CBBaron

Great, helps to save a few dollars for tires and gas I still have a spare bed in rooms for Sat-Mon!

Reservations at the Red Roof Parkersburg. Haven't pick a route yet but was planning to take curvy roads from Parkersburg o Beckley. I'll take a look at 16. Want to meet in the morning? Craig <edit> 16 looks pretty good. About 4 hours from Parkersburg according to Google.

Anybody still looking to share rooms? I reserved rooms with 2 beds for each stop on the trip and Friday night in Parkersburg (Beckley is a long super slab haul from Cleveland to get there before noon ) Craig

I'll add the Ibuprofen to the tank bag. I have the bicycle shorts covered, I cycle regularly so have a good supply, and they do help. Moving is much easier on a dual sport, there is no "one" spot for sitting. Standing is easy on this style of bike. I'm usually out of the seat when hitting dirt roads. I think the DRZ has about 10 (50%) more hp than the China bike and sticky road rubber. If Dan can hang with the China bike the only reason I couldn't hang with the DRZ is rider skill Time to reserve the hotel rooms and order that Seat Concepts seat Craig

I'm a little concerned about keeping up, but much more so about my ability to endure riding an unfaired bike with a narrow seat for that many hours. I know I won't stay with the group on the freeway. The 400 will do 80 but I don't like holding the thumper at nearly WOT for long stretches. 70 is more my choice for a freeway cruising speed. However I think the SM will handle the twisties as well or better than any touring bike and can keep up with any sane speeds on 2 lane roads. Worst case I will have the routes in my GPS and meet you all at the hotel I usually ride solo so its no big deal to me if I can't hang. I think the only stretch of freeway we have is at the end of the first day. I will just let the big bikes stretch their legs and take my own time to get to the destination. Really I'm just looking for an excuse to go ride some great roads down in that area. I won't be disappointed if I can't stay with the big bikes and I hope noone will make any special effort for me. I know I am choosing a somewhat inappropriate tool for the task so I do not want that choice to impact others. Craig

I'm still looking for someone to split room costs with.

I'm out Saturday do to other commitments, so hoping for a rain delay

I had to get a sit/stand desk at work for a back problem. They provided me with an Ergotron which is a nice quick and easy to use system that clamps on to your desk. I spend most of my time standing. I havn't had a problem with needing a mat but I wear comfortable running shoes. Even without the back problem I would probably still stand alot. We moved offices recently and the company provided electric desks for all employees. The ones we have could support 4 monitors if needed. I see alot of people using the standing option. Overall I highly recommend it if you are considering it.

I am most likely in Will test out my riding endurance at the EPIC ride but expect I can survive Also I reserve the right to cancel if weather looks miserable, I expect that many miles on a DRZ to involve considerable pain an suffering but the ride is worth it. If the weather is miserable the equation changes Plan to book my hotels today or tomorrow unless someone else already has and is looking to split costs. PM me if you want to split rooms, non smoking please. On the road by sunrise sounds good to me. Its my normal schedule anyways. I'll bring layers. Packing is going to be tricky I don't currently have much luggage for the DRZ and dont want to load her down with too much. Craig

Agree on both counts on the DRZ400SM. Sounds like a fun project. I've thought about dual sporting a crf150f or similar to get an inexpensive light weight off road bike. I hate trailering hence the reason for converting

Lots of engineering compromises to 1. meet a price point. 2. Provide the reliability and maintenance intervals 3. Provide the load carrying capacity. So you get mild steel frame, beefy subframes, large oil sumps, substantial engine walls, large steel gas tanks, etc... MX or supermoto bikes under 300# have none of that and cost considerably more than GS500s or EX250s. Sure you could drop 50# from the EX250 but it would cost alot. But I agree with you on the lightweight bike, that is why I got the DRZ400SM. Its not sub 300# but it does provide a subframe and reasonable maintenance intervals and is about 50# lighter than the Ninja. Craig

You have a real issue !

I think this league has been 8 for the last few years. And agree you can do decent with a little luck in the draft. I have been 2 or 3 in the league most years I played and I have yet to actively participate in the draft.

At least the team was respectable in the 80s and early 90s. When I first started watching football was near the end of that 70s dynasty but I'm sure that what initially drew me to the team. Probably didn't hurt that my parents rooted for the Browns Craig

Just enjoying reading the unwarranted optimism There are Steelers fans everywhere. It amazes me to see Steelers fans take over an opponent's stadium. However Brown's fans are really impressive. Despite the heart break the team has provided the last 20 years they still have a large rabid following. Bengals have actually put a decent team on the field for a while and still have trouble filling the stadium. Craig

After the last 2 preseason games I'm not sure how optimistic I should be about the Steelers season Atleast they will be better than the Browns

I think it is a good balance. If I need to be home Tuesday evening I can do it. If I want to take the extra day I can plan a more leisurely route home through WV. If I had my old Vstrom I would probably just do the 4 hrs of slab, but that is much less desireable on the DRZ.

Looks like some fun routes and alot of miles. I'm thinking it is going to take 2 days to get back to NEO from Rocky Top. To do it in one day would require atleast 4 hours of freeway I don't think I am up for that kind of abuse, especially after 4 hard days. I better order than Seat Concepts seat for the DRZ Craig

I knew you were too informed about football to be talking about the browns being legit

It did get real

That pic was taken this spring the first month I had it. I think I rolled over 1000 miles on that trip to ANF. As you can see I dont mind getting a new bike dirty

Yea the DRZ400SM is a ton of fun in the curves and on gravel. But it is no fun when blasting at high speeds, especially on the freeway.

Put me down for a maybe, as long as you don't mind stopping every 100 miles for gas, the DRZ has a tiny tank Also I hate freeway, but will do a few miles to make it work. Will not do a multi hour freeway ride, I can add a travel day to avoid that. I need a good moto trip this year, committing to this will give me a good excuse to take a few days off. Craig

Considering joining you for this ride. I've only met a couple people from the forums despite following for years, it may be time to say hi to a few more. Pretty sure I can hang with the Med-fast group in the curves but at under 35hp the DRZ would probably lag when the speeds are higher

I happened upon this race on TV live. It was carnage with some cars spending almost as much time in the grass and gravel as on the pavement. Personally I thought is was the most interesting Nascar race I have ever seen. I watched to the end. Craig