October 28, 2007

This ride was intended to be short and fun for all, with the hope the beginners will come out and join the join the group. The ride was planned to be approximately a 100 miles roundtrip, which for me is 160+ since I have a 30 mile ride one way to the ride start. On this Sunday morning it was a little windy and with last weeks ride in the blistering wind I wasn’t looking forward another ride in the wind. But, to get better or at least comfortable with riding on windy day’s means you must ride on windy days. So, I go through the ritual of checking out the oil level, lights, turn signals and tire air pressure before heading out.

The ride start for today’s ride was again at the Starbucks in Chantilly which is a 25+ miles jaunt up the Fairfax County Parkway to highway 50 west for a few mile to the South Riding Road and Starbucks. The ride up Fairfax County Parkway was as expected; the wind was blowing pretty strong, but I had a new plan. Usually, I would shift through the gears pretty quickly getting into the top gear and cruise. Doing that the bike’s engine very rarely got above 4000 rpms and it seemed the bike was under performing dog. The bike was taking an extremely long times to get to passing speed and the like. Well I knew it had to be more me that the bike, so on this day I was intent on getting and keeping the rpms up and see if that allowed me to keep the speed up and ultimately keep up with the group. So, I never shifted into fifth gear which kept the rpm in the 4000 plus range and boy what a difference. It took a little getting use to the sensitivity of the throttle, little movement make a difference. But now the bike is behaving like the marketing hype said it would. Zipping to 70mph and beyond very quickly, also I starting riding the bike like the bike is was. It’s a Sport Touring bike and not a cruiser, so I lowered the seat it lowest position lowered the windshield and get in the sport bike lean and what a difference it made. Today, I think, was for first time I really rode the bike and the day was just beginning.

I got to the Starbucks around 10:40. There was about 6 or so folks there when I got there and at 11am meet-up time there was 13 bikes and 3 riding two up for a total of 16 peoples. Judy and Susan were the ladies riders and there were a couple other ladies who ride as passengers, sorry, I forget there names, and Frank brought his 11 year old son so we had a good mix of riders and members, a good turn out.

        Chas gave a preview of the route up to Charles Town, WV and since the was a big group he went over the hand signals and the need to pass the signal back since the riders in the back can’t see the leaders hand signals or turn signals. Then off we went, west on highway 50 to route 15 north to pickup 704 to route 9 into Charles Town. These were for the most part arterial road but were pretty scenic as we ride away from the city. The group pretty much stayed in formation and kept the formation fairly tight. I am in the 5 position and I am keeping the 2 second rule between and the bike in front of me.

We'll arrive at Charles Town Races and Slots at 12:30 ish, and strapped our steads to the hitching posts and headed to the races. The plan was to grab some lunch, good seats, and then plan our betting strategies. We'll stay for three races, race 2 at 1:30, race 3 at 2:00, and race 4 at 2:30. Then, we'll head home via lower MD, so that our friends Annette and Dan (Wingman) can jump off closer to their destinations. Ah, but there was a twist: For those wishing to participate, the following challenge was given: 1) each person put up $6.00 2) those playing the horses, may bet 1, 2, or all 3 races. Those playing the slots may invest their $6.00 any way they see fit. 3) At the end of the day, we'll see who has turned their $6.00 into more money. If there are no winners among us, then we'll look at whoever has the most cash remaining from their original $6.00. The winner of the small contest will receive one free fill up at our next gas stop. Well Susan won the challenge. She took her six dollar bet and won $28.50 on the first race. I think she won on 2 of the 3 races bet. I don’t do too badly either. I hit on 2 of the 3 races too, and left with eleven dollars more than I had when I arrived with which is always good thing. The folks who played the slots had equally good luck. Scooter rides a 250cc Scooter, hit for $80 and another rider hit for $160 but neither hit with the initial $6 investment, so again Susan won the tank of gas, a whooping 4 plus dollars to fill up her Honda Shadow 750.

A stop at the gas station on the way out of Charles Town was a must for those cruiser and sports bikes with those 3 gallon tanks. The ST1300 has 7.7 gallon tank and with getting 45+ miles per gallon I can ride almost all day with out filling up. But the rule is that everyone get gas at a gas stop, so I got gas.

The ride back was just as scenic as the ride up. We took route 340 west toward Maryland and went through Harpers Ferry along the river and a very scenic ride coming out of the valley. The road was a little trafficey but well worth it. Harper Valley, which is also a national park, I will have to go back and explore. Our return route took up back on route 340 east to highway 15 south toward Leesburg where we picked up Evergreen Mills Road back to Chantilly and the starting point at the Starbucks.

Usually, since riders come from all over Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia area they start peeling off to head home along the route back to make for a shorter ride home. But today a good number of riders all went back to the Starbuck at the start. We took this excellent opportunity to something warm to drink and discuss the ride, the good, the bad, and the ugly. .Well, today there was no ugly, which is always good, the bad; a little windy and somewhat chilly on the bike, the good; the weather at the races was perfect, sun shine and very comfortable outside. And it’s always a good ride when everyone makes it back safe.