headed out to ride the Dragon as soon as I got home and got changed to get on the road.

I took the regular run up Goshen to Garrett Mills and across the West Chester Pike to 926.  On the way out, because it was Friday after lunch time, the traffic was fairly light and I had big stretches of the road to myself.  I hit the red at 926 and 322/202, there I noticed a sign on my side of the road that said "The English Car" with an Union Jack for a background but no other information.  I scanned the area as best I could but could not find any other clue as to what that was about.

I hit the turn at Creek Road and decided to stop at the Sunoco on Route 1 because, once again, I could not remember when I had fueled up last.  I was pretty sure that I could make the run all the way without a refuel and I was really enjoying the twists on Creek before Rt 1 but there's no profit in the risk of running out of gas, specially on a loop like this where there is no other fuel until you reach Kennett Square.

3728.9 at refuel

At the Sunoco, the odo read 3728.9 and the tank took 1.886 gallons at $3.099 per gallon for $5.84.  Since the last refuel I've put 115.4 miles on the odo for 61.18 mpg on this tank.

From there I continued the loop.  The twists are still as much fun as I remember and with the added boost from the Power Commander the Bullet handled them even better than I remember.  I don't push them or go kamikaze crazy like the youngsters on the sports bikes but I still enjoying pushing then envelop a little.

The run out to Kennett Square was mostly solitary with very light traffic, if any, on most of the road.  I don't believe I saw another bike going in the opposite direction on this portion of the run.  Once in Kennett Square I accomplished the impossible, I was able to get across State Street without having to stop for the light.

The traffic from there began to pick up and got to the heaviest in 926 right before 322/202 and out to 352.  From there it lightened up again all the way home.

A fantabulous (you can tell I'm listening to Van Morrison radio on Pandora) way to spend a Friday afternoon when one doesn't have to go work.  When my friend Phillip comes to visit in July, we are doing this run.

I got back home almost two and a half hours after departure with 3771.1 miles on the odo for 62.2 miles on this run.  That's a smidgen over a gallon of gas but well worth it at $3.09 for Ultra.  Much more enjoyable than the Century I pulled the Friday before.  Next Friday, if the Parcae allow, I plan on running out to Kennett Square and turning around there to reverse the route and catch both sides of the twists.  May it be their will.

Refueling at the Sunoco on Route 1

3771 at return for 62.2 miles on the run

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Short Sunday Morning Ride

3599.2 on departure

Sunday morning we had planned to go the Chester County Antique Car Club Show in Kimberton so I got up early to take a short ride in the Bullet and fuel up for the week.

I just intended to go straight up Goshen to the Wawa and I figured since I left the house fairly early I would have the road mostly to myself.  Well it turns out that Sunday morning must have been National Drive Your Pick-up Slow Day.  Soon after crossing 252 I fell in behind a pick-up truck that was hell bent on driving 10 miles under the limit and ride the brakes on every curb.  I couldn't pass him on the left because of the twists and when I had a clear shot there was always someone on the on-coming lane.  So this continued until I got to Grubbs Mill where I made the right to get away.  At that point a Power Ranger in a sports bike blew by me probably as full of impatience as I was.  He should have come my way.

The loop on Grubbs Mill to Warren and the to Providence and Sugartown was mostly deserted.  A great time to enjoy the twists and turns without virtually any traffic to worry about.  Probably the best part of the ride.  Once back on Goshen things had cleared out a little so I was able to enjoy that part out to 352 and then to the Wawa without any more delays.

3613.5 at refuel

When I got to the Wawa the odo read 3613.5 and the tank took 1.875 gallons at $3.319 a gallon for a total of $6.22.  Since the refuel on Friday before the Dixie Run the Bullet had 118 miles on the odo.  That makes for 62.93 mpg on this tank.  The next refuel needs to happen before 3790 miles on the odo.

I took the reverse route back home without the loop out of Goshen only to fall in behind another pick-up truck driving below the speed limit.  When I was making the right onto Goshen, I noticed a red 1960s convertible 'Vette proceeding on 352 past me.  I was just after I made that turn that I got behind the yellow pick-up with the tree trimmings.  I followed this miserable guy all the way out to Old Covered Bridge Rd and then I had that little bit of Goshen free.

Not the greatest ride, except for the loop on Grubbs Mill, but it was just a fuel-up expedition in any case because we wanted to be on the road to the car show by 10:00.  When I got home, the odo read 3623.4 for about 22 miles on this run.

It did add another 'Vette to the count in what is turning out to be the Weekend of the 1960s 'Vette.  The classic car tally is now three Nash Metropolitans, three 1950s Jags, three 1960's 'Vettes, one MGA, one Hot Rod, one 1950s Chrysler, one 1950s Oldsmobile, one 1950's Plymouth, one Karmann Ghia, one 1950s grocery-getter, and one Ford Model A.

3623.4 on return

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A Year Later

Lola Too after one year and 3359.2 miles

A year ago today I brought the Bullet home.  It is still quirky and fun and I'm glad that I bought it.

To celebrate the anniversary I left work at 16:00 to take a ride.  It was another blue and beautiful day with temps in the 80s.  I took a different route on the commute home going on County Line Rd to Ithan and following that all the way down to Clyde Lane.  Ithan, pass Conestoga, is a twisty country lane with wooded areas on both sides and some pretty good snake turns.  I'm glad I found this route because I will probably use it more than my regular commute down Spring Mill Rd from now on.  Clyde Ln is just a short run to Sproul.  I had intended to make the left at Sproul and take that to Bryn Mawr but traffic on the inbound lane of Sproul was backed up all the way to Godfrey so I made the right turn to Godfrey and followed the regular route from there.

Once I got home I changed from my work clothes and went back out again.  By this time it was about 16:45 and home commute traffic was starting to build up so I planned on going up Goshen to Grubbs Mill to get off that line.  The run up Goshen wasn't as bad as I had expected but I still took Grubbs Mill and did a big loop back in that area.

At the Grubbs Mill/White Horse fork I stayed to the right on Grubbs Mill and kept on to Buttonwood almost all the way to its end on 252.  I used someones driveway for a turn around and then veered off onto Pinecroft and Hereford, turning around both times back to Buttonwood.  I retraced my route back down Buttonwood to Grubbs Mill and took the right turn there.   I followed that all the way to South Valley and took the left there to follow South Valley to Devon Road were I took another left.  Not wanting to be on a heavily traveled road I took the next left at Grubbs Rd and stayed on that all way down to Jaffreys.  There I continued on across Warren to Sugartown for the left back to Goshen.

The Grubbs Mill area is bounded by Goshen, Providence, Sugartown, 252.  It is mostly a network of  hilly and twisty narrow country lanes.  It is also mostly covered with wooded areas and there are very few straight shots in the whole area.  Because of this, it is not heavily traveled even at rush hour since there are no point A to point B short cuts.  This area is possibly one of the best motorcycle riding spots close to my house.  A fabulous place to celebrate the Bullet's one year journey.

At refuel 3349.4 miles

Once on Goshen I took the right turn and followed Goshen/Strasburg to almost its end at the West Chester Pike.  I did the turn around at the Bank and went back to 352 to go to the Wawa for gas.  At the Wawa the odo read 3349.4 miles.  That is 147 miles since the last refuel.  The tank took 2.483 gallons at $3.259 per gallon for $8.09.  That figures to 59.20 mpg on this refuel.

From there I just headed back to Strasburg/Goshen and followed that home.  When I left the house the odo was at about 3325 miles and when I returned it was at 3359.2 for about 54 miles on this run.  The Bullet had 35 miles when I picked it up a year ago so in this year we have done 3324 miles together.  Not bad at all.

This last year on the Bullet has been a lot of fun.  Yes, it does have its quirks and there have been some pretty frustrating times with kickstand switch issues which are still not resolved to my satisfaction.  However, on the whole, it is a great bike to ride.  It doesn't go fast enough to put life and limb in extreme danger, it is an attention magnet, and it sure gets a lot of style points for overall cool.  It won't kick over every time so thank the gods for the electronic ignition switch but when it does kick over, it sure is satisfying.  I really enjoy the vintage feel without the vintage hassles.  I still miss my old Yamaha, it was also a ton of fun, but I am glad to have the Bullet and I think I am enjoying a lot more than the Yamaha.

One year later

3359.2 miles at the end of the first year

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Replacement Tank - Part III - plus Hubcaps

New Tank

  This morning at 10:00, Jan from Gene's called me to say that the car was ready to be picked up.  I was going into a meeting at the time so at 11:00, when the meeting was over, I asked one of my co-workers to give me a ride to pick it up.

Harold had replaced the tank, adjusted the front and rear brakes, cleaned the oil screen, changed the oil, fixed the head lights by replacing the second fuse from the left, replaced fuel and vacuum hoses, and replaced the sending unit.  All of this plus labor and tax came to $227.77.

He had put $10.00 worth of gas in the tank so I headed out to fill it up and see if the previous leakage problem was solved.  I could have gone to a station on the West Chester Pike but I wanted a little bit of a test ride so I took Sproul up to Bryn Mawr, Darby-Paoli, and Goshen all the way up to Strasburg and 352 to the Wawa at the turn pike.

Refueling at the Wawa - 3353 miles

I stopped there for gas and while gassing up had a couple of guys come over to ask questions and chat about their sports cars.  That's one of the great things about this little car, you get to talk to a lot of people.  Now for the bad thing.  As soon as I filled the tank, gas started spilling out from under the silver cap over the sending unit.  The old tank had some black sealant gunk all over that spot but Harold had not sealed this thing.  I called Jan and she asked me to bring it back over.  On the way back, I just headed down the West Chester Pike straight to Gene's.  The brakes are working great, much stiffer than they have been and with plenty stopping power.  I got it going up to 70mph on the straightaway without any problems.

Black sealant gunk on the sending unit cap

When I got to Gene's Harold took over while I walked over to the Country Squire Diner for a little lunch.  I came back a little less than an hour later and he had sealed the sender unit cap with black gunk and taken 2.5 gallons out of the tank to give the gunk time to seal.  I will let it sit until Sunday and then I will refill it and see what happens.  Harold said to bring it back if it still leaks but I think it will be fine.

From there I headed home to get my truck because the Bullet was still at work and I did not want to have both the Bullet and the MG in the lot.  I will ride the Bullet home after work and then come back and pick up the truck later with my wife.

New MG hubcaps

Before going back to work, I took a couple of seconds to put the MG hubcaps on the MG.  I think they look rather nice.  I still like the original wire hubs that came with the car better but I like these hubcaps well enough and I think I will keep the on for now.  I know it was no big deal to make them but I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out.

Next I'm going to need to wash this thing to get all the yellow pollen off it.  I will have to do that this weekend to be ready for Carlisle.

Tank with black gunk sealant

Close up of new hubcaps

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Running on Empty

McLaren at 926 and 322

After supper on Sunday I put in a handful of miles on the Bullet because the weather was too good not to ride.  I didn't have a specific flight plan in mind, just wanted to head out to the end of Goshen/Strasburg and figure it out from there.

As cut across 252 on Goshen I fell in behind a red 1950s convertible Jag which looked a lot like the one I saw earlier in the day while on the MG.  I feel pretty sure it was the same but I will count it as a separate sighting.  I followed him down Goshen until he turned of on Old Covered Bridge Rd.  I gave in a honk and a wave and he responded in kind.

The road up Goshen/Strasburg was pretty clear and, while still pocked marked in some areas, there has been some work done so it's a lot more enjoyable to ride than it has been.  This time I brought both my sunglasses and my regular glasses so I didn't have to worry about the long shadows.  I've discovered that if I wear my sunglasses, I can ride with the visor up and other than an occasional bug slapping my in the face it feels better and more enjoyable than riding with the visor down.  Using my regular glasses I can't do this because the lenses are so small and wind and dust get in my eyes fairly easily.

3202.4 at refuel

The end of Strasburg snuck up on me but I did a quick turn around at the bank parking lot and headed back.  I noticed that the odo was reading close to 3200, if not over, and I couldn't remember what it was at my last refuel but I figured I must be close to 200 miles on this tank.  (Last refuel was at Boyle's where the odo read 3018.7 so at an estimated 60 mpg and a little under 3.0 gallons of usable fuel in the tank I was pretty close to empty.)  So I headed for the Wawa at 352 and the West Chester Pike for a fill up.   At the pump the odo read 3202.4 for 183.7 miles since the last refuel.  The tank took 3.247 gallons at $3.27 per gallon for a total of $10.65.  Mileage on this tank was 56.57 mpg.  This new setup with the Power Commander does eat more fuel than before but I still think it's worth it.  At 3.247 gallons the tank had to be completely empty and the Bullet running on fumes.

From the Wawa I headed up 352 to 926 and took that to 322 with the intention of using one of the parking lots there as a turn around.  As I approached Concord Rd, I saw a tan Austin-Healey sitting on my right waiting for the light.  Soon after that I came up on the lot on the right at 322 and turned in there.  Being late Sunday, that lot was mostly empty and I used to do some figure 8s and some weaving for my own amusement.  There was a burned yellow exotic parked among the few other cars and I rode over there to figure out what it was.  It turned out to be a McLaren. This car reminded me of the exotic I saw last summer that I couldn't identify, so much that I am sure it was the same model car.  Due to the highly scientific nature of this tally, I will count that car with this one as a McLaren.  After fooling around in the lot I headed back to 926 and then it struck me that taking a pic of the McLaren would be like shooting fish in a barrel so I crossed 926 to turn around in that lot and come back.  Lo and behold but who should I run into there but my friend in the Austin-Healey I had seen at Concord Rd.  I gave him the thumbs up and he smiled and returned it.  A good time was had by all.  I then went back to the MacLaren and took a couple of happy snaps.

This time I did head back down 926 to Garret Mill and Goshen for the ride home.  The ride was amazing.  I'm glad I lucked into not running out of gas and everything worked out fine.  The roads are looking better here too.  A big portion of 926, where the bigger holes were, has now been completely repaved making it a safer ride.  Looking forward to the Bullet's one year anniversary on the eighth of this month.

On departure the odo read 3189.6 and on return 3223.2 for a total of 42.6 miles on this run.

The classic car tally is now three Nash Metropolitans, three 1950s Jag,one MGA, one Hot Rod, one 1950s Chrysler, one 1950's Plymouth, and one Ford Model A.  The exotic tally stands at 10 Ferraris, 9 Teslas, 6 Maseratis, 3 Cobras, 2 Bentleys, 2, McLarens,  1 Austin-Healeys, 2 Lambos, 1 Rolls Royce, 1 DeLorean, and 1 Unknown.

McLaren

On departure 3189.6 at 18:10

On return 3223.2 at 19:15

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