Trapped Inside : Dreaming of Adventure

Message

imorgan202 · Fri Jun 02, 2006 1:16 pm

Boxing? I don't know what to say about that, but isn't that the Art Museum?

Ian

dieziege · #22 Unread post by **dieziege** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 1:52 pm

One of the weird things about visiting phila a last October was how many locals seemed to think the world remembers (or likes) that movie.

I'm kidding... a bit...

The weirdest part was what happens to that town at night. Everyone hides indoors and walking around the whole place feels downright post apocalyptic. I've never been in a proper city that went that dead at night. I walked from my hotel over to South street a few nights, not very late (maybe 2AM) and except for some 70yo grandfather-type who wanted to sell me drugs there was nobody there. I kid you not there is a "24 hour restaurant", big huge signs proclaiming their 24-hourness... that closes at midnight.

I'd start walking at maybe 6PM and by the time I was ready for dinner (9pm, remember I was on California time) all the restaurants were starting to close. On a couple of those walks I wound up going back to the hotel and eating from my stash of protein bars 'cause by 1am almost every place was closed and I had no other choice. I was at a job site on Walnut St. a week working through problems with a system my employers sold... between getting pissed off at the pathetic cowardice on display at the "national historical park" and wandering around at night wondering where everyone was, I was more than a little confused by the end of the week. I did figure out that a "wiz with" isn't nearly as disgusting as it sounds though.

-Holiday · #23 Unread post by **-Holiday** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 2:37 pm

dieziege wrote:One of the weird things about visiting phila a last October was how many locals seemed to think the world remembers (or likes) that movie.

I'm kidding... a bit...

The weirdest part was what happens to that town at night. Everyone hides indoors and walking around the whole place feels downright post apocalyptic. I've never been in a proper city that went that dead at night. I walked from my hotel over to South street a few nights, not very late (maybe 2AM) and except for some 70yo grandfather-type who wanted to sell me drugs there was nobody there. I kid you not there is a "24 hour restaurant", big huge signs proclaiming their 24-hourness... that closes at midnight. I'd start walking at maybe 6PM and by the time I was ready for dinner (9pm, remember I was on California time) all the restaurants were starting to close. On a couple of those walks I wound up going back to the hotel and eating from my stash of protein bars 'cause by 1am almost every place was closed and I had no other choice. I was at a job site on Walnut St. a week working through problems with a system my employers sold... between getting pissed off at the pathetic cowardice on display at the "national historical park" and wandering around at night wondering where everyone was, I was more than a little confused by the end of the week. I did figure out that a "wiz with" isn't nearly as disgusting as it sounds though.

haha!

yep, its the Philadelphia Museum of art. I didnt think there would be any question abou that considering the image is named "museum" and there is a big "O Ring" wyeth sign on it. That and the easiest way to spot a tourist is to look for the idiot running up the stairs...

But yea, the movie Rocky is still talked about a lot, mostly in south philly, 30 years after it came out. Honestly, I can always find a bar down that way, walk into it, and it will be playing on some tv(not that i try to do this). The funny thing is, I think most people hate Sly Stalone. Can't figure that one out. ..

And yes Dieziege, you were downtown, in center city, which is the financial district. That area is pretty much closed up by midnight, unless you know where to go. Especially Walnut. I work downtown as well, a block from city hall, and that place is dead by 9pm. I dont think the financial districts of most cities are known for their nightlifes though

If you find yourself out this way again though i'd be happy to show you a few good places...you can even ride my cb360 while you're here

-Holiday · #24 Unread post by **-Holiday** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 8:06 am

here are some very early versions of the general route i'm going to take. I expect this to change, but I'd like to stick to this general route. Coming home in September, I'll probably take a more southernly route, maybe..

philly to denver:

then denver to sd:

these routes are just a very general guide i'm going to use. I'm not going to use major highways for the entire trip, but just use them to make up time, and as a guide to keep me going in the direction I want to go in. Some days I might just set a destination on the GPS that is my goal for the day, and ride mainly back roads. Just not sure yet how exactly it is going to work until I get going.

Given these general routes though, if anyone has any suggestions as far as things roads to take, i'd like to hear them. I just need to make sure I keep moving west.

Also, if anyone near these routes has a back yard I could pitch a tent in, I'd be greatfull

Oh and I have the dates set now. The westward trip will be July 21-30 and the return trip will be September 8-17.

dieziege · #25 Unread post by **dieziege** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 8:50 am

My backyard would suck to camp in but if you want local knowledge of the stretch west from Vegas (including more interesting routes, places to see along the way, and such) let me know. I live about 30 miles from Victorville and drive the 15 through there twice a day.

Depending on how much time you have, you could go up through Death Valley or down through the Mojave National Preserve (you can make that choice in Nevada south of Las Vegas (Hwy 95) or in California (Baker)...

You can go through Joshua Tree and south past Palm Springs towards Anza Borrego and into San Diego that way as well.

Some photos... click for larger...

My Anza Borrego photo (from a road trip a few years ago):

Along I15:

My Mojave Preserve photos (different road trip):

And, just because, a photo I took while in Phila back in October...

-Holiday · #26 Unread post by **-Holiday** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 9:26 am

yea, some more info about the area west of vegas would be great. Since its close to the end part of my trip, if im running ahead of schedule i might even be able to take some less direct routes. I appreciate any info you'd be willing to throw my way.

Thanks again

-Holiday · #27 Unread post by **-Holiday** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 6:16 pm

So today I skipped out of work at 3pm to go for a ride. My plan was to go to Cape May NJ which is about 99 miles from my house. I went home from work first to find my Throttle Rocker had finally arrived. I threw that on.:

My Sheepskin cover for my seat had arrived on Monday so I threw that on too. I ordered it Thursday or Friday from Alaska, and it got here Monday...uhmm..wow? Or do they drop ship? Not really sure but that is an awesome turn-around time. More info about them can be found here:

http://www.alaskaleather.com/

Anyway, I jumped on my bike and slowly tried to fight my way out of the city. I finally made my way over to Jersey, and explored some of the back roads on the south bay side of the state, working my way down towards the southern most tip, Cape May. To make a long story short, I rode 225 miles, over about 5-6 hours of riding time. I could have covered much more ground, but I spent a lot of time on 45mph roads. To compare, it took me about 4 hours to get down there, and an hour and 50 minutes to get home, because of a more direct route, faster speeds, no traffic, etc etc.

BTW, i'm doing these trips to prepare myelf for my drive aross country next month. Its to condition myself for longer rides, and to make adjustments where neccisary. Here are my observations based on tonights ride.

- My back feels a little sore after about 30 minutes of riding, but never really gets any worse. I think im just out of shape. I'm also trading my stock clip ons for a taller set with a guy from the fj list, so that will raise my bars about 1-2 inches and improve my seating position greatly. I think I could eventually drive all day with them as they are, but I think the taller bars will definatly make life more comfortable.

- The throttle rocker was cool, but my wrist still hurt a little after 5 hours or so. Once again, that might get better with tiime, or its possible i might have not had it adjusted properly. I'm thinking of ordering another one for the left side because it does take the pressure off the palm of your hand and spread it out more. It is definitly nice to not have to grip the bars the entire time, and I can actually operate the throttle with one finger if I choose.

-sheepskin seat cover is awesome. That, coupled with padded bike shorts under texttile pants are really going to do the trick I think. At least as comfortable as a corbin seat, and about $200 cheaper. the sheepskin also helps to insulate you from the heat coming up from under the seat. Good stuff. It was like $40 shipped.

-the most important thing i did today, was physically spend 6 hours on the bike pretty much nonstop. My plan for my big trip is to put in 8-10 hours days, and I think with some breaks here and there that will not be a problem. I was gone tonight from 3pm-10pm and I was on the bike all but maybe 1 hour of that total. I find its nice to take a brake and stretch about once every two hours. Riding during the evening, although not deer friendly, is definitly more comfortable then in the middle of the day. I may ride early morning for my trip, stop mid day and relax, take in some sites, then get back on and ride from 3 or so until dark.

Other developments; I was lucky enough to win a set of hardware to mount Givi hard bags to my bike on ebay. They havent made them in 5 years and they're hard to come by, but I found and purchased a set for $75. I still need a wingrack to mount the bags too, and the hard bags themselves of course. I have a line on a set of used givi sidecases from a friend, but Im not sure if ill be able to afford them before my trip. We'll see. If not then I have some bicycle panniers that will suffice. They just might look kinda dumb.

I need to revisit my wiring for the gps, and i still need to insta,l the new brake pads. I actually have to do that now because during this trip my rear brake started to grind and make noises. Luckily, i didnt do any damage to the rotor.

The bike ran great, and overall im happy with the results of the trip. I think the new clip ons im getting will help a lot, and I expect to get stronger the more I ride. I should look into some exercises I can do to strenthen my upper back muscles...

Ive found out that wearing earplugs really helps cut down on fatigue, although i didnt wear them tonight. Im havng trouble finding a set that fit well. Im also thinking of looking into the ones that have headphones built into them. Or, I might just get one of those helmet skirt things. If i put my hand under the helmet to block the wind, that really cuts down on noise so I think one of those would help a lot. I just havnt been able to find out where to buy them yet.

Anyway, here are the obligatory pics I snapped from when I actually made it to the coast. Oh and, I didnt go to Cape May, ended up in Avalon instead since I spent so much time on the slow roads.

-Holiday · #28 Unread post by **-Holiday** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 3:37 am

i was reminded about the chances im taking in taking a 20 year old bike on this trip. This mornng I jumped on the bike to come to work to find the clutch disengaging wayy later then it should. These bikes are known for bad clutch ccylinders and it seems its this one's turn.
I'm just gla this happened at home, instead of at the beacch last ight, or worse, someone in the middle of nowhere on my long trip...

Also, i ordered these last night:

http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=1& ... m=MRX_MSW3

It should cut down on wind noise on the highway greatly. I'll report on that when I get a running bike. Right now, the Yamaha has the clutch issue, my Vespa has a broken clutch cable, and my honda's electrical system isnt working. I LOVE OLD BIKES!

#29 Unread post by **zarakand** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 5:48 pm

So I just started reading your blog today, and enjoy it quite a bit. It's really fun to read about your planning for a cross country trip, and I'm looking quite forward to reading about your adventures once you return.

The funny thing is until I started to read your blog, I had no idea you were from Philly. I went to my junior year of high school in Voorhees, NJ just across the Ben Franklin bridge. I used to sneak out at night, and drive around Philly. It's a miracle I didn't get caught since I didn't have a license. Take care.

-Holiday · #30 Unread post by **-Holiday** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 4:47 am

So busy lately, I havent really had a chance to do much to the bike yet.

I have some work to do on it. I have the slave cylinder rebuild kit for the clutch, and the new steering stem bearings waiting to be installed. I'll also be taking the stock clip ons off to send out to swap with someone for a taller set.
I think the only part I have left to buy is a new oil pump cover. Oh and, I did finally manage to get the new rear brake pads on.

I guess doing this work will give me a good idea as to what tools I should bring with me on my trip..

I bought my plane ticket today for the ride home from San Diego on July 30th, so there is no backing out now!

-Im also not sure yet if ill be running hard luggage or not. I still need a givi wingrack but finding them used is proving not to be that easy..

well, im off to get the other 1,000 non bike related things completed that I need to do this week. Hopefully i have some time to get more done next week though!

Later