Featured What you been doing with your TRIUMPH today??

riding, 500kms

 

What an absolutely gorgeous view, Armando! What were the temperatures like for you on this ride??

 

Hi Sandi
Between 20C early in the morning, to 30C around 3pm
It has cool down since the rain season started about 2 weeks ago

 

Hi Armando. Thanks! We're hoping for our monsoon season to start soon. It's due to start any day now. We're well into the usual dates of our monsoons. Happy riding!

 

This morning I rode my Speed Triple RS with our Sunday morning group up Mt. Lemmon in the interest of staying as cool as possible for as long as possible! Our daytime highs have been well over 100ºF for well over a week. It's usually 20-30 degrees cooler at the top of Mt. Lemmon than on the floor of the valley in Tucson so Lemmon is a very popular spot for bikers, cyclists, and hikers during the summer months. Actually, it's beautiful year round but from about Milepost 12 on up it's just too cold during the winter for the motorcycles--well, for the motorcyclists. Plus there's lots of black ice and unexpected snow around shady curves making it not only cold and but also dangerous.

The altitude at Milepost 0 at the base of the mountain is about 3,000 feet and at the top it's more than 9,000 feet. The mileage from base to summit is 25 miles. So to ride up, turn around, and ride back down is a glorious 50 miler. And that's what we did today. We got an earlier than usual start at 7:30am so when we got up to the parking lot by the Iron Door restaurant it wasn't even open yet. Our group had decided to go to breakfast at a New Mexican place called Poco and Mom's after we rode the mountain making for a shorter ride home in the heat.



If you're interested, here's a link to more about Mt. Lemmon. The roadway is called the Catalina Highway (it's in the Catalina National Forest) and the drive up takes you through six biological life zones.

https://tucsonshiddengem.com/mt-lemmons-life-zones/#:~:text=The 25-mile drive climbs,drive from Mexico to Canada.



Typically we make a stop at a rest area known as Middle Bear to add a jacket liner and perhaps some warmer gloves (well, I do, anyway). Today we just kept on going. I thought I'd be warm enough in my mesh jacket but by the time we had turned around at the top and were heading back down my fingers were numb! Ok, I'm a wuss. The lowest temperature I saw on Speedy's screen was 64ºF. But that doesn't count the wind chill, right? I didn't get too worried, though, because I knew that when we hit Milepost 8 or so the temperatures would begin to rise again--and they did just that--up to about 95ºF by the time we were back down on the desert floor.

Poco and Mom's is one of the only places in Tucson to get New Mexican Mexican food which is much like "regular" Mexican food but with lots of green chili, blue corn, hominy, and a few other differences. Steve and I love New Mexican food so one of things we love to do when we ride to Santa Fe, New Mexico like we did this past June is EAT!

My Speed Triple and Steve's Street Glide waiting for us outside the restaurant. All the shady spots (which were few) were already taken...... We had a nice representation of bikes today: my Speed Triple, a Street Triple, an Indian Scout, a Suzuki GSXR 1000, a BMW R1250 RT, and three Harleys (hubby's Street Glide, a Heritage Classic, and a Road Glide Ultra).


Speaking of Santa Fe, I had the Santa Fe breakfast which consists of two eggs with green chili sauce on a blue corn tortilla with refried beans and a flour tortilla on the side. I ordered sopapillas with honey to top off my meal.



The ride back to our house from Poco & Mom's is only about 10 miles thankfully because the temperatures continued to rise while we sat in the air conditioned restaurant enjoying our food and each others company. By the time we got home it was 94ºF according to Speedy--a 30 degree temperature swing from the top half of Mt. Lemmon. I believe the high today later in the afternoon was about 105ºF. By that time we were indoors in our air conditioning!

 

@Sandi T that looks like a good ride out; you have some interesting geography locally to you.

 

Yep, we are blessed with amazing geography here, @Mrs Visor. Mt. Lemmon in particular is a real gem, especially for motorcyclists. I'm sure you would absolutely love riding "the mountain" as many call it. And the base of the mountain is only 17 miles from our driveway!

 

I have been working on 2 projects at this time. One is a 09 Speedmaster the other is a 07 Bonnie.
The speedmaster I bought from a guy. It had the front end damaged and removed as well as the tank. The rest of the bike is unharmed. I bought some forks a clamp tree, wheel with tire and discs, fender and tank. I am piecing it together.
At this point I am trying to figure out how to get the pads on the front to release in the caliper so I can slip it over the disc. I have the line off so there is no hydraulic pressure on them.

 

I also am working on my 07 Bonny. The carbs were just cleaned, rejetted, assembled, and tuned at a local Triumph shop. I got it home and it did not want to take rpm over 5K. It would get to 6.5k but sputtering. I cruised it at 80 mph for a few miles. Once the rpms come up it will smooth out a bit. Once it is parked and shut off, it becomes hard to start again. Going to check for air leaks and clamp pressure at the petcock.
The blue bike in the background is a 2014 Thunderbird. A dented tank is due for repair.

 

Well, that's keeping you busy!

 

Day off work for me. I rode my Street Triple to have the new Raximo adjustable levers fitted that I bought as soon as I realised what a difference they made having had them put on the Blade. Managed to time it perfectly for a huge downpour but at least I knew it was likely so had my wet weather gear on. It was just a bit of drizzle for the return trip, so not all bad - bike is still filthy though.

Ordinarily I would have just kept on riding but it looks iffy for the rest of the day weather - wise so I called it a day.

 

Trying out my new YSS,shocks.Around Sandbanks. Also fitted tec,paddock stand bobbins

 

Had to go into Middlesbrough (not normally a biking destination) so thought I would take advantage of my location and visit an iconic landmark on Teesside.











The Transporter Bridge - sadly no longer operating and not likely to do so in the near future.

Then on to Saltburn by the Sea for lunch from my favourite bakers.


Nice view



Cheeky pavement parking





Not spotted this old post box before from the Victorian era.

 

I remember my Uncle taking my brothers and I accross on that in his bubble car. Must have been nearly 50 years ago

 

Love all your photos, Steve! I want to come over there and ride around with you one of these days. You do see some really interesting sights. And that bakery looks like it probably has some pretty yummy stuff within.

 

You would be most welcome Sandi.
There is certainly plenty to see and many, many fine bakeries to enjoy

 

Wow, at first I thought you'd built that bridge yourself out of your Meccano set Steve.

 

It would have collapsed by now!

 

Actor and comedian Terry Scott once misread a map and drove right off Middlesbrough's Transporter Bridge.
In March 1974, the Carry On and Terry and June actor thought he was coming to a fixed bridge and a regular toll crossing and somehow drove his Jaguar off the road end. Fortunately, he landed unhurt in the safety net below rather than in the freezing Tees water.

 

Now you mention it I seem to remember something about this - somewhere amongst the useless things you keep in your head