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Showing posts from September, 2007

When You Ride 200 Miles for Lunch, You Are Bound to get Wet!

Thursday, September 27, 2007 As you may have read, if you have read any of my past posts, sometime I take a little journey to get a bite to eat. I'll take an even longer journey if I can break a little bread with a friend. This trip kills both those birds with one stone. I got up, ready to hit the road, as I postponed the trip because of weather yesterday. I looked at the weather radar, and it looked similar to yesterday at this time, but, the storm was moving east and south. I thought I might get a little rain on me, but nothing major. I headed down Washington Street to Post Road, fearing the entrance to I-70 was closed from 465 because of the construction. I took the ramp to I-70 and I was off heading east, with a full tank of fuel. The skies were a dark blue, but I could see light ahead. Twenty miles into the trip, and I was basking in sunlight? I was almost ready to take off the rain pants, and change to my tinted shield. I still had a 150 miles to burn, so I pus

Some People Do the Stupidest Things!!

Sunday, September 23rd, 2007 First off, please notice that I say some people, not me, and not the people I was riding with. Also, the ride was fine, very enjoyable with nice weather, just a few hitches you will have to read on to find out about. I started out around fifteen minutes after ten in the morning to head to the meeting spot for today's ride. We were heading on a rout that I have ridden most of quite a bit, and I am using it for the Poker Run at next year's Gathering of Eagles. I pulled into the McDonalds/BP on South Kentucky Avenue, and there were three motorcycles already parked there. I saw another already pulled up to a pump. I knew my dad and another couple was coming, so we would have a nice group for the ride. By the time 11:15 rolled around, we had nine people on eight bikes, a great size for a group ride. After a meeting, we put up the kickstands, fired up the engines, and headed south on SR-67. We were on the State Highway for about 15 miles, and turned

Guilty Pleasures

Friday, September 21st, 2007 First, I want to issue a warning: I have decided to try and retain some of the things I think about while riding, and put them down here. Not so much to entertain the few readers here, but just so I have my stream on conscious written down. Today's ride is actually a work ride. I have a friend who rides his bike across the country checking on things for his work, claiming it as saving his company money. Yeah I am sure it is a justification, but if it works. I am doing research, and wanting to begin production on a documentry on Indiana Covered Bridge Builders. So today, I was venturing out to Rush County, Indiana, to look at some bridges built by the Kennedy Family. I started out heading west on Washington Street, and took it to Post Road, where I drove south to Brookville Road, or US-52. This highway took me south and west, through New Palestine and Morristown. It was hard to pass up the Kopper Kettle, but I was not quit hungry yet. Portions o

Short Trip to the PUD

Thursday, September 20th, 2007 Just a short post on this one. I ran up to the Parental Unit Dwelling (PUD) to mooch a free meal. If you read regularly, you know it is a weekly thing. I started off from home heading west on East Washington Street to Arlington. Little did I know that it is closed just north of 21st Street where they are working on I-70. I took 21st Street west to Emerson, which goes over the construction, instead of how Arlington goes under, so it has remained open. I was on Emerson Avenue for a while, and turned left onto Kessler Boulevard. This winds south of Glendale, and into Broad Ripple, Indy's village area. Lots of bars and little eateries dot the landscape of this area. I went over to Broadway, then went north past a co-worker/friend's house, and then along the canal back to College Avenue, that I took north. I was on College until 116th Street through an area known as Homeplace. I went east on 116th, slowly, even though it is divided two lanes ea

A Guilty PLeasure: Taking the Long Way Home

Monday, September 17, 2007 Got a all near 11am today from my friend John. He had mentioned when we worked together that he wanted to meet for lunch. I was on my back from returning some gear, and we made an appointment to go to Cheeseburger in Paradise on the southside. I took the quick way to get there, using Shadeland to 465, to I-65 South. The restaurant is just south of Southport Road, a little winding drive through other eateries and hotels. I got a phone call from John as I rode, and even though he didn't leave a message, I knew he was going to be late. We talked more than we ate. In fact, it was probably the closest think I will ever get to a girl chat! lol We talked about all kinds of stuff, and hardly a solution for any of our problems came about, but it was good to talk about them. We finished, and left the restaurant. I headed further south on I-65 until Main Street in Greenwood. I was taking the long, more winding way home. Yes, this is a guilty pleasure, having

Sunday Morning, Appreciating the Comforts of Life

Sunday, September 16, 2007 It has been a while since I made my trek to Shapiro's for breakfast with the old crew. By old, I mean the guys I meet there, I believe I am the youngest regular! I pulled out of the drive, and down the street into some crisp, morning air. The temp was around 50 Degrees, more likely on the shy side of that mark. It felt good. It woke me up, and made me feel alive!. I headed west on Washington Street until Pleasant Run Parkway. It snakes through town, heading south and west. It is a aptly named road, except for the broken pavement, but a pleasant stroll through town. After a stint on Southeastern, I return to the parkway, and pass by the coke plant, not the cola, the stuff made from coal. The natural gas tank sits low in its cradle, as it usually moves up and down depending on how full it is. Eventually, I spill onto Prospect Avenue. In other posts I mentioned an elder man that I would see every Sunday, dressed to nines, most likely waiting for a bu

Quick Trip for Dinner

Thursday, September 13, 2007 This will be a short quick entry. I rode to my parent's for dinner, taking my normal route, Washington Street west to Arlington, then North to 56th Street, and west again to Kessler. I took Kessler north to Broadway, then through the village of Broad Ripple, taking College Avenue north to 106th Street. I stopped at Wild Oats on my way home, then took 465 back around the north and east side of Indy to Washington Street. See, that was quick!!

Toy Run Day 3: Coming Home is Usually Met With Sorrow

Sunday, September 9, 2007 I know from comments and e-mails that there are several regualr readers on this blog. First thanks for letting me bore you with my journeys. Second, you know the last day of a trip is usually met with sorrow. I can't say that I am really sad to head home from this experience. The other couples were up early, and the younger couple was gone already by the time I got out of the tent. We were headed back to the same place for breakfast. First though, need to pack up the bike. That meant taking down the wet tent, rolling up the wet sleeping bag, gathering everything up. I was amazed that it all went back on the bike! We trekked out of the muddy mess, needing to take detours, and get unstuck a time or two, but we eventually made it to the road! We met the hotel couple at the restaurant, and had another good breakfast.. They were taking a less complicated route, and I wanted to retrace some of mine so that I could take some pictures. I headed west on S

Toy Run Day 2: At Least It Didn't Meet My Bad Expectations

Saturday, September 8th, 2007 Morning didn't come to early at all! It could have come a lot sooner, so it would have meant less revving engines, fireworks, and guys yelling!! I guess that is why I am here, though! I was laying in my sleeping bag, wondering what time it was, and listening to the other two couples talking. Finally, the female part of the older couple yelled my name, and told me to get out get ready, they needed to register, and they were hungry for breakfast. I had met the older couple at the Covered Bridge Run, as they are with the Terre Haute Chapter of Cruiser Club, USA. I was already getting changed out of my sleeping gear and into my clothes for the day, so they didn't have to wait long for me to make an appearance from my tent. I then needed to dress the bike! I told them to go ahead, I would meet them at the registration table. They were done registering by the time I got up there, and we pulled out onto smooth pavement, and headed toward breakfast.

Toy Run Day 1: Feeling Like Santa, But I Need Rudolph!

Friday, September 7th, 2007 Well the day is finally here. I always told myself I would never got to a big rally where you camp out in a field, and hang out all night with a bunch of rowdy, drunk people. Sound like Sturgis, well it is, say I missed it, it was last week, well your wrong, this is Sturgis, Michigan. It is also a Toy Run. It is also an event in which Julie, a friend and President of the the Cruiser Club, USA Chapter up there helps to put together. I have been promising her I would come, and this was the year I had no more excuses, besides my deep rooted reservations. But like my mom with a big old plate of vegetables, I figured I had better try it before I say I don't like it. I headed out under cool, grey skies around nine o'clock in the morning. First stop was the bank machine, as the two previous times came up empty, with the unit being serviced. I continued north on Shadeland Avenue until it crosses 465, which I took north to I-69. Traffic was moderate, and I wa