Saturday Museum Ride (April 27, 2019)

With the upcoming week having a really long term rain forecast, and waking up to a beautiful morning I checked the motorcycle over, and started it up for a ride. The temperature was right at 50 degrees, cooler than I would like, but with the heavy coat and gloves on, plus my trusty helmet, I took to the streets.
First stop was Eastwood Park. Saw rowers there which I think was some kind of school/practice event. Got a kick out of that in that going to the Dragon Boat Races in Richmond when I lived there was a favorite yearly event. You can see one of the boats in the photo at left. 

 Made a stop at the Air Force Museum to see the A-10 which is in the photo at left. The A-10 is one of two at the museum, there is another inside the museum but this one is in the Air Park section. I did not go into the museum on this trip, but I did explore the planes outside and also the two buildings from World War II. The Nissan Hut was brought over from England, the Control Tower is a replica.
The museum is a favorite of mine and enjoy visiting it as visitors to this page will know. I have a few more photos of the aircraft and buildings there on my "Ohio and Me" Page which is also part of this site.

I thought the days ride was done, but had to make a stop at the post office is New Carlisle, Ohio so got out for one more time during the day. As you can see in the photo at left, the clouds were already starting to build. In fact, later that afternoon we got some heavy rain.
Visited "Wot-A-Dog" for a coney dog and really great root beer in a frosty mug. It is a favorite place to stop in, with some really good things to eat. Sat in the enclosed area and had my lunch but they also have curb service. This was my second visit since it has opened for the season, previously I used the curb service in the car and brought it home.
It was a really good couple of rides. Covered around 30 miles and had a really good time.
Looking forward to the next ride which is coming up after a few days of rain. Also in a future forecast is an oil change which is just over 100 miles away and a chain adjustment. I have the materials for the oil change which I got last week and am looking forward to that.       

Day after Easter Ride (April 22, 2019)

 It was a beautiful day and spent it mostly doing yard work. Earlier got a new lawn mower which I also put together and gave a short test run to. Before cutting the lawn for the first time this year as well as being my first time to cut the grass here in Ohio, I got the motorcycle out for a cruise around the area.
For this ride, took a ride to Tipp City. Have been there before but not only being an interesting town, it is a really good ride. The city has a number of interesting places such as this old train depot, as well as many other sights. I enjoy my time there and the ride to it is a great deal of fun as well. 

The ride to and from Tipp City is past farms and down two lane roads. I was looking to stop in New Carlisle (where the grain silos are as seen at left) for a frosty malt beverage but it was closed on Monday till 4pm, and I was there much earlier. Another great place was also closed in Medway, Ohio but that was not the main purpose of the ride.
The purpose was to get some breeze between my knees and in that case the ride was very successful. It was a beautiful day to get out and see some sights.
It was not a big ride, only covered some 37 miles but enjoyed each and every one. I am around 170 miles from my next oil change and have been getting the filter (which I have done) and oil (coming up soon) for that project. I used to change the oil on my Kawasaki Vulcan but this will be the first time to do so on this motorcycle. The first oil change I had done at the dealer.
So, nice May ride on a beautiful 65 degree day in what is proving to be a very interesting place to explore. 

Huffman Prairie Ride( April 13,2019)

On a nice day in Dayton took a roughly 30 mile ride in the morning to Huffman Prairie. After Kitty Hawk, the Wright Brothers went to this field to perfect their invention. They went from the Wright Flyer (though a new version the first plane having been destroyed after they flew it) to the Wright Flyer III. It was also home to one of the first flying schools, and the test area for their Model B aircraft.

These are recreations of the original structures. The building at left was the Hangar. Read that they had to partially dissemble the aircraft and put it in sideways. The catapult was used to launch the planes. Lacking the winds of Kitty Hawk, the catapult took them to flying speed.
First flights with the 1904 Flier started on May 23, 1904. While that plane was better, it was the Wright Flyer III which made long flights possible. In fact that aircraft is on display at Carillon Park in Dayton and is considered the first practical aircraft.
It was a fun visit to this historical area and in fact a very fun motorcycle ride. Traffic was light before noon and the ride was trouble free. 

Bike Wash Ride (April 11, 2019)

On a beautiful Thursday and the warmest day so far this year, took some time to wash and wax the Triumph. It has been a long hard winter and with Spring here, time to clean off the motorcycle.
I washed it and then took it for a short ride to blow the water off of it. It has always been the best way for me to dry off a motorcycle as it both cleans off the bike water and blows the cobwebs out of my head.
For this ride did just under 20 miles. Got out on "The National Road aka US 40 and made a stop by this old school building there. It was a wonderful day to get out and I enjoyed the cruise around the area. Got back and got some chrome polish and wax on my machine!

The Lost Ride (April 9, 2019)

 Interesting ride on a beautiful Tuesday in Ohio. Needed to make a stop at the bank, so got on the motorcycle and headed there. On the way stopped at the New Carlisle Airport and got this photo of my motorcycle and this Cessna there. It is non flying and on display.
From there, decided to get a short ride in before getting home and tackling the shed painting project (which went well but that is another story).
I rode down Highway 41, which was how I got back from Troy, Ohio the other day. This time though I went toward the other direction, Surprisingly I had been there before. This photo at bottom was where I had been on a previous ride before moving here. We rode a pair of Suzuki motorcycles back then.

Always liked trains so was good to see this again. Anyhow ended up in Springfield...and after that got lost. Went up Highway 68 and managed to ride past Yellow Springs (which looks really cool), Old Chilicothe (ditto) and Xenia (ditto again). First time at all three places. Ride was longer than my usual of late coming in at 61 miles. Enjoyed seeing the new sites and looking forward to future rides there.
The more I ride around here, the most interesting it is becoming. This is a fun and interesting area and I have been having a great time the past few days exploring the area around my new home. 

City Ride (April 6, 2019)

Posted a ride blog on my "Ohio and Me" blog page. By mistake but whatever. Have been enjoying two good days of riding thanks to a real big dose of Spring here in the Ohio area. Yesterday I took a ride out in the country and today's ride took me to Dayton. Had never been there on the motorcycle (though had in the car) so this was a first.
This was at Woodland Cemetery. The grave is the Wright family grave. At the bottom left to right are the graves of Wilbur, Katherine and Orville Wright. Also buried there are his father and mother. Fun to see the graves of the World's first pilots and the creators of the airplane. 

Seen from Woodland Cemetery is Dayton, Ohio. Said to be one of the best views of the city from that point this is a sight of one of the things I plan to explore over the next few years.
Woodland is interesting though. In addition to the Wright family, the author (and friend of the Wrights) Paul Dunbar, Erma Bombeck and others are buried there. There is also a nice area of soldiers (Union after so many years of being in the South and seeing Confederate graves) from the Civil War.
Woodland is a very historical and interesting place to visit. 

I did take a short ride around Dayton. Passed the University of Dayton, rolled down some very interesting streets and also rolled into the Oregon District. It is the entertainment district of Dayton and has been fixed up by the various business owners. Will in the future be some places there to check out too.
So all in all was a very good ride. Unlike the previous days ride rode up Highway 4 to Dayton. While not the pot holed mess of many roads here was not as smooth as the roads headed to Troy from yesterdays ride. Very bumpy but was manageable.
Ohio passed a increase in the gas tax to improve the roads a few days ago. While not a tax fan, in this case and if it does some good I am all for it.
At any case, home safe and sound after a very fun ride. Looking forward to the next one.