redkow97

8 hours ago, tall_tracy said:

That was my thought but just because of my own experience on my R6.  

The R6 was involved in the wreck - not sure if a full mirror check was done before merging to the left lane combined with a kid in a pickup that apparently sped up to play bumper cars with the Yamaha - it all happened just over my left shoulder as she was behind the Ducs apparently trying to help us merge & stay together after construction/closed left lane.  Luckily the R6 bucked her off on impact or she may have ended up under the front tire of the truck - so I'm told.  Broken wrist & elbow, other wrist sprained, fractured pelvis were the worst of it.

 

That sucks. 

but mistakes happen. Only thing to be done now is learn and not repeat. 

Seems like the rest of the trip went well

1 minute ago, Bad324 said:

if there is a school there is no school zone on E Pleasant Valley and I don't think on McCreary either. I take that way from Wallings like once a week to my buddies house off EPV

Are you friends with Corey?  I know he is about your age, and I know he lives there.

School zone or not, that is a monumentally stupid place to speed.  Independence and Seven Hills police have virtually nothing better to do.  It's a nice place to live.

Even Parma, as much as I enjoy joking about it, was a nice, quiet place to live.  Not the lowest crime rate, but a low violent crime rate.

Are you sure that church at the corner of McCreary and Pleasant Valley doesn't have a school?

I'm going to be over there tonight.  I'll check.

Royalview just opened this afternoon.  Of course my wife has a work event tonight, and I'm missing a day that I would normally be at the gym, or on the bike...

Really really hoping the trails dry out and stay open more consistently for the next few months.  I'm so close to the trailhead that I should be able to put in 10 miles any given night of the week without pissing off my wife... 

I also need to get a road bike, and confront my fear of riding a bicycle on the road.  CX season starts in September.  I'll start that on the fat bike, and then see if anyone has something my size for sale.   CX bike won't be ideal for road rides, but it will be a ton better than the fatty!

I'm cruising your strava splits.  We literally have an identical times on the OMBC race singletrack climb.  The difference is you had 25+ miles complete when you rode that section. ha!

On 6/5/2017 at 7:39 AM, CBBaron said:

Congrats on finishing. That is an awesome accomplishment. Its all I can do to finish one lap of the park.

I have thought of doing the Mohican 100k but I need to be much more dedicated to my training and work on my skills before it can become a reality.

 

I think this would be a good goal for me as well.  I have yet to complete a full loop at Mohican, but I figure if I can do 2 loops, I can do the 100k race, and not worry about death.

Hardest thing is finding time to train.  I can't just take off and leave my wife with both kids for a whole day, every weekend.  There is a fundraising event in September(?) at Mohican.  You get pledges based on the number of laps you complete.  I think that would be a good reason to try to complete 2 laps this year, then maybe take the spin bike a bit more seriously in 2018, and be in 100k shape in June, 2018?

My friend Jeff, from OMRL, has a late generation EX250 for sale for $1800 right now.  11,xxx miles.

Jeff has done all the maintenance on this bike that you would want before buying it.  New brake pads, fresh oil, clean air filter, etc.  I'm not sure he has an LLC or anything like that, but his shop is "River 2-strokes." 

It's black.  Looks good.  I wouldn't hesitate to buy it and ride the piss out of it.

Metric 100 is still tough. I've been following a guy training for the 100 mile race. He is a beast. 

Not this year. Some day. 

I do hope to be riding tomorrow, but more like 10 mikes. 15 or 20 if I'm lucky. 

1 hour ago, hiro said:

Needs two pipes, too.

There are 2-into-1 systems, but most require removal of the center stand. 

Plus they're loud. 

I wouldn't put an aftermarket exhaust on an EX500. 

The sewing machine engine note is appreciated by your neighbors when you're warning it up before work. 

My brother had spark plugs smashed on his bike 2 or 3 times. Can only assume it was because his F1 pipes were crazy loud.

On 5/30/2017 at 8:04 AM, CrazySkullCrusher said:

Buy that $1400 ex500 and call it a day. That bike is in your price range, doesn't look too abused, was probably dropped once or twice but almost any used starter bike has been dropped. Ex500 is enough power that you won't get bored of it but forgiving enough that a new rider won't get himself into serious trouble. 

Agree.

An EX500 was my first bike, and while it is definitely enough power and weight to get you into trouble, it's also not going to leave you bored any time soon.  I wish I had never sold mine.  I've had 5 or 6 bikes since the EX, and while others were faster, better-looking, fuel-injected, etc., the EX500 was stupid cheap to maintain, and more than adequate for street riding.  The only time it ever felt slow was with a passenger (and then it felt lightning quick after the passenger was gone), or after I spent a weekend at the track on my F2.

usable torque, enough top-end (I think it would legitimately do 115), comfortable riding position...  There's a lot to like, so long as you're not concerned w/ looks.  That said, I saw a guy put a small vinyl decal on his headlight.  It mimicked the shape of the newer Kawasaki headlights.  Totally changed the look of the bike.  Vast improvement.  Probably cost $3 in vinyl adhesive.

just messaged the wife for VIDEO of the corolla plow.

I just used ratchet straps, connected to the car-seat LATCH system in the back seat, and then routed them over the trunk deck to a board with eye-bolts screwed into it.  Throw an old motorcycle tire between the board and the bumper, and then backed out of my garage and down the driveway.

It actually worked surprisingly well, but pushing the snow pile over the curb started to bend the hinges on my trunk lid.  it's slightly out of alignment now.  Still functional, but I would have to mount to the hitch, if i did it again.

7 minutes ago, Tonik said:

Tell your wife that what looks good is a big fat balance in the savings account!!

for sure.  I am just mildly worried that something major will fail on the corolla, and i'm going to be forced into a short timeline to replace it.  Trying to have us both settled nad happy with a particular make and model.  Then even if we can't find a great deal on that car, we'll at least end up with something we both like.

I would prefer to buy a 'new' car as soon as hers is paid off, and just keep the corolla around as a 'spare' to beat on.  Hell, I hooked a sheet of plywood to it and "plowed" my driveway at our old house!

It was a guy I went to law school with.  I couldn't tell you, but he seemed like a "stock" guy.

I emailed my brother to ask if his had any issues, and what kind of mileage he got in real world driving.  Not sure the wife will think the GTI looks good though.

The turbo makes me nervous.  I knew a guy who kept killing turbos in his GTI.  My brother also had one for several years.  Sold it relatively recently.  I'll have to ask him how it did...

V6 Accord Coupe would be fun.  Probably overkill, honestly.  It's good to hear that the V6 will get over 30 on highway trips though.

Right now, my wife's SUV feels pretty damn fast after driving the corolla 500 miles/week.   It even gets decent fuel economy for its size (25.4 mpg over the 3200 miles we logged to Florida and back, plus plenty of in-town driving while we were there.  The AC was on 95% of those miles)

I will probably end up with a newer 4-door civic with a 6 speed...  It's just hard to find well-optioned cars with a manual transmission, unless you jump up in price and performance to Mustangs and 350Zs.

The 3 series is an option because a 2004 looks like a 2014 to most people. 

I commute 25,000 miles/year. New is not an option. I would have 110k on it before it's paid off. 

Under $10k (preferably under $7500) and manual transmission. Must last to 200k or beyond.  Economy is a big plus, but classy or sporty is a bonus. 

First gen Lexus IS, Acura RSX, 3 series, fully optioned civic, focus or fiesta high-trim models, Mazda 3, etc are all on my list of options. I just want to steer clear of lemons like the Mini Cooper. 

Wife is pickier than I am on looks. I would enjoy a Miata. She says it's a "Barbie car."

Also, I'm open to anything reasonably priced that looks classy. 

I found several Lincoln LS with 86k miles in the $3500-4500 range. 

Buying someone's grandpa's car isn't too out of the question. 

I forgot to actually ask the implied question - is a 140k BMW going to be a nightmare to maintain?

Wife hates my car. Wants something nicer. Next time it needs a $500+ repair, I foresee it being up for sale. 

2 options:

1) I buy something nicer, but practical. Think 2010 civic Si 4-door, or if I'm being honest, probably not the Si model...

2) buy something older, higher mileage, but keep the corolla to drive all winter, and a day or two/week to keep miles off the 'nice' car, and leave the bike rack mounted, pull the XR, etc.

I am gravitating to 2004ish BMW 3 series, but would consider almost anything "classy."

part of me likes driving a beater. Another part of me understands where my wife is coming from and thinks, "I'm a fucking attorney - I should drive a nice car, damnit."

that said, a judge (who I respect a ton) drives a 2013 civic.  He also looks like the type of guy who wears a t-shirt during sex...

Did 15+ mikes at Brady's run in PA (very close to PIRC), then washed the bike. 

Not a great race result, but it's hard to be upset about spending that much time on the bike and riding some great singletrack. 

I am an idiot. Made a huge error in timing math.  I'll explain when I'm done being mad about it  

I also busted my knee on the stem after hitting some huge roots. It's swelling nicely, but I have full range of motion, so that's good  

2 laps in 2.5 hours.  Pretty embarrassed by that. 

Need to ride more to suck less. My skills are okay. My fitness needs work. A lot of work.