GASOLINE RALLY09-Departure - No Nathan, no New Steve

I accidentally overslept. I woke when Jeremy texted me at 9am to see
if we could leave early because he was tired of watching television.
I got to Metro Scoot around 10:30am. Kat was nice enough to put my
luggage in her trunk. She had to come thru Louisville on the way
home, so that was nice. The ride back was just 5 scoots. Jeremy led
the route again with myself, Joan, Steve and Jan. Getting out of town
sucked...the roads are bad and I thought I might need dental work
before too much more! Nate had left early to get on the interstate
home. At first I was wishing I had joined him, but 1 hour into
Jeremy's route home and I was hooked. I would like to say there was
no gravel but I can not. What I can say is there was no gravel ROADS.
We went on a couple of places where there were huge patches of torn
up pavement with gravel in them. The route was pretty much flawless
as you can get. Jeremy puts a lot of time and effort into is
planning, and it shows. We got close to Story, IN again and I was
racing around a curve trying to keep up with Jeremy on his
SR50...well, I got to close to the edge! There was about 5 inches of
pavement past the white line, then about 5 more inches of grass after
that--then the huge nasty ditch in a straight drop!! I slowed, braked
a little and leaned in just in the knick of time... Later Joan told
me grass and gravel were flying out my back wheel---aparently it was a
little worse than it actually felt at the time. I was really lucky.

We pulled up at the stop and Jeremy asked if we wanted to go back to
the Story Inn. I pointed to the road out of town and we left as
quickly as we came in. We finally did stop for gas and Mc Donalds in
a small burg that starts with a B.... The rest of the way home was
fairly mundane, but it was still really nice to be riding with
friends. At Sellersburg I opted to get on the interstate. I waved
bye to everyone and shot out for home. I worried that Kat might get
there with my luggage and be waiting around. All in all, it was a
super weekend. You can see the pictures here

GASOLINE RALLY09-Saturday Evening Raffle & Party at Radio Radio

Radio Radio seems like a pretty cool place. Kat and I got inside and
I saw the swag I had been missing all weekend---they had coozies!!! I
snagged a couple and then we went out back for the grill. Food came
with rally registration. Kat and I both opted for the pork
tenderloin...which was dipped in this Tahitian sauce. The sauce was
the best part!!! They also had smoked sausages and brats. I came
back later for a brat...

We got settled in and Joan arrived. Shortly after was Steve and Jan.
It really doesn't get any better than this. Steve and Jan sat with
Kat and I and we had good conversation. Jeremy and Nathan came in
later, and I saw New Steve also. The bartender who's blond hair you
could never mistake for someone else--she had ridden in the rally with
us!! I got a Fat Tire ale, and did some people watching and talking
to my friends. Shortly a person came up to me. He or she was older
and dressed in an evening gown with pearls (I believe they had
pearls). Not only did this person do trick with a scarf and a finger
gillotine, but also was very funny and turned out to be the MC for the
evening! Very unique personality. Kat took my picture with
him....er....um....her....

The music started and was really good, but they kept playing Elivs of
which i'm not fond, but can deal with. Quadraphenia was playing on
the screens. After one song they sequayed into some Led Zepplin.
Steve asked me if I knew the song...I knew it was Zepplin but couldn't
remember the name "Black Dog". I think he should call his scooter
that!! After the first set the did the drawings and raffles. I
didn't win anything but Jeremy and Jan did. Also Jeremy got his Uggo
award. I don't think his scooter looked that bad even with the mud!

Now it was pretty late and again...I was beat. I heard the second
band starting up as I put on my helmet and got Kat up on the scoot to
go. We called it a night--not early, just not too late. Tooled
around Indy and the roads that Tomtom directed me on were total crap.
Like speedbumps every 20 feet!!! I noted a lot of roads in Indy were
like this... Made it back to the room safe and sound. ETD for the
morning was 10am

GASOLINE RALLY09-Saturday Morning - The Big Show!

This was the deal I had been waiting a year for! We got over to Speed
City Scooters a little after 8:30 and there were few people there.
They had a pretty substantial cold breakfast of doughnuts, bagels,
cereal bars, fruit and then water, coffee, and juice--oh and NOS
energy drinks (one of the sponsors). I hung out with Kat as it was
really nice to get re-aquainted after the proverbial "all these
years". Steve and Jan showed up, then shortly after came Joan. It
was getting close to ride-out time but no Nathan...AND NO JEREMY!! I
tried calling and no answer but he texted me back that he would be
there soon. I was afraid I would have to go find him. There was no
way in hell either of us were going to miss this!! I wasn't quite
panicing, but I was anxious to make sure Jeremy got there. Finally he
and Nathan show up, have some minor work to do on on their scoots. We
all got ready and I was able to talk to a couple folks. One was David
Hempy from Lexington who'd like to join up with us Louisville folks
for a ride some time. Another was Jeremy from Enviromoto in
Indianapolis. I had spoken with him numerous times online and it was
nice to shake his hand. Lastly I hung around the Burgman 650 that had
the Iron Butt license plate--the only other IBA'r there that I saw.
This was Mike Hopper from Terre Haute, also a member of the Motorcycle
Tourer's Forum. His Burgman had a tow-pac kit on it which looked
cool. He told me he had done several IBA cert rides, but never on a
scooter. I was a little disappointed.. ;)

It was time, they gave us the rules and Kat and I saddled up to motor
out. The ride up to the speedway was short and they had us pose in
front of the main entrance for a huge group picture. I wanted some
good pictures myself, so I gave her my camera and she did a great job.
The set speed limit was supposed to be 35mph. I don't know how
anybody could keep it at 35. I didn't and there were some who did,
and also some passing me at what had to be closer to 75 or 80. It was
a real thrill. It meant a lot to me because I had come so close last
year and fallen short of this ride. Afterwards they got us out of
city proper and into more rural areas. That too was very good. We
had a couple incidents but riders and machines fared well. At the
first stop I had to get gas. The line for the bathroom was a lot
longer than the one for gas!!! After a short break, we got back out
on the road and ended at the local Motorcycle club house. Everyone
was nice and helpful. Kat and I stayed to eat a bite and see Jeremy
attempt the slow race. The slow race, conducted in grass pits bike
and rider against others in a handling contest. As the name implies,
the LAST one across the finish line is the winner. It was cool to
watch, but I had been out in the sun for two days and was about wiped
out. Kat and I decided to take a break before the thing at Radio
Radio that started at 6pm.

GASOLINE RALLY09-Meet and Greet at the Monkey's Tail

Kat and I headed over to the Meet & Greet early...I wanted to make
sure I got the correct size of shirt. They were passing out the rally
packs and stick-on mustaches for the themed Mustache Ride at 10pm. It
was nice to see the folks I had ridden up with again, talk to lots of
new folks and just scope out all the cool scoots. Jeremy and Nathan
were already there when we arrived getting hydrated from the dusty
ride up. We joined them. Later it was decided to go grab something
to eat. We went for a short walk. Kat used to live in Indianapolis,
so knew the area and she said she thought there was a Buffalo Wild
Wings close. There was, and we went in. This is when I found out
Nathan likes to take surprise camera shots to get weird facial
expressions from people. We all gave it a try and I kept trying to
get some good ones. I did get a few, but you end up deleting a lot of
crap shots. Also you have to have the timing right.

After dinner there was lots of tire kicking and then at 10pm The
Mustache Ride. It was every bit as cool as last year! Kat and I
followed along for most of it, then peeled off to call it a night.
8am comes pretty early and there was no way in hell I was taking a
chance at missing my opportunity to run the Indy 500 track!

GASOLINE RALLY09-Launch point: Dead Scootopia

Jeremy decided to meet at Scootopia's old lot for our Gasoline Rally gathering point. I got there a little later than I had planned, and there was already one person there. His name was Steve. He had a yellow Vespa, blue hair, and had ridden up from Tennessee! He found us out on some board or another and just showed up to ride up with us. That was really cool. The rest showed up shortly thereafter: Joan (who has been to all three rallies I've been to), Jeremy, and also Steve (our local Steve) and his wife Jan. Steve just got a new Burg4. Jan and Steve also got matching pin stripes on their scooter. Joan is really cool--she has ridden motorcycles for years and has a ton of riding experience. Steve and Jan are good people, and have been married a long time. I like hanging out with them sometimes just to watch how they treat each other. It's really adorable. Except for New Steve, I've known everyone here for over a year, and ridden some really good miles with them, so I'm very happy about the ride up.

We saddle up to go, and Jeremy's SR50 is giving him a few fits, sort of like the test night. I am thinking the problem is all the stop and go. He has worked the bike into a real technological marvel, but towards performance on the high end of things. The thing runs like a scalded cat once you get it up to top speed--and can hold there all day if needed. Once we get out of town though, its problem is not 100% cured. We stop in Indiana to pick up Nathan who rides a Honda Big Ruckus. This thing looks like something from the set of M*A*S*H! It's all flat black and army green...really a cool machine. At Nathan's, Jeremy gets out the tools and changes his plug. This has his SR50 running much better. We hit the trails in Indiana. Some of them ARE trails...gravel ones. It really wasn't that bad as some might have you think. I look at gravel as something to avoid if possible, but if its necessary...it can only broaden my experience and I am all for it. I always start slow and easy until I get comfortable, then speed up. I was lucky to have stayed in the back. To me, it's like a wild animal....just...make....no....sudden....moves...

We got to Story, Indiana at lunchtime. There is the Story Inn in Story, IN (cracks me up!) and as far as I could see, that is the ONLY thing there. Seems like it might be a hotspot of the town. We decide this is ok for lunch. I get inside and see the menu and it's the kind of place I hate...home of the $12 hamburger. Ah well, it's the only place around, but to make up for it I have awesome company and we've been on some really kick-ass roads thanks to Jeremy and his hours of planning. And yes...I even mean WITH the gravel. Jeremy goes out to fiddle with the SR50 and I went back out to get my glasses (had my sunglasses on). I give him a hand with the fine tuning, telling him what his gauge is reading. It seems like it will be easier for him to read the gauge while I twist the throttle on the SR50, so we switch. That was cool...always wanted to do that for some reason...

We go back inside, eat, talk, etc. Afterwards we get the shot in front of the place. The lady who is at the register is kind enough to take our picture then tells us "you need to move your motorcycles before the lady across the street calls the police" so we head out. Now I would not have you believe the rest of the ride was uneventful. Some of the roads were amazingly beautiful, it gave me a sense of belonging to be out with these few friends on a perfect day (though a little hot) and riding toward a cool event. I'm getting to know New Steve a little, and Nathan moreso--since he is so outgoing. Both seem like really good guys, though Nathan has a tendency to threaten me with a knife for some reason... We get up to Indianapolis and I veer off for my hotel room. I think i'm the first to do so. I will admit from last year, it's more fun to be near all your friends, but I was on a budget so used Priceline and got a deal Pretty much just a clean safe Motel 6 to sleep is all I needed. I was satisfied. I did note that one back worked loose from it's bunjie and was dragging the ground when I pulled in!!!

I checked in to the room and chilled out. I was also waiting for my friend Kat who was joining me for the weekend. She had never been to a scooter rally before, and I had never ridden with a passenger, so it was a little experimental for both of us.

Pre-Rally Weekend

Saturday I went and did errands. I went first to Yamaha of Louisville
to get the stuff I needed for my 'tune up' this weekend. I got 2
quarts semi-synth Yamalube, an oil filter, and a new NKG plug. My
service was past due and I have been getting antsy about it. After
seeing that full-synth was $19.99 and blend was $10.99, I will use
automotive from here on out. That is just plain simple math. Full
synth auto (same rating 10w50 is what they gave me) is like $6 per
quart. I did feel stupid...

On the way back I rode over to Cycle Gear to look around and really
didn't need anything. They still managed to sell me some plastic
cleaner/polish that is useable on all plastics. It works pretty good,
tho I don't care for aerosol sprays... Also *sigh* a new sticker for
the mud flap "YES IT GOES FAST -- NO YOU CAN'T RIDE IT!" I couldn't
help myself... I went shopping for a new bottle holder too. I found
one for bicycles at Dick's Sporting goods for $5. It was already
black! I went to Home Depot to find a way to mount my camera easily.
They couldn't find their asses there, but I just bought a couple flat
shelf brackets which when cut down with the dremmel and painted black
would work for just about anything. I used one to mount the drink
holder to my farkle bar, and saved the other. The camera I mounted to
the same arm which holds the GPS/Aqua-box.

My friend Jeremy (who is going to help me the next day with the
maintainence) has done some work on his bike. He needs to go test it
and calls to see if I want to join him. He has an awesome route, but
we don't get out of town until about 8pm. Not usually a big deal. I
pass him once and pull over to change my sunglasses to regular... We
hit the twisties, and it seems to me very scenic and fun, but one
problem...miles of twisty paved road where everybody's gravel drive
dumps out into the street!! I had a couple "oh sh*t" moments, but
only felt the rear wheel slip a little once. Fairfield Kentucky
smells like feet... In Bloomfield we stopped for gas. Jeremy was
pushing his bike up towards mine to make room for someone to use his
pump and this very beligerent guy says "that thing sure runs quiet".
We say nothing, J. just smiles at him. Then when Jeremy goes in to
pay, the guy says (while putting $80 into his big truck) "Don't you
wish gas was a quarter a gallon?" He had a real smartass tone...so I
told him I wouldn't be too bothered if it went back up to $4. You
could see this p*ssed him off. He said "You wouldn't rather pay a
quarter for a gallon of gas?" Again I told him it didn't make much
difference to me at 65 miles per gallon (an exaggeration...I have been
getting around 52mpg and slowly climbing). This really sent him over
the edge, but I'm thinking nobody has a gun to his friggin head. He
was the only person in his big new 4X4 truck with necessary aux tank.
He could have done a lot better for himself and our environment. I
just told him have a great day and went in to pay my bill.

J. and I agreed that early would work best due to the heat, so we met
up and started on the tune-up that Lois needed. It was really cool to
have someone so mechanically oriented and knowledgable to advise me
for the first time. Also someone who can judge the proper torc with
his bare hands. Jeremy is really cool especially for his age. My
Uncle Red who is in his 70's is the only guy I know who can do stuff
like that successfully... Uncle Red had been known to place his ear
to a good solid pine 2X4 and place that against the engine block so he
could diagnose internal engine problems. At least that is how the
story goes! I bet given time, Jeremy will be just as wicked as that.
He's already on his way... Got the stuff done just as it started to
rain. Work sucked up Jeremy's time so I went home and worked on my
farkle bar. I removed it, then added the camera and drink mount. I
got the paint done (flat black) and it seems to be ok, but I'm waiting
for dry weather to put it back on.

I probably put 200 miles on this weekend just screwing around. It was
fun (except for the leg cramps I've been having!) and then today makes
up for it. I had to cage it to work because it was raining. By the
time I got here it had cleared up some and began to dry. Now i'm
grumpy.

Some days it pans out...

The weather looked pretty bad today, but I made it to work without a
stopover to pull on rain gear! The HR lady just told me that the
storms look to have gone away, and the skies are clear! BONUS! I may
go for a short ride on the way home. The kids are having a
sleepover/play date at a friend's house so I have the extra night off.
I have to stop at the optometrist on the way home...somehow I lost
one of the nose pads on my sunglasses and I have to get that fixed
this week.

I have an awesome friend who is a real tech-mech guy. He's got a
garage full of tools, air compressor, etc. He helped me a LOT last
year keeping the Chinese scoot running good. I don't know if i'll be
able to repay him fully...such a cool mofo. Anyway, he's gonna tune
up some stuff on his scoot this weekend, so he said I could come over
with my parts and fluids and we'll tackle the oil change and sparkplug
change. It has to be done before Gasoline Rally next week. I called
Yamaha Louisville and they said my oil filter (the Roketa did not take
an oil filter!) runs between $12 and $15. The guy I spoke to said if
they try to charge me like $50 then I need to ask for him!! Damned
right I will! I'm going over to a comparable full synthetic oil this
time. Last time at the 600 mile interval they used Yamalube (which I
figure is recommended--duh!) but I want synth to keep the life of the
engine safe...I have been stretching my service out a little due to
scarcity of time and money.

The next big expense will be a rear tire. I'm gonna likely go to
Derby Cycle in Shelbyville to get that done. They also have a set of
saddlebags I want, but that will have to wait....

Misty Rain, Idiots, and St. Louis Beer

Although it was misting rain today, I had to ride the scooter.  I am very happy to have it adorned with my IBA plate back.  I threw on the liner for my jacket and buzzed to work.  A guy on Outer Loop cut me off.  When he seen me about 1/4 inch from his rear bumper (I didn't want to throw on the brake too hard since it could be slick out) he got back over the hell out of my way.  When I passed him, I gave him "the look" and he held up his hand in apology.  I acknowledged his apology with my own hand up.  I just think he had been more mesmerized than me with the Schlafly Beer truck.

The Finished Product

I am happy as a puppy with two peters!!

From Iron Butt Saddlesore 1K

My certification packet for the Saddle Sore 1000 came in the mail today. I think I just grew an inch!

From Iron Butt Saddlesore 1K

I think they did a good job with the wording.

From Iron Butt Saddlesore 1K

Rainy days...

My general rule for commuting via scooter is this: If I can get on
the bike with a dry seat, I'll ride to work. Generally I will just
cage it in if there is rain. If they predict rain or I think it could
rain, I'll ride to work with my raingear stowed. Alas, today was a
cage day. Cage days always suck...

Retractable Camera Mount

What I wanted was a camera mount that was retractable...like the anti-theft ones in retail stores. It is a hard to come by item for a regular person to buy, so I made my own. I used a retractible keychain (the one with the thin metal cable, not the chain), the barrel of a metal pen, a peice of PVC pipe and lots of JB Weld. It did really well on my weekend riding with the folks for the Izzy's International Lunch and Ride.

Here's a couple shots of it, and how it works.

From Lois

Here is how it retracts. It is very sturdy with not a lot of vibration.

From Lois

Farkle Bar

I am almost done with my farkle bar for the Yamaha Majesty. If you don't know what a farkle is...

Motorcycle accessories are features and accessories selected by a motorcycle owner to enhance safety, performance, or comfort, and may include anything from mobile electronics to sidecars and trailers. An accessory may be added at the factory by the Original equipment manufacturer or purchased and installed by the owner post-sale as after-market goods. Such accessories are sometimes referred to as farkles.

Mine mounts between the mirrors on the Majesty. It will hold mp3 player, GPS, Camera mount, and drink holder...so far. Here's the pre-mount picture. Paint needs to dry for 24 hrs before I put it on.

From Lois

I am now a member of the Iron Butt Association!

I got my email from the president of the Iron Butt Association today....

Dear Kelly Nall:

You are receiving this e-mail because of your application for a ride certification. This note is to let you know that your ride has been approved and although your ride documents may take a few more weeks to arrive, your membership has also been approved and entered into the Iron Butt Association's member database.

Welcome to the Iron Butt Association!

Michael Kneebone
President, Iron Butt Association

It also had my account information and instructions how to use the e-store to order member-only items.

My Iron Butt Association number is #37788!!!

I think this is really cool! Thanks to my sister Patti who acted as witness, and all the nice folks I met on the road, especially the biker who stopped to check on me, the old guy who thought I was turkey hunting, and the intoxicated guy who threw ones onto the parking lot for me like I was a stripper... I couldn't have done the ride (at least not in the same way) without you!

Decision on LD riding

After this weekend, I have come to the decision that I need to work on
my setup a lot before I do too much more long distance riding. The
stock seat on the Majesty is painful after 4 hours or so. In order to
keep going and going, I need a solution to that, as well as some way
to stretch out my legs more. Next year I will consider an Airhawk seat
cushion. I know a lot of scooter riders who use them, but no
motorcycle riders. I'm going to research more, but the other other
option is to have a custom seat put on, which is like $600 - $1000,
plus you have to ship your seat pan off to a company who does this. As
far as stretching out my legs, I have only seen one option so far. A
guy I rode with this past weekend had made his own highway pegs to put
on his Burgman. I am going to think about doing something similar to
my Majesty.

Next, I have to get a solution to only being able to travel 120 or so
miles per tank. On the highway at 70-80mph and pushing wind and my
weight--this puts the Majesty at the top end of her power. Not a big
deal because you can go on like this for as long as you want, but gas
mileage does suffer by about 10mpg. If I could get a 5 gallon
auxillary tank, I could go almost 325 miles on one fill. With the seat
set up right and being comfortable, this puts me 325 miles and about 5
hours between stops. That makes travel a lot quicker with fewer stops.
Being more comfortable, I would not require as many stops. My mpg,
even on the interstate seems to be picking up a bit. I actually got
over 50mpg this weekend--most all of it was interstate.

I am starting work on what I call a "farkle bar" that can hold drink,
mp3 player, camera, gps, etc. comfortably and ready to use. The last
step is some carrying capacity. I may try to do this with a
traditional trunk and saddle bags, but I might choose to give up my
passenger seat (to some degree) in order to use a tail bag. I will
have to see how that works out...

Sunday Exploration: Finishing my A-Z collection

If you've been reading my blog any, you probably know about my Everywhere, A to Z collection. I get pictures of my scooter with road signs as a sort of "proof" where I've been. The whole collection is at my Everywhere A-Z Picasa Album.

I had a need for X and Y. Both were doable this weekend with my plans to camp overnight in this area. I could still finish the alphabet. For X, I picked up Xenia, Ohio.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

This also happens to be the spot where I broke my camera mount. The camera flopped off onto the ground beside the road while I was stopped. The place where I had it mounted would contact the windshield if I was not very careful. I had been doing good, but must have turned too hard maneuvering into a good parking space beside the Welcome to Xenia sign.

Next I ran thru Lebannon, Ohio. No sign, but some cool spots. The Golden Lamb is supposedly the oldest still running business in Ohio.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Next, I hit the interstate again to run up to my final trophy sign. Yellow Springs, Ohio.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Now I was finally on my way back home. I wanted to go on the backroads, but didn't have the time. However, there was one more unplanned stop I must have to do. On the way up to Yellow Springs, and on the way back I had noticed the interstate signs for this place and decided I had to at least stop and see what it was. It was the Nutter Center and is a building on the Wright University campus (of Orvill and Wilbur Wright). Ohio is the home of the Wright Brothers. I didn't find out who Mr. or Ms. Nutter was, but the name was so odd, I had to have a picture of this sign.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

From here on to Louisville, it was gas and lunch stop. I got Gold Star Chili nachos back across the river into Kentucky. I was on the interstate and just finished up coming home. I did also stop at a rest stop and pick up some brochures for camping, etc. Most of the way home was just "sit there, twist that."

When I got into town, I had a cool down at Starlight Frozen Custard.

Sunday Exploration: US-68

On US-68 headed toward my collection points, I saw this Yamaha dealer, so I stopped to get a picture.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Besides, the whole front of the building was RED!!! How cool!

Sunday Exploration: Wilmington, Ohio

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Fortunately, Wilmington was not just one dirty flop-house, crackwhore motel. Apparantly they have a good section. Here we see the four star General Denver Inn.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

And a cool little street with small-town feel.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

On the way out of town, I saw this treehouse that any kid would kill to have.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Camping in Southern Ohio

If you wait until last minute on Memorial Day weekend to get a campsite for the night, you will likely experience epic failure. It was around 7-8pm. I was ready to call it a day, and I shot over to Caesar Creek State Park to 'check in' for the night. They were all full! I went to several spots, riding at a point where I was REALLY ready to not be riding anymore. I knew by 9pm that I was going to be setting up my hammock, engine running, using the lights of the Majesty. That was not what I had planned. But wait, there's more!

Tomtom was happy to keep providing me with another POI for camping, but I was really D-O-N-E. I was zipping through to the next campsite and I ran across the West Inn, located on SR-22. I thought "i'll check prices." Well, lo and behold, it was only $30-40 for the room. The place looked a little old, but I was pretty beat. I asked "what's the difference between the two price." The Indian woman explained the $33 rooms are smaller. Yes. I'll take it. I was ready for rest. I get the key, and she explains there is a $3 deposit. I pay. I went to the BACK where the smaller rooms are located. I should have left after I'd seen the room, but I was too tired. It was now about 10am.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Yes, the walls were dirty.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Yes, that is bare unpainted particle board on the wall of the 'bathroom'. It's actually not a bathroom as that would probably mean it had a door. The room was a place for the toilet, prefab stall shower, and an old sink. The floor in front of the toilet was rotten, and you could feel it sinking down when you stepped there.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

I won't say the bed was unclean, but I was not taking any chances. I also slept with all my gear, etc. inside. This didn't make me feel too much better as there was not even a deadbolt on the door!

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

There were surprisingly several other cars. I saw a mustang convertible that had maps on the front passenger seat. It was an 80's model with duct tape on the rag top. These were the folks right next to me.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

I decided to keep the key as a good reminder to not do this again!

Izzy's ride - Back into Cincinatti along US-52

The day was still good, and weather holding at perfect. We did a regroup just over the river after the ferry.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Running back through Moscow, Ohio I noticed that Cinergy has a little power plant there. Not coal like the ones I see near Louisville...this one had a tell-tale cooling tower...

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Very cool. I checked on google maps for an aerial view.

Here we are at a stoplight.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

The camera mount I made was perfect to take these kinds of shots!!!

We rode behind this old building near the river. The back of it is painted to show a ruler of flood measurements.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

We headed into the streets of Cinci proper. At this point we'd had numerous riders peel off as the day wound towards it's end.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

We ended at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse Restaurant. The name does not imply the upscale-ness. Also they do not take reservations and there was 45 minutes left to wait.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

The round building on the right is the restaurant.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

I declined to join them mainly due to time, but was not feeling the love for a $40 hamburger... Ron and I talked scooters, bikes, spouses, and riding for a while, then I decided it was time to go. I originally was headed straight home, but got in touch with Theresia who said she would go check on my dog Splott (who has medical issues and has to have medication twice a day) so I decided to bust a move to get a quick bite and find someplace to set up my hammock.

Izzy's ride - Augusta, KY

We got to Augusta, Kentucky which was the area that had the cool ferry. It also has the hollywood Clooney's home (Rosemary, mother and George, son). We stopped for gas and I had enough to complete the ride, so I just looked around for a minute. On the way in, I saw two pictures I wanted to get. One was the "Welcome to Augusta" sign.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

I also spied this cool bridge over a small creek. I didn't see the equally cool tunnel until I got there.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

I was set to get the picture on the bridge when a guy and his passenger came over on their bike. It must be a popular place. As a matter of fact, this weekend was perfect riding like I have not seen this year so far, and EVERYwhere was a popular place for riders.

After snapping my pictures, I went to the little area down by the Ohio where the ferry docks. Right before you get there is a little street with shops and a restaurant. Everyone was milling around and so I stopped and got off to look around.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Here's the road down by the ferry.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Here's the ferry ride over.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Here's my friend Ron inadvertantly posing infront of the ferry, the Jenny Ann.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Izzy's ride - Rabbit Hash to Augusta, KY

The route to Augusta was awesome also. The guys did a great job planning this all out. Notice in front of me is (I believe, but I could have his name wrong) Richard. He has a silver Burgman, and he has added custom highway pegs! You can see his feet out beside the running board.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

I want a set of these!

We ran beside the Ohio most of the way.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Here's the highway pegs!

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

We took a quick pit stop at the TA station and truckstop so we could regroup. With almost 20 bikes, it's easy to get split at a stop, though we did get a break from many cagers who were out. I figure there were so many bikes out they were extra aware.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Here's my best picture of the Triumph...

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

He even has a Lynard Skynard helmet!!!

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Izzy's ride - Rabbit Hash General Store

We pulled into Rabbit Hash, and the whole place was packed with mainly bikes and a few cars. I think we had the only scooters there. No where did I hear any biker talk bad about the scooters. They seemed generally interested.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Here's me and Lois at the General Store

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Here's the whole lot of us.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Here's inside the old General Store.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Izzy's ride - the ride to Rabbit Hash, KY

We got on the road and it was a pretty good ride to Rabbit Hash. I think Rabbit Hash is one of those "motorcycle heaven" places where all roads leading to and from are fantastic riding.

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

I was behind the guy on the Triumph. Man I love the looks of that bike. Who knows, maybe I could have one in the distant future???

From Izzy's International Lunch & Ride

Lots of riders out coming our way too.