My First Motorcycle Adventure

[GZ Jess]

Well my husband and I decided to take my oldest son to Cedar Point for a day on the bikes. If we take the highway and turnpike it is about 1 3/4 hrs but since my bike is so little we decided to primarily stick to back roads and follow our trusty gps unit up there to the tune of 3 1/2 hrs. The first leg was an hour of highway and then we stopped for lunch and of course I locked my bike key in the under the seat compartment but hubby was able to pry the seat up enough I could get them out! That was an oh crap moment but then we took off on our way.

After several almost dirt roads, bridge out detours and 3 hrs later we get to the amusement park and had a blast. We stayed till closing at 10 stopped outside the park to eat and decided to take the highway home. I had a full tank, hubby had half but figured he'd be good until the next stop. We get on the highway and travel about 20 miles when we pass a state trooper. Now let me explain that in Ohio an adult does not have to wear a helmet unless they are in their first year (that's me). I honestly did not think of it when we left the house because I had rarely worn a helmet on the back of hubby's bike and my son had mine on. Well I'm sure you guessed it, the statey caught up to us and pulled us over. At that moment I knew exactly why.

He talked to us for a while basically asking me if I had an excuse and I really didn't other than I gave my 11 yr old my helmet and I didn't have another that fit. So I got a ticket and he told us to pull off the next ramp and figure something out because I couldn't ride my bike without one, but he wasn't going to "babysit" us after we got off the highway although I could be ticketed again if I got stopped.

So we pulled off and reviewed out directions for back roads again and pushed our bikes out of site of the highway in case he had just gone down to watch us. This whole time, 1 1/2 hrs or so, hubby had his hazards on and I had my lights on because we were in the middle of no where with no street lights. Of course his HD started right up but my battery was DEAD! So we knocked on two houses before someone had cables to jump us. I tried to push start it but I am not coordinated apparently! We got back on the road around 12:30 or 1. Started following the gps and looking for an open service station for hubby to fuel up before we hit the back roads, he was at about 1/4 of a tank. We tried 4 stations before we found a road crew that directed us to an all night Shell. We pull in and look around and low and behold we were back to were we left Cedar Point! The GPS had taken us in a big circle looking for the nearest service station.

So here we are now at 2 am, no closer to home than we were 3 hrs ago when we left the restaurant, with two cops hanging out at the gas station and an 11 yr old who had been being such a trooper but was starting to panic. Oh yeah, our gps battery had died as well! I looked across the street saw a hotel and said that's it, we are done for the night. We stayed over night, found the closest HD dealership in the morning, bought a helmet and headed home on a very nice 3 hr ride in good weather.

All in all, we did have a good time, conquered all obstacles and made it home safely and legally! And I will obey the law from now on LOL!

Jessica

[bonehead]

Live and learn.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by GZ Jess

of course I locked my bike key in the under the seat compartment

After several almost dirt roads, bridge out detours

You should always carry a spare key......in a different location that your main one.

Paper maps are still useful. A GPS can do some pretty dumb things that are obvious if you just glance at a map.

I won't comment on the rest; what an adventure.

[GZ Jess]

Yes I learned a lot.

[dhgeyer]

Congratulations on your first motorcycle tour! If you're away from home for a night, it's a tour. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Like most motorcycle tours, it was memorable, and had its wonderful moments and its, well, less than ideal situations. And, like all tours, you learned things that will make your next one better. And there will be a next one, and a next one after that.

[alanmcorcoran]

Well, you have a much better attitude about when $hit goes wrong than I would. Actually, other than the two occasions when I managed to let my Strat become horizontal (neither of which hurt me or the bike that much) pretty much every experience I've had on the bike has been positive. I've killed the bettery on my GZ twice and the Yamaha once but all three instances were discovered with tbe bikes conveniently in my garage. I have yet (knock on wood) to be pulled over on my bike (course I make up for that with the cages!) So, to sum up:

1) Back roads sound romantic and fun but sometimes the highway is the right way.
2) Keep the keys in your pocket.
3) Wear a helmet.
4) Get gas early and often.
5) Don't blindly trust GPS (or Google or Mapquest.) I think all of us have been screwed by Google Maps at least once.

I think calling it a night and hitting the hay was the smartest thing you did. To be honest, I'm not sure about the wisdom of involving 11 year olds on motorcycle adventures, especially with newbs. But I'm sure nearly everyone on here would disagree with me. Let him learn to ride a dirt bike if he's into motorcycles. Good luck on your next adventure. Good story!

[patrick_777]

Sounds like a lesson well learned.

[Water Warrior 2]

Wow, that was quite a test but you passed with honors. Always have a complete set of spare keys for each bike. As for the no helmet thing, well, I am ATGATT but we all make our choices so I will leave that one alone. And what a story to relate after getting home at last and being safe and undamaged. Best of all, an eleven year old with a real adventure story for his buds. Does it get any better ?? :lol:

[blaine]

Sounds like you had a real adventure!!

[Moedad]

Originally Posted by alanmcorcoran

I think calling it a night and hitting the hay was the smartest thing you did.