Indy to Pensacola, Florida

2,000 miles on my 1992 Honda ST1100

I have been riding to Florida on my motorcycle every November on for the last 3 years. This year was especially exciting because I bought a new, for me, bike a few months before we left. The days leading up to the trip were a flurry of prep work, packing, and double checking everything.

Day 1

When November 13th arrived, I jumped on the bike around 8am and headed over to meet Daryl. The day wasn’t looking too great. The sky was dark and we were experiencing the occasional drizzle. As we geared up for our first 500 mile leg, we found the weather improving dramatically, and by the time we fueled up and hit the highway, it appeared we were no longer in danger of rain. The ride would take us largely down the “super slab” of I-65 from Indy all the way to Florida. We considered US-31 but after a bit of research discovered that there were far too many small towns and our travel time would have doubled.

As we rolled down I-65, we checked our coms and started a long playlist on the ipod. A few weeks before we left I purchased an Autocomm headset and intercom unit. This combined with a Midland 75-822 cb gave me flawless performance for the entire trip. (Look for a write-up of the Autocomm in the near future)

We decided to take a more leisurely pace this year and stopped every 75-100 miles to break for a few minutes, and fueled up the bikes every other stop. Daryl’s V-Strom is a beast, but doesn’t pull the 45mpg that the ST does, so we had to make more frequent fuel stops than would normally be necessary.

There were no real incidents or adventures for the entire 600 mile trip. Temps ran in the 30’s for the entire day, the bikes ran beautifully, and the roads were fantastic. We rolled into the Birmingham area shortly after sunset and spent the night at Daryl’s Mom’s house.

Day 2

After some breakfast and a few cups of coffee, we jumped on the bikes and rolled out for leg 2. The ride through Alabama was fantastic. Temps rose into the 70’s as we rolled South. The scenery included barely anything but rolling hills decorated with the spectacle of late autumn. As we approached the Florida state line, we jumped off I-65 and followed US29 into Pcola. The ride is always interesting as there are still visible signs of the past hurricanes that have pummeled the coastal area. Crossing the bridge to Pensacola beach was fun. Traffic was sparse and I twisted the throttle off across the bridge. We stayed at the Holiday Inn on Pensacola beach. The person who checked us in gave us the best room in the place with a 180 degree ocean view. To the left we had open beach all the way to the pier, and to the left, we could wander all the way to the national seashore. Temps as we arrived at the hotel were in the upper 70’s. Unfortunately, that was the last warm weather we would experience.

Day 3 - Air Show Day

Saturday morning we dragged ourselves out of bed in time to go grab some photos of the sunrise. I captured one of my all time favorite shots of a surfer preparing to grab some waves beside Pensacola pier at sunrise. Our excuse for riding down in November is to go to the Blue Angels at the NAS base. This is their last show of the year and is typically a lot of fun. This year’s turnout was estimated at over 120,000 people. More than we expected since the temps were only about 60 and it was windy all day. We were fortunate enough to get front row seats just to the left of show center. We arrived at the gate shortly after opening and after grabbing our seating tix, we wandered the static displays for a while. The wind blew at 30 knots all day and caused the Jet truck high speed pass to be cancelled. Every other exhibit went as planned. Other than the Blues, I especially enjoyed the Masters of Mayhem and their wall of fire. After the show, we hung around for quite a while to let the traffic dissipate. (There’s nothing like walking your motorcycle for miles trying to get out of air show traffic) As we were wandering the static displays we noticed they had removed the barrier to the tarmac and we were actually able to walk right up to the Blues on the flight line and snap some very memorable photos like this one of Daryl in front of Blue #5. In addition to the rare opportunity to spend time up close and personal with the jets, I also had a chance to break in the new DSLR camera with a 300mm telephoto lens. On Saturday alone, I took over 1,400 pictures with my Olympus E-510 and only used 1 1/2 rechargeable batteries.

Saturday evening we went to dinner at the famous McGuire’s Irish pub and had to take a number for the 1 hour wait for a table. While waiting we were checking out some photos we had taken and attracted the attention of the demo crew who executed all the pyrotechnics of the air show. They were a fun group and it was pretty cool to hear them talking about their fiery adventures. It was these people who ignite and lay out the wall of fire that you see in the Masters of Mayhem picture. We also met the pilots of the little gyrocopter and the jet powered sailplane. The food was excellent and my 16oz steak really hit the spot after spending 12 hours outside.

Day 3 – Relax

Sunday was a nice relaxing day. We had planned to ride out East to Appalachacola, but lacked the ambition. We ended up riding out to a local state park out on a peninsula across the bay from the NAS. While the mileage was negligible, it was a good time and we managed to grab a few interesting photos like this Heron.

Sunday afternoon we checked out the beach and collected some shells. The extreme winds of the previous day had washed up multiple large and, in my experience, rare shells. Included in these finds were conch shells and whole sand dollars.

Sunday night we went to a local eatery which I cannot remember the name of. They were about to close when we walked in, but kept the kitchen open long enough to get our orders and a few beers. I got a fish sandwich that was delicious. Along with a few beers, it made for a great meal.

Day 4 – Leaving the ocean

All good things must come to an end, and we only had so many vacation days for this trip. The wives will beat us if stay gone too long. After spending a few hours chilling out on the beach, we jumped on the bikes and headed for Birmingham. Little did we know we were getting ready for some trouble. After riding for a few hours we hit a rough patch of pavement and Daryl got hooked in a rut and nearly thrown off the bike. We figured it was just some bad road and kept on trucking. Other than being completely exhausted from 2 days of playing hard, the ride was otherwise uneventful.

Day 5 – Barber Motorcycle Museum

Tuesday morning Daryl discovered a low rear tire and aired it up before we left for the day. We rode over to Daryl’s friend Jay’s house for breakfast. After wasting away a few hours chatting and eating, we said goodbye and rolled down to the motorcycle museum. While I’ve been there on a previous trip, I’ve never had a high end camera to take photos with. This made the experience much more fun and I came away with some fun shots. Taking good shots was very difficult as the lighting is arranged to prevent good exposures from being taken. Using some creative angles and custom white balances, I was able to get a few nice shots, but most were just for fun.

The museum was cool, but I have to say that I probably had more fun on the very twisty private access road leading away from the museum. The ST1100 is a beast of bike and is as happy stretching it’s legs on the straights as it is carving up some corners. I let her rip and laid the bike into the turns at top speed through the access road. It was a blast. I haven’t had such an adrenaline rush since riding the Dragon.

Wednesday afternoon was spent riding up to Vulcan, the giant monument overlooking Birmingham. For a scant $5 you can take the elevator up to the top of Vulcan and get the best available view of the city. The day was cold, and the wind was blowing hard. After about 10 minutes of freezing and trying to snap a few photos, we took a trip through the museum and headed for Mom’s. The remainder of the night was a blur of eating Milo’s burgers. If you’ve never had a Milo’s burger, let me tell you, order at least two because you’ll feel compelled to go order another. They are hands down the best fast food burger out there.

Day 6 – The Ride Home

We planned an early start to our day on Wednesday so that we could be home before dark. Temps were running in the 20’s when we woke up and it looked as though it would be a clear, but chilly ride home. As we loaded up the bikes Daryl noticed a low rear tire again. Of course we suspected a slow leak, but I had brought a CO2 filler and we figured we could limp it home. About 30 seconds out of the driveway I noticed at a stop sign that a 10 inch patch of his rear tire was worn to the belts and would probably not get us out of the county, forget across 4 states. We turned around and started calling local shops for a replacement. Apparently the V-Strom 1000 takes a somewhat obscure tire because after hours of calling we had come up empty. Fortunately, as a last resort, he called a shop in the opposite direction we needed to travel and they had one in stock. We rode straight there and waited while they mounted it. Four hours behind schedule and, for Daryl, $250 poorer, we finally hit the slab for the hard push home. Way behind schedule we rode pretty hard and stretched out our rest stops. Taking turns at lead, we twisted the throttles harder and harder trying to get as many miles behind us before dark settled in. As the sun set the cold became noticeable, but not unbearable as we had dressed for the weather. Unfortunately the wind kicked up and we spent the last leg of the ride fighting 30mph cross winds and temps around 20F. I did discover an interesting use for adhesive toe warmers. They make fantastic grip heaters in a pinch and last for several hours. The slab riding went smoothly and we arrived home just in time to get ready for work in the morning.

All in all, this was a very memorable trip and has inspired me to explore new and interesting locations next year.

Riding the Dragon

Midway through the Dragon
Originally uploaded by joshherl

I made the most enjoyable purchase of my life on 9/19. As you might see, I purchased a '93 Honda ST1100 with several nice upgrades. To complete this purchase I flew one way to the Charlotte airport where I met the guy I purchased it from. In about an hour we had the paperwork completed and I was on the road back to Indy. Given that NC and TN contain some of the best motorcycling roads in the country, I had to take the long way to ride US 129, the most popular road in America, which many call the "Dragon".

My route began by riding to Asheville and spending the night. On Saturday morning I got off to an early start and was on the highway before 8am. After riding some very enjoyable 2 and 4 lane, I finally entered the Nanatahalla river recreation area. This was pretty cool and I really wanted to stop and go whitewater kayaking. Maybe someday I can get a portable yak to carry on the bike, but I digress.
I was a little confused when the road narrowed and became quite twisty. It seemed like I was on the Dragon, but it was just a basic warmup. Upon beginning the official ride I learned quickly what a cornering beast the ST1100 is. As I carved up one turn after another, I began to get stuck behind one Harley after another. Unfortunately one of the many shortcomings of the Harley is their inability to corner at any reasonable speed. Add the weight of a big Harley chick on the back and suddenly you are barely moving through the turns. I stopped 3 or 4 times to let traffic get ahead so that I could enjoy the ride. Eventually I caught up to them, but it made the ride a lot more enjoyable. As I re-entered civilization near Knoxville, traffic pickup up dramatically. The duration of the ride was smooth and uneventful with one more overnight stay a little south of Lexington. Sunday morning I made short work of the last couple hundred miles and arrived home early in the afternoon. All in all, this was a fantastic ride. I really enjoyed the freedom of just being on the bike and doing whatever I wanted as I traveled. I've now had my ST for about 2 weeks and have over 1,500 miles on it. I expect that I will be putting a whole lot of miles on this bike over the next several years.

Motorcycle Ride To Louisville

We decided to jump on the bikes and ride down to Louisville on Saturday night to take some pictures of the city from across the Ohio river. Because of work obligations, we weren't able to get rolling until about 5pm. This placed us at the river around 7:30- just in time to enjoy a fantastic sunset across the river. I shot about a hundred pictures of the sunset and skyline. The sunset shots were quite gorgeous, but as darkness fell I came upon an irritating realization... I had left my tripod at home. I almost always carry it on photo trips, but for some reason the thought never crossed my mind. My camera has a pretty awesome image stabilization, but nothing could stop the blur when exposure times started getting upwards of 4 seconds. I managed to brace the camera up on a post and get a couple of focused shots. Overall, I was frustrated with the results as the scenery was superb and I was unable to capture on film nearly what I wanted to. 

The bike trip itself was good practice and the weather was great. Temps were T-shirt comfortable on the 110 mile ride down. Temps dropped quite a bit on the way back and I had to wear a fleece and my riding jacket, but still stayed nice and comfortable. Nothing significant happened on the ride, but it was good seat time in prep for the upcomming trip.

Is it November Yet?

My friend Daryl and I have begun a yearly motorcycle trip to Pennsacola, FL to see the Blue Angels air show every November. Last year we brought friend Curt, and the previous year, Daryl's friend Jay. This will be my third trip down. It's become an annual Mecca and we plan it all throughout the year. This year we had great hopes to ride down to Cape Canaveral and see the final Space Shuttle launch, but the mileage was just overwhelming and we decided against it. We would have ridden 600 miles a day for 4 days, plus whatever we put on while seeing the sights.

We are now getting into the final 3 months and it's time to start getting the old 1982 Honda Goldwind ready to make the nearly 2000 mile journey. This year I've decided to upgrade my old suspension to new progressive springs in front and rear. Also, I am putting on new rubber and of course giving the old girl a tuneup. I'm quite excited about this year in particular because it will give us a great chance to use some new DSLR cameras with 300mm zoom lenses. Hopefully we can get some postcard worthy shots during the show. I also recently picked up a very nice scanner at a steal for $25. Hopefully I can get it programmed and listen in on the in flight coms during the airshow (I know I'm a geek).

One of the great perks of my job is that I stay in hotels very often and earn lots of reward points that I can use for free stays. What this means for our trip is that we get to stay at the Holiday Inn resort on Pennsacola beach this year for 3 days and it wont cost a penny!! This is good becuase the Irish steakhouse down the road costs a fortune, but it's worth it.

As the days pass by, the anticipation begins to get unbearable and we start taking 100+ mile rides every weekend. Thankfully these things get good fuel mileage. My bike was acting up a little last weekend. I'm hoping the tuneup will cure it's ills. One note: If you ever suffer from small engine trouble, use some Sea Foam. It's the greatest thing since the gasoline engine.

I'm sure I'll have more to say as we get closer to d-day...

Indiana Family Star Party 2008

Image to right - Jupiter with Milky Way. Unfortunate light polution at lower left.

First, for those who don't know, a star party is an organized event for amateur astronomers. It is typically held under a dark sky location with clear views of the horizon. The Indiana star party took place at the Prairie grass observatory from 7/31-8/3. I planned on attending the event for the entire 3 nights, but decided to wait until Friday because the weather forecast was predicting overcast skies. Of course Murphy's law kicked in and all the clouds blew out shortly before sunset. I was told Thursday was the clearest night of the event.
I arrived on Friday morning about 10am and set up camp at NW corner of the observing field. Friday evening a crazy thunderstorm blew through just to the North of us. This gave me reason to play with my new DSLR for the first time. Fortunately no rain fell and the skies cleared quickly.

*One quick note, I used to think I had a large telescope until I saw what these guys haul with them. (See image to lower right)

The event went very well with every night providing at least several hours of beautiful viewing. Dew became a problem in the late hours which prompted me to build a quick heater out of 10watt resistors. The math was striaghtforward using ohms law.
I enjoyed hanging out with my neighbor Fred during the weekend and appreciated him sharing both his experience and equipment with me. His hand built 8" dob proved to be very interesting and has inspired me to do the same at some point in the future.
The star party organizers arranged for several interesting speakers including my favorite Caty Pilachowski, chairman of the astronomy department at IU, who gave an extremely interesting presentation on "The Glorious Summer Sky - Globular Clusters in the Milky Way and Beyond". If you've never seen a Globular Cluster, you can see many at the Hubble Telescope site.

Our best friends Pam and Daryl brought my wife Joy up for the night on Saturday. We had a great time and I was dissapointed when they had to leave so early. Photo at right is Daryl taking a look at Jupiter. Joy stayed the night with me and made a great effort to stay up and enjoy a night of observing with me. She lasted until about midnight and I continued until around 4:30am. As the dew started getting worse than my heater could keep up with, I decided to call it quits and take a stroll around the field to see what others were up to. Everyone at the event was extremely friendly and it felt good to be around others with a common interest. One person in particular really made the day memorable by allowing me to take some time with his 25" dobsonian telescope. The views were astounding and if it weren't for the fact that the scope costs more than $12k and takes a trailer to move, I would have felt compelled to buy one.
The weekend ended calmly with everyone rolling out of bed at 9am or so and packing up their gear.
A few additional notes:
I noticed that I was the only person who brought solar panels to recharge my deep cycle Optima battery. I was really surprised not to see any others considering many had spent thousands of dollars on their equipment setup. The solar solution worked beautifully and I was able to run my laptop, heater, and miscellaneous equipment all weekend without ever having to start my van to recharge the battery.
Apparently it's a good idea to enter the raffle drawings. My neighbor Fred bought 3 tickets and won 2 very nice eyepieces worth well over $100. I'll have to grab some raffle tickets at the next party in September.

Why I've decided to try blogging

I was taking a really memorable motorcycle trip down some quiet country roads a few weeks ago and got to thinking about all the great times I've had in my life. I love taking pictures and documenting events, but I've never made any effort to leave any record of thoughts, inspirations, or even just descriptions of memorable events. This blog will be my attempt. Unfortunately I am a terrible procrastinator and I suspect it will lag well behind real time, but I guess it is better to tried and failed than to never have tried at all.