MotoGP trip from Toronto, ON, CAN, to Austin, TX, USA April 2013 Day 1&2

[PaulG]

MotoGP
Trip
Austin TX, April 14 – 28 2013

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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".

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 snow, 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.



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://<iframe%20width="960"%20height="720"%20src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/hmeJZmjA_MY"%20frameborder="0"%20allowfullscreen></iframe>

[PaulG]

crap it screwed up - don't bother with it yet

[PaulG]

this is a test run of the links to see if how i'm f!@#$%g up

embedded youtube link

<iframe width="960" height="720" src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/hmeJZmjA_MY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

url youtube link

http://youtu.be/hmeJZmjA_MY

phtobucket link

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[PaulG]

<iframe width="960" height="720" src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/hmeJZmjA_MY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[PaulG]

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[PaulG]

[PaulG]

Anyone know how to remove this post?  It was my first attempt and a complete clusterf  k


The repost is much better