What Have You Being Doing With Your Non-triumph Today?

"Sharp dressed man"....yep, I've heard that about you @Eldon. Or maybe I read it on the bathroom stall wall.

Re. mileage, I figured out my total miles for 2024 counting all three bikes (plus the miles I did on the 2020 Street Glide before I sold to my nephew about a month and a half into the year) and it was 14,800 and some change. Heck, I only have 3K more than that on my car and I've had that now for six years this month!

 

Yes, in my previous job I was responsible for two sites, so doing between 78 and 105 miles per day commute

20,000 was easily done per year and a real pain

Now, I do 2 miles per day, x3 days per week

I racked some miles up on a Skoda Fabia but always fancied a Mercedes AMG 63
One day I put £45 in fuel into the Fabia. The " bird" on the other side of the pump put £20 into the...... yes you guessed...... 63

Be lucky if it got off the forecourt in the UK with twenty quids worth

 

Our weekly Sunday morning group ride took us up to Florence, a town about an hour north of Tucson. Our destination was The Irish Cowboy, an Irish pub that serves breakfast, too. My bike of choice today was my H-D Street Glide. There were seven riders (six guys and me...what else is new?) aboard two BMW's and five on Harleys. The only other Triumph rider in our group is riding very little these days and hasn't ridden with us in months (health-related issues )

We got parking "RIF" as Steve calls it (Right In Front) the Florence mural across the street from us.





The two-lane road to Florence from Tucson is pretty much a straight shot. But with sunny blue skies, good friends, and rocking tunes, it's a very relaxing ride. Well, until Steve passed a big truck. I had to wait for awhile to pass to rejoin him. But, hey, it was a great opportunity to "open 'er up" and check out triple digits ever so briefly. (103 mph in case you're wondering). This road, Arizona 79, is always the one we take when we have to ride to or through Phoenix--we avoid going up Interstate 10 as much as we possibly can.




A bit about Florence... People mostly think of it as the town that has a big prison (which it does--a VERY big one). But it has other things going for it--including The Irish Cowboy.












It was in the 30'sºF when we got up this morning and 45ºF when we headed out from our garage to meet the group. This was the temperature when we arrived back at our garage around 1:00pm-ish. A beautiful day and a beautiful ride with friends!

 

Had a little foray into North Yorkshire this morning to collect some items, unless you drove a good 4X4 you wouldn't get that far. I took a Ford Ranger and it performed superb. I was a little surprised to see how many family saloon cars had been abandoned due to being stuck, some had been completely covered in snow, a few hamlets were shut off, people unable to get out. Be careful out there, I carried plenty of emergency kit, enough to last a few days at least, and assist anyone that was stranded.

 

Having grown up in Minnesota, I do NOT miss that white (and gray and brown) stuff, @Iceman! Nor the temperatures that produce it. The first couple of your pictures appeal to the "romantic" version of a white winter while the others show how it really is.

 

Your ride reports continue to entertain @Sandi T . You are so lucky to have the weather and interesting places to visit. I’m sat looking out the window to failing snow.

 

I am a little envious of the weather you have in Tucson and surrounding areas, keep those posts coming, they cheer us all up, and hopefully here in the UK the summer should be good.

 

Sorry about your weather, @Wessa and @Iceman. I well remember bleak and cold winters from my growing up years in the northland of Minnesota.

Let me ask you guys this. I never did manage to post a ride report on our big Sturgis--Minnesota wedding trip of this past July and August. I was thinking maybe I'd do one here in January so folks with nasty weather could do a bit of a vicarious touring. Is it too late to post something like that? Let me know what you think.

 

No problem @Sandi T, just do it. The membership will love it and those of us living in the the cold, wet and snowy UK can dream of the sunshine❤️

 

That goes for me too. Your reports are always worth reading and with the freezing temperatures and white/grey/brown stuff here in the UK there's not much else to be done with our bikes: Too cold even to tinker with them.

I did run the engine on my 'Cup for fifteen minutes or so (just to keep the oil distributed around the engine) the other day. Such a soul stirring sound; only a couple of months to wait.

 

Not to late at all, I will look forward to your post Sandi, I am sure it will be really enthralling, especially in the current UK climate, something to cheer us all up.

 

Ok! This weekend I'll get started on a Sturgis--MInnesota wedding trip report and hopefully bring a bit of vicarious fun and sun your way. It will be fun for me to share some memories of our adventures, too!

 

Not too late; I always feel both envious and cheered up by your blue skies!!!

 

I spent a few days at Barnard Castle last week, the weather was very cold, lots of snow and ice, thought it would make a change from the Lake District and Scotland. The hotel food was excellent, as was the 3 hours in the spa facilities. Next break is the Middle East, at least the conflicts are easing thankfully.

 

That looks idyllic - where in the Middle East are you headed?

 

Cairo, Alexandrea, Jordan and then back to the red sea resort of Sharm for snorkelling. As long as you stay well away from conflict zones like Syria and Iraq it is pretty safe, as long as you take the usual safety precautions. I am just waiting to see what the insurance comes back with, they tend to get twitchy about certain countries, and without insurance it would be highly irresponsible to risk travelling.

 

Went to Alexandrea a few years ago. I guess you are travelling with your wife, if so make sure stays well covered up. The local men are particularly abusive to White European women mate.

 

Lovely; I have been to areas of the Middle East a fair few times but never Jordan, it's somewhere I'd very much like to go.

 

On the 18th January, it's been two years since I took delivery of my beautiful Fireblade.
BEFORE:


It was off the road last year for quite a while to have the fairings custom painted...
AFTER:

 

Lovely bike Mrs V, the paint looks great, hope you have many miles of happy riding.