swingset

I'm cool with riding in the afternoon, let's shoot for that Sunday. I'll PM ya my addy.

You need a wife, then it's much easier to just ignore each other and go about your life.

Well, I haven't heard from Buildit for sure, but I'd be up for riding later in the day or early evening if that works for ya, I have no plans or schedule, just wanna ride!

Here's my avatar, Bullet the Black Lab.

I might show up....depends on what time I get off work Friday night, but these roads are my back yard so I know them very well. If any of you are heading back on 79, take Hickman Road SE to Hanover, and catch 16 back to Columbus that way. Hickman Rd. is a fun little patch with some good curves and nice scenery, only about 10 miles long.

I don't give money to Obama voters. Bums conveniently fall under this umbrella of hatred.

Can meet here at my place, it's right on the way to get out to those riding areas, and there's good backroads all the way there...we could stop on the way for breakfast in Utica.

Sure thing. I was thinking of doing some riding this Sunday, if you two are up for it...or even if one of ya's up for it. Come to think of it, either if none of ya are up for it I'm gonna ride.

You can always use the line-out to get into your stereo if it has inputs (most factory head units do, although sometimes it requires patching in to the DIN plug....that's what I did on my truck. As you note one benefit of the TT units is the clever aftermarket apps...I use Tripmaster on mine to read/write Garmin & generic .gpx data, which is handy.

For sure, drop me a line whenever you're up for it.

UP, you did fine I was behind you for a few sections and you handled the bike very well....there were plenty of a spots that were a little tricky and you got through them unscathed so I'd say for your experience level you did great. I returned to dirt a couple years ago and it was nerve racking, more than I thought it would be so I know where you're coming from...luckily this outing you had a very light, flickable bike, and that helps a lot. Keep at it, it's fun and a great workout too....what wore you out, as I'm sure you know now is being overly tight....it's hard not to be sometimes. The more I ride the more relaxed I find myself in technical sections. At first I have to really stop and focus on staying loose, relaxing my arms and grip and then it starts to become natural.

My objection to the exemption is philosophical, I suppose. Either texting is dangerous enough to be outlawed, or it isn't. If LE can do it, or EMS, then the citizenry should be able to handle it too. I do understand that communications while on duty are more important than Kristy's BFF list updates, but the distraction is either real or it isn't. I abhor knee-jerk legislation. Anything that bans the symptom of a problem in hopes of curing it is just god-awful nanny-statism. Focus all the scrutiny at phones, and people fail to address the actual problem - dipshits. Dipshits will find anything to distract them, passengers, babies, mirrors, hot chick on the side of the road, stereos, their dick in their hands, etc. I am all for laws banning dipshits, and the further creation of them.

I'm back and resting with a few beers.....great time, thanks Luke for putting it on it was a great mix of roads, trails and creek beds! Nice to meet some new faces, and to see some old ones again. Every time I think I'm improving as a rider, I see someone on a heavier bike, smaller than me, who's kicking my ass. Today it was a lady. So, I suck but it's ok....having fun is what it's all about!

I've been on their trails, good fun there. There's a few around that area that aren't part of the campground's trail network that are cool too.

Forget someone?

Farmers for me, less than $400/yr. for all my bikes.

No, it's the air-cooled upgraded model.

Well, says under my name, but I have an '03 Vstrom 1000 for two-up, touring and street fun, a plated Yamaha TTR-250 for dual sport and dirt fun, and a Honda XR650L for killing myself on. Not the most recent pics, but here's the Vee... TTR: XRL: I'm a pretty tame rider, really, not into tearing up twisties or hurling myself up cliff faces, I just like to explore and see where I can go. With the stable of bikes I have, I can ride anywhere cheap and without too much fuss.

Lots of things can cause you to wreck that will kill you, that have nothing to do with awareness. Mechanical failure, animals, defects in the road, spilled diesel, etc. Gear is because you can't control all of those variables.

Lots of lessons in this thread for new riders, and for experienced ones. Group rides can be dicey - and for a new rider the temptation to keep up or ride over your abilities will bite you. Don't fixate on the guy in front of you, don't try to impress anyone. If they ride off so fuckin what. And, for the experienced rider you are (whether you acknowledge it or not) determining the pace of the ride for someone who might want to impress or hang with your speed. Know your riding partners, if they're not up to your experience level make sure they know you'll be riding hard and don't expect them to match you. And for fuck's sake everyone turn around if one of you doesn't catch up. Luckily, this one turned out minor. Gear works.

Aside from the rape shower you have to take afterwards, about the same. Best not to stop, don't fall for the "Oh help me pick my bike up" trick. Ask me how I know.

We don't know if what killed him was head trauma. If that was the case, he might still be alive. What's for sure is that not wearing one in a collision at that speeds is he almost certainly did suffer some head injuries. My older brother got hit by a gas truck in an intersection in a similar manner, but lived through it. He was very screwed up by the wreck, body wise but he was wearing a lid and it saved his life...it was the event that really changed my views on ATGATT.

Sound great Luke, count me in!

Wasn't wearing a helmet, either. This is why folks like me preach it, you don't get to choose when some asshole blows a sign and ends your life. Very sad.

When I did my track school our instructor did a lap with his assistant, both on pretty fresh tires, both had strips intact. When they got done, the instructor had done a faster lap and his chicken strips were still there...assistant's were gone. His lesson was that if you're riding aggressively and consistently put yourself all the way to the limits of the tire, you've failed at something....either line, position, speed, and you have nowhere else to go. The bike shouldn't be doing all the work so that you're at the end of your tire. If it is, change something. The lack of chicken strips, as a measure of skill, is kind of meaningless.