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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Gizmo Test Ride on Easter Sunday

Bike Grip Gizmo

This morning I installed this Sharper Image Bike Grip gizmo I got to mount my cell so I can have GPS on the Bullet when I ride.  I don't have anyway to power a phone but if I have a fully charged phone at least I can find my way back should I ever need to.

The gizmo was easy enough to install, requiring no tools and going on without any difficulties.  I mounted my old FTC phone on it just in case it didn't work as advertised.  However, the thing held without any problems.

To test it I took a short ride on the Goshen-Sugartown-Paoli Pike- Sugartown- Church Rd loop.  I left the house shortly before noon with really good weather and temp.  No need to layer up today, just a sweatshirt and leather jacket and that was enough.

On the run up Goshen, right before Providence, I saw a turquoise and white Nash Metropolitan going the opposite direction on Goshen.  Right after crossing Providence I also so a Model A going in the same direction as the Metropolitan.  The guy in the Metropolitan returned the wave, the guy in the Model A either did not see it or just blew me off.  He looked as old as his car so he probably didn't see it.

The other goal on this ride was to see what the top is with the Power Commander so on the turn to Sugartown I took advantage of the straightaway and let her rip.  I got a little over 75 mph but did not quite make 80.  The wind was still pretty strong today, not as much as Friday, but strong enough that I was getting buffeted around on that straightaway and it felt like the Bullet was going over.

The other straightaway on Sugartown is on the other side of 252 by Agincourt Farm and I let her rip again there.  This time I got pretty close to 80 mph.  The speedo was probably reading 78 or 79 mph but I was running out of road and I had to back off.   Nice to know it can get that fast.

After that I past the turn off to Church and continued on to Fairfield Rd for the loop on Waterloo to Church.  Fairfield road is showing some new patches so it's good to know that the crews have begun filling in the potholes.

The gizmo held up and did not drop the HTC, so that's a success.  The Bullet almost made 80 mph on the speedo (keeping in mind that the speedo is ambitious) and that's another success.  Great ride on a true spring day, the wind was a little harsh but not uncomfortable.  When I left the odo read 2771.2 and on the return it read 2790.4, a little over 19 miles on an easy ride.

The classic car tally is now one MGA, one 1950s Jag, one Nash Metropolitan, and one Ford Model A.

19 miles with potholes and still hanging on!

Head on view.

Side view.

With the iPhone.

iPhone side view.

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Short Rides

Sunday was cold but clear, temps did not get above 41 degrees and that wasn't until about 16:00.  But not being one to waste a clear day with good road conditions I layered up and took the Bullet out.  No plan for a long ride but I wanted to begin seriously testing the glove liners I bought last December.

I took the loop through the neighborhood to Sawmill Rd to 252 and out Newtown Street Rd to Waterloo and Church.  On Church I continued on to Darby Paoli for the right turn over the Darby Creek Bridge on Goshen.  I stopped at the turnout after the bridge for a set of quick pics with the iPhone.

After the pics I just continued up Goshen to Earles Lane and then home.  I did not keep track of mileage, got to get back into the swing of things, but I don't figure on more than 20 miles total.

The glove liners worked real well, they might to be ideal for a long ride but for a short commute to work they will definitely keep my hands warm.  The new boots are biting me below the right ankle.  The ankle support appears to crowd the foot when I walk not an issue while riding but very uncomfortable when taking more than five steps.

After I got home I rolled the MG out and took her for a spin as well.  The oil level was way lower than usual, not quite down a quart but lower than I've seen before.  Will need to keep an eye on that.  I took the loop to Darby Paoli and Church to St. Davids and once around the roundabout to Newtown Street Rd out to Waterloo and down Church again.  On Church I took a right onto Harrison and cut across that neighborhood to St. Davids and back to Church because there are some really nice hilly curves on Harrison and there is usually no traffic on that subdivision.  When I turned left on St. Davids from Harrison I saw black Tesla headed up St. Davids.  Another one for the tally.

After Charlene got home, we went back out and did the same loop just to get in another ride before the light and temps when down.  Soon the cold will be gone.

The exotic car tally now stands at 9 Ferraris, 5 Teslas, 2 Lambos, 3 Maseratis, 2 Cobras, 2 Unknowns, 1 Bentley, 1 DeLorean, and 1 Austin-Healey.

At Darby Creek Bridge

Darby Creek Bridge

Darby Creek

Darby Creek Bridge

Before the rides

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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.

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