| Date | Mileage | Maintenance / Repair Item | Cost | |
| 7/16/13 | 463 | Oil Change | 141.99 | |
| 7/20/13 | 774 | First Service | 175.5 | |
| 7/12/13 | 18 | Oil Change | 140.93 | |
| 8/21/13 | 6006 | 6K Service | ||
| 8/21/13 | 6006 | Rear Tire (Nail) | 511.25 | |
| 11/6/13 | 11162 | Front Tire Replacement | 235.55 | |
| 11/13/13 | 11948 | Oil and Air Filter | ||
| 11/13/13 | 11948 | 12 K Service | 398.01 | |
| 4/8/14 | 16370 | Rear Tire | ||
| 4/8/14 | 16370 | Front Brakes | ||
| 4/8/14 | 16370 | Cost | 445.52 | |
| 4/15/14 | 18656 | Oil Change | 174.51 | |
| 4/17/14 | 18000 | Spark Plug | ||
| 4/17/14 | 18000 | Air Filter | ||
| 4/17/14 | 18000 | Brake Fluid | ||
| 4/17/14 | 18000 | Antifreeze | ||
| 4/17/14 | 18000 | 18,000 mile service | ||
| 4/17/14 | 18000 | Front Tire | ||
| 4/17/14 | 18000 | Replace Center Stand | Warranty | |
| 4/17/14 | 18000 | Replace L Cluster switch | Warranty | |
| 4/17/14 | 18000 | Water Pump | Warranty | |
| 4/17/14 | 18000 | Cost | 1176.74 | |
| 7/7/14 | 24000 | 24000 service | 259.84 | |
| 7/7/14 | 24000 | Replace L Cluster switch | Warranty | |
| 7/7/14 | 28000 | Oil Change | ||
| 7/7/14 | 28000 | Lost Remainder of Receipt | ||
| 7/7/14 | 28000 | Cost | 347.33 | |
| 2/27/15 | 33000 | Oil Change | ||
| 2/27/15 | 33000 | Front Tire Replacement | ||
| 2/27/15 | 33000 | Rear Tire Replacement | ||
| 2/27/15 | 33000 | Front Brakes | ||
| 2/27/15 | 33000 | Cost | 793.89 | |
| 4801.06 |
Friday, February 27, 2015
20150228 - 33,000 Mile Maintenance Costs to Date
Monday, February 23, 2015
20150223 - 66 Alligators
I am having a really nice time riding in Florida. The rest of the country is suffering a terrible winter, except for maybe Southern California and a handful of other southern states. Weather seems to stop short of the Florida boarder. This weekend, temps dropped down into the high 30's; but, that's as cold as we've seen it. That said, I haven't been able to break out of Florida for more riding, so I'm really getting to know Florida pretty well.
My father is staying in Jupiter, and I've ridden there several time this winter already. I try to take a different route each time, hence the big knot on my map in central Florida. As it worked out this past weekend, my father had things to do, so I left early on Sunday with the thought that I'd grab a Cuban sandwich in Miami and then head out into the everglades for the trip home. Initially, I wanted to go all the way down to the Flamingo T loop; but, I didn't have time. Instead, I planned on heading out Rt. 41.
Rt. 41 is lined with folks selling air boat rides. It's very pretty; but, I was hoping that I'd see alligators and did not...at least not until I turned NW on 41. From there until I got to about 15 miles of I-75, I counted 66 alligators of all sizes. Some were in the water on the side of the road, some were on the bank. Some of the alligators were very big - 10' and maybe 40" around. I'm wondering if they are naturally there, of if they were being driven there by the massive forest fire that was going on in Big Cypress National Preserve. This fire is much bigger than it seems. Flames could be seen from the road and clouds towered into the sky and could easily be seen 20 miles away. I realized that I can't take chances anymore. I need to carry my GoPro everywhere I ride! Sorry, stills only.
Here's my latest map:
My father is staying in Jupiter, and I've ridden there several time this winter already. I try to take a different route each time, hence the big knot on my map in central Florida. As it worked out this past weekend, my father had things to do, so I left early on Sunday with the thought that I'd grab a Cuban sandwich in Miami and then head out into the everglades for the trip home. Initially, I wanted to go all the way down to the Flamingo T loop; but, I didn't have time. Instead, I planned on heading out Rt. 41.
Rt. 41 is lined with folks selling air boat rides. It's very pretty; but, I was hoping that I'd see alligators and did not...at least not until I turned NW on 41. From there until I got to about 15 miles of I-75, I counted 66 alligators of all sizes. Some were in the water on the side of the road, some were on the bank. Some of the alligators were very big - 10' and maybe 40" around. I'm wondering if they are naturally there, of if they were being driven there by the massive forest fire that was going on in Big Cypress National Preserve. This fire is much bigger than it seems. Flames could be seen from the road and clouds towered into the sky and could easily be seen 20 miles away. I realized that I can't take chances anymore. I need to carry my GoPro everywhere I ride! Sorry, stills only.
Here's my latest map:
Friday, February 20, 2015
Sunday, February 15, 2015
20150215 - New Port Richey to New Port Richey Florida
This trip is proof positive that I need to carry my Spot Tracker everywhere I ride. I was out for 7 hours riding and can't accurately plot all the little side roads and county highways I got off on. Basically, this started out as a hiking adventure. I was set to go to hiking somewhere up by the Richolam wildlife management area, south of Withlacoochee State park. Of course, I took the bike for the ride there and back.
As I approached Ridge Manor, just outside the park, a train was broken down across Rt. 50, so I swung a U-Turn and parked in the parking lot of the Gas/Convenience store on the corner, ate peanuts and watched the traffic approach, K-turn and bail. It wasn't but about 20 or 30 minutes before the train cleared and I was on my way. Shortly after, I found the trail head. Unfortunately, there was no parking and some guy in a Dodge Charger was insistent on tailgating me, so I wasn't about to slow down to look closely. The plan was to pull off at the next paved road and go back. It so happens that I turned off on County road something or other and decided to check it since there were tons of weeping willow trees and green scenery. That road came to a dead ended about 2 miles ahead. I turned around and continued with the original plan; but, about a quarter mile coming back on Rt. 50, I noticed a sign that said Florida State Scenic Byway.
It took me about 2 seconds to decide that today was going to be a riding day. From that point until I got to Leesburg Fl., some many hours later, I have no clue where I was; but, the roads were not jammed with cars and the scenery was very nice. The only plan was to follow the signs that someone was nice enough to put out there for me. I think my routing may have taken me up toward Ocklawaha. I saw several signs pointing toward Ocala. Again, I really wasn't concerned where I was at.
At some point, I thought I should probably head home, since I was in the middle of nowhere. My GPS wanted to route me back via the toll road and that just wasn't going to happen. I consulted my ROAD ATLAS (you carry one, right) and selected a route back; but, along the way, I came through Bushnell Florida and there is a lot of construction. My lane put me into a tight one lane, uneven, rocky cattle shoot for about a quarter mile. During that time, some guy in a pickup and some lady in a mini-van, clearly trying to circumvent the road signs turned into my lane and started coming at me. She was smart enough to turn around. The A-hole in the pickup kept coming at me. Fortunately, I found enough space to narrowly pass him. When I got to the end, it was totally closed off. They were having some kind of car rally in town. There were detour signs, so I followed. They took me into more nice country roads, so I decided I'd follow those for awhile. Eventually, I found myself on Rt. 27 somewhere around Minneola. I saw signs for Disney ahead, so I decided I really better make tracks for home. Again, I pulled over to consult the ROAD ATLAS.
I pulled into a Gas/Convenience store and next to some people on red Gold Wings. They looked new. It so happens that they were from Harleysville, 5 miles from where I used to live in Collegeville PA. They flew down to Orlando and rented these. They were headed to the Panhandle. One guy normally rides a V-Strom and the other a BMW R bike; but, wasn't specific.
Thinking that I was further North on Rt. 27, I decided to just reverse course, travel North and grab I-75. As it was, I ended up backtracking about 15 miles.
Here is the route as best as I can remember it. I really need to carry the Spot Tracker wherever I go. I was on so many little roads and offshoots. It was a good ride. Chances are, I'll do it again.
As I approached Ridge Manor, just outside the park, a train was broken down across Rt. 50, so I swung a U-Turn and parked in the parking lot of the Gas/Convenience store on the corner, ate peanuts and watched the traffic approach, K-turn and bail. It wasn't but about 20 or 30 minutes before the train cleared and I was on my way. Shortly after, I found the trail head. Unfortunately, there was no parking and some guy in a Dodge Charger was insistent on tailgating me, so I wasn't about to slow down to look closely. The plan was to pull off at the next paved road and go back. It so happens that I turned off on County road something or other and decided to check it since there were tons of weeping willow trees and green scenery. That road came to a dead ended about 2 miles ahead. I turned around and continued with the original plan; but, about a quarter mile coming back on Rt. 50, I noticed a sign that said Florida State Scenic Byway.
It took me about 2 seconds to decide that today was going to be a riding day. From that point until I got to Leesburg Fl., some many hours later, I have no clue where I was; but, the roads were not jammed with cars and the scenery was very nice. The only plan was to follow the signs that someone was nice enough to put out there for me. I think my routing may have taken me up toward Ocklawaha. I saw several signs pointing toward Ocala. Again, I really wasn't concerned where I was at.
At some point, I thought I should probably head home, since I was in the middle of nowhere. My GPS wanted to route me back via the toll road and that just wasn't going to happen. I consulted my ROAD ATLAS (you carry one, right) and selected a route back; but, along the way, I came through Bushnell Florida and there is a lot of construction. My lane put me into a tight one lane, uneven, rocky cattle shoot for about a quarter mile. During that time, some guy in a pickup and some lady in a mini-van, clearly trying to circumvent the road signs turned into my lane and started coming at me. She was smart enough to turn around. The A-hole in the pickup kept coming at me. Fortunately, I found enough space to narrowly pass him. When I got to the end, it was totally closed off. They were having some kind of car rally in town. There were detour signs, so I followed. They took me into more nice country roads, so I decided I'd follow those for awhile. Eventually, I found myself on Rt. 27 somewhere around Minneola. I saw signs for Disney ahead, so I decided I really better make tracks for home. Again, I pulled over to consult the ROAD ATLAS.
I pulled into a Gas/Convenience store and next to some people on red Gold Wings. They looked new. It so happens that they were from Harleysville, 5 miles from where I used to live in Collegeville PA. They flew down to Orlando and rented these. They were headed to the Panhandle. One guy normally rides a V-Strom and the other a BMW R bike; but, wasn't specific.
Thinking that I was further North on Rt. 27, I decided to just reverse course, travel North and grab I-75. As it was, I ended up backtracking about 15 miles.
Here is the route as best as I can remember it. I really need to carry the Spot Tracker wherever I go. I was on so many little roads and offshoots. It was a good ride. Chances are, I'll do it again.
20150207-2015-209 - New Port Richey to Jupiter Florida and back
There's not much to write about on this trip except that I'm trying to find a way to get from NPR to Jupiter faster. My father is staying in Jupiter for the winter and I like to go visit him. My last trip was in the truck and took 4 hours. I left after work on a Thursday and got caught up in traffic around the junction of I75 and I4.
For this trip, I tried two different routes. Neither of them gets me there in less than 4 hours. I thought the last route might be good as it was more direct. Unfortunately, I must have encountered (no joking) 50 or more traffic lights along the way - route 1 and many more on route 2.
I think next time, I'm going to try I75 down to 70 and take that across. At the end of the day, I'm riding and getting to see more of the state!
Oh, I did encounter some weather on the trip. See pic 3. I was in this from Lakeland all the way home. What a mess. Within a span of 3 or 4 miles, there were as many rear end collisions.
For this trip, I tried two different routes. Neither of them gets me there in less than 4 hours. I thought the last route might be good as it was more direct. Unfortunately, I must have encountered (no joking) 50 or more traffic lights along the way - route 1 and many more on route 2.
I think next time, I'm going to try I75 down to 70 and take that across. At the end of the day, I'm riding and getting to see more of the state!
Oh, I did encounter some weather on the trip. See pic 3. I was in this from Lakeland all the way home. What a mess. Within a span of 3 or 4 miles, there were as many rear end collisions.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Time to start thinking about an Alaska Trip
My customer changed his mind. My trip for this year has been canceled. Yes, I'm disappointed!
"No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength" (or "no plan survives contact with the enemy,") - Heimuth von Molitke
I don't plan for just this reason. I tend to think about thinks in terms of options and contingencies. Maybe I plan to have those things. Everything else seems to work out.
Based on Heimuth's quite, I need to ask myself what are the enemies main strengths, or for that matter, who is the enemy.
Well, Mother Nature can sometimes be the enemy. I recall a specific trip last year during Winter Storm Boreas where Mother Nature was in a hell of a mood; although, I wouldn't call her the enemy. She's more like a fickle friend. Sometimes, she's your best friend - warm days, sunny skies, light winds and sometimes, she I'd just like to tune up that attitude she brings. That said, in order to deal with my fickle friends special problems, I bring heated gear, rain gear, sunscreen, sunglasses and consult weather maps every step of the way. Now, in this case, I could be off the grid, so I may have to do some weather planning a couple days out and use a wet thumb to tell wind direction.
Mechanical failures. Now there's an enemy. There's nothing fickle about mechanical failures. They plain old suck. It just so happens that my warranty will expire in about 5,000 miles. I need to get that many miles in and then some as I don't want to leave with a freshly "fixed" bike. Ok, more riding. I can do that. There's barely anything on my bike that can be fixed outside of a hole in the tire. So, now my list of prep items reads like this:
Heated Gear
Rain Gear
Sunscreen
Sunglasses
Computer
Put 6,000 miles on the bike in the next 12 weeks and get warranty service at 5,000 miles.
Tire kit
BMW MOA Anonymous book
Money
My "Tire kit" also includes things like JB Weld, a few tools, including a T-25 that is needed to get anything off my bike anyway. Except to help another stranded biker, I don't think I've every pulled any of it out for self-rescue. Hopefully, there won't be a first. I also carry a first aid kit with me. I know. If I wreck, a Band-aid will be of little use to me; but, I have opened the first aid kit for other simple matters. The funny thing about the first aid kit is that I leave it in the bike when others need it...like at the car accident I stopped at in South Dakota. The first arriving PD will have a kit and they can get their stuff replaced. Moving on.
Lack of sleep. Here's another enemy that isn't bad until it's really bad...like when you're searching for a place at O-DARK-THIRTY and everything is booked for miles. This is also the biggest expense of the trip. To deal with this enemy, I will bring more money and I'll even check to see if I can use my Best Western points on a couple rooms along the way. I have a ton of points. I've never cashed them in. I think it's time to step up to the challenge. Just in case I can't find a room and on the odd chance that I might want to sleep under the stars somewhere, I'll bring my camping gear. The individual components of my camping gear have been well thought out and used many times. There's no need for me to go through that list - I can pick up the bag and go.
Stench. Really, this is only an enemy if I want to be considerate of other people. I know what I smell like when I've been forced to remain in the same clothes for days on end without a shower. I can live with it as long as it takes. There is a chance that I might want to go out and have dinner at a restaurant and not wear my riding gear (which I'll add to the list), so, I should bring a change of clothes, a pair of sneakers, a tooth brush, tooth paste and soap. Shave? Hell no. Blades are expensive. Shaving is totally unnecessary.
Now, we have a list going. I'm going on a trip to Alaska and I'm going to bring:
Heated Gear
Rain Gear
Sunscreen
Sunglasses
Computer
Put 6,000 miles on the bike in the next 12 weeks and get warranty service at 5,000 miles.
Tire kit
BMW MOA Anonymous book
Money
First Aid Kit
Best Western Points
Camping Gear
More Money
Change of clothes
Sneakers
Riding Gear
Tooth brush
Tooth Paste
Soap
The only other enemy I can think of is an empty fuel tank. For that, I will bring more money. I might do the Dalton Highway and I know that it has limited gas...414 miles. I won't make it in one tank. This sucks. Now, I might have to plan for an enemy that I haven't met yet. To safely put gas cans on my bike is going to take some engineering... My mind kind of works like this when it comes to this sort of thing.
Fortunately, I think there is a simple solution.
This will only be necessary if I decide to go up the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay. This is considered a rite of passage. I've been told, and I'm paraphrasing - "... it's the shittiest road on the planet. You can plan on dropping that gorgeous bike of yours and it would be a damn shame to see it get banged up. I recommend that you rent something for that trip."
More later...
"No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength" (or "no plan survives contact with the enemy,") - Heimuth von Molitke
I don't plan for just this reason. I tend to think about thinks in terms of options and contingencies. Maybe I plan to have those things. Everything else seems to work out.
Based on Heimuth's quite, I need to ask myself what are the enemies main strengths, or for that matter, who is the enemy.
Well, Mother Nature can sometimes be the enemy. I recall a specific trip last year during Winter Storm Boreas where Mother Nature was in a hell of a mood; although, I wouldn't call her the enemy. She's more like a fickle friend. Sometimes, she's your best friend - warm days, sunny skies, light winds and sometimes, she I'd just like to tune up that attitude she brings. That said, in order to deal with my fickle friends special problems, I bring heated gear, rain gear, sunscreen, sunglasses and consult weather maps every step of the way. Now, in this case, I could be off the grid, so I may have to do some weather planning a couple days out and use a wet thumb to tell wind direction.
Mechanical failures. Now there's an enemy. There's nothing fickle about mechanical failures. They plain old suck. It just so happens that my warranty will expire in about 5,000 miles. I need to get that many miles in and then some as I don't want to leave with a freshly "fixed" bike. Ok, more riding. I can do that. There's barely anything on my bike that can be fixed outside of a hole in the tire. So, now my list of prep items reads like this:
Heated Gear
Rain Gear
Sunscreen
Sunglasses
Computer
Put 6,000 miles on the bike in the next 12 weeks and get warranty service at 5,000 miles.
Tire kit
BMW MOA Anonymous book
Money
My "Tire kit" also includes things like JB Weld, a few tools, including a T-25 that is needed to get anything off my bike anyway. Except to help another stranded biker, I don't think I've every pulled any of it out for self-rescue. Hopefully, there won't be a first. I also carry a first aid kit with me. I know. If I wreck, a Band-aid will be of little use to me; but, I have opened the first aid kit for other simple matters. The funny thing about the first aid kit is that I leave it in the bike when others need it...like at the car accident I stopped at in South Dakota. The first arriving PD will have a kit and they can get their stuff replaced. Moving on.
Lack of sleep. Here's another enemy that isn't bad until it's really bad...like when you're searching for a place at O-DARK-THIRTY and everything is booked for miles. This is also the biggest expense of the trip. To deal with this enemy, I will bring more money and I'll even check to see if I can use my Best Western points on a couple rooms along the way. I have a ton of points. I've never cashed them in. I think it's time to step up to the challenge. Just in case I can't find a room and on the odd chance that I might want to sleep under the stars somewhere, I'll bring my camping gear. The individual components of my camping gear have been well thought out and used many times. There's no need for me to go through that list - I can pick up the bag and go.
Stench. Really, this is only an enemy if I want to be considerate of other people. I know what I smell like when I've been forced to remain in the same clothes for days on end without a shower. I can live with it as long as it takes. There is a chance that I might want to go out and have dinner at a restaurant and not wear my riding gear (which I'll add to the list), so, I should bring a change of clothes, a pair of sneakers, a tooth brush, tooth paste and soap. Shave? Hell no. Blades are expensive. Shaving is totally unnecessary.
Now, we have a list going. I'm going on a trip to Alaska and I'm going to bring:
Heated Gear
Rain Gear
Sunscreen
Sunglasses
Computer
Put 6,000 miles on the bike in the next 12 weeks and get warranty service at 5,000 miles.
Tire kit
BMW MOA Anonymous book
Money
First Aid Kit
Best Western Points
Camping Gear
More Money
Change of clothes
Sneakers
Riding Gear
Tooth brush
Tooth Paste
Soap
The only other enemy I can think of is an empty fuel tank. For that, I will bring more money. I might do the Dalton Highway and I know that it has limited gas...414 miles. I won't make it in one tank. This sucks. Now, I might have to plan for an enemy that I haven't met yet. To safely put gas cans on my bike is going to take some engineering... My mind kind of works like this when it comes to this sort of thing.
Fortunately, I think there is a simple solution.
This will only be necessary if I decide to go up the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay. This is considered a rite of passage. I've been told, and I'm paraphrasing - "... it's the shittiest road on the planet. You can plan on dropping that gorgeous bike of yours and it would be a damn shame to see it get banged up. I recommend that you rent something for that trip."
More later...
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