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So my dad, my buddy and fellow forum member Rob (kparkfan), my lovely wife and I decided to take a little impromptu ride up to Indian Lake here in Ohio. Just one of those days where we wanted to do something as a family (cause even though none of us are related by blood we are indeed a family..)
And riding is always a damn good idea. Sometimes we just don't know where to go. And sometimes that's fun but when ya get three or four bikes together it's a decent idea to have a destination in mind lest some people get testy with the wandering through the country side with no plan in place.
Me, someday I'd like to just pack the bike up (preferably one that is a bit more accommodating for two up long trips, like, say, a Vstrom. It's coming folks...we will have one!) and point it in a direction, knowing we have a week or two off of work and just see where we end up. But we aren't quite that daring yet, and we don't have said bike yet, so maybe next season, or the one after that...
Anyway...
So we headed out OH235. Pretty straight and meandering through farmland, as most of the middle portion of Ohio is pretty flat and pretty boring if you're a slobbering red eyed apex predator, (which is me most days) but it is pretty. I sometimes forget how nice it is just to go out and ride. Cruise even. In my years of riding I have constantly tried to become smoother, quicker, better and faster at twisty roads. And if I wasn't riding 90mph with my hair on fire I simply wasn't riding or enjoying myself as much.
But, with Rose riding with me, I've made a conscious effort to tone it down a bit, especially in light of our little off roading adventure last spring. I've had quite a bit of seat time to re-organize my head after the event, which while not very serious in an injury respect, was pretty serious to both my confidence, and hers in me, and could have easily, very very easily, ended up a hell of a lot worse than it did. Thank goodness for soft, muddy grass.. But, Rose hasn't had nearly as much, and while I feel like she's getting more comfortable in the twisties again, I know she's not ready for full bore yet, and I try to respect that as much as I can. Sometimes I get a little carried away, a little too "in the moment", and I feel her squeeze me a little harder with her legs, and I know she's not saying anything, but she's not comfortable, and I try to reign it in a bit. And, the fact of the matter is, as much as I enjoy riding hard and trying to sharpen my skills, I enjoy her riding with me more, so I've found a new life in the "just out for a cruise" way of thinking when we ride together. Before, we would go all day and after she may ask me if I saw some pretty landscape or a landmark or point of interest, and I would just look at her with the deer in headlights sort of look...the only thing *I* saw was lines on a black background, and an imaginary one that was in my mind the best point of attack... So, it's been kind of nice to just smell the smells and see the sights for a change..
ANNNNYway..
So we went up OH235 into Indian Lake. Lotsa farms, lotsa smells, little traffic along the way. Its kind of an odd place in a sense, because when *I* think of a lake, I think of one being surrounded by a forest, or tucked into some hills or mountains somewhere. Maybe its because I grew up in Colorado, and that was pretty much the norm there..or because we go to Kentucky a lot, and thats sort of the norm there as well. This particular lake is right smack dab in the middle of flat, and I mean KANSAS flat, farm land. Which makes it pretty neat, because while its a pretty large lake, as far as local man made lakes go, you can see for miles, and barely see the other side in some spots...
Which in turn lends itself to FANTASTIC sunset shots...
And riding is always a damn good idea. Sometimes we just don't know where to go. And sometimes that's fun but when ya get three or four bikes together it's a decent idea to have a destination in mind lest some people get testy with the wandering through the country side with no plan in place.
Me, someday I'd like to just pack the bike up (preferably one that is a bit more accommodating for two up long trips, like, say, a Vstrom. It's coming folks...we will have one!) and point it in a direction, knowing we have a week or two off of work and just see where we end up. But we aren't quite that daring yet, and we don't have said bike yet, so maybe next season, or the one after that...
Anyway...
So we headed out OH235. Pretty straight and meandering through farmland, as most of the middle portion of Ohio is pretty flat and pretty boring if you're a slobbering red eyed apex predator, (which is me most days) but it is pretty. I sometimes forget how nice it is just to go out and ride. Cruise even. In my years of riding I have constantly tried to become smoother, quicker, better and faster at twisty roads. And if I wasn't riding 90mph with my hair on fire I simply wasn't riding or enjoying myself as much.
But, with Rose riding with me, I've made a conscious effort to tone it down a bit, especially in light of our little off roading adventure last spring. I've had quite a bit of seat time to re-organize my head after the event, which while not very serious in an injury respect, was pretty serious to both my confidence, and hers in me, and could have easily, very very easily, ended up a hell of a lot worse than it did. Thank goodness for soft, muddy grass.. But, Rose hasn't had nearly as much, and while I feel like she's getting more comfortable in the twisties again, I know she's not ready for full bore yet, and I try to respect that as much as I can. Sometimes I get a little carried away, a little too "in the moment", and I feel her squeeze me a little harder with her legs, and I know she's not saying anything, but she's not comfortable, and I try to reign it in a bit. And, the fact of the matter is, as much as I enjoy riding hard and trying to sharpen my skills, I enjoy her riding with me more, so I've found a new life in the "just out for a cruise" way of thinking when we ride together. Before, we would go all day and after she may ask me if I saw some pretty landscape or a landmark or point of interest, and I would just look at her with the deer in headlights sort of look...the only thing *I* saw was lines on a black background, and an imaginary one that was in my mind the best point of attack... So, it's been kind of nice to just smell the smells and see the sights for a change..
ANNNNYway..
So we went up OH235 into Indian Lake. Lotsa farms, lotsa smells, little traffic along the way. Its kind of an odd place in a sense, because when *I* think of a lake, I think of one being surrounded by a forest, or tucked into some hills or mountains somewhere. Maybe its because I grew up in Colorado, and that was pretty much the norm there..or because we go to Kentucky a lot, and thats sort of the norm there as well. This particular lake is right smack dab in the middle of flat, and I mean KANSAS flat, farm land. Which makes it pretty neat, because while its a pretty large lake, as far as local man made lakes go, you can see for miles, and barely see the other side in some spots...
Which in turn lends itself to FANTASTIC sunset shots...
I often rent a boat and take my boys fishing there and they ALWAYS insist on Mc Donalds on the water, also at Russells Point.
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