NEW MotoGP trip from Toronto, ON, to Austin, TX, USA April 2013 Days 1-2-3

[PaulG]

MotoGP Trip - Austin TX, April 14 – 28 2013

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This is basically an exercise in self-indulgence.  The videos are just riding and tunes.  A view of America from my helmet or left mirror stalk.  Highways, byways, and lesser ways.

I'm new to this YouTube thingy, so I don't know if the videos will be available in all regions, due to my unconsionable use of copyrighted material    I am still re-editing some of them to be more "compliant" If anyone has trouble viewing them let me know.  Hope this works and hope it's enjoyable.  There may be some flickering at times with the camera image.  This is not from the camera (raw footage doesn't do it), but from Windows Live Movie Maker which couldn't stich it togethet properly.  I also can't seem to get the videos embedded so I've just added the URL links instead.

Bikes: 1992 Yamaha FJ1200 ABS (stock - more or less, web pic)  




2011 Yamaha Stratoliner Vtwin "casual tourer" they call it – my brother's (I call it a tractor)  




Day
1 Sunday April 14, 2013
Scarborough, Ontario, CAN to Lima, Ohio, USA, 605 km (376 mi)
Hwy 401 West – I 75 South

To preface this trip, on the previous Thursday April 11, I awoke to this...






... then the freezing rain came, but it all melted by Saturday.  I only got my bike out of service on Monday the 8th, after having a new clutch and front discs installed, plus various standard tune up items.  Due to work and the weather I couldn't do any test runs until Saturday 13th in +5 degC and rain, (all of 60 km).

Now it's Sunday 9 a.m., 0 degC, cloudy and windy but it's supposed to "warm up" to +5 degC.  Started heading to the border at Windsor/Detroit.  First stop: gas a block away.  Bad omen: no premium gas at the first station, and the second's debit system didn't work. Should I have turned around and left Monday?

What should have taken 4 hrs. to the border, took six! We had to pull off three times to thaw out. I forgot that one of the vent caps on my helmet had snapped off, and I was getting brain freeze, my brother was losing his feet.  The strong NW crosswind didn't help the wind chill either.  Apparently only -8 degC (18 degF).

We crossed into the USA around 2:30pm Sunday, and headed south on I75 to Ohio.  The dreaded I75, the worst F!@#ING piece of interstate ever!  One hour to Ohio, but it felt like a week in the saddle. The heaving concrete slabs killed my neck from nearly smashing my head into the windscreen a hundred times, my rear shock faded to nothing, and my back and kidneys filed for organ donation.

Crossing the Ohio border was a blessing.  The temperature rocketed into the mid 50's F, and I75 was immediately transformed into a civil roadway, suitable for human transport.  We finally stopped in Lima, Ohio battered and tired from the cold, already several hours behind schedule.  The first two days were supposed to be strictly mileage.  We could make up that time easily over the next few days, but I forgot to mention, my brother did not like to travel after 6pm because he believed we would not be able to get a room.  WTF?  We're not going to NYC!  Oh yeah, and his bike only gets 200km (120mi) to a tank, which required fuel stops every 2 hrs.

Google says it would take almost 6 hrs.  Google lies, it took over eight. In fact, just add at least two hours to everything Google says and that's about right.  No video of the first day.  Camera didn't like the cold weather and wouldn't work (despite the numerous skiing vdeos they have to promote it).





Day 2 Monday April 15, 2013
Lima, Ohio to Kingston Springs, TN, 671 km (417 mi) I 75 South – I 65 South – I 40 West


First thing; check the Weather Channel. Second thing; shout "F!@#$%^K!"   Massive winter storm (in April!) moving in from the west dumping two feet of snow, or two feet of rain right in our path to St. Louis.  We were supposed to take I70 to St. Louis, then start heading south through Missouri into Arkansas, to start getting into the twisties by Monday evening.  We were now forced to change our route and follow I75-I71-I65 through Cincinnati OH, Louisville KT, to Kingston Springs TN west of Nashville.  As far as interstates go, Kentucky and Tennessee aren't bad.  At least there are hills.  We made an unexpected stop at the Corvette Museum http://www.corvettemuseum.org/. I thought my brother made a wrong turn.  We were supposed to make up mileage today, and it was only about 3:30pm, and they were closing in an hour, and....  oh well.  We could have made it almost to Memphis and been back
on track, but....  















VIDEO Day 1 & 2



http://youtu.be/hmeJZmjA_MY




Day 3 Tuesday April 16, 2013
Kingston Springs, TN to Russellville, AR, 715 km (444 mi)
I 40 West – AR 1 North – US 64 West– AR 31 West – AR 305 West – AR
36/124 West – AR 356/92 West – US 65 West – AR 9 South – AR 124 South

The I65 west from Nashville to Memphis had cops stationed at every emergency turn-around for an hour (honest!).  Anywhere between 1-3 cruisers stationed at each one.  One that was labelled Interstate Drug Enforcement Squad blew past us.  Must be a popular route for traffickers, but you wonder if they could make themselves less conspicuous.  Nobody seemed to be slowing down, so they weren't after speeders, just speed freaks (hyuk!).

After this we had our "Girls Gone Wild" moment.  A Honda CRV full of young nubile women passed us, while one of them was leaning out the window at 70 mph flashing 90% of her extremely ample breasts.    Stupid me, I reached for the breasts and not the video camera on my helmet.  Oh well, reflex reaction.  

We crossed the Mississippi in the afternoon.  Awesome.  A physical and psychological milestone, despite the very strong southerly crosswind that nearly blew me into it.  The geography of SE Arkansas is flood plain; flat as a pancake, so we diverted NW towards our original destination; the hills of mid-western Arkansas.  This took until late afternoon, but the weather was warm and sunny, and it was time to do what we were here for: cruise the twisties.

Met up with a young kid (16) named James in Bee Branch hooliganizing the local cows with his custom-in-progress Honda Rebel 250.  An "aftermarket"/megaphone exhaust, (looked like the stock one chopped in half), a Honda 750 Shadow rear tire somehow wrenched in, self made cruiser pegs utilizing spiral wrought iron (actually looked allright).  He never took any shop classes in school, and learned how to wrench and weld through his family where everyone seems to own a shop.  He was typically curious and had to take a picture of our license plates to show his dad, so he would believe we actually rode all the way from Toronto, (which he confessed he had no idea where that was).  After orientating ourselves with some help from him, he led us to a nearby gas station where we parted company.  Our first encounter with a local and a pleasant experience after 6 hours on the road.

I noticed quite soon, that speed limits in Arkansas seemed an option for most people, especially for commercial vehicles.  The speed limit postings may as well be plant hangers.  Beware of one particular dump truck towing a trailer with a caterpillar backhoe.  He pulled in front of us when we were in the hills and I thought we would be stuck behind him for the next 1/2 hour.  As soon as he was over the first hill, he was gone like a Ferrari.  We daren't keep up with him due to the blind corners and such, and he soon disappeared into the hills; unbelievable. Eventually we made our way through some nice sweeping twisties into the early evening and ended up in Russellville, Arkansas for the night.






VIDEO Day 3

http://youtu.be/ALiO0XyOr4Y


more to come ...    

[fj johnnie]

 Awesome, keep writing. I am now going on two trips from my office!! yours and cap'n Ron's