Ride With Tank

I am very sad to announce that this morning, January 18, our great friend Jim Byard passed away.

Calling hours are Sunday, January 21 from 5pm to 8pm and the funeral will be held Monday, January 22 at 11:00am at the Russell Funeral home in West Farmington, Ohio.

I met Jim in 1983 riding in the Warren chapter of the Ohio Motorcycle Touring and Camping Association.  December 30, 2006 we rode together for the last time. 

A tribute to Jim is posted here.

Welcome to 2007 everyone! 

2006 was a very excellent year.  We really did reach out and see a lot of places last year.  By my count we rode in 22 different states in 2006!  We made some new friends, saw lots of great places, and not a single serious accident in the whole year on any of the rides.  In fact, we only had one tip over the whole year so we can all be thankful for that.  The only thing that can be said about 2006 that was bad was the rain.  It really did seem like we spent way too much time in the rain.

This year is not going to be as extreme for me.  I am really serious about going to Prudhoe Bay in a few years, so I need to save up some vacation time each year so I can make that trip happen.  It will be a pretty extreme trip, but it will be the trip of a lifetime.  I have reservations in at Deals Gap for Memorial Day weekend, Labor Day weekend, and the week of July 21st.  There are beds available in the room for Memorial and Labor days, if you can put up with my alleged snoring.  I am sure I will be making a few other weekend trips down throughout the season, but I am going to play them by ear.  I am going to try to hit a little more of the central and southern West Virginia roads this year and hopefully I can hook up with the guys on West Virginia Sport Touring.  I have really been wanting to ride with them, but last year was just so busy for me I just could not squeeze it in.

I would encourage anyone who has never set out on a longer distance ride to give it a shot in 2007.  There are many reasons people give for not trying a longer ride.  Rain, heat, cold, pain, and money are the main reasons people never try a longer ride and they all are valid reasons. 

These rides have plenty of times when they really are just not very fun.  These are also the reasons these rides are so special.  Some people will come home from a difficult ride and realize that this type of riding is not for them and will never do it again.  For others the sickness will set in, and it really is a sickness.  These trips become not just a vacation, but an adventure.  You still do not enjoy riding in the rain all day or freezing to death, but the payoff you get is worth any suffering you may go through.  Some of your best memories will be memories of these difficult rides.  Last year we crossed Rocky Mountain National park in the most miserable conditions you can imagine:  35 degrees,  70 mph wind,  fog, snow, rain, sleet.  Even people in cars where not crossing the mountains.  It really was not a lot of fun when we were doing it, but it has become one of the fondest memories of the trip.  Mark said it best:  “When we were coming across those mountains, I felt alive.”

These rides also don’t have to cost a lot of money.  Saving money can be part of the adventure.  Camping is available for $15 or less a night.  Motel Six charges on average $35 per night.  Two people to a room and your cost is down to $17.  McDonalds will sell you a double cheeseburger for $1.  You still have to eat even if you stay home.  Gasoline is the only expense that you really can not cut back on.  Even still, most bikes get at least 40mpg, so a 400 mile day burns 10 gallons of gasoline, $25.  So here is what a day of adventure costs on a motorcycle if you bunk up with someone:

$56.50 a day for memories that will last a lifetime.  Some of you are riding bikes you paid nearly $20,000 for!  Anyone who can afford a motorcycle can afford to travel on it.  A two day, 800 mile ride would only cost $100.00.  I’ll bet a lot of you spend more than half of that just to take the family out to dinner.  

Well, it is hard to believe but we got another ride in this year!  The big surprise was that Nick showed up for the ride!  Jim, Mark, Nick and I headed down 170, along the river for a while, across 39, and ran 164 for a while.  We had a great ride with excellent weather and great roads. 

Here we are in East Liverpool

Can you believe how filthy Jims rear wheel is?

Hard to believe, but we got a couple of good rides in this weekend.  On Saturday Mark and I rode down to Calcutta and ate at the steak place on the Ohio River.  It was good to see his bike on the road again!  We had a great time even though we did get a little bit cold at times.  This was my first ride on 170 this year and I forgot what a nice road it is.  I think I might just add it to my favorite roads section.

Today Jim and I took a ride down to Cabelas.  It sure was a lot warmer than the ride Mark and I took yesterday!  We met up at the Chipotle Grill.  I have been hearing from a lot of people that the food there is great, and I was not disappointed.  Its a shame Mark was not around for this ride, it would have been good to get the three of us together for one last ride of the year.

Next weekend is Christmas and then New Years so the next date for a ride will be January 5.  The weather has been so excellent that I am counting on good weather for a ride on that date.  I just can not believe how lucky we have been with the weather so far this winter.  Of course, winter has actually not started yet, it is still officially a few days away.

Just in case Santy Claus reads my web page I am going to let him know what I want for Christmas. 

• Two new Continental Road Attacks

• New chain and sprockets

• A high paying job in Knoxville

• Freedom from all debt, current and future

• Drought over the eastern United States in 2007

• No temperatures over 87 or under 70 in 2007

• More vacation time