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July 30, 2004
D-Day - 13
I am feeling quite confident now. None of the issues I was having in the past few days really remain.
I strapped my backpack to my sissy bar (I really need to get saddle bags soon) and headed back up route 5 towards ...(drum roll)... Brattleboro, in VT. I needed to pick up a 1 person tent for the road in case I can't crash at someone's house along the way. And this particular tent they didn't have at the local camping store, so I had to travel some (oh no, don't make me ride my bike somewhere...)
I stopped once more at the Whately Diner for lunch, and a quick stop at Chris's in Greenfield to say hi (he lives on route 5, so it's not a detour). Then I was on my way north.
I must say, route 5 is a very pretty drive. The funny thing is, as soon as I hit Vermont, the roads were freshly paved. It made for a smooth ride. Also, the speed limit in Vermont is 50mph so I got to get some wind in my hair.
A note about that... I now know why biker's use multiple hair ties spaced out a couple inches. It really helps prevent the hair from getting tangled up into impossible knots...
I finally got to Brattleboro and hit traffic. The good part about that: I can handle stop and go traffic just fine, even on hills. The bad part, it sucks more than in a car, and the leather jacket makes me sweat my ass off when I'm not moving.
Anyway, I got the tent, dodged out of the main roads and used the back roads to find my way back onto route 5 free of traffic (thank you GPS).
I then headed back home for dinner, after stopping again at Chris's for a quick chat.
Then I headed back to Amherst to say hello to Keith and Jared who hadn't seen my bike, and maybe say goodbye to them one last time before I leave.
Michelle was having a party up in Greenfield and I decided I would go there and spend the night so I could take my bike. I've been doing route 5 so much I wanted something different. So I rode up 116. I stopped to say hello to Jeff and Jen, but they weren't home (probably at baseball or something), so I hit the highway. Ah... first ride on the highway. How smooth...
Now, don't get me wrong, I like to ride slow, it's comfortable, and you get to see the view, but this baby has got some balls. I can hit 70mph in 4th gear. That is, I have a whole nother gear to go.
I did notice a few things though. I think she needs new sparplugs cause she skips a beat every now and then. Jake has recommended (and others have supported this recommendation) that I get platinum tipped ones for better performance and durability. I should be able to do that on monday.
All in all, I put another 150 miles on my baby today, and I'm in love.
Posted by Cyclops at July 30, 2004 08:43 PM