Hi all,
well i have been lurking here for a while, and posted up about my 3 day camp trip this weekend, so i figured i should type this post up as well.
me: 50 something, rode bikes in my 20s, then no bikes during the bringing up of children phase, then back on bikes again about 9 years ago.
the bike: ST1100 2001 blue ("the blue whale"). got it when it had 41k, and it now has 104k on the clock. got knocked if it once by a car from the side, at night, in the rain... bike was almost written off but i begged them to rebuild it and they did.. no structural damage, just lots of expensive plastic and pegs, levers, panniers, topbox, dash, screen, all busted. anyway it is as good as new now. Since then i dont right at night, nor in the rain, and i wear a hivis vest, which is the best safety item ever! i get SEEN!
rides: i commute 25k each way on the bike about 2 or 3 times a week, depending on weather (not too hot not too wet).
i go on long rides (2 or 3 days) and take my camping gear and am "self sufficient" on the bike with food, tent, water, etc. But i usually stop at cafe's etc for lunch during the day's ride.
My wife has named these rides i go on "Piglet Runs" as during the planning of the first one we saw "Wild Hogs" and Karen said "you cant be a wild hog as there is only one of you, so you are a piglet" hence "Piglet Run".
I do them every year or so and this will be the 6th.
in 2011 i did the "most awesome thing in my life" and i did a REAL wild hog "run"... I flew to USA, hired a 1800 wing in San Francisco, then rode it 7200 kms from San Fran, across the country to New York. I included a little town in New Mexico called Madrid where the movie Wild Hogs was filmed! 3 weeks of riding and it was heaven. On my own, finding hotels each night, all worked perfectly. I rode the "Tail of the Dragon" (Highway 129) in Tennessee... 311 bends in 11 miles. The wing was the only bike to do this trip, when i got back my faithful ST felt like a tall dirtbike!
If i ever got an opportunity to do another USA cross country ride, I would be there in an instant, it was fantastic.
OK so i guess thats enough rambling for me.
You all seem like a great bunch in this forum!
