The personal and professional website of Douglas Van Bossuyt
Yesterday I went on a short ride on The Tardis. When I returned home I found that I had blown out one of my fork seals. The route was fun but now I know why I’ve been having some funny feelings with steering (squishy in the corners) the last few weeks. Parts are already on order.
Total distance was about 48 miles.
This afternoon, I went on a solo motorcycle ride down the Bellfountain Highway to Alpine and back again up 99W. The sun was out, making it seem warm in its rays. I didn’t put on as many layers as I would have had it been foggy because of its warmth. My thoughts were of a quick jaunt out and beating the sun back before it set. After firing up the bike and stopping to get some gas, I saw the sun already sinking low in the sky.
Heading out past Stoneybrook, I jumped onto 53rd, figuring that somewhere it must connect to the Bellfountain Highway. It turns out that out in the country, 53rd turns to gravel. Rather than turn around, I braved the rock, barreling down a straight stretch to a junction with the highway. It wasn’t too bad of a road but it is a bit scary when my back end fishtails around.
The shady spots on the highway were my first taste of the cold that awaited me. I hadn’t put my glove liners on but instead had stashed them in my jacket. By the time I got to Bellfountain, my fingertips were numb. South of Alpine when I hit gravel and turned around, I stopped for a minute to put on the liners. By that point there almost wasn’t much of a point. I couldn’t feel my fingers at all.
Rather than do my original route, which would have taken me down through Junction City and back up Peoria Road, I jumped on 99W and tried to get home as fast as possible. The sun had set on me while passing through Monroe and it was getting very cold. In Corvallis, I was able to get my bike inside, get my helmet off, and close the door to my room before my hands started screaming at me. It took a half hour and a hot shower to regain feeling in the tips of my fingers. Next time, I will be using glove liners from the start.
The ride was about 50 miles in total. I bought about 2 gallons of gas before the ride with the odometer showing about 83 miles. The gas cost me just over $3. My mileage came out to only about 42 mpg. Either I am working the throttle extra hard, there is something wrong with my bike, or the switch to winter gasoline has really taken a toll on my fuel economy.
In other news, I think my bike is burning oil again. The transmission was a bit hard to get to shift at first, a sign of the troubles I had before. Next time I take it out, I need to throw it up on its center stand when I bring it home to check the oil level.