Tpoppa

Those are pretty cool. Price?

This will be the first time I'll be taking the VFR on good roads. The pace will be Med-fast. Meet spot will be Millersburg at the new gas station on 83,I think it's a Marathon. Wheels rolling by 8:30a. The route will be curvy and will take us through McConnelsville & Marietta. I plan to be back to NEO around 5p.

So practice safe sex when banging an ebola monkey?!!??!

dbl pst

Patient Zero.

The Vulcan 500 is one of the more fun cruisers I have ever ridden. It uses a version of the Ninja 500 motor and is quicker than some of the larger cruising bikes.

^^ You'll be much happer with that rathen than scrubbing mold from grout lines.

Advice for #4, don't use tile in a shower. It looks nice but will be maintenance nightmare cleaning mold from the grout. I tiled a shower before and regretted it. I used some high end mold resistant grout and still had issues. Do a web search and see if you still want to do this.

Here is some wisdom: watch this video a bunch of times. Better yet buy the book and the DVD and go over them a bunch more times. As a newer rider you won't be able to apply all the concepts or even understand them at first. But each time you watch it you should be able to pick out 1 or 2 things and apply them to your riding. Also, ride with some experienced riders that will discuss technique with you. Track days are a good idea, but I'll leave that topic to the track guys.

The goal for the day was that no one went down behind me, and that mission was accomplished. Honestly, I prefer someone going down in front of me, but that's a tale for a different kind of forum If I was with my normal group I might a have "played" a little. Nothing against B Mac or Wolfman they are strong riders, just at that point in the ride we hadn't logged enough miles for me to build up trust to take the group faster than the preride pace we discussed. Sometimes fools test our sensibilities. It was still a good day and a good ride.

I don't think "here" was referring to this site.

seemed appropriate

It was an older 600 SS, maybe a GSXR I tell what I know from my perspective. My only goal for the day was that no one crashed behind me. This always worries me when riding with unfamiliar riders or when on unfamiliar roads. This was both. So we had the preride talk and discussed a specific pace and I was going to stick to that. On 56 we passed this guy going the other way. He waved like he knew who we were. I figured he was someone who was supposed to be in our group that day but was just running too late to be a the starting point. After a few miles he passed me a a straight (See the video B Mac posted). Inside my helmet I'm thinking who the f is this jackass...I'm trying to lead this organized group and now there's a turd in the punch bowl. So, he passed a car and I didn't. Instead, I slowed and stayed behind it for a couple minutes, I thought that was the last we'd see of him. When we picked up the pace again he was riding slow in the road waiting for us. I'm thinking here we go again. I can tell he's trying to bait me to race him, which isn't going to happen especially with a group that discussed a specific pace. He takes off again, and I didn't...I'm still thinking he might just go away. When we get to 691 he was there again. So, I figured we need to chat for a minute. It was something like this: Me - Are you supposed to be in this group? Him - No [he made some kind of condescending comment that I don't quite recall] Me - We're riding a specific pace. If you want to ride with us then get in the back. If you want to ride quicker go right ahead but I'm not taking this group any faster. He tried to tell me something about how long he's been riding, but by that point I was no longer interested in him or what he had to say. I made it clear that we weren't going to ride with him. I think UP spoke to him also, but not sure exactly what was said. We didn't see him for the rest of the ride. Back at the meet spot, just like herpes, he shows up again, this time in his creeper van. UP was cordial enough to at have least have dialogue with him, but it didn't sound like a particularly friendly conversation. I walked away, because I do not suffer fools gladly. All in all a strange encounter.

I spent a little time thinking about this the next day. That wasn't a 'by chance' encounter on the road. Our route was posted and he just followed it backwards until he saw us, I think it was on 56. He knew we were turning onto 691N. Then he 'just happened' to show up at the meet spot after the ride in his van. If he wanted to ride with us he could have just showed up at the starting point and been part of the preride talk. But he seemed like a bit of a broken arrow that was looking for a race on the street. It was kind of a strange encounter. I'd guess he's still reading this thread.

Superghey...but I would change my mind if his buddy drives a tiny little police car.

I personally wouldn't attend something like that. I can sit and drink, eat socialize with friends, family, and neighbors anytime I want. But my friends, family, and neighbors don't ride. When I get the bike out to get together with other riders...I want to ride...the rest is secondary. On a multiday ride, like a WV out-n-back, I'll get a steak and get crazy at the bar after each days riding is done. But the riding is the reason I'm there. I prefer simple to elaborate.

Race only? What class? Do they mean drag racing?

This is the downside of living in 216/440. You have to ride 90 miles of boring roads (each way) just to get to the fun roads. Once you're down there you might as well ride enough good roads to make the day worth while. Our normal rides are 400-500 miles. Over the years the pace of the NEO group I ride with has gotten quicker and quicker. I swear that's just so we can get home sooner

The fast group was well disciplined and rode solid overall. Even when being baited by local road hero. UP is an active sweep that watches out for the riders ahead of him and gives good feedback to most everyone. That was a big help for me trying to lead without having to watch my mirrors too often. While the pace wasn't blistering fast, I thought it was appropriately quick for a fast group that hasn't ridden with each other while riding mostly unfamiliar roads. Hopefully everyone was good with the pace and the way the group was handled.

377 is one of the roads that makes me want to ride entirely too fast

True & true.

OK, I'll be the counterpoint... I personally wouldn't be interested in night or scenery riding, but others may. I think that people who like to ride fast are going to want to ride fast...slow...etc. It's like if you have a group that's 50/50 Harleys/Sportbikes, no matter what pace you choose half riders won't be having fun. In my experience, grouping people by skill is the most amicable way so some people don't feel pressured to ride quicker, while others are bored. Another thought...while I like riding Ohio roads, I ride them frequently. If I'm going to do an overnight or 2, it would be in WV, TN, or someplace that I can't reach in a typical 1 day ride.

That looks like an expensive tip over.

Are those mirrors or wings?

I am all for changing the route. McConnelsville is a good cetralized meet spot. The pavilion on 78 right on the river, across the street from the Marathon can hold a lot of bikes. There are lots of good route options in/out of McConnelsville. Woodsfield is another meet spot in the middle of lots of really good routes, but it isn't a central location.