Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Rides, Rallies, & Events North East the wrap up

Hey Tad,
It was fun meeting, and staying up too late with you drinking in Pat's garage.
Uncle Charlie

Ryan, yep, I got home around 3:00 today, called Chy and left a message and then passed out for three hours. We did thirteen hours of saddle time yesterday and eight and a half today. We also had some major rain and wind for the first part of our trip then the blue skies shined down on us. The scenic drive down 23 was great, a welcome relief to that slab run.
Thanks especially to Pat and Mary for being great hosts and to Pat's brother Al for cooking for the masses. Pat, the homebrew was awesome, well worth the wait! Thanks to Biker and the Mrs. for taking us to Niagra Falls. Thanks to Wojo for taking one for the team . Thanks to Moe, Ryan, Greg, and Chy for leading me on the most awesome ride through the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive. And especially to Chy for getting me there and back safely. Di, sweetheart, you were missed, hope to see ya soon. Ade, pleasure to finally meet ya, Mert, I hope you are felling better, Glazer, glad to get to know ya better, bro. And to all others, pleasure to meet ya, see ya again and thanks for a great rally
And just to set the record straight, I was detained by the Canadian border patrol. I , however, was not strip searched or even molested in a small Canadian prison. The female border guard could of have had her way with me if she wanted, she was cute .... just kidding... Ride safe... Gordon

"Thanks especially to Pat and Mary for being great hosts "

Oh well, I guess after last weekend a mistake is ok... <BG>

However, thanks to you and Jane.. I had a great weekend...
Great beer,
comfortable couch...
never saw the falls from Canada before,
the Glenn is a good excuse for next year...
and the food was awesome!
The wind sucked on the way home, but no biggie...
now to wash the bike....uggh.....
Thanks again
Mary

Jane, ooopppsss, sorry. I was trying to write Jane and it just came out as "Mary"... damn that spell check!!! And John, you know that guard has my number and I am sure she will be calling me real soooooon .... ride safe... Gordon

Did anyone see my 1 eyed hooker??? How is she doing?

I did.... dont worry I popped a socket for ya...

I didn't even get to meet the great Adey...I'm so sad. You'll have to come GA next year.

I also want to thank Pat and Jane for being such great hosts. I had a great time also and was glad to meet so many nice people. I'll be back next year.

First things first... A big thanks to Pat and Jane for being such wonderful hosts. I also need to say a big thanks Pat for the unplanned use of your truck. I couldn't have asked for a better pit crew, you were all just awesome!!

It's like one in the morn so a litte fuzzy and road weary here...rolled in around midnight. Left Pat's (sorry I missed you) and headed towards Pittsburgh to see an old friend of mine. Had a great time, his wife was even nice to me, okay maybe she isn't spawn of Satan. After many hours of swapping stories of the good ol' days and a bottle of Makers later I'm down for count. Hit the road today much later than I intended with a pounding head but a big smile. Rode through the backroads of Ohio/Indiana, man those Amish people are EVERYWHERE, hehehe. Never in a million years would I have thought I would actually have to wash horse doodoo off my bike.

It was great to see some familiar faces again and so many new ones as well.... as has been pointed out so often in the past, what an outstanding bunch of humans! Pleasure to know and ride with all of ya!


Steve

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I needed one last gas stop and a bit of Gatorade and found both at my neighborhood Shell station. I was a bit shocked when I discovered the bald English lad working the register named "Adrian". Didn't know that Hardley was so fast Ade!

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Hey keep it down will ya Ryan!??

Immigration haven't caught up yet!!
Should've used a false name I guess ..

Okay.. now that I'm semi awake and most of the highway roar has gone from my head, I'll join in with thanks to Pat and Jane for putting up with us and opening your home for all us travelers. It was a great time and an all around good road trip experience.

To all of you who took time out of your lives to make the trip as well. I'm glad I got to meet you and talk however breifly and for those I didn't get to talk to.. maybe in Georgia next spring then eh?

Glad you made it safe and sound chy.
I don't know how I slept through you guys in the morning, sorry I messed the earlybird farewells. Hmm, maybe it was the mead? I got up around 7:30 and several of you were already on the road, understandably too.
See ya in May!

Now, if only Moe and Lynn would chime in, I haven't heard from the roaming duo as yet.

Oh yeah Pat..... 23 was a megasweet ride, especially after 400 miles of interstate... loved Portsmouth and the mountains of Kentucky and Virginia.. pretty dang

all i know is i want to pack my bags, load up the bike, and get back on the road...

Greg,

glad you made it back to sunshine--that was some weather we left in, huh?

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I'm back at work but all I want to do is go out and ride some more.

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Ozarks?

Sunday was pretty crappy for most of the ride like Scott and Pete said. We ran into high winds and rain but it finally tapered off enough for me to take my rain gear off when Pete and I split. Monday and Tuesday were just beautiful and I wish that I didn't have to slab it to get south because I close to some nice riding in VA.

I'd like to do the Ozarks but I don't have enough time off. I was checking in the upcoming rides section but I don't see any threads for it. Didn't someone post one or am I just imagining things.

The more I think about it, the more I'd like to just ride from rally to rally and cover the whole country but my lottery numbers haven't come up yet (I'd need to start playing first).

what happens on the rally stays on the rally. Glad I could meet you guys and gals, had a great time. Many thanks to Pat and Jane, hosts extraordinare. The worst part was riding home alone, 350 miles of rain. But it was well worth it.
the lone T-100

Hey Geoff,
I've been looking for you since the Rally. Appears you got
dumped, and had to re-register.
Anyway, it was a good time hanging out and riding with
everybody.

Uncle Charlie

Hi Pat. Lynn and Jim are officially chiming in. Thanks for a superb Rally. (Jane too! )

3,583 miles, 9 states, 15 days motorsickling.

We arrived home Saturday September 30 round 5pm. Lynn and I started our ride towards home from the Rally on Sunday. Leaving the Lafayette motel around 10:30 or 11am, we headed East along 5&20 trying to avoid the rain. Although the rain had mostly cleared by then. As we turned right on NY rt 14 we visited several wineries and bought 5 bottles of grape squeezins 3 of which we shleped to Florida. Talk about loaded down. Anyway we stayed on 14 into PA and picked up US15 at Trout Run. We slipped over the Susquehanna River at Sunbury for a most enjoyable, scenic ride along her (197) East bank making our way along dell and glen to the quaint Pennsylvania borough of Millersburg. Monday had us taking our leave at 10:30 on our way south to Silver Spring Maryland. We rolled along the Susquehanna until we reached the Harvey Taylor bridge in Harrisburg. Ever get a chance to motorcycle along the eastern shore of the Susquehanna, do it!

OK I can see where this is going, and we all have not the time so in synopsis, we visited relatives in Maryland, and in Virginia before we tried to ride the Blue Ridge on Wednesday. Rain thwarted our efforts and we hastened for the tobacco and linen ghost town of Danville VA. My word. Tobacco row in VA is dead. Hundreds of acres of beautiful brick warehouses, of the Dan river corporation tell the tales of second hand smoke and cheap child labor. Breaks my heart to see the once powerful Dibrell Brothers going the way of dial telephones...

If every you get a chance to roll Danville's main street at the crack of dawn, again, do it. An eclectic mixture of architecture awaits you as the long shadows play well with the era gone by. A trip back into time if every I have witnessed such a critter.

We said arrivederci to Danville round 11a.m. and made our way to yes, a testament to all southern boys, Darlington! There we called my bro who happened to be in Florence. We stayed the evening with him and the next day at the Santee river we finally got rolling on the cage slab and made our way home. Ah. The green green grass of home.

Our ride was most enjoyable as we rode ridiculously small amounts of miles and took in the scenery, the ambiance of the townships we rolled through. Lynn sleeping in each morn gave me the opportunity to ride in sleepy towns way before the hustle and bustle of each dawning day.

What more can I say? I can speak at length of our adventures during our return trip. The Red Rose Motel for one. No this trip we were not asked to leave any motels early, just change rooms...

There are those that ask about the Fall colors? Our reply is always, we used to in October, Canandaigua is just too cold during October and we would not give up the Rally, seeing our friends and riding with the bestest folks around, to have the time in October to see the colors.

Glad to hear you're both home safe.
Great to meet you guys.

pat and everyone, i had an blast! the dealership in vt only has about 8 triumphs at best. the trip back was fun up until saratoga! so gas and water don't mix so well? tried riding back to vt on the back of that freakin' harley.....that thing sucked to be on the back! made mat drop me off in whitehall, ny to go get his pickup. loaded it up at about 730 pm (broke down at 1:30) and home (still soaked) at 8:30. fun adventure all in all!

ps-in case there were a few folks wondering....i'm NOT a cop. just wear the hat to ****** with people. guess it worked.

Glad you're back in good ol VT! I'll be up there again on the 14th in Middlebury, Brandon and Manchester. Quite the Rt 7 corridor tour.

Maybe I shouldn't mention this but...

I left Pat's Sunday at 11 am, and rode 90 east in sunshine 270 miles to NW CT, and didn't hit a drop of rain. I shouldn't have bothered with the NWS / NOAA site forecast, for as a result of their advice, I wore a damned rain bag all the way, as it's not especially safe to suit on up the shoulder of I 90, with so few exit ramps to tuck into.

The nearly constant 30 to 40 MPH cross wind, on the other hand, got a little old. I had to tip the bike a few degrees over to the side top compensate most of the trip home.

Here it is folks, the completed Tonka bi-plane!



Upon construction, I was saddened to notice a couple of serious omissions from the assembly instructions and one fundamental piece of equipment was missing.

There were NO torque figures for the safe assembly of the plane.
There were no correct tyre inflation figures - the wheels supplied felt spongy to me.
The equipment omission? It's obvious that to install the wheels and axle and prevent excessive clockwise rotation of the axle, TWO pozidrive screwdrivers are required, not the ONE supplied ... tsk, tsk, tsk ...


I pressed on though and completed the build in just under 250hrs - not bad for a kit, and a bi-plane too!

I am considering a few upgrades and additions:
1. New wheels and better tyres.
2. Re-upholstered interior - original is a little too firm.
3. New paint job.
4. I'm going with Garmin for the GPS and I'm undecided between GPSMAP 296 or the more convenient iQue 3600a.
5. Of course I'd be stupid not to consider the L3 communications Stormscope!
6. Controls feel a little 'wooden' so that needs looking at too.

I'm keeping the 'old skool' hardtail - a nice touch IMO.

I have tried the Tonka website for the missing torque settings etc and I have even contact the Tonka Technical Department but as yet, worryingly, my e-mails have gone unanswered!

As soon as I get type approval from the CAA, I'm away!!



I think I need to do some work ...........


.

Don't forget to put an iPod holder conveniently located on the dash.

SH*T!
I knew there was something I'd missed.
Ok, screw the GPS, I'll go for the iPod instead - I'm limited for space in there!

Yeah...who really needs GPS when you can just listen to your iPod and eventually find your way.

You're never lost when you have a full tank of gas ...

You are going to need external tanks too, for the distances I think you are going to fly.

Just don't forget to disconnect the battery first...

I think Brent sells the screwdriver you needed for that.

Seriously, that little plane will bring a smile to your face for years to come.....