Ride Log: 10-01-11 (Failed Lincoln Highway Attempt)

Attempted to make a run today on the Historic Lincoln Highway in Illinois. The initial plan was to head out towards the DeKalb area. Unfortunately I ran into problems unable to find the historic placemarkers to get me in the right direction. You can see from the trail below that I had several instances where I had to backtrack. Overall not a bad ride, but not productive either.


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Ride Log: 09-23-11

A good ride this afternoon on some back country roads. As is probably the case with a lot of riders I got lost in the moment and got a little bit cocky. Several of the turns along the route had gravel on them, in one case I hit a straight up gravel road. That definitely humbled me.

I attempted to get some good photos of myself and the bike near Brook Road, but found my camera does not have a timer feature on it. Regardless though the trip was a good one, but I can see already that my bike begins to hurt my butt and back. Most likely the angle at which it sits.

On a side note I noticed that I was covered in bugs after the ride. I had to clean off my jacket and my helmet. From the photo you can see what I am talking about. This got me thinking though that apart from the safety of a helmet, wouldn’t a person want to wear one just so they don’t get a face full of that?


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Down the rabbit hole I go

Amazing how motorcycle ownership is a bit of a secret society. People who I never knew owned bikes or who I did and never really had a conversation with suddenly seem all the more interested to hold a conversation with you. This is not even mentioning the ritualistic wave you get while riding.

So I have owned my motorcycle for all of about three weeks at this point and I am already getting wrapped up into the world of gear, accessories and other bikes. I was surprised to learn about how many people own more than one bike. I can see why now. With the riding ranging from touring to dual sport there is so much to do. Even before I got this motor ycle I was I treated in touring. Something about heading out west appealed to me. Not a huge fan of the giant bikes though. After reading the Fuzzy Galore blog though I now have an interest pique in dual sporting. Have I mentioned I have only owned this motorcycle for three weeks?

Technology Burnout

For most of you who know me, you will know that I am one of the biggest tech geeks around. I love gadgets and keeping constantly in touch with the world. Over the past year I have found myself striving to get a break from that constant connection. It started a bit with my trip to Montana last year in which I was completely disconnected from most technology. With my recent purchase of a motorcycle I found a bit of freedom in the simplicity of the machine. While it is of course still a piece of technology, there is something inherently raw about a motorcycle, having no modern electronics, GPS, air conditioning, etc. on it that we see with modern cars. The motorcycle requires my constant attention while riding it and all I hear is the wind rushing past my ears while I ride. 

I have to admit, just going out and heading in a direction without a destination or a route is incredibly difficult for me. I have become incredibly reliant on GPS for most of my travels these days. I have found the experience quite rewarding however. As I do with most adventures that I find myself getting into, I dive fully into the experience looking into as much of the detail as I can. I already find myself looking at new accessories and upgrades I can get for my bike. As I continue with riding I think I will begin posting some of the routes that I take here on the blog.