Author Topic: Sunday ride 11/8/20  (Read 3665 times)

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Offline Mooose

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Sunday ride 11/8/20
« on: November 04, 2020, 10:51:46 PM »
Hoosier MSTAer's
Sunday looks like its going to be a perfect day for a ride. Who knows how many more we'll have this year.
I'm thinking that we meet at
Flap Jacks
2991 Fulmer Dr,
Bargersville, IN 46106
(317) 458-0345
Sunday 11/8/20, Kick stands up at 10:30 AM
This is a fair distance south but it's on 135 just south of Whiteland Rd. AND I have two solid thumbs up from a couple of our members.
It can be a bit nippy early AM so why don't we plan to leave Flap Jacks at 10:30 AM. If you want to eat before hand get there around 9 - 9:30.
I hear the place can be busy, so be warned.
« Last Edit: November 04, 2020, 10:53:55 PM by Mooose »
Mooose

Offline stevegrab

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Re: Sunday ride 11/8/20
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2020, 02:51:58 PM »
Wait, warmth and sunshine in early November, yes that calls for a ride for sure. Glad to see my neighbors in the Hoosier state (my birthplace) are thinking like we are here in Ohio.  We're riding Saturday though. Need to remember, early sunsets, cooler temps, forest critters (especially if hunting is going on).

 
Steve Grabowski
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Offline Ride4MS

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Re: Sunday ride 11/8/20
« Reply #2 on: November 08, 2020, 09:35:35 PM »
It was in the 70's today in Owatonna, MN, but that will change with rain Monday and by Tuesday with a high of 38F and rain/snow mix.   I did take out the VF500F Interceptor for a short ride today, being I have not ridden it more than 20 miles so far this year.  We had very strong winds, some as high as 50 MPH gusts.  It made it tough riding in the country.

This makes only the 2nd time that I have ridden in November, since 1972-74 while at Ft. Bliss, TX, where I rode all year long.  We just don't have riding weather in MN in November very often.  At least not the kind that I like. 

I know of several people that ride all year long, but that is not safe with ice and snow.  And, the road salt does wonders to the chrome and aluminium.  When I worked at Mankato Honda, we had a guy that rode everyday, about 25 miles each way for his job.  He traded almost every year, and those old air cooled 750 Honda's looked horrible with the salt damage to the engine and chrome.

I hope everyone else had a good riding day as we get to the end of the nice riding season.

Carl
Carl Wieman, 2016-2022 MSTA Dan Clark Safety Program Coordinator,    2022 Vanderhall Venice, 1986 Honda Gold Wing Interstate 
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Offline HawkGTRider

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Re: Sunday ride 11/8/20
« Reply #3 on: November 09, 2020, 05:17:39 AM »
Here in eastern TN, with a bit of dedication, we are able to ride nearly year around. We get a couple of light snows in a typical year (much more in the Appalachian Mountains 60 miles away). It's only during those frozen precipitation situations that the roads gets treated with salt brine and such (I wait a few days for that stuff to wash away after a snow). Winter low temps historically are around 30 and highs near 50. Summer highs historically range from lows around 70 to highs around 90. Overall, pretty decent and manageable.

If I draw a straight line north from Knoxville, TN, it's ~410 miles north to the Michigan state line (western tip of Lake Erie), ~410 miles south to the nearest point on the Gulf of Mexico on the Florida panhandle, ~410 miles east to Albemarle Sound on the coast of North Carolina (~100 miles less to the coast of South Carolina), and 410 miles west gets me to eastern Arkansas.

All of that said, I figure we're in about as "average" a place in the country as can be found being in pretty much the middle of the eastern half of the country. We joke about the weather here saying if you don't like it, wait 15 minutes. Not exactly that fast, but if you don't like the weather we're having, you're only a day away from something cooler, warmer, wetter, drier, etc.

Getting back to the thread topic, yeah, I rode Sunday. Low temps were around 50 with highs near 75...and sunny. Nice.

Geoffrey Greene
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Offline STLTHMSTA

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Re: Sunday ride 11/8/20
« Reply #4 on: November 09, 2020, 02:38:53 PM »
Here in the south western regions of Ohio it was a high of 81 on Sunday and in the 70's on Saturday. I got 3 bikes out for some riding and it was maaaaaaavelous! I even rode to work Sunday night (working graveyard shift right now) and the ride home in the morning was great. Unheard of.
Sorry I didn't get to join the Hoosiers for their ride but I imagine it was a great turn out.

Edit: We had 3 new record high days in a row for those dates. Life is good, let's ride!
« Last Edit: November 11, 2020, 09:35:19 AM by STLTHMSTA »

Offline stevegrab

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Re: Sunday ride 11/8/20
« Reply #5 on: December 10, 2020, 05:47:07 PM »
Haven't been here to post much in a while, we had 7 people show up for that early November ride, including one person who had moved to NC and returned, that I had lost touch with. It was great to see so many people, do some riding, catching up over a picnic lunch in a park (that may be a new ride style we adopt a few times a year). Of course since then the weather is turning here in Ohio.

I did visit my brother in eastern TN (about an hour west of Knoxville) for Thanksgiving and an extended stay to celebrate his birthday. Have been making a trip this time of year for over a decade, and the weather is always nicer, warmer, sunnier and with sunset about 30min later than at home. We did have a few snow flurries there, some cold temps and one day of nothing but rain. But we missed a snow storm (3-4 inches by me) while we were gone. Might be in the running for somewhere to retire.
Steve Grabowski
2014 Interceptor, 98 VFR, 99 Triumph Sprint ST, 06 Ninja 650

Offline HawkGTRider

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Re: Sunday ride 11/8/20
« Reply #6 on: December 11, 2020, 09:15:03 AM »
<snip>
I did visit my brother in eastern TN (about an hour west of Knoxville) for Thanksgiving and an extended stay to celebrate his birthday. Have been making a trip this time of year for over a decade, and the weather is always nicer, warmer, sunnier and with sunset about 30min later than at home. We did have a few snow flurries there, some cold temps and one day of nothing but rain. But we missed a snow storm (3-4 inches by me) while we were gone. Might be in the running for somewhere to retire.

As a life-long resident, I'm a bit prejudiced towards Tennessee.
We have NO state income tax (there was a tax on interest and dividend income, but that is being phased out (since 2015) with it being GONE in 2021).
Property taxes won't be the reason you can't send your kids to college, and there are no personal property taxes (there are for businesses, but not individuals).
Housing is affordable except for some counties in the Nashville/middle Tennessee area.
We have a variety of riding conditions (flatter in the west, rolling in the middle, more rolling and mountains in the east).
We have decent access to health care in the bigger towns.
Want to escape? You're one day either north to the Great Lakes, south to the Gulf/north Florida, east to the Atlantic ocean, or west to the Ozarks.
We might get a bit of snow, but it's usually low in quantity and short in duration...enough to know what it looks like but not terribly inconvenient (more in the Appalachian Mountains in the east if you want more).
TN has 1,000 miles of interstate highways, 13,000 miles of state highways, and 86,000 miles of county/city roads. Want to guess which I like the best?

It can get pretty warm in the summer months, but that's balanced by a winter that is mild in comparison to places further north. If you can deal with mornings around the freezing mark with temps rising into the mid 40s during the day, that's much of our winter riding conditions. I guess-timate we have about 1 week a year when the temperature doesn't get above freezing.

Knoxville, my home town, is the 3rd largest city in the state with around 200,000 population (Chattanooga is close to that as well). Include the whole county, and it's closer to 450,000. Google says it's the 153rd largest county in the country. But I can still get from one side of the county (I live near the north edge) to anywhere else in the county in maybe 45 minutes. Rush hour traffic exists, but it's mild in comparison.
There are a number of state and private universities and colleges spread out over the state...and I think costs are pretty reasonable compared to a lot of other places.
If you like city living, you can find it in Tennessee. If you like a more rural or small town lifestyle, it's there.

Downsides? We have a nasty sales tax (9+%). The University of Tennessee in Knoxville has a sucky football team (but a decent basketball team right now), and the sports writers for the Knoxville newspaper seem to have nothing else to write about.



Geoffrey Greene
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Difficult roads can lead to beautiful destinations.

Offline GlibGuy

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Re: Sunday ride 11/8/20
« Reply #7 on: December 11, 2020, 05:29:27 PM »
Geoffrey,
Careful touting the area; it’s getting so crowded I can’t get from Abingdon to Lenoir City to visit my mom!  Regards
Mick
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Offline HawkGTRider

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Re: Sunday ride 11/8/20
« Reply #8 on: December 12, 2020, 01:22:54 PM »
Now that you mention it, Knoxville is only 60 miles or less from Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina. In case it's slipped your mind, those are prime riding areas. And there's pretty good stuff in Tennessee to get there too.
Geoffrey Greene
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Difficult roads can lead to beautiful destinations.

Offline Brick

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Re: Sunday ride 11/8/20
« Reply #9 on: December 24, 2020, 07:52:09 AM »
Yea... go to Tennessee. It sucks here in Western North Carolina and the riding is terrible here too.


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Offline HawkGTRider

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Re: Sunday ride 11/8/20
« Reply #10 on: December 24, 2020, 12:09:03 PM »
Yea... go to Tennessee. It sucks here in Western North Carolina and the riding is terrible here too.


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Brick,
You're breaking my heart! Western NC is pretty special, but it seems to be more of a target for the halfbacks...those from up nawth who move to Florida and then decide to move half way back.
Geoffrey Greene
MSTA Ride For Kids Coordinator, MSTA Secretary (retired), TN-STAR and Tri-STAR Coordinator (retired)
Difficult roads can lead to beautiful destinations.