It's warm !!! and Green!!! PA bound

MacDoc

MacDoc

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Got off early since I'm still on Australia time...got down to 9 around the lake and the was ice visible in Lake Erie crossing the border. Nexus was a breeze - now 22 degrees and the layers coming off. Those of you that can get away might be worth a run - grass is green - trees are starting to get leaves :D!!!!!
 
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May catch you tomorrow in PA. Ill be on the lookout for your Burgman.
 
I think I'm heading further south....tho I'm hot now. 26 degrees
WIll hit Renovo and decide

toooooo nice out.

....................

state college

muggy as all hell

bit cooler - got up to 33 indicated.

not sure from here,
 
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Wow. How many miles/km did you cover?
 
12 hour day
about 10 riding
good mix of nice backroads notably 44/144 and slab

720 km

still light but too many deer in PA

was it hot tho....peeled layers all day - 9 degrees going around the lake to 33 at warmest

down to mid 20s now

love the blossoms and greenery

internet at this place sucks tho

••

PA Road report

Roads were clear of nearly all gravel.
144 our of Coudersport is choppy until a few miles in. Then very good.....as good as I've seen.

You could go further east on 6 and go down 44 and meet up with 144 - always a pleasure that ride.
Lots of fly fishermen out.

I cut west on 120 at Renovo - also clear tho with the rock face it was incredibly hot - 33 ambient and felt warmer
Stopped for a water break at the Wykoff Run bridge.

Wykoff has to be 10 miles of the finest twists anywhere. :D If it stays dry look for good riding in the area. Took it to Kar something and filed up with gas.

It was neat to see the trees change from nada at home to faint green and here in Harrisburg some are fully leaved.

Loads of blossoms....my allergies were stupid bad.

Came down to the end of 144 to State College and then across 33 to Harrisburg - pretty smelly part of PA tho pretty in parts....whatever was wafting the hot air up from the south - it was muggy and smelly in that area.

A bit better in Harrisburg.

Anyone know what the purple blossoms are?? - tree has no leaves just lovely purple.
I think the dogwoods are the white ones.

Looked very different being able to see deeper into the woods and the streams flowing.
A few pics but the day was a bit dull unfortunately.
 
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Nice, i will check west of aleghany roads. Mine is just a day trip.
 
Time/temperature line.

Left about 6 am - I was up at 3 as I'm still on Aus time.
Layered up - was 13 indicated which is usually fine but as I neared Lake Ontario it dropped to as low as 9 indicated which is about 7 actual....a bit low for my mesh set up but then after St. Catherines it just started climbing tho the Niagara River looked strange....there was ice in it and a low lying fog bank.
No place to stop for a pic. :(
Nexus made the border crossing a pleasure.

As I swung away from the Lake it got into the 20s and some small hints of green tho not much as I hit the Timmies on the way south. Lost a layer and switched to lighter gloves. You can see the trees still pretty bare.



Nother hour south tho and yowser ...that's what we want.



By this time it's mid 20s
Boogied towards Renovo and GPS mucked up again ...same place as last time ...some glitch so backtracked a bit and then was getting low on fuel - not a good thing in rural PA but hit a major T junction so no problem.

Coming into Coudersport it was nudging 30 and I lost another layer and was still hot.
First part of 144 was rough as usual but they patched it in a weird way....take it easy.
Once I hit CHerry Springs the road improved and it climbs so the greenery went away again



144 from Cherry Springs to Renovo is just a total delight. Go for it. Smooth, perfect cambers and lots of elevation changes. Much fun.

Turning right on 120 it was an oven....south rock face on one side, railway line on the other and the wind was blowing...not so much fun that.....really oppressive heat. 33 indicated

Was happy to see the Wykoff bridge...a couple making the best of a hot day



Wasn't sure which I was happier to see....the bush in full bloom or the Wykoff twists sign.



aside from fantastic riding the Wykoff run is beautiful as well.



Burgman was dwarfed by the cliff on the other side.


The day grew overcast after that and not very pleasant - muggy and smelly which is too bad as some of the trees with white and purple blossoms and new minted green would have been stunning in sunlight :(
Still nice to see but not photogenic.

Ran rush hour over to Harrisburg - 120 km from State College - annoying at times and I was tired.

But a big old maple in full leaf outside the motel door was welcome.



serious green here....it's really mid spring and some of the corridors of bring green new growth were a total treat.
Mostly slab tho so no photo ops.

I chose Harrisburg as a quick jump home if needed - it's got slabs running out in all directions.

Considering Front Royal and the Skyline but don't know about weather.
 
Lovely out - warm and birds singing but very noisy with the Interstates meeting.

Will do this loop this morning and see from there

http://www.motorcycleroads.com/75/488/Pennsylvania/South-Central-PA-Countryside-Loop.html

It's drizzly out - somewhat annoying..

Sure is cheap to ride in PA compared to AUstralia.
Fillup is $10 versus $35 in Aus ( somewhat bigger tank but not all that much ).
For 720 km about $30 with 1/3 tank less. I fill up frequently given it's PA - only once down to one bar and that was a $10 fill.

You can really eat cheap at McDs.

$1 for any size coffee and they've gotten better at it. ( $1 any size soft drink as well
$1 for a yogurt and granola.- filling enough - has fruit. I brought some blackberries with me ( somewhat mushed but good with the Yogurt )
$4 for a quite filling and taste chicken wrap with lettuce and tomato for supper. Was surprised and with a yogurt was full.
Good Wifi lets me work and post to forums. That was a smart move to put Wifi everywhere and it's better than Timmies slow connection.

No way you get anywhere close to that in Aus. $4 is the norm for coffee ( tho MacDs there is cheaper for plain coffee )
Mind you the norm is a flat white which is a very decent espresso with lots of steamed milk. A breakfast of any sort ...two poached eggs on toast is cheapest for $7-8 so you are out at least $10-12. Now that is tax in and there is no tipping.

Motels even in the middle of nowhere are $100 plus.

I spent about $15 on food yesterday - including V8 for breakfast this morning and an over priced Gatorade I wanted for the bottle. 20oz fits in the Burgman glove box. I was stupid yesterday about hydrating and paid for it with a headache,

Room was $74 for Red Roof Inn....very clean - small but who cares. Soso internet. Good HVAc and comfortable bed. Sharing riders could do okay as that's two double beds ( all they had left - no savings anyways )

Have my route but not sure what to wear....guess I'll opt for the hi-viz Icon rain jacket as it will still be dawn when I leave in a bit.
Its one of those stupid rains that muck up the visor etc - almost a mist.
Might be letting off.

Time shift is annoying as I'm wide awake but with the misty rain holding off leaving - first part is slab so no issue there but concerned about deer when I get off in about 1/2 hour into the mountain part of the loop.

Burgman lights are good and I'll be riding touristy. If I don't like it there's always a McD's to hang out and work. :D
 
Woot - what a treat - clouds mostly gone - one of the prettiest morning rides ever and it's only started. Low fog and patches of sun make for some lovely vistas.

I recommend those heading through pick up this loop.

http://www.motorcycleroads.com/75/488/Pennsylvania/South-Central-PA-Countryside-Loop.html

Was the kick off for the loop above



and then climbed the hill on the sun side....









Then back down into lovely winding roads - lots of Amish about. Just a beautiful spring morning after a dismal looking start.
Screenshot2014-05-10atMay10201480601AM_zpsd4c7df15.jpg
 
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CG your in box is full

gcrouse said:
Hey macdoc

...... Could you right a bit of a report on the burg for us interested in buying in future? You seem to enjoy it from reading your recent PA report you lucky bugger. Your killin gme with the pics and ive ridden the area often, it truly is biker heaven. Ride safe
Gary
Click to expand...


oh just go to the http://burgmanusa.com/forums/ site and see what 10,000 Burgman owners know :D

Best all around bike I've owned in 45 years of riding.

But as with all bikes the seat needs a solution for long hours.
Click to expand...
 
From the link above - 233 is hilarious - go airborne !!! - whoops in pavement that is smooth with short twists and quick elevation changes.

A sportier lighter bike would have a ball - you could ride up and down that mountain all day.
There is even a single lane bridge that you could get serious air.

Now part of the 233 in the loop is excellent but the other side of the mountain is in repair and lots of treachery.

There are 3 serious hairpins marked at 10 mph - two of them are smooth and fun - the third watch out.

Once the patching is done this stands to be one of the most fun roads around.

A wonderful mix .....worth doing.
 
Well the weather sort of chased me home.....1615 km in two days...gonna feel that tomorrow but some of the twists and country roads today were just wonderful.
I'm hooked on Southern PA now.


Good meal at Letchworth - looked at the sun.....hmm just fine.

Of course when I hit 400 I figured I was clear of deer and one jumps down into the ditch heading my way but he stayed off the road.

Nice weather even coming home except for a short stretch south of Lake Erie.....brrrrrrr down to 12 again.

Was lollygagging along the QEW behind some vehicles doing 110 or so.....bit quieter ride and a couple of sports bikes blew by so of course I had to wind it out - hit 160 for a bit - the tires were hot so the bike felt good.

Much fun, good pics and some terrific roads.....gotta love Winding Roads....some my face hurt I was grinning so hard.
 
Gee nice day - got a good sleep - Burgman needs a wash big time - then head to the Forks....no distance today - hands won't take it.
Nice out - blue sky and buds are starting

Looking forward to seeing the photos on the large screen

What I went for.



and there are two of these on 233 - with a spotter on the other side one could get serious air





It's hard to get a sense of how deep these pavement whoops were



No question at speed you would be airborne and sometimes in trouble as you can see the sharp turn at the top and there were 3 hairpins...a motard set up would handle well...sports bike maybe too tight for any speed....
I was laughing the whole section with the whoops - was just fun and got the Burgman airborne on one ....that was quite enough thank you. It set down with an ungraceful thump but the bike is always stable.

It would really need a few runs to figure out what speed etc.

My postcard shot.

 
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Nice report!. I have a nexus too.. how does that work on the bike? Btw - I found McDs expensive in Aus compared to Nth American too when I visited
 
Just cruise through the special lanes - the reader is supposed to pick up the card but mine did not
They just type it in - quick and in airport it's brilliant....talk about queue jumping.

Yes McDs is unreal in US. Literally you can be fed for $2-3 and full.
 
Rode up to the Forks today and used my Bell helmet - that's it for my convertible ....Bell is SOOOOOO much quieter.
Had forgotten.
 
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