Monday, April 27, 2009

Global warming interfering with motorcycle ride

Well, not really.

With recent temps suddenly in the mid 90os, my seasonal allergies have no chance to acclimate and I suffer acutely. Saturday came with the typical watery, itchy eyes, runny nose, and sneezing. Sunday's symptoms included severely swollen eyes. These coupled with the malaise accompanying high doses of antihistamines stifled any weekend 2-wheeled jaunts.

I hoped to "test ride" the Valkyrie to ensure the front brakes, tires, de-smog, valve adjustment, and carb tweaks work without problems. If I can back off on the allergy meds, I'll give it a go this week. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

And now the brakes

Front brakes are in the mail.
There isn't much left to fix or replace.
I'm looking forward to May.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Flat front tire on Valkyrie -- ack!

Ok, last week I discovered the frayed throttle cables. This after changing the plugs, air filter, and adjusting the valves. I'm installing the throttle cables now and discovered my front tire is flat; the valve stem is leaking! It's almost as if something was conspiring against me riding the Redwing19 IBA in a few weeks!!

In 10 min the local motorcycle shops open. I'm going to try to find a new valve stem. If they have a new front tire, I'm going to buy that too. Then I'll take the wheel to a tire shop down in Fredericksburg, King George Tire, that will mount and balance for a very reasonable price. They are a long way down the road, but the guys there are easy to work with and get the job done right.

I hope I can find what I need.

later....john

Interlude - Latest visitor statistics

The Redwing19 IBA posts have boosted visits nearly 100% in the last 30 days as compared with the previous 30 days. The most common search term visitors are using is 'Redwing 19' and Twitter continues to be the #1 referring site. Visits from new cities in the last 30 days include Edmonton, Cape Town, and Newcastle. Very cool.

I appreciate all visitors. I urge you to leave comments.

Thanks!


Last 30 days:


Previous 30 days:

Saturday, April 11, 2009

2009 First Ride

Last Sunday April 5th, my wife and I took a short ride out to Marshall to eat lunch at the small Marshall Diner. The weather was great. The food was good. It was a nice way to spend a few hours.

(It was on this ride I noticed my frayed throttle cable.)


From Blogger Pictures


Let the riding season begin!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Throttle cables akimbo

Taking advantage of the nice weather, my wife and I rode our bikes west for a late lunch. On the way, I noticed one of my throttle cables has frayed.

Good thing I saw this now. I'd hate that the cable would break during the IBA run.

Now to hunt down some cables...

Friday, April 3, 2009

Redwing19 IBA Registration Sent - Am now committed

It's done.

I sent the registration earlier this week. I'm going to ride in the Redwing19 IBA 1000 miles in 24 hours in VA.

Wish me luck.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Redwing19 IBA - Rider prep

Another sheet to add to the ever expanding Google spreadsheet: A packing list.





What have I forgotten?