Well Dave !  

Here's an idea :

I'll loose the Meteor 350 , get the Hunter version of it , put dual sport tires on it.
You get another Hillbilly Bike ,
Then
We can run all over those trails near Suches !  
Maybe , we could do the same thing on Street Bikes ?  But I want to get one of these hats first !   

Hay , I've missed that DR200 ever since the day after I sold it !  

I think I know where this place is ... We go to Verseys then head east !

ThumperPaul wrote on 04/03/24 at 15:17:18:


I grew up in a Quaker/Mennonite/Methodist farming area in northeast Ohio and there was not an excess of money anywhere.  My parents did not buy me anything with two wheels, and I picked strawberries and stacked hay and straw bales for local farmers to earn $50 to buy my first bicycle.  I rode that thing constantly and got pretty good at staying upright on two wheels.  I could ride wheelies farther and jump more concrete blocks than any of the other boys!

When I was 15 I worked at a place that sold food supplies to restaurants and schools - we started work at 3AM and loaded the trucks until 7AM and then went to school.....that is how I was able to make money to buy my motorcycles.  I was a good rider and the Suzuki dealer sold me the TM125 bikes pretty cheaply and gave me discounts on parts as I raced and wore their jerseys as advertising for them.

The only bikes I owned when I was a teenager was the Kawasaki 125 Enduro, Yamaha 175, and the 2 Suzuki TM125 race bikes.  The first bike I owned was the Kawasaki 125 Enduro - I soon learned that I really wanted a race bike.  My Yamaha 175 was a used enduro that had the lights stripped, a 21" front wheel and high fender added, a Yamaha GYT Kit had been added for more power - it was well used when I got it and it needed repairs a lot.  When the TM125 came out in 1973 I traded in my Yamaha and got a real race bike!  I only owned and rode 1 bike at a time and I rode them constantly - we had old strip mines in the area and they were great places to ride.  I gave up racing when the RM125 Suzuki bikes cam out - I was headed to college and I had no time for motorcycles.

All of the rest of the motorcycles came along after a 35 year lapse as I attended college and was involved in my working career.  I started enjoying motorcycles again somewhere around 2005.  Now that I am retired I spend a lot of time with my motorcycles......I have too many at the moment and need to thin the herd a bit - I believe the Honda Trail 110 (CT110) will be the first to go.

What a great life, Dave!  Farm work is good hard honest work!  My mother’s side of the family is all farmers.  I was born in Winona MN on the Mississippi River, my grandparents settled there after leaving the farm just across the river in Wisconsin.  Two of my uncles (grandfather’s brothers) kept the main farm - mostly hogs, chickens, a few dairy cows, corn and hay.  When I was young and we visited, I got a tiny taste of the life.  When they passed away about 15 years ago, never married, just 2 old dusty farmers running the farm, they were still using an outhouse.  It was no big deal to them, but I can’t imagine having to use an outhouse when it’s winter in Wisconsin when it’s 0 degrees with 2 feet of snow on the ground. Much less gathering eggs and milking cows at o-dark-thirty in the winter!

That RM125 was wicked!  One kid had one where we mostly rode and he could smoke all of us pulling wheelies right up into 4th gear practically!  I can still hear it!

My hiatus was longer than yours.  When I was 21, I adopted a new 1985 Honda Interceptor VF700F (tariff buster) from a buddy.  He moved to California with his new wife and couldn’t bring the bike with him.  For helping him move, he gave me the bike and I took over payments.  Being a financially irresponsible dude, I only paid 6 months and ended up having the bike repossessed (really dumb move on my part).  That bike was stupid fast and I was fearless and in my prime!  Had to replace the rear tire after about 2 months from doing too many burnouts in the bar parking lot (dang I was an idiot)!!  I think I’m a little smarter and grown up now, but that person is still in me somewhere sometimes!

Our RV has an outdoor TV - we could have a movie night!  My neighbor says he might have a copy of Wild Hogs we can borrow.

The current weather forecast looks good.  Cool nights and bit chilly for the morning commute - pleasant afternoon temperatures with nothing into the 80's!

There is a chance of rain on Monday - but there will likely will be changes in the forecast - as we are still 10 days away from our arrival.

Hey Paul. I saw you reserved campsite for Sunday and Monday night. Just FYI, generally Sunday is not much of a riding day as we are all just rolling in pretty much at different times. You may want to extend your stay to get a few miles in. Just thought I would mention it.

I was born in N California into a family of farmers, spent my growing up years in mostly peach, but with some almond & walnut orchards, and working during my HS summers in the orchards irrigating and harvesting the crops.  I made enough during the summer between my junior/senior year of HS to buy my first bike, a new Suzuki 150 twin 2-stroke.  Saved up $500 for the summer at $1/hr.  They were long hot days.  Paid cash for the bike and the dealer threw in a Bell helmet with face shield, and a pair of leather gloves.  That was in 1966 when my motorcycle life began.

springman wrote on 04/04/24 at 09:51:58:


Thinking about it.  I wanted to arrive Sunday with everyone else and be ready to ride Monday.