i had an awesome day today.
I slept great last night, because it was cool. Got up, decided that I needed to get the hell out of the house, because I'd been cooped up in the heat since Saturday (too bleedin' hot to contemplate clothing) and because it looked like it was going to be a spectacular day. I'd been wanting to head up to Maine to visit my sister and niece, and decided that this was the day. I've also been wanting to undertake a long ride (>50miles), and heading up to Portland looked to be about perfect. We have to go up there in August to get on the ferry anyway, so it was good practice for me.
So I filled the tank, ate some lunch, and hit the road. The on ramp from Rte 213 to 495 north was OMGSCARY -- I wasn't looking around the corner enough, and I think I might have hit it a little too fast. Obviously I made it through, but while it was a pucker moment, I do want to do it again to see how I can do it better.
There weren't too many asshats on the road -- not in cars, anyway. The truckers were being kind of aggressive, though to be fair, there was a jackass in a Cherokee that was either passive aggressive about maintaining his speed and lane position, or else he was completely oblivious to the BIG MUCKING TRUCK 2 feet off his rear bumper. I observed this for a little while, but then decided that I just didn't want to hang around to watch the carnage, so I rolled on the throttle and got the hell out of there.
Holy SHIT. I went from like 65 to 90 in about 30 feet. I didn't know that bike would do that. Needless to say, I backed off the throttle, but when you spend all day cruising at 65 or 70, it's good to know you have that much power in reserve.
The ride itself... well, I stopped twice, once for a bottle of water, and once for gas. I was spot on 65 miles, and wanted to see how much gas I'd consumed.
Ladies and gentlemen, my beloved steed Boudicca drank only 1.1 gallons of 87 octane mogas. That's 59 MPG. At 70mph. How can you not love that?
I break rides into segments. There was the 213 to 495 segment, which was short, the 495 to 95 segment, which was shorter than I expected, then 95 to Kittery and Kittery to Kennebunk. After Kennebunk, I was about 23 miles out from my sister's house. Taken like that, an 88 mile ride isn't so bad. It also helps to know where you can stop to pee.
I don't like bridges, even in a car. I went over the Piscataqua River Bridge today. Twice. Once was at night. (I did move to the center lane, though. I'm not stupid. I could fall off!)
Visiting with my sister and my mom and my beautiful niece was fun. My brother-in-law was even kinda cool. He offered to let me ride his VFR800, which was funny, because when I threw a leg over, my feet dangled about 6 inches off the ground. We agreed that maybe me riding his bike would be a mistake. Still, it was pretty generous of him.
My niece is getting HYOOGE, and she's all baby-pudgy and just so happy! She looks nothing like the scrawny little preemie that was born 6 months ago. Mom says that when she hit her due date it was like a switch was thrown and Preemie!Isabella went away, and Baby!Isabella woke up. It's going to be so fun watching her grow up. I can't wait to see who she's going to be.
The ride home was good too. I left at about 7:30, stopped to eat around 8, thought about getting gas and decided no -- by the time I got home I'd have almost exactly 100 miles on that tank, all highway, and I want to see how much gas I consumed. I'm going to wait till tomorrow to fill up, though. I wanted to get home tonight before darkwolfie left for work, and I was pushing it. I finally rolled in around 10, so with a 30 minute stop for food, it takes me about 2 hours to get to my sister's.
Funny thing -- I was chilly coming home through Maine. When I crossed into NH, it got about 5 degrees warmer. Coming down through York, I could smell the sea. That was cool -- looking forward to that in Nova Scotia.
It was a perfect day to ride -- sunny, dry, warm but not brutally hot, not too many asshats, and I had almost the perfect amount of change in my pocket for tolls. Got to see my mom, my sister, and the baby, and the dry run to Portland International Ferry Port (well, the exit for Portland International Ferry Port) was a resounding success. I had an awesome day.
So I filled the tank, ate some lunch, and hit the road. The on ramp from Rte 213 to 495 north was OMGSCARY -- I wasn't looking around the corner enough, and I think I might have hit it a little too fast. Obviously I made it through, but while it was a pucker moment, I do want to do it again to see how I can do it better.
There weren't too many asshats on the road -- not in cars, anyway. The truckers were being kind of aggressive, though to be fair, there was a jackass in a Cherokee that was either passive aggressive about maintaining his speed and lane position, or else he was completely oblivious to the BIG MUCKING TRUCK 2 feet off his rear bumper. I observed this for a little while, but then decided that I just didn't want to hang around to watch the carnage, so I rolled on the throttle and got the hell out of there.
Holy SHIT. I went from like 65 to 90 in about 30 feet. I didn't know that bike would do that. Needless to say, I backed off the throttle, but when you spend all day cruising at 65 or 70, it's good to know you have that much power in reserve.
The ride itself... well, I stopped twice, once for a bottle of water, and once for gas. I was spot on 65 miles, and wanted to see how much gas I'd consumed.
Ladies and gentlemen, my beloved steed Boudicca drank only 1.1 gallons of 87 octane mogas. That's 59 MPG. At 70mph. How can you not love that?
I break rides into segments. There was the 213 to 495 segment, which was short, the 495 to 95 segment, which was shorter than I expected, then 95 to Kittery and Kittery to Kennebunk. After Kennebunk, I was about 23 miles out from my sister's house. Taken like that, an 88 mile ride isn't so bad. It also helps to know where you can stop to pee.
I don't like bridges, even in a car. I went over the Piscataqua River Bridge today. Twice. Once was at night. (I did move to the center lane, though. I'm not stupid. I could fall off!)
Visiting with my sister and my mom and my beautiful niece was fun. My brother-in-law was even kinda cool. He offered to let me ride his VFR800, which was funny, because when I threw a leg over, my feet dangled about 6 inches off the ground. We agreed that maybe me riding his bike would be a mistake. Still, it was pretty generous of him.
My niece is getting HYOOGE, and she's all baby-pudgy and just so happy! She looks nothing like the scrawny little preemie that was born 6 months ago. Mom says that when she hit her due date it was like a switch was thrown and Preemie!Isabella went away, and Baby!Isabella woke up. It's going to be so fun watching her grow up. I can't wait to see who she's going to be.
The ride home was good too. I left at about 7:30, stopped to eat around 8, thought about getting gas and decided no -- by the time I got home I'd have almost exactly 100 miles on that tank, all highway, and I want to see how much gas I consumed. I'm going to wait till tomorrow to fill up, though. I wanted to get home tonight before darkwolfie left for work, and I was pushing it. I finally rolled in around 10, so with a 30 minute stop for food, it takes me about 2 hours to get to my sister's.
Funny thing -- I was chilly coming home through Maine. When I crossed into NH, it got about 5 degrees warmer. Coming down through York, I could smell the sea. That was cool -- looking forward to that in Nova Scotia.
It was a perfect day to ride -- sunny, dry, warm but not brutally hot, not too many asshats, and I had almost the perfect amount of change in my pocket for tolls. Got to see my mom, my sister, and the baby, and the dry run to Portland International Ferry Port (well, the exit for Portland International Ferry Port) was a resounding success. I had an awesome day.