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Messages - beedawg

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 16
1
General Banter / Ride Sunday July 18
« on: July 12, 2021, 10:14:13 PM »
Leave Wabasha Kwik Trip at 9.
118 miles to lunch at Santa Fe in Arcadia
Fuel up after lunch and 148 miles to Nelson, with loops that can be omitted if desired.


Brent's phone:
five o seven six 30 - oh 55 one

Brent's email:
brentjass at gmail dot com

2
General Banter / Re: The "Devil Child" on top AGAIN!!??
« on: July 15, 2018, 09:52:12 PM »
Those of us who don't always watch the races live would appreciate it if you didn't give away the ending before we've had a chance to see it for ourselves.


Thank you.

3
General Banter / Re: Mindoro Cut??
« on: May 09, 2016, 06:23:02 AM »
Could you have ridden the section of 108 north of Mindoro? The scenery is similar, but the turns are less sharp. The Cut is south of Mindoro and north of West Salem.

4

Here's the route as a track:
http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/download/convert/20160419045513-73062-data.gpx

You should download the track, open it in Basecamp, (which has the same maps installed as your GPS, right?), convert the track to a route, and then send the route to your GPS.

You can call me if any of this doesn't work or doesn't make sense. I'll be around for a while this morning.


====================================================


I wrote the rest of this earlier, before deciding to just do the conversion to GPX for you.

I use GPS Visualizer to convert my Google route to a track and then, depending on the GPS, I either load the track directly, or convert it to a route in Basecamp and load it to the GPS through Basecamp.

The link to the GPS Visualizer page is http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/convert_input?convert_format=gpx

Enter the URL of the Google map on the page referenced above, where it says "Or provide the URL of a file on the Web:" and you'll get a link to a GPX file. Basecamp can convert that track to a route, if that's what you need. (Although that can cause much confusion if the maps on your GPS don't match your maps in Basecamp!)

I use prehistoric GPSes: GPSMap60CSx for dirt and StreetPilot 2610 for street. I don't know whether either of these methods work with modern GPSes.

Good luck on your ride. Have fun, be safe!


Brent

5
There's a slight chance you could be snowed on in the high elevations, so you should avoid high elevations. The southern Wyoming route does this. If it goes over 7000 feet anywhere, it's not for long. Colorado's another story. US 50 takes you over Monarch Pass, which is at least 11,000 feet. Even 160 takes gets close to 11,000 feet at Wolf Creek Pass. I would NOT go through Denver unless I was going south on I-25 to Albuquerque.

When it snows at altitude, it's not like what we usually see in Minnesota. I've ridden in very heavy snow in the mountains several times, and the worst problem I've had is the lack of visibility. Well, that and being cold. The snow is almost always much drier than what we're used to here, and it evaporates pretty quickly. I'm not saying it can't be a problem, but with your attitude of maybe needing to rent a U-Haul one way through the mountains (although it might be a challenge to find one when you need it), I think you'll be fine.

I tweaked my route a little

https://goo.gl/maps/dwpeirgQjk52

mostly to get off I-90 in South Dakota. The only time I don't prefer two-lanes is when I'm in a big hurry. You might prefer I-90, but I'd avoid the Black Hills unless it's relatively warm.

I think you'll be fine. Long-distance riding is so much easier than it used to be. If you get cold, you're rarely more than an hour away from a warm place where you can stay as long as you want. Your bike should be reliable. It's not like you're running the Iditarod or riding to the North Pole.

Good luck, be safe, and have fun!

Brent

6
Dan,

First, three questions:

1. What bike are you riding?

2. You have a good heated jacket liner, right?

3. How's your tolerance for interstate highways?

I'm curious what the training is, and whether it's motorcycle training.

Your plan to allow six days is a good one.

Here's a route I might take if I was going in April, but I'd keep an eye on the weather and modify it as necessary.

https://goo.gl/maps/oNCisPKipMA2

My biggest concern would probably be Donner Pass, and I'd monitor it with something like this:

http://www.magnifeye.com/chains.php#map

I rode to Aspen once in early April. It was the early 1980s, when I was pretty much invincible. Made it to Boulder the first day, Aspen the second. No electrics, was way too cold for way too long. Wore heavy snowmobile mittens, a snowmobile suit, and a Nava (anyone remember those?) full-face helmet. I hit snow coming out of the Eisenhower Tunnel, and it froze on my visor, which blinded me. I couldn't open the visor with my big fat mittens, so I braked gently, hoping that if I crashed, it'd be in the median. I lucked out and stayed on the road and didn't get hit from behind.

Brent

7
Bike Help / Re: Getting a tough fork Seal out
« on: December 17, 2015, 12:28:30 PM »
Looks like you're trying to pound it into the slider. Try going the other way.

I used to a big screwdriver and pry the seal out until I bought one of those fancy seal remover tools, which make it just a little easier.

Clarification: I think you should try pulling the slider away from the fork tube with a slide-hammer technique.

8
General Banter / Re: Crashes Reported in the Media
« on: April 10, 2013, 07:59:01 PM »
Look at the title for any of your street bikes. It'll say "RS" for "Road Street". Sometimes it gets abbreviated in the accident report to something like "RDSTRT" or something that looks like it might be short for "roadster."

Check out the abbreviations for the make on your title. Yama and Hond make perfect sense -- the first four letters. Suzuki should be Suzu by that rule, but Suzi's good. Still, I wonder whose idea it was to use "Kawk" for Kawi. "Hey Baby, wanna go for a ride on my... Yama?"

9
General Banter / Re: Crashes Reported in the Media
« on: April 09, 2013, 08:44:31 AM »
The confusing words, "crashed with the patrol in pursuit," are from the writer at the Star Tribune.

It makes it sound like he ran into the police car.

10
General Banter / Re: Curious - Does the 5 year rule still apply?
« on: April 04, 2013, 04:43:29 PM »
The polystyrene may shrink a bit but I've never seen old Styrofoam significantly degrade  unless left in the direct sun day in and day out.  I understand Brent's POV, just not sold that it degrades significantly in 10 years if care is taken to not expose the helmet to persistent heat or sunlight. 

I've never measured the degradation of polystyrene in any objective way, so I can only guess, but if it shrinks, then it has become more dense and therefore less protective. (Unless some of its mass has evaporated or something. I really don't know why it would shrink other than from being pressed between the shell and the rider's head.)

I think helmet fitment is a better rationale to change it out.  Or when the fashion starts looking dorky.

Or when the Snell standard changes. M2010 was a significant change from M2005. Otherwise, I think Dale's rationale of a frayed chin strap is as as good as any.

11
General Banter / Re: Curious - Does the 5 year rule still apply?
« on: April 04, 2013, 10:50:39 AM »
He ran some DOT impact certification tests on some 10+ year old helmets and they passed tests to the standards they were built to with no problem.

Interesting. It seems obvious that a helmet isn't going to go from being 100% in Year 5 to 0% in Year 6, The degradation is likely to be gradual and progressive. I'd also expect a helmet that's been worn 50 hours might protect better than one that's been worn 10,000 hours.

Dale, do you remember whether these were helmets that had been in use for 10+ years, or helmets that had spent their lives inside a box in a climate-controlled environment?

12
General Banter / Re: Curious - Does the 5 year rule still apply?
« on: April 03, 2013, 10:14:51 PM »
The comfort padding -- the part that you can remove and wash -- doesn't do much to protect your brain in a crash.

The polystyrene impact-absorbing liner -- the part of the helmet that provides most of the impact protection for your brain -- is what degrades and makes the helmet less protective over time.

13
General Banter / Re: Ducati Lovers...
« on: December 16, 2012, 05:42:33 PM »
This 10 year-old design looks better:



14
General Banter / Re: Human Motorcycles
« on: October 23, 2012, 01:39:54 PM »
LOL, I guess the corn harvest must be all finished. 

Didn't last a week and has been done for a month.

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