Sunday afternoon ride to Easton PA

[mr. softie]

This was just a shakedown cruise on my GL650 after I rebuilt the forks, adjusted the valves, rebuilt the fuel valve, rerouted all the wires and cables to their proper places, hard wired the stator, repaired the fairing, changed the oil and filter, installed the iridium plugs. and forgot to put my Throttle Rocker back on, all last night. (Yes I went to bed at 7 am but I got it all done!)

The ride took me up US 611 25 miles to Easton PA. The road follows the Delaware river from Kintnersville north and is fun with all the curves and scenery. I needed fuel so I went across the bridge into Phillipsburg NJ, where gas was 1.779 a gallon instead of the 2.019 in PA. The little park is on Larry Holmes Drive. Larry is Easton's favorite son.

All my work paid off. The bike didn't leak fuel, rode much better with the 20 weight fork oil (instead if ATF), Idled smoother, Had more pep and smoother acceleration, started better, didn't squeak and bang when going over bumps and made my right hand numb! Love the throttle rocker, really missed it.

The weather couldn't have been better. I stopped along the river at a little roadside ice cream stand and had a cup of chocolate malted milk soft serve served by comely young wenches, sat at a picnic table and watched the river and Biker after Biker roll by (just where do all these hairy and ape hanging "outlaws" hide all winter, when it rains, and during the week? First sunny warm Sunday and there are thousands of em all a sudden...all with a do-rag, a grim look on their faces and an apparent inability to return a salute or wave...editorial comment).

I find it hard to stop and take pics of everything that would make a good photo, but I am going to try. Here are a few of the pics I managed today.

http://www.postimage.org/aV1cIpDS.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV1cIpDS)Map

http://www.postimage.org/Pq1bIWr0.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/)My GL650 (with tank bag- that's my riding suit bundled on the seat)

http://www.postimage.org/aV1cIuD9.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/)Railroad bridge over the Delaware

http://www.postimage.org/gxFmmi0.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/) Road bridge to Phillipsburg

[Water Warrior 2]

Sure sounds like all that work was a success. Ride proud. :rawk:

[BusyWeb]

Great photos...
I wonder when can I do bike projects like you are doing......
It might be fun and also saves alot of maintenace money.
I guess the Spring finally came all around states,
and hope see many others' ride reports too.

[alanmcorcoran]

I hear you on the pictures. Used to pass through Easton every time we went to visit my grandma. (I grew up in Edison, Joisey.) If I recall correctly, there are some hairy hills/turns on some of the Delaware Water Gap highways. Then again, it's been a while. I think the last time I went through that way was when after I dropped my daughter off at Carnegie Mellon and drove clear across the state to my parents (now) in Barnegat, NJ.

Poconos, tunnels, mountains - PA has some terrain.

[Moedad]

Yay! Ride reports are starting to flow! Good one, Softie!

[Dupo]

Its kinda odd to see someone post a ride on here that i take multiple times a year. Small world.

Next time through, stop at some of the locks along the way. Makes for some great pics. They are also redoing the canal so that it can once again run canal boats an such. Can't wait for that to happen.

That ice cream shop, i have an idea which one you stopped at :)

I have tons of pics on my travels on 611/Easton/Canals here: http://www.dupo24.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=324

Dude, we'll have to meet up sometime this summer.

[mr. softie]

Yep I agree. If you ride 611 we will probably see each other at some point. I ride it quite a bit. I keep meaning to stop at the locks but sort of just cruise on by.

They are really doing a lot of restoration work on the canal, even though it seems like they just get a section fixed and then a flood wipes out all the work, at least down river more (ie Lumberville)

Do you ever get to ride down 32 towards New Hope & Point Pleasant, etc? The roads in Upper Black Eddy etc are fun ie Headquarters Road, Hollow Horn Road, and around Ralph Stover and Tinicum Parks. That's my backyard so to speak.

[Dupo]

Yes, we take 32 almost every time we go down 611. We usually start in Easton and work our way down. Last i was there last year we made it down to New Hope.