2Wheeltips

I was reading my local news online a couple of days ago, when a headline grabbed my attention:

"1 Dead After Crash on Route 18 in East Brunswick"
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20100712/NEWS/100712019/1004/NEWS0102

Somehow, without the headline saying it, I knew a motorcycle was involved.  Sadly, I was correct.  Sadder yet, the motorcyclist died in the accident; the passenger on the bike was taken to the hospital and was in stable condition at the time.  Apparently, the 19 year old driver of the automobile that was involved was not injured.

I know nothing about this accident (other than what little was written up in the local paper) and I know none of the people involved.  But motorcycle accidents send chills down my spine whenever they occur, and especially when they occur on local roads that I travel all the time.  Perhaps many of you will agree with me when I say that it seems like we are often a bit too interested in the gory details of motor vehicle accidents.  Yet, hopefully, we can learn something from even the most tragic of accidents.  I looked at the photos that were taken of the accident (and there was controversy about the newspaper even posting some of them, especially the ones that show what appears to be covering over the body of the biker) in an attempt to understand better what had happened and I am baffled.  Was the biker making a right turn onto Route 18 from the side street?  Did the vehicles collide while merging into the same lane?  Was someone driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs?  Was one of the operators distracted?  I don't have an answer.  What I do know is that, regardless of the roads that we ride on, the moment we let down our guard is the moment that we will be in big trouble.  Defensive motorcycling is necessary on all roads at all times....because our lives depend upon it.

Take a look at the photos after this accident to see if you can learn anything from them:



















And, for those of you who might live in my area, and who just might have been witness to what happened on Sunday evening, this is what I found on the road today:

Here is a newspaper article I came across recently about helmet standards. It is from the NY Times and covers the safety of the buckets we all put on our heads. What do you think ?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/automobiles/27SNELL.html?_r=1

So, there we were...at Americade 2010...up in the beautiful Adirondack Mountain region of New York State...  And, like so many other Americades, which start on the first Monday of June, the weather was, as usual, unpredictable.  We arrived on Wednesday of Americade week and it was dreary, rainy, and cool.

 This year, we didn't sign up for any of the scheduled tours, though, so we were pretty flexible when it came to what to do, where to go, and whether to brave the weather!  We clocked out a route from Lake George for a Thursday trip with some friends of ours.  Of course, Thursday morning arrived and guess what?  Yep...it was raining again.  So we canceled our plans for the day trip and tried to figure out what else we could do in the cool, wet weather.  Of course, going to a motorcycle rally, we wanted to get on our bikes and ride, not wander around the village of Lake George.  So, when the clouds cleared a bit, we decided to give it a go and we hopped on our bikes and headed north.  We rode up the western side of Lake George, on Route 9N, a very curvy, twisty and scenic road that snakes its way north.  Lake George comes to an end and Lake Champlain begins and we continued north until we got to Fort Ticonderoga, where there is a ferry (really just a little barge) that carries people, cars, and bikes across Lake Champlain between New York and Vermont.  Once in Vermont, we took a few more roads and before we knew it, we were at our destination:  the Woodchuck Cidery in Woodbury, Vermont. 

Well, my friends, this is not your regular ol' cider mill.  These people make HARD cider!  Normally, the cidery is not open to visitors for tours but they made an exception for us, and in we went. 

We were given a brief overview of the cidery and, although we weren't given any samples of the ciders they produce, they did send us away with tee shirts and cider glasses (on one side of the glass you get the proper measurement of Woodchuck draft cider and lager for a "snakebite" or turn the glass to the other side to get the measurements of Woodchuck draft cider and stout for the perfect "black velvet".  Sounds yummy!)

Our next stop was the Otter Creek brewery, a stone's throw from Woodchuck.  We walked in and were greeted by some really friendly people who   offered us samples of the ales that they brew! 

We were given a few sips of a bunch of varieties and then off we went for a tour of their facility.  It was fascinating to learn a little about how they brew their ales.  We stood over some mightily large vessels that were used in the storage and fermentation processes.  Then, we watched as the different ales were bottled and packaged. 

Of course, we had to find out who, in our area, sells their products since there were several that were delicious enough to want to buy! 

With our curiosity (and a teeny bit of our thirst) satisfied, we headed out to our bikes to continue our day trip.  And, of course, with such unpredictable weather, wouldn't you know it?  It was POURING!  Thank goodness for rain suits, waterproof boots, full face helmets, good tires and dependable bikes!!  We had a couple of other places on our list to visit but, due to the torrential downpour, we decided to just go grab some lunch and head back to Lake George.

One of the people at Otter Creek recommended a restaurant in downtown Middlebury, called "Two Brothers." 

It was a GREAT place for lunch and it gave us enough time to dry out before heading out into the rain again.  After lunch, although the rain had let up a bit, we decided to just head back to Lake George Village.  I kept looking in front of us and behind us to keep track of potential rain clouds.  On the ferry back to New York, I turned around and saw some clouds that looked like they were following us! 

Of course, at that point, what difference did it make?  I mean, we were dry INSIDE our riding gear….the outside of us was completely drenched. 

So, if you ever venture up to Americade, keep in mind that you are not limited to just the standard tours listed in the Americade brochure.  If you do a little research before your trip, you will find that there are lots of places that you can visit in the region.  And, DO keep in mind that, the first full week of June, when Americade is held, is a very unpredictable time, weatherise.  You should be prepared for cold, heat, sun, rain, and even (yikes!) the possibility of snow!!

I took my Yamaha fjr 1300 out for a spin yesterday. I haven't been on it much because it needs tires.....soon. I figure I have 500 miles before the only riding I can safely do will be in a straight line.

Anyway, while riding I noticed the bike didn't have much cornering traction and I could not lean it hot and heavy through the curves without it "drifting." In some curves I could feel the back tire slide out a bit. Even when making quick lane changes, I felt like I was riding on bubble gum or some other gooey substance. I knew immediately it was the tires. I decided to ride less aggressively and finish up the ride at a moderate pace.

So what happens when motorcycle tires need to be replaced? Well...cornering traction suffers...a lot! If you are used to leaning your bike hard and fast through curves, doing it on worn tires may land you in a ditch on the side of the road.  Also you may notice the bike drifting around when changing lanes. And finally, your stopping distance is impacted.

Will I try to get the final 500 miles in? Probably. But I know that I can not ride the bike like I normally do until I replace the tires.

My last morning at Americade 2010, I stopped in one of the local coffee shops for breakfast.  Parked outside the shop was a beautiful red Goldwing with a sidecar. 

Well, I just sat there, enjoying my breakfast, sipping my coffee…waiting to see who the owner of the Goldwing/Sidecar was.  Along came a couple in their riding gear….heading right for that bike.  And I watched, in amazement….as the woman took the helm of the bike and the man sat in the passenger seat! 

A couple of days ago, I read about an accident in my area where a couple riding a bike was hit by another biker who was drunk http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37815299/ns/local_news-delaware_valley_panj/.  The drunken rider went to pass the couple and, as he tried to pass, he hit their rear wheel.  The rider on the bike that was hit is now in critical condition in the hospital.  The passenger on that bike was thrown from the bike and was run over and killed by a car (the driver of the car left the scene and had not been located at the time of the news story).    The drunken motorcyclist who caused the catastrophe "sustained several cuts and bruises and was treated at the hospital before being taken into custody." 

So what is the reality here?  One biker dead, one biker in critical condition fighting for his life, and the biker who caused it all survives with minor bruises and a certain jail sentence and who knows how many lawsuits to plague him for the rest of his life.  All because he was stupid enough to ride drunk.

At Americade for $10.00 or $20.00 you could have your riding position check for the comfort of your bike. I wanted to know, what could I learn that would help my riding to more comfort and less, "Oh, My God", and rubbing my hind parts after a 120 mile ride without getting off the bike. Well, I had a pressure mapping system check and discovered that certain areas of my body had more pressure on the seat.  Overall after much discussion I was infomed that I needed a back rest and to proper inflate my airhawk to get rid of the tail bone pain, and have a better reach, and to adjust the armor in my knee pads to get rid of the pain that I would feel in my knees.   I went and purchased a back rest (first called the Harely Davidson in Ann Arbor to check their price; and found out it was cheaper at Americade).  Went to the booth where they sold airhawks and received instruction on how to properly inflate.  Well, what I discovered was that the backrest, placed me forward on the bike, which gave me a better reach to the handelbars, and took my tailbone off the padding of the seat. The airhawk properly air adjusted, gave me the rolling feel of a massage and I could do a certain lean on the bike for release of pressure and sit back on the bike and the ride felt great.  Before, I could ride on the airhawk for about 100 miles and my butt would start hurting.  I would get off the bike and when I got back on the bike, my butt felt like I was starting new on the ride.  But, since I did the adjustment, I could change positions while riding the bike and my butt then felt like I was starting new.  My ride home from Americade, 671 miles felt a lot better and less tiring than the 577 miles I did the first day on my way to Maine.  Riding with the backrest, suprisingly placed me in a position that was more comfortable and I was sitting straight-up.  The backrest costed me more than $20.00, I think it was $200.00 or more.  I found myself, after parking the bike, putting my backrest in my touring pack---did not want to walk back to my bike and the $200.00 backrest, not being there.  I got to the point where, I started leaving it on the bike.

I'm finally getting some time to write about my trip to Lake George, NY from central NJ for the Americade rally. It isn't a big ride, about 250 miles, and it's something that can be done in less than 5 hours. I rode up with a group of local friends.
The weather was clear but a little cool and breezy for a summer morning and scattered showers were in the forecast. With that in mind, I decided to pack my waterproof summer gloves, my rainsuit, my windbreaker jacket and a long sleeve compression shirt just it case the temperature dropped.

We started with 4 riders, road up the Garden State Parkway to a rest stop just south of Union, NJ and picked up 8 more riders. By then, it was chilly, so I put on the windbreaker. I got a few cross looks about having on too much clothing, but I always get that. After all, I'm "mr. safety" in these parts of the woods.

After hanging out there for an hour we got on the road. About an hour later we arrived at the first rest stop on the New York thruway. Along the way, the temperature dropped quite a bit. Those who didn't change at the previous stop were now cold and didn't look too happy. The clouds were rolling in and I put on my compression shirt and my raingear. Some did not bring warm shirts, rain gear or waterproof gloves, thinking they would make it to Americade before the rain.

We soon got back on the road and agreed to stop for lunch at a rest area just south of Albany, NY. Along the way, the temperature dropped again and it rained on and off some more. We all made it there in one piece but those who took a chance were now even colder and a little wet.  After a group lunch, we got back on the road for the final 90 minute ride to Lake George and that's when the fun began.

As soon as we got on the road, the sky opened up and it started raining....hard.  Those without rain gear got soaked and those with half helmets had to slow down because the rain hitting their faces was too painful. Still others had no experience riding in the rain and they too had to slow down. I hate passing other riders, but we were getting separated from other riders. At the next tool, I passed all of the ill-prepared riders and caught up with the others who were at least a half a mile ahead.

As we neared Lake George, the rain eased up some and we all made it there in one piece. I was warm, dry and in good spirits. The others were wet, cold and grouchy.

Moral of the story? Be prepared. Better to have it and not need it than to curse yourself for leaving it behind.

We just got this from our contact and Snell Foundation, the company that does helmet testing.  Their new motorcycle helment certification M2010, is the highest motorcycle helmet standard in the world. Helmets with this certification are coming to the market now and this site have information on the M2010 testing and other helmet safety info.

http://www.snellm2010.org/

We are going to Americade this year....leaving on Wednesday morning from central NJ. We should be there around 2pm.

On Thursday, we are going to the Woodchuck Cider Mill in Vermont. It is just across the ferry from Ticonderoga....perhaps 20 minutes. If you are free, you are welcome to join us. Just let me know.