Atco Raceway Bike Night

Last night we went to Atco Raceway for Bike Night. It was a nice evening for a ride, even though they predicted a chance of showers. There were three bikes; Barbara and I, Chris and Alicia and Steve on his Harley. Since it was 'Bike Night' we thought there would be alot of people there on bikes. Not so. The place was pretty empty and there was one other bike in the parking lot. All of the bikes were in the pits for racing. Although some were street bikes they were all real fast. It wasn't just bikes. There were cars running too...everything from an old Mercedes station wagon to Dragsters.

Clam Chowder

How far would you go for some great clam chowder? Last night we were in the mood for some clam chowder from our favorite place...Country Kettle Chowda...in Bay Village, on Long Beach Island. They make the greatest clam chowder and serve it in bread bowls. The drive is 35 miles each way; partly on a fairly straight highway through the NJ Pinelands, partly on LBI through about a zillion traffic lights. It's well worth it, even if you hate long, straight, boring highways and stop and go slow traffic. It was a cool Sunday evening so the place was dead and many of the shops were already closed. That was alright, the chowda place was open. Nothing like a warm bowl of clam chowder when you have a slight chill.

Burlington Bike Night

Last night Barbara and I went to Burlington Bike Night "Thunder on the River" 2011. It's a large gathering of bikes and vendors on the Burlington, NJ waterfront. We rode with four other bikes from home to the gathering. It was threatening rain, and we did ride through a little, but it turned out to be a nice, cool evening. Parking was sparse but we squeezed our bike into a single spot, splitting from the group. There were alot of bikes there; blocks and blocks lined on both sides. Almost all of them were HDs. Sometimes it's intimidating being on my little Honda. The artwork and custom bikes were well worth the trip. We were a little disappointed with the number of vendors though. There were very few food vendors and the 'goodies' were sparse also. We were hoping to have something to eat and maybe pick up some things for the bike or ourselves. We ended up leaving fairly early but stopped on the way home for a nice dinner at TGIF's.

Turnpike Ride

Yesterday I took a ride to Collegeville PA to visit an old friend of mine. We hadn't seen each other or talked for a long , long time but Facebook re-connected us. The ride was mostly on the turnpike...not my favorite riding. The PA turnpike is in very bad shape...thump...thump, thump...thump.

We met at a place called Pennsylvania Live Steamers. It's a five acre facility with thousands of feet of train track of all different guages. The trains that are run here are all live steam...real trains. Some are tabletop size and some are so big that people ride on them. This is a true nerd activity but it's kind of neat. The intricate engineering and craftmanship that goes into these trains is amazing.

Anyway, back to the ride. I really don't like going a straight, steady 70mph surrounded by trucks and cars going 70-80mph. But of course 60mpg is better than the 18mpg that pig of a Jeep gets. Once I left the turnpike I really enjoyed the backroads.

Break in the weather

Today we finally got a break in the weather. It hasn't rained yet and I was able to clean the bike and go for a ride. I had errands to run so it wasn't all fun.
I still have a few accessories to install but they can wait until next week...except the gremlin bell. I'd like to get that mounted as soon as possible to keep the bad road gremlins away!

Filth & Accessories

My bike is soooooo dirty. I started cleaning it yesterday. It takes alot to clean a bike properly. There are so many nooks and crannies; especially the spoked wheels.
I also have a few accessories to mount. Highway bars, a flashing license plate frame and my gremlin bell. Maybe this weekend.

Out for a ride

Today was the first full day since I returned from Florida. Although the weather has been lousy I took a chance and went out for a ride; the first ride since last fall. The bike started right up but it sure is filthy. I wiped it down as best I could and headed out to run some errands. As soon as I get the time it will get a thorough cleaning. I headed to the gas station for a tank of fresh premium then dropped some things off to Chris and finished up at the grocery store. On the way back it started to rain but I didn't mind.
It was really great getting out on the bike. I could really use a long ride but I have to get the bike in for it's 4000 mile service.