The time at the Mid-Ohio races was fantastic. Lots of really exciting
races, though it was sad to see Miguel crash out twice. Got to admire his
"win or crash" mentality. I think he is just about the toughest competitor
out there. When you consider that a year ago he won both 600 and the
superbike races at Daytona with a leg so badly broken that he still needed
crutches to walk. That's never say die!
The KLR list dinner didn't come off, but I did get to meet Ed from Windsor,
OH, who is on the list. I got to see his perfect condition red Transalp.
There was another really nice Transalp parked next his. I've always known
that Honda has a reputation for great fit and finish on its bikes, and
seeing those Transalps made it very clear to me. Don't get me wrong, I
love my KLR, but the level of detail on the Hondas was incredible. I still
wish they would bring the bike (or better yet, the Africa Twin) back to the
states. Ed had to leave before dinner, but we did have a nice talk.
I made up for no KLR dinner Saturday night by getting to go out with
another group of friends, and racer Steve Rapp joined us. He's the man who
had the horrible crash at Road America that was featured in Sports
Illustrated last week. He was a really nice and low-key guy. A really
good representative of our sport.
Sunday there was a huge crowd at the track, and traffic was a mess. That's
when I discovered the real downside of the 16-tooth sprocket. As the
traffic crept along, I had to keep slipping the clutch to go with the slow
flow. With the stock gearing, I could have cruised along in first. (As a
side note, riding to work today I noticed that the gearing for riding
around town isn't as nicely spaced with the new setup either.) My final
opinion is that the modification was a good one, but the advantage is all
on the open road.
The ride home on Monday was uneventful but fun. We took 30 east out of
Mansfield till it hooked up with US 250 going south and east. The road for
the first 50 miles or so was divided highway and such before turning into
the beautiful road past the lake. When we crossed over into West Virginia
we once again got turned around and had to do a bit of scrambling to get on
the right road.
From here to State Road 7, the road was mountain twisties the whole way.
As long as we were stuck behind a group of MGs out for a Monday ride I had
no problem keeping up, but once they pulled over for mechanical problems, I
was left for dust by my friend's CBR. (He was not being rude - I encouraged
him to follow his own pace as I ride at wuss + 1).
Stopped for lunch in a little bitty WV town, Cameron, perhaps? Great
pancakes and sausage at the caf .
We finished my part of the ride by taking SR 7 from US 250 into Morgantown.
While SR 7 was in no way as impressive as 250 was, it fit my style of
riding much better. I'm going to have to spend more time out that
direction in the future.
I was glad to arrive home, and I was really glad I didn't have to follow my
friend through the traffic to Frederick, MD.
Tomorrow: Part III - Lessons learned
Ralph
Ralph E. Hanson
99 KRL 650
http://www.wvu.edu/~journal2