Lamonster
05-26-2010, 01:06 PM
Last week I was finally able to make the annual BBQ in PA hosted by some members of my BigBikeRiders board. This has been going on for 10 years now and I have yet to make it for one reason or another. I got a call from another friend in TN and she had never made it out there either and wanted to know if I was going. I decided this was the year I was going to make it happen and I would be taking the RT and trailer.
The run from my house to Bellefonte PA was just under 600 miles according to the GPS but somehow we managed to add a little to that. Vicki and Maury stayed in a hotel right off the 81 and I hooked up with them Friday morning. It was raining and we didn't get on the road till 8am. Vicki was on her Versys and Maury was on his FJR that he bought from Vicki. This was the first time I rode with Maury but Vicki and I have been riding together on and off since 2000. She started off on a custom Valkyrie and that's when I met her. She can out ride most men on her Valk and her ZRX1100 and she does all her own wrenching. The only problem she has is shes vertically challenged and she has to modify all her bikes so she can at least get one foot on the ground.
I started a Valkyrie club with another guy back in 1999 and the club is still going today. Many of the members including myself have moved on to other bikes but the friendships remain solid and there are quite a few of us that get together and talk about the good ol' Valkyrie days. Many of the Valk riders are now on the Spyder and have found their way to SpyderLovers.com. I'm sure 10 years from now I'll be getting together with SpyderLovers and talking about the good ol' days.
Our first fuel stop was in Virgina and that gave us a chance to talk about how fast we wanted to run and when we wanted to stop for fuel. As you can imagine the fuel stops were based on me more than anything seeing I had an extra wheel and was towing a trailer. The good thing was they were good with stopping every 120-140 miles or so. Vicki was getting 57mpg on her Versys and I think Maury was getting around 50mpg. Much to my surprise I was getting 31-32mph towing a loaded trailer. We ran 70 to 75 most of the way there and back so that was pretty good for the RT. Before that I was getting around 26mpg towing the trailer. Right around 10,000 miles is when my mileage got better. It does seem to like 93 octane the best.
Vicki and Maury
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9787
It rained on and off the whole way there but that really didn't slow us down much. The way home was a different story. When we got there the rain had quit and the party had started. The RT was a big hit and it was the first time many of them had a chance to see one in person.
The next day the cookout was in full swing. For whatever reason I didn't get too many pics but here's what I did get.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9788
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9789
We had a great time with great food and fellowship. The BBQ was fantastic but it was really just a excuse to get together with old friends that love to share the wind. Folks came from all over the country including Canada.
Don and Kim
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9803
The next day we said our goodbyes and headed out. Once again it was raining and we didn't get too far down the road when it started raining real hard. All the smart bikers were under the bridges but I didn't see the bridges till I was too far along and there was no way I was going to try and slow down and stop in that kind of rain. We just kept motoring on. I did find that I could see better if I had my windshield all the way down. There was way to much truck spray on my shield to see through it.
At every fuel stop I would check my iphone and look at the radar. At one stop in Cloverdale, VA the sky ahead of us was looking pretty grim. I checked the radar and I could see it was going to pass so we decide to get some lunch. There wasn't much to this town but a local guy told us about a burger join just up the road.
This was one of those places you would never know was there and it was very special. The whole place was a shrine to Elvis and the burgers weren't too bad either.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9791
The other King
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9790
The King of Rock N Roll
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9792
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9793
The rest of the ride home was great other than the VA cops that were out in force, I used the CB on the RT to hear where they were. You would hear a trucker saying something like "There's a Smoky northbound 54 with a customer". That meant there was a cop at mile marker 54 heading north that had someone pulled over. It was funny to hear them tell the other truckers to look at the three wheel motorcycle that's was getting ready to pass them. I would switch from ipod to XM to CB along the way to break up the trip.
Our last fuel stop together was north of Bristol, VA where we gave each other hugs and said are goodbyes. It was a great ride and the RT treated me right. The more I ride this thing the more I love it.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9794
The run from my house to Bellefonte PA was just under 600 miles according to the GPS but somehow we managed to add a little to that. Vicki and Maury stayed in a hotel right off the 81 and I hooked up with them Friday morning. It was raining and we didn't get on the road till 8am. Vicki was on her Versys and Maury was on his FJR that he bought from Vicki. This was the first time I rode with Maury but Vicki and I have been riding together on and off since 2000. She started off on a custom Valkyrie and that's when I met her. She can out ride most men on her Valk and her ZRX1100 and she does all her own wrenching. The only problem she has is shes vertically challenged and she has to modify all her bikes so she can at least get one foot on the ground.
I started a Valkyrie club with another guy back in 1999 and the club is still going today. Many of the members including myself have moved on to other bikes but the friendships remain solid and there are quite a few of us that get together and talk about the good ol' Valkyrie days. Many of the Valk riders are now on the Spyder and have found their way to SpyderLovers.com. I'm sure 10 years from now I'll be getting together with SpyderLovers and talking about the good ol' days.
Our first fuel stop was in Virgina and that gave us a chance to talk about how fast we wanted to run and when we wanted to stop for fuel. As you can imagine the fuel stops were based on me more than anything seeing I had an extra wheel and was towing a trailer. The good thing was they were good with stopping every 120-140 miles or so. Vicki was getting 57mpg on her Versys and I think Maury was getting around 50mpg. Much to my surprise I was getting 31-32mph towing a loaded trailer. We ran 70 to 75 most of the way there and back so that was pretty good for the RT. Before that I was getting around 26mpg towing the trailer. Right around 10,000 miles is when my mileage got better. It does seem to like 93 octane the best.
Vicki and Maury
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9787
It rained on and off the whole way there but that really didn't slow us down much. The way home was a different story. When we got there the rain had quit and the party had started. The RT was a big hit and it was the first time many of them had a chance to see one in person.
The next day the cookout was in full swing. For whatever reason I didn't get too many pics but here's what I did get.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9788
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9789
We had a great time with great food and fellowship. The BBQ was fantastic but it was really just a excuse to get together with old friends that love to share the wind. Folks came from all over the country including Canada.
Don and Kim
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9803
The next day we said our goodbyes and headed out. Once again it was raining and we didn't get too far down the road when it started raining real hard. All the smart bikers were under the bridges but I didn't see the bridges till I was too far along and there was no way I was going to try and slow down and stop in that kind of rain. We just kept motoring on. I did find that I could see better if I had my windshield all the way down. There was way to much truck spray on my shield to see through it.
At every fuel stop I would check my iphone and look at the radar. At one stop in Cloverdale, VA the sky ahead of us was looking pretty grim. I checked the radar and I could see it was going to pass so we decide to get some lunch. There wasn't much to this town but a local guy told us about a burger join just up the road.
This was one of those places you would never know was there and it was very special. The whole place was a shrine to Elvis and the burgers weren't too bad either.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9791
The other King
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9790
The King of Rock N Roll
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9792
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9793
The rest of the ride home was great other than the VA cops that were out in force, I used the CB on the RT to hear where they were. You would hear a trucker saying something like "There's a Smoky northbound 54 with a customer". That meant there was a cop at mile marker 54 heading north that had someone pulled over. It was funny to hear them tell the other truckers to look at the three wheel motorcycle that's was getting ready to pass them. I would switch from ipod to XM to CB along the way to break up the trip.
Our last fuel stop together was north of Bristol, VA where we gave each other hugs and said are goodbyes. It was a great ride and the RT treated me right. The more I ride this thing the more I love it.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=9794