I’ve been riding my motorcycle a lot more recently. Logically I can attribute this to the rising gas prices, but I don’t want to complain about that. Honestly, it is lot a more about the enjoyment I get from riding it. Riding the bike is so much unlike driving a car that it’s hard to describe to someone who hasn’t experienced it. You’re not just traveling along through the landscape, you are part of it. The weather affects you directly (there’s no avoiding it), and the road is just mere inches away from your feet.
In the car, the transportation is something you participate in. In the motorcycle, you are the vehicle. In the car turns and bumps jolt throw you around, but on the motorcycle you and the machine move as one over the bumps and through the turns as if you are a single entity. It’s easy to step outside and look at the entire endeavor as simple thrill-seeking, but it’s not as simple as that. It’s liberation, it’s power, and it’s wonderful. Riding a motorcycle through the countryside through the turns and hills, it must be like what a bird feels.
Commuting on a bike isn’t quite as nice as all of that, but it’s still a lot better than driving a car. Even in the oppressively hot summer, the drenching cold rain, the deluge of dusk-released bugs, and the occasional fear-inspiring lightening blasts, I’d rather be on the bike. That’s not to say there aren’t challenges…
Take, for example, transportation of items other than yourself. Space on my bike is very limited. This morning, I wanted bagels. I had to resort to desperate measures.
People are often offended by motorcyclists. The few bad apples are remembered, and so people resent all of us. Perhaps there’s a twinge of jealousy behind the resentment as well. This arrangement at least gives me an opportunity to spread good will. Maybe I will toss bagels at people who give me cross grumpy morning stares… I will NOT attempt to spread cream cheese, though - that would be unsafe.
I really need a better luggage situation. Laptop, clothes, climbing gear, and a five pound bag of rice stress the limits of that Nelson Rigg bag…
Yesterday I rode to lunch without anything on the back for the first time in a while. If you commute daily, unload sometime and just go have fun. It really is a different beast without the load. I don’t know how people enjoy riding with a backpack - especially the long distance - and especially in the twisties:
I was recently going through some backups I created back in early 2000, when I discovered some pictures I’d taken with my first digital camera. I have no idea what the model of the camera was, but it was very much first generation. My grandfather loved technology, and I would often get hand-me-downs from him, one of which was this camera. It’s shocking how far the technology has come since that time. The pictures below are not spectacular, and were at full resolution only 420×240 (.1008MP) pixels, 24bit color, and only about 30kB in size. In comparison, my current phone takes pictures many times larger than that (5MP), with better color depth, and with a bigger lens.
The pictures are all from, I think, Cypresss Gardens (SWAMP), a place my mom and I visited on one of our many trips to Folly Beach, SC. I have many fond memories of going to the beach with her, and it’s a shame these are the only pictures that I know of. Neither of us is actually pictured, as I think we both felt about the same way about cameras.
I’m pretty sure the location where these were all taken is somewhere around here: Cypress Gardens Information
I’ve been a long time happy owner of the SD800 camera. Despite my objections about the megapixel inflation game that Canon is playing right alongside all of the other manufacturers, it’s been an awesome camera for me. Sadly, my SD800 was stolen over the past weekend and I was forced to purchase a new SD870. My initial thoughts on this camera are below - these are as a comparison to the SD800 I purchased before.
In a nutshell, I love the Canon SD series (”Digital ELPH“). They have small lenses and small sensors, but they can take some awesome pictures. They are small enough to be in your pocket at all times, so you end up taking a lot of shots with them that you’d never get with a bigger camera. Do they match up to a DSLR (or even a bigger “prosumer” camera)? Of course not, but they hold their own quite well.
Canon in general has had my support for quite a while for a variety of reasons. This is my fourth Canon digital camera (I’ve also owned an SD230 and Powershot S1), and I’m sticking with the company. Besides making good sensors and lenses, I am very happy that they also tend to use standard memory formats, unlike other companies.
On a side note, my mother’s Powershot S1 (my old camera) recently exhibited some odd behavior that was obviously due to sensor problems. It turns out Canon is well aware of this issue and is repairing/replacing all cameras affected by the problem free of charge (including shipping) out of warranty. For more details: http://www.imaging-resource.com/badccds.html. In my mom’s case, the S1 was replaced by an S5 free of charge. Thank you, Canon!
In short, the SD870is is the direct upgrade to the SD800is, but with a bigger screen (3″ vs. 2.5″). Canon’s SD line is confusing to follow, and the model numbers don’t necessarily make sense. Just because it has a bigger number doesn’t mean it’s a better camera. The SD800/SD870 both share the wider angle lens, which I’ve grown quite accustomed to. On the face the SD870 just seems like a minor upgrade (with the exception of the screen).
Initial impressions:
The new 3″ screen is awesome. It’s huge, and it provides a LOT of detail. The colors look great. Losing the optical viewfinder is not even an issue, as it’s always been a weak viewfinder on the entire SD line. I don’t ever see people using viewfinders on this form-factor camera, so props to Canon for dropping it. The new screen is perfectly big enough for composing and reviewing your picture. Get a screen protector.
The power button is larger and protrudes more. This is actually bad, as it allows for easier turning on of the camera in your pocket. This is probably the biggest weakness, and I wish Canon had not done this. The old design was perfect.
The auto and manual modes have been consolidated to the same physical switch. Previously I was constantly switching modes pulling the camera out of my pocket. Now it stays in the same mode unless I change it manually (through the set button menu). This means switching from auto to digital macro is easier as well.
Focusing and general responsiveness seems faster. Not much.
Low light support seems better.
The 8MP is probably useless. Less pictures on my 2GB card now.
It feels a bit less sturdy than the SD800. Not flimsy, just not as much of a tank as before.
I really like that the ISO being used, even when on “Auto” or “Hi” ISO mode, is displayed on the screen now. I don’t know that this helps at all, but I like seeing this info. The ISO chosen is now displayed in the review information as well. This used to only be show if you manually selected an ISO value. I don’t know if it’s recorded in the EXIF information.
The battery meter is now always displayed instead of only when the power is low.
ISO shift. If you turn it on and put it on the print button, the print button flashes blue if the ISO is too low for the lighting conditions. Press the print button, and it shifts the ISO up to the lowest value that’ll work. So 80 might become 120 or 250. You can also set it to “auto ISO shift”, and it always shifts it up. Not sure how the latter differs from “Auto” or “Hi”.
The (previously absolutely useless) print button can be assigned functions now. Most useful function is screen blank, but there are a couple of others - for example, toggle the display overlay on and off.
Reviewing mode is now a button you press on the front of the camera instead of an option on the mode switch. This is a great move in my mind, as previously I would consistently switch to review mode while pulling the camera out of my pocket.
The four-way pad has become a method for selecting the camera mode as well. If you roll your finger around the wing, the mode changes. It’s kind of like the ipod, only less sensitive, and I haven’t really decided if it’s a gimmick or not.
Canon still hasn’t fixed some issues that have bugged me - like the fact the camera forgets you’re in burst mode when you turn the camera off, but over all this is a good improvement. If they’d only left the power button alone, I’d have no real complaints about this upgrade to the SD800.
If you search Google for Syntax - Pride, you’ll find quite a few blog posts mentioning the song; most of which found it by watching Nip Tuck or Bones. The latter is where I first heard it (Season 1 Episode 16, I believe), and I immediately fell in love. Imagine my dismay to find out the group only lasted a year, and the album is not easy to find.
Sure, I can buy it from Amazon (and other stores), but as an import, at $25-$30, and only as a physical copy. I’ve tried to stop purchasing physical copies of music, and the fact that arbitrary limitations keep me from getting this CD at a reasonable price frustrates me. The label, for whatever reason, doesn’t want to sell this digitally, and so I’m forced to decide between not getting the music (ethically right), buying it as an import (it’s too expensive to justify), or resorting to other methods. I really do believe I should pay for the music I download (if for no reason other than to vote with my money), and I’ve all but stopped downloading music without without buying it (or it being released by the copyright holder), so it’s hard to decide what to do. If I feel strongly enough about supporting the artists and paying for the music I get, then the answer should be simple. Is music important enough to violate your own ethical code, or is it so important that to do so is deeply wrong? I am perfectly comfortable with sharing mix tapes, but downloading the whole album is acknowledging the worth of the music to you. If it’s worth something, why wouldn’t you want to help support the person who made it happen?
The song Pride is beautiful (although I’d drop the bit in the middle) and you should give it a listen. I anticipate hearing the rest of the album… somehow.
I recently had another opportunity to visit Ireland for business and again (due mostly to the price of tickets over the weekend) I was able to spend the weekend in Dublin. This is my third visit that included a weekend, so I decided this time to roam outside the city. Ideally, I would have liked to rent a vehicle and travel the countryside myself, but this time I didn’t think I had the time and/or resources to do such. Instead, I turned to the professionals to show me the sights.
The tour started off with a two hour train ride to Limerick, on the western coast of Ireland. There we switched to the bus that drove us around for the majority of the day. The dark red light is our path for the day, with the trip starting off going the southern route and then returning by the northern route.
The first stop on the bus tour was at Bunratty Castle, which wasn’t really what I had previously thought of when I heard the word castle. It’s an impressive building, sure, but just not what I was expecting.
Although it’s not very big, it was complete with a dungeon, turrets, and beautiful stained glass windows. The majority of the adornments are authentic from the same time as the castle, but actually came from other castles. This includes the furniture and glass windows.
Outside the castle is a folk park designed to mimic the style of the time when the castle was in active use.
This features reconstructions of historical cottages and buildings, recreating the general feel of the 19th century with a period style village main street. Old tools, furniture and artefacts are displayed, with the village kept alive by some inhabited shops, an old home bakery and peat fires in cottages. –Wikipedia
This included thatched roofs, waterwheels, and a church.
After the castle we started the part of the tour I really was interested in - seeing the Cliffs of Moher and then the countryside. The first stop was at a O’ Connor’s pub in Doolin, where I had an unexpected surprise:
Yes, that sticker is from the very pub I mentioned in a previous post - one of my favorite Irish pubs in the DC area!
The view outside the pub was awesome, even despite the bad weather:
The Cliffs of Moher were incredibly crowded, but were very impressive to see. Careful examination leads me to believe these would be very climbable, except for the lack of somewhere to stand at the bottom. With some proper traditional gear and a little gumption, these would prove to be an enjoyable climb.
The Irish, apparently, do not always follow directions. The paths past the “do not cross” signs were very well trampled. The guards also seemed to ignore the trespass.
After the cliffs the bus proceeded down some very narrow and very twisty roads. Quite a few times we had issues passing other traffic, including one very close incident with a huge excavator that prompted the entire bus to applaud when the driver made it through without incident.
After a little while on these roads we arrived at The Burren, a very barren part of the west coast of Ireland where large limestone fields dominate the landscape. We got a chance to see some of these, and they proved to be quite photogenic:
Our guide told us that a large variety of species end up growing in the cracks between the limestone, likely due to deposits left by the various birds. Plants that wouldn’t be normally found in Ireland can be found here, including some very nice flowers.
Our bus is off in the distance in this picture:
I spy rock climbers!
After that, it was more coastline driving and a few more scenic shots.
All in all, the rail tour was a lot of fun, but I probably won’t go for that sort of thing again. Rail Tours Ireland was nothing but professional, but I’m just not really suited for that type of adventure. I’m too independent when it comes to travel, and I’d rather not be directed everywhere. Schedules don’t belong on vacations, either, and we were definitely constrained by time the entire tour.
I ended up leaving my hotel at about 0600 on Saturday morning and didn’t return until 2200. I was lucky that the hotel was right beside the train station where the tour started and stopped, or my day would have been even longer. Next time I’ll rent a vehicle or get a cheap flight to somewhere else in Europe.
On Sunday I took a quick bus and walking tour of the city where I took a few more interesting pictures.
Spring is finally here, and the weather has been taunting us with beautiful days and yet we’ve been spending most of our time in the climbing gym instead of going out on real rock. By yesterday we’d had enough - the weather was perfect and the rock was calling out to us. Forget pesky work (that’s what vacation time is for), we were going climbing. The crew this time was my original partner in climb, Nick, and our new climbing partner Vivian.
Legend: Nick is in the blue shirt and I am in the orange.
When I say the weather was awesome, I mean it. Mid 70s, clear sky, nice breeze, few bugs. We couldn’t ask for a nicer first day of the season outside.
Great Falls Park is a a National Park split by the Potomac river and it extends on both the Maryland and Virginia sides of the river. Here Nick is surveying the route ahead. The rock you see in the picture is on the Maryland side and, despite looking pretty steep from this angle, is not that amazing for climbing. The river is significantly higher than it was last year, so we were a little worried about finding a good place to stand on the bottom.
Before shots
We start the abseil down, with Nick going first. There’s a path we can walk around, but it’s good to go this way when the water’s high. We also want to become as comfortable with doing so as possible on the small pitches as we might have to finish out long multi-pitch climbs with an abseil down.
And the climbing begins!
Vivian coming back down after successfully reaching the top
Random candid shot
Nick forgot his climbing shoes, and sneakers are almost useless for this sort of stuff, so barefoot it was. He did remarkably well, despite the obvious painful nature of such climbing:
I belayed Nick mostly, due to Vivian being much lighter than him. Although she can handle the weight difference, it does lift her off of the ground if either of us falls, which can be a little treacherous on the rock.
Towards the end of the day I started to get artistic
Who watches the watchers?
The last climb up was after it already started getting dark.
Finishing up
You must be this tall to ride this ride
Finally, the Great Falls of Great Falls Park
We finished it off with a few cold pints of beer at an awesome Irish Pub in Great Falls, VA.
This project is largely irrelevant, as the WMATA website now has a live Google Maps version of their rail map with the same exact information available. I did this long before they provided such a service and keep it around just because I found the project interesting when I did it.
Having access to GIS software well before Google Maps made public consumer mapping popular and prevalent, I got curious as to how closely the public maps provided by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) matched the physical layout of the tracks. Obviously the rail map provided by the service is fairly stylized. A full and clearer image of this map can be obtained by going to the WMATA Rail Map on their website. I’ve shrunk it here to hopefully fit under fair use and not get harassed for copyright infringement.
My first thought was that the outer stations seem to be a lot closer together than they are in actuality. I also wondered how much obfuscation was done for security reasons. The stations are all public knowledge, of course, but sometimes these things are hidden. The actual underground rail paths are still an unknown to me, of course, but I imagine those are public record as well.
I started by parsing out the addresses from the Station Listing on the website. Each station is in its own page and so I just pulled down all of the pages and parsed out the addresses. This gave me a listing of station “colors” and addresses.
Next I took the addresses and geocoded them using ESRI’s ArcMap product. ArcMap is a professional level GIS software package that offers data processing, mapping, and geocoding support. These days, the same functionality as I used ArcMap for could easily be found in free services available on the internet. Yahoo, for example, offers a free geocoding API that can easily be used to convert these addresses into real world coordinates. Google Maps, or OpenStreetMap are both free mapping interfaces.
Once I had geocoded all of the addresses I had a list of points that made up the station lines. With a little connecting (manually done, given the small number of points), I ended up with a vector map of the network.
Finally, I overlayed the vector data I had just generated on some base map data of the area that I had available from another project at work.
And, for reference, the map provided by WMATA follows.
This pretty much confirmed my suspicions. The WMATA map takes a lot of liberty with the Orange line (those stops west of Rosslyn are pretty far apart), but overall does try to give an indication of how far apart two stations on the same line are. It’s very difficult to produce an accurate map that is quickly legible and that also conveys the important information quickly. Most users of the metro system don’t care how far apart two stations are, so not as much emphasis is placed on preserving this information. All in all, I think they did a pretty good job.
I’m curious if the NYC subway preserves this information more effectively. Given the size of the railway railway transit system, the maps are larger and much more detailed, which allows for more accurate preservation of the true spatial information.
This weekend a friend of mine (Vivian) and I went on a backpacking trip. This was her first backpacking trip (although she’d been on long hiking trips many times before), and we got off to a bit of a late start on Saturday morning. Since we were a little pressed for time and not quite sure how much actual hiking she would be up for we decided to pick somewhere fairly easy and close. In the Northern Virginia area that pretty much always means a trip out to the Shenandoah National Park. There are plenty of other places to hike, but not quite so many that allow overnight camping.
Located less than two hours away from most of the Washington, D.C. area, the Shenandoah National Park is a very popular destination for people wanting to get a taste of the outdoors. Luckily, the weather was a bit on the chilly side (mid 40s-mid 30s over the weekend), so we didn’t encounter the usual horde of weekend warriors decked out in the latest in fashionable gear from The North Face. The park makes its money off of these people, sure, but it’s still nice when they stay home.
For this weekend’s trip we decided to go down to the Matthew’s Arm area (and not just because of the similarity to my name). This area boasts a great waterfall view (off of the Tuscarora Trail), some good elevation change, and a decent chance of finding a good camping spot. There are also plenty of trails in the area allowing us to tailor the length of our trip as we went.
The day started out with absolutely perfect weather and temperature, with just a splattering of clouds in the sky and just warm enough that we didn’t really need more than a layer or two to stay warm. Considering the forecast when we planned this trip was calling for cold and rainy the entire weekend, we couldn’t have asked for nicer conditions.
From the beginning of the trip it was readily apparent who would be carrying the majority of the load (my pack is on the right, and holds a full 50L more than hers).
Of course, the bag looks just right when she’s wearing it, so mine must be ridiculously over-sized:
The last time I was on this trail the water was in fairly short supply, but thankfully that wasn’t an issue this time. The waterfalls were all very active, and the river by our campsite was flowing quite nicely. This did mean a couple of water crossings, of course, but none that we couldn’t manage with a bit of careful stepping.
Spring is definitely just around the corner, and the trees and flowers are all starting to leaf and bloom. These little flowers were everywhere along the trail, and while I don’t know what they are called, they are very photogenic.
We managed to find a good place to camp somewhere in the middle of the land of a million rocks (the trail was filled with large rocks). This entire area was obviously within a flood area at one point in time (due to the rocks and general shape of the terrain), but that wasn’t a concern for this weekend.
As usual, my whisperlight handled the task of heating water for food.
As per NPS rules for wilderness camping (and as is just general good sense), our food was stored in a “bear bag” high above the ground in case any such creatures decided to come sniffing around.
Being in the middle of the woods doesn’t mean you can ignore proper hygiene!
Being in the middle of the woods also doesn’t mean you have to give up some comforts.
The weekend ended quite a bit colder and cloudier than it started, with the smell of wetness (rain? snow?) in the air. We were quite happy to make it back to the car when we did and as warm as we did.
A cloudy sky might have made the views a little darker, but this part of the country is still beautiful.
While a short trip, it was a lot of fun, and I think Vivian’s gotten bitten by the backpacking bug, so I imagine there will be more trips in the future.
The rest of the pictures are available in my photo gallery.
For me, every backpacking trip is planned almost as if I’ve never been backpacking before. The only thing that changes (since I’m such a gearhead), is that I always have more to choose from each time I pack. Luckily, I always seem to remember the crucial items (often just as I’m pulling out of the driveway) - mainly because I keep most of the gear in the same place.
While packing for the last trip I went on (to Ramsey’s Draft, VA) I decided to end this cycle of forgetfulness and so I documented every item I packed (except for clothes). Now I’m finally putting that online.
Backpack - I have an “old” Jansport Rockies 100 that has been with me for quite some time. It’s a large pack, which only encourages overpacking. Still, I can’t find any reason to replace it.
Sleeping bag - temperature appropriate. I am currently rethinking my sleeping bags - for a long time I got by just fine with a 20F synthetic bag, but having recently purchased and absolutely loved my North Face Solar Flare -20F, I’m moving towards a range of down bags. For this trip I plan on purchasing the Mountain Hardware 32F Down bag.
Sleeping pad - A sleeping pad serves for more than just comfort (rocks, uneven ground) by insulating you with air from the ground and thus reducing the amount of heat that leeches into the ground. Get at least a 3/4 length pad. Self-inflatable is best.
Camp Stool - this is a purely comfort item, but everyone seems to love using mine when I bring it. Mine’s almost ten years old now, but REI sells a similar lightweight camp stool.
Water filter - Obviously an essential. I have an old Sweetwater Microfilter from before MSR sold them (I think). Change the filters, and they last forever.
Stove (and fuel) - MSR Whisperlite, as a fairly recent purchase. I have no complaints with this stove, although there might be better ones out there. Don’t forge t the fuel!
Pot - Something to boil water in, at a minimum. For this MSR makes a perfectly serviceable Alpine Stowaway aluminium pot. One medium sized one does me fine for 2-3 people trips.
Bowl, Cup, Utensils - For pure zen, go Alpine Bowl. It’s not fancy, but it’s light and works. An alternative are the squishy silicon bowls. Any spoon will do. Or just eat from the bag. No gourmet allowance here.
Pack cover - get one that fits your bag, and keep it handy. Even waterproof backpacks leak.
Utility rope - for hanging bear bags, etc. Consider a small pouch that can be tied to the rope to hold rocks for weight for throwing.
Water/camp shoes - especially if there will be stream crossings. Flipflops or Solomon Amphibian water shoes. The latter are loved by me.
Hat - not necessary, but can be nice. I have a floppy brimmed hat.
Knife - Something simple is fine, but you never know when you’ll need one.
Matches - Something to start a fire and light your stove.
Flashlight & batteries - I’m a big fan of LED head lamps. Don’t forget the spare batteries.
Pack towel - Something microfiber and small. From sweat to spills, these are handy.
Tent - trip specific.
Collapsible hiking poles - A lot of people don’t like these. I love them. I have three sets because I have forgotten them too many times and had to buy at the trail head.
Water bottles - At a minimum I take 4L of water on every trip. I can always pour it out, but not always add to that. Take 6L (per person) if water will be scarce. I use a combination of Nalgene water bottles and Platypus water bags.
Clothes - I almost left this one off… Appropriate clothing for the weather! If you pack synthetic or wool for everything, you won’t have to pack as much (sweat doesn’t render it unusable for multiple days). Proper clothing for the weather is a long discussion.
Stuff sacks - Not just of the compressible variety. Waterproof stuff sacks come in handy. Everything gets wrapped in one (clothes for one, food for another). Also one can be used as a bear bag.
Resealable bags - Traditionally I packed clothes in ziplock bags, but years of lack of problems with water getting all the way inside my waterproof stuff-sacks has made me more lazy about this. The side-effect is that I never have bags to store trash in. Every trip should have at least one resealable bag.
(This was originally posted on on the Adventure Rider board at: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=250623)At the time of writing this, I had only been riding for about 4 months, and, until that weekend, I hadn’t done any trips longer than a single day. I wanted to make a longer trip, and the Blue Ridge Parkway seemed like the perfect choice. It’s filled with long stretches of well maintained roads, lots of curves, and some beautiful scenery. The weather turned out to be absolutely awesome, so I packed up the bike and off I went.
This doesn’t really qualify as “adventure” compared to a lot of the other reports, but it was still a lot of fun. I don’t have much to say, and the pictures are the best part of most ride reports. Hopefully someone’s work day is a little less boring because of this. :)
The plan was a two day trip from Washington, DC to… wherever I felt like stopping and back again. I ended up making it to about 50 miles south of Roanoke, VA.
All loaded up and ready to go.
She’s not “adventure”, but she tries. She might be ugly, but the beauty’s on the inside (even though some of it’s leaking out in various places). The Nelson Rigg bags worked wonderfully.
Mr. Garcia watched me pack and blessed the trip. It helped.
And I’m off!
I thought omniscient would mean you don’t need guidance?
I’ll stick with my Garmin.
Finally, scenery.
Looking far over the VA countryside. The parkway gets a lot twistier and has more elevation further south, but the view in VA is always beautiful.
Pictures never capture the real spirit of the experience
… still, you can’t see these and not want to be there.
The clouds were absolutely beautiful
The bugs didn’t want me to see them.
No pants?
Signs like these are usually reactionary. I wonder what the story is. Depending on gender, I’m not sure these rules need to be enforced.
Night time… Time to find a hotel.
Unfortunately, everything was sold out where I ended up. I finally found something… and it definitely qualified as adventure! Next time I’m taking the stuff I need to camp.
The night clerk gave me a discount and gave me a room where I could park “my scooter” outside the window. Thanks!
Sunday
On Sunday I took some back roads for a bit instead of getting back on the parkway right away. The fun stuff (to see) is definitely on the back roads, but so is the gravel on the roads.
The clouds were out again.
Deer suck, but imagine one of THESE running across your path.
I FOUND IT!
Built by ancients? Magical powers?
Whatever, it’s punny, and I like it. I’d almost consider going to see it…
Guess not. Maybe it’s wrong of me, but I laughed for a bit.
I followed this stream up for a while…
… and the pavement disappeared.
Single-sport? So? I’m not afraid of gravel!
This was going to be a self-portrait, but the grass got in the way, so I gave up. This turned out to be a cool shot anyway.
I found the parkway.
Gravel roads end sometimes… Sometimes they end right where you want to be. (Proper attitude means they always end where you want to be, I guess.)
The sky is visible again.
If you don’t give the road equal attention it will throw gravel at you.
If you look closely, you’ll see the inner beauty leaking out, just like I said.
Adventure riders! I had to stop.
The first I saw of the weekend, and then suddenly they were everywhere. This couple happened to be from close to where I grew up. We spoke of gravel, the mid-west, and the rumours about a F800GS…
They didn’t have an ADV sticker, but, then, neither do I.
Kissin’ Counsins
He barely paid us any attention. Probably didn’t recognize mine for what she is without the makeup on. Poor girl.
And I’m home…
Too tired to take any other pictures. It’s all boring from there on out. Lots of traffic and lots of interstate.
All in all, a really fun trip. No incidents, great weather, and fun roads.
I recently had another opportunity to visit Ireland for business and again (due mostly to the price of tickets over the weekend) I was able to spend the weekend in Dublin. This is my third visit that included a weekend, so I decided this time to roam outside the city. Ideally, I would have liked to rent a vehicle and travel the countryside myself, but this time I didn’t think I had the time and/or resources to do such. Instead, I turned to the professionals to show me the sights.
