Subject: road trip ride report - long
Author: Rob Prins
Date: Aug 10, 2005, 10:31 AM
Post ID: 1719278202
I took a short vacation last week; I rode my V700 up to Michigan to
visit some family and friends. I took off at noon Wednesday and wound
my way through some West Virginia backroads, eventually to Ripley WV and
then followed the 33 to Logan OH. Once I got out of the hills the
riding was uncomfortably warm; I noticed a temp of 104 on a bank sign in
Pomeroy OH. I guess that would be an �indicated� 104, I don't know how
hot it really was. I camped overnight in Logan OH for $5, that fee
included access to a gas station type bathroom. I could have used a
shower as the day had been pretty hot, but the price was right. Anyway,
the next morning I continued my avoidance of slab by making my way
around the south side of Columbus, and had a late breakfast in Urbana at
a diner in the city square. About 20 miles north of breakfast (in
Bellefontaine) I left from a traffic light, pulled in the clutch to
shift to second, and found myself with a handful of limp clutch lever.
I pulled into a convenient parking lot and even had the presence of mind
to kill the engine before I tried to stop. A quick inspection showed
that the cable �button� on the tranny side of the clutch cable had
popped off (4500 miles on cable). Fortunately I had a spare packed so 1/2
hour later I was on my way. The rest of the trip to my folks place near
Grand Rapids MI was warm again, but uneventful. There appeared to be
some scattered showers, and did feel the occasional rain drop, but I
stayed dry.
Spent some good time with the folks, changed my oil, jumped in a pool,
and helped my brother pull stumps with his new-to-him 1952 International
Harvester �M� tractor. Saturday evening I headed north to Luther MI
(near Cadillac). The country roads up that way are fairly straight, but
its pretty riding anyway. The roads tend to follow the natural contour
of the ground so there is some variation to hold your attention.
Sunday was pretty boring; I hoped to make it home during the day on
Monday so I had to put some miles behind me. I resorted to slab for a
few hundred miles, and made it as far south as Athens OH before giving
in and getting a hotel. On Monday I decided the heck with it, I'll get
back when I get back and returned to my slab avoiding ways. This can be
a bit tricky in WV without significant pre-planning and a good atlas. I
had my state map and a lot of time, which I spent making wrong turns and
following �wrong� roads until they petered out into someones front yard
at the end of the line. I did get to ride some cool roads though.
Eventually I made it to more familiar territory and made it home.
Somewhere on Monday it started to rain so home was a welcome sight.
Overall about 1800 miles total, well over 40 saddle hours, and one
moral: carry a spare clutch cable.
Rob