Late morning Sunday Ride

I took a morning ride out to an event a couple of towns over. The ride was a little cool, at first, then it warmed up. I watched a race, sponsored by NETRA. It was an enduro run. I missed the start, but I caught a nice uphill run in the woods. I had to ride my F650 up a dirt road and into the woods up a hill on a minimal path. The bike went along well. This bike continues to amaze me with it's versatility.
While at the race, I got some great advice where to watch from a couple of Yankee Beemers. It was a nice morning for a ride, but the rain was coming and I made my ride short.

A ride to New Hampshire

This morning, the chosen Sunday ride leads to New Hampshire. It was a nice morning so there was an early start time. It was a little chilly, so I stopped and put the liner in my coat and changed to the cold weather gloves. With the heated hand grips, the ride became more pleasant. I had a general idea of where to go but not having the GPS hooked up made it somewhat an adventure. I just kept the sun over my shoulder and I was able to make it in a little under two hours. That's about an hour and a half with all my breaks. After arriving, I noticed the low fuel light on so I filled up with gas. After 8800 miles, the F650GS gets 69.56 miles per gallon.
For the most part, the trip was secondary roads, but a small part of the trip up was on Rt. 495 and 3. The highways didn't have much traffic for that time of the morning so I just kept up with the few cars on the road. Unfortunately, I didn't see the section of sod, that some truck dropped, until it was too late. Fortunately, route 3 was slow and I managed to maneuver so my tires hit it, I was able to maintain control. The car in front of me softened it up a bit, I imagine. I also traveled along parts of routes 2, 2A, 3A, 4, 27, 62, 117, and 225. The start of the trip was quite hazardous. Through a couple of small towns, much of the roadway was covered with, what appeared to be, freshly shredded vegetation. I guessed this was due to some hail as a storm hit the area the previous night. While I got caught in the rain, and I thought I got a very brief period of hail, perhaps not too far away, heavier, more damaging hail occurred. In any case, the debris made riding tricky, until I got out of the area. The rest of the roads were clear and just a few puddles remained.
There were many detours on the return trip due to Memorial Day parades. At that time, the sun was almost directly overhead so dead reckoning wasn't easy. Once I found myself on some back road, off of the main routes, I would just guess and hope for the best. These trips are nice because one may find themselves in areas off the beaten path. These areas are my goals on these rides. Coming across a nice area makes it all the more fun. Before I left, I went through the trouble of printing out a route map with turn by turn directions. Those got forgotten at home, but that might have made the trip more enjoyable.

Caught in the rain

It finally happened. I knew it would, it was just a matter of time. I went out to pick up a few things at the grocery store and when I got out, a downpour was occurring. I waited a little, hoping the rain would stop and it didn't. I waited a little longer and it seemed to let up. So, I made my way home. It was a short distance, but the road didn't drain well and there were deep puddles everywhere. I tried to stay on the high road and was mostly successful. This incident makes it even more imperative that rain gear is obtained. As I proceeded home, the rain worsened. Hail might have even been involved; it was hard to tell as the velocity was high. Lightning was striking in the distance and the wind was increasing rapidly. These symptoms sometimes suggest tornado. This didn't occur today, thankfully, but the threat made the bike go faster. Arriving at home, soaking wet, but safe, was a good sight. The rain gear hasn't been decide upon, yet. Stay tuned...

Addition to the bike

The F650 got a top case. I paid a little too much for it, but it's a big case; it'll hold 2 helmets and some small stuff. I still need side cases, but I will wait 'till a good deal comes along. It is a Givi case that fits onto the Givi rack, mounted on my bike. It fits well, even on the rough roads it stays on tight. I got lucky as the case colors match the bike, silver and black.