Big_Jim59
VIP MEMBER
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2010
- Messages
- 583
I have been working a lot and when I am not working I have been sitting at my desk screwing off watching YouTube videos and searching the motorcycle section on CraigsList . I wanted to get out, away from the computer and ride but I wanted to be around other riders as well. So I poked around the Internet and found a charity ride, leaving from McKinney, TX on Saturday morning. It sounded like fun, or, if not fun, something interesting to do.
It was interesting. Mostly it was Harley riders and the rest were metric wana-be Harley riders. The rest of the pack was rounded out with one Triumph Speed Triple, one BMW GS1100 that belonged to the clinics doctor and my Norton. As always The Beast was the object of great admiration and generated lots of questions. This is one of my favorite byproducts of Norton ownership. You meet a lot of people and you hear lots of stories. You also get to answer the same questions over and over but I don't mind.
It was an escorted ride which is my least favorite ride type of group ride and I am not really fond of group rides to begin with. We had been riding for about 20 minutes and a cop on a Harley pulled up next to me. We rode together, hand grip to hand grip for some miles. He just looked over and said “That’s really nice. I don’t see many of those.” We chatted a bit and then he disappeared. It was kind of surreal. I had never ridden with a cop before.
I find it hard work to ride with Harley riders. (No offense to the Harley owners out there.) I am always in the wrong gear it seems. They slow way down for corners, herd their bikes around and then once they are in a straight line they screw it on. I think they enjoy hearing those pipes. I am not a sport bike type rider by any means but I do like to keep it on the boil. The ride back was more fun and more relaxing at speed. The Beast likes to get in fourth and stay there.
One thing I noticed, I was the only bike there without electric start.
It was interesting. Mostly it was Harley riders and the rest were metric wana-be Harley riders. The rest of the pack was rounded out with one Triumph Speed Triple, one BMW GS1100 that belonged to the clinics doctor and my Norton. As always The Beast was the object of great admiration and generated lots of questions. This is one of my favorite byproducts of Norton ownership. You meet a lot of people and you hear lots of stories. You also get to answer the same questions over and over but I don't mind.
It was an escorted ride which is my least favorite ride type of group ride and I am not really fond of group rides to begin with. We had been riding for about 20 minutes and a cop on a Harley pulled up next to me. We rode together, hand grip to hand grip for some miles. He just looked over and said “That’s really nice. I don’t see many of those.” We chatted a bit and then he disappeared. It was kind of surreal. I had never ridden with a cop before.
I find it hard work to ride with Harley riders. (No offense to the Harley owners out there.) I am always in the wrong gear it seems. They slow way down for corners, herd their bikes around and then once they are in a straight line they screw it on. I think they enjoy hearing those pipes. I am not a sport bike type rider by any means but I do like to keep it on the boil. The ride back was more fun and more relaxing at speed. The Beast likes to get in fourth and stay there.
One thing I noticed, I was the only bike there without electric start.