Spyder_Cowgirl
05-01-2017, 09:36 PM
The question is sort of philosophical .... but is rooted in fact (inquiring minds want to know). Anyway, a group of 6 bikes (5 two wheelers and one spyder) and one tail-gunner truck took a road trip from North Central Texas to Midland / Odessa -- our goal was to see The Permian Basin Vietnam Memorial at Midland, the Kyle Memorial at Odessa, plus Hangar 25 and the Vietnam Memorial at Big Spring.
We had a cold and somewhat wet 350 mile ride south on Saturday ... about half in rain and around 55 degrees. Sunday, though, that was when we hit wind on the way back north. Heading NE and E until we got to Anson, when we turned North .... and oh boy did we get slammed! Sustained wind of 45 mph with gusts at 60 mph (maybe higher in a couple of spots) and out of the West so it was pure crosswind for about 30 to 40 miles as we went N to Haskell. :yikes: I put RT wind shield down all the way and was leaned as far forward as I could possibly get to create the smallest profile. All the while I am thinking to myself, can the nose of the spyder lift in this wind? :hun: Or could a front tire come up? Had that happen once on my 2012 RT when I got caught in a downburst from a collapsed thunderstorm ... but that was one quick gust and nanny put that front tire right back down. This was sustained wind .... what would nanny have done? :dontknow: Once we got to Haskell, the rest of the group continued north and my husband and I headed east, putting the wind at our backs for a little while. We delayed our turn north in order to minimize the distance ... it was only about 12 more miles (instead of the 80 or so the rest of the group had to deal with). We were mighty glad to get home after 695 miles on the weekend -- believe we all deserve "Devil Wind Merit Badges" for pushing through it!
So, can Spyders fly? Well ..... then again, maybe I don't really want to know. :shocked:
All the best .... Ann
We had a cold and somewhat wet 350 mile ride south on Saturday ... about half in rain and around 55 degrees. Sunday, though, that was when we hit wind on the way back north. Heading NE and E until we got to Anson, when we turned North .... and oh boy did we get slammed! Sustained wind of 45 mph with gusts at 60 mph (maybe higher in a couple of spots) and out of the West so it was pure crosswind for about 30 to 40 miles as we went N to Haskell. :yikes: I put RT wind shield down all the way and was leaned as far forward as I could possibly get to create the smallest profile. All the while I am thinking to myself, can the nose of the spyder lift in this wind? :hun: Or could a front tire come up? Had that happen once on my 2012 RT when I got caught in a downburst from a collapsed thunderstorm ... but that was one quick gust and nanny put that front tire right back down. This was sustained wind .... what would nanny have done? :dontknow: Once we got to Haskell, the rest of the group continued north and my husband and I headed east, putting the wind at our backs for a little while. We delayed our turn north in order to minimize the distance ... it was only about 12 more miles (instead of the 80 or so the rest of the group had to deal with). We were mighty glad to get home after 695 miles on the weekend -- believe we all deserve "Devil Wind Merit Badges" for pushing through it!
So, can Spyders fly? Well ..... then again, maybe I don't really want to know. :shocked:
All the best .... Ann