Paid work trip on the raTi Chicago to Wytheville 0 interstate

[ratguzzi]

I finally got my recently acquired 04 Ti with a mere 8k on it to look "good" enough that I wouldn't be embarrassed riding it! I have to work in Wytheville tomorrow and left yesterday morning riding from Wonder Lake to Chicago on local roads to LSD. Early weekend morning, Lake Shore Drive is a great ride making Chicago look actually pretty good! I stayed on US20/US12 until IN 49 and south to US30 toward Fort Wayne. Then IN 5 south to US224 and east to US33. US 68 in Bellefonte down to Urbana, a zig zag to OH56 and zig zagged a bit more to Grove City. I spent Saturday night there, met up with my motorcycle friend, Sue, dinner and talk about rides. This morning, OH 104 south to OH 56. missed my short cut OH 327 so went to OH93. OH56 up to OH93 is really a fun road! Then OH 93 which is sort of boring until almost the KY border. A little over the river and back to US52 on the WV side of the river to Welch, WV. Then WV103 to WV161 which I liked a lot, smaller roads, no guard rails, no lines at times. Then picked up VA16 and past Tazewell, they call it the "Back of the Dragon" Ok, I guess! Was a lot of fun and worked the bike as much as an EV can be worked. Then VA42 east to US52 east but the VA morons call it south not knowing all US routes that are even numbered are east/west and odd numbers are north/south. PA is stupid about this too. They don't understand it is a US route and not a state route and it's where the US route starts and ends that determines even or odd number. Whew! Calm down! Had great weather and a total blast these last two days. Also, paid my salary and 57 cents/mile!
JB

[Gliderjohn]

Tough day.
GliderJohn

[fotoguzzi]

the cheese grater looks swell in Black!

[Lannis]

It's not just the VA morons naming routes ... US 250 is East/West in Virginia but suddenly becomes North/South in West Virginia.   

You'd think they could read the naming standards but noooo .....

I don't see how you make any time on the roads you mention.  I like riding those routes too but it seems to take forever.  I mean, you can hustle along through the countryside on a road like 16, but then you're hitting every little town on the road.

And they're not little any more either.   When I were a lad, you could ride through a town like Mt. Airy, NC or Rocky Mount, VA or Hillsville or Galax VA or Harrisonburg on 33 or 221 or whatever, and you rode wide open till you hit the downtown, where there was a furniture factory and textile mill and a few stores.

NOW, for any of those towns and thousands more like them, you start to hit the 35 MPH signs out where they put the new Lowe's Home Improvement, then you pass by 3 miles of car dealerships, Chili's, Applebee's, ATV dealers, swimming pool sellers, Home Deport, the ubiquitous WalMarts, Wendy's, Cracker Barrels, McDonald's, Family Dollars, Verizon stores, Kohl's, Old Navy ... but no factories, all that's moved overseas.  All's that's left is a million places for people to spend their money, and if you hit town at the wrong time of evening, you'll find out they by God spend that money too.

I went from here in Central Virginia to Huntsville AL on the interstates (I81, I40, I75, I59 I think) and it took me 8-1/2 hours.

I came back, going as quick as I could, on the Federal highways and big State roads (US72, TN27, US11W) and it took me over 12 hours ....

Lannis

[chuck peterson]

Work, work, work...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NzbhbetwYFU

[fotoguzzi]

  thousands more like them, you start to hit the 35 MPH signs out where they put the new Lowe's Home Improvement, then you pass by 3 miles of car dealerships, Chili's, Applebee's, ATV dealers, swimming pool sellers, Home Deport, the ubiquitous WalMarts, Wendy's, Cracker Barrels, McDonald's, Family Dollars, Verizon stores, Kohl's, Old Navy ... but no factories, all that's moved overseas.  All's that's left is a million places for people to spend their money, and if you hit town at the wrong time of evening, you'll find out they by God spend that money too.

I went from here in Central Virginia to Huntsville AL on the interstates (I81, I40, I75, I59 I think) and it took me 8-1/2 hours.

I came back, going as quick as I could, on the Federal highways and big State roads (US72, TN27, US11W) and it took me over 12 hours ....

Lannis

Hit Nail on HEAD!
same thing entering Superior Wisconsin from the south (W hwy 35) miles of all that stuff but the town looks like it could never afford to shop there..

[Lannis]

Hit Nail on HEAD!
same thing entering Superior Wisconsin from the south (W hwy 35) miles of all that stuff but the town looks like it could never afford to shop there..

Not to natter on too much on ratguzzi's ride thread, but it DOES affect how we ride.   When all the manufacturing was "at home" (Bassett Furniture, Dan River Mills, Burlington, etc) and every little town had a furniture factory or textile mill with 2500 workers there, there was no place to shop except the mom-and-pop grocery stores, hardware stores, Jitney Jingles, Piggly-Wiggly groceries, and all of them downtown, open 9 to 5 and 9 to noon on Saturdays.

Now all the factories are closed.  All the manufacturing plants that used to line all the river valleys are shuttered and overgrown.   But now there are literally SCORES (not to say HUNDREDS) of chain stores selling stuff that the factory workers could never have afforded - the fern bars and restaurants are packed out all the time, the boat and camper lots booming, people buying jet skis and side-by-side ATVs, whatever those are called ....

I suppose I'm glad that people have all this material stuff now, but it sure does throw a wrench in traveling across the country without getting on the Interstates ...

I remember reading JB's "Wonder Lake to Florida" travelogues in the MGNOC news 10+ years back, and wondered then how it was done and still manage to have a weekend left.    I know about the 3-minute fuel, Pepsi, and Peanuts stops, but still .... all that 35 MPH strip mall time ...

Lannis

[Muley]

Tire on front?   Is back the same?   Wish I could have found something like that for the rear when leaving Fairbanks.   As I recall, the front was not an issue, but the rear was unobtainium in an "off road" offering.  I'm assuming the Ti has same wheel size as '98 EV.

Who knows, I never did make it to the NW Territories last time

[ratguzzi]

Yes, I did many fuel stops under 3 minutes on some of those trips and got pulled over for "aggressive lane changing" but only warned! . But on Sunday, traffic was very light. I didn't really push it. Rode steady and just stuck to it.
Tire size? Both are Kenda 761s. Rear is 130/80-17 and the front is a rear 120/80-18. Handles just fine for what the bike is.
JB