I've had my Z1000 for about 1 1/2 years and about the farthest I've ridden is Aiken county...until today. Laura, Peaches and Laura's mom went to a baby shower at L's work today, and I didn't have anything to do around the house. My brother in Summerville had told me a couple of weeks ago that they were having a birthday party for his 3 y/o this weekend, and I thought to myself, "Self, this would be a good time to get out and ride, as long as the weather is good." Turns out, I can talk myself into pretty much anything!
I left about 10:30. The weather was awesome, nice and comfortable even with an 80 mph wind in my face. Most of the time it's still a bit chilly when the temp's below 75 and I'm riding at speed. I plugged in my iPod with noise cancelling earbuds and cruised....I know some will bemoan the fact that I wear plugs while riding, but any distance over 10 miles or so, and I almost have to have some ear protection...I've been wearing plain earplugs for years when I ride, so the transition to music-bearing plugs was easy. They come out a bit when I put on the helmet, so I can still hear somethings (like the engine), but I don't have the constant wind blowing in my ears. Anyway, I rode pretty easy...staying around 77-80 mph. Traffic was flowing well, and I was even getting passed...but I let it go. I stopped at the rest area right before the I-20/I-95 interchange and let my butt wake up...it had somehow managed to fall asleep even with the hard rock music I was listening to. This trip also gave me a chance to test out my new saddlebags...which need some adjusting.
I made it to my bro's house around noon...still on the same tank of gas. He had a bounce castle/obstacle course, face painting, pizza, soda, juice boxes, cake, ice cream and a ton of people and kids! It was a pretty awesome birthday party. Him and his wife have set the bar pretty high for any future birthdays. We had a good time bouncing around and creating general havoc inside the bounce castle. By we, I mean me and my brother.
I hung around until about 4:30. The ride home was as uneventful as the ride down. I did have to stop and get gas, though. I made it 144 miles on one tank, and I still had a bit left. I guess I can go about 150 before I HAVE to fill up. That's useful info to have when you're doing some distance traveling. I did go a bit faster on the way back...80-85...and I still got passed. Either my speedo is off, or lots of people were in a much bigger hurry than I was. I didn't see but one trooper, and he was headed the other way. I was home by 6:15. Now all I have to do is drag my bones out of bed tomorrow for church...that'll be interesting. I even get to ride to church tomorrow.
Conclusions: I need to adjust the saddlebags. They don't stay even thru the ride, and they're not as secure as I'd like them. I also need to do some more distance stuff to toughen up my butt. My legs started to hurt about an hour into the ride, but I think that's just being in the same position for a long time. My hands and wrists did good, but I don't lean on them much anyway. My iPod and buds are great! Music makes the ride time go much faster. An excellent day!
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