Beakster Bash 2012 - May 17th - 20th

Check out what group rides people are planning, or planning to attend! Questions you have BEFORE the ride takes place should go in here.

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touchton
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Re: Beakster Bash 2012 - May 17th - 20th

Post by touchton »

I got home about 7:30pm CDT and immediately mowed the lawn. I'm beat. Distance wise, it was about 550 miles for me. I didn't take a very direct route either way though. Most of the day today was Interstate. I hit some serious rain on the Cumberland Plateau, but was wearing rain gear so it was no big deal. About 70 miles from home traffic came to a crawl because of construction. I almost burnt up with that rain gear on so I had to pull over and get out of it.

I had a great time at the Bash as usual. It was good to see everyone; especially Wayne. I enjoyed the Cam stories as well. I guess when a group is together this long things happen; good and bad. On the ride back today I though a lot about Brian's near death experience. In 9 years of the Bash I have to think we've racked up a lot of miles collectively. Aside from a few minor incidents, I think we've done pretty well. It makes me think we're each pretty good riders and we don't put ourselves in bad situations often. In Brian's case, a bad situation was thrust upon him and he instinctively made the best decisions one could make. There was a very small window of opportunity there and because of Brian's riding ability it turned out fine. Some may say he was 'lucky'. I don't believe in 'luck'. I think it was a case where preparation and opportunity met and the result was 'success'.

Be safe and hopefully we'll all get back together next year.....

Thad
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STDocLizard1
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Re: Beakster Bash 2012 - May 17th - 20th

Post by STDocLizard1 »

Home is where the heart is.
Arrived without incident.
Thanks to John Slater for "taking the point" on Interstates 81 & 78 on the way home.
Good food, good friends, and good roads.
I'm bushed!
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Arbreacames
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Re: Beakster Bash 2012 - May 17th - 20th

Post by Arbreacames »

Thanks Vann for a great Bash. Perfect weather, location, roads, and company. Looking forward to the photos!
Carlos D.
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CycleRob
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Re: Beakster Bash 2012 - May 17th - 20th

Post by CycleRob »

Except for the the 8 minute torrential downpour at the speed limit that soaked my clean jeans, gloves, boots and fabric riding jacket on day 1, it was a thrilling series of excellent roads, made for a sporting MotorCycle and it's rider. The Blue Ridge Mountain Range topography mandates that the roads cannot be straight and level without incurring great construction costs -and- they had the forethought to make them all smooth, fairly wide and ALL well paved. They also lack existing underground rocks and winter frost heaves that slowly destroy the roads in the New England states, so there are NO bumps anywhere. Once you ride these West Virginia roads, everywhere else will come up short.

My home commute was a comfortable, stress free 843 mile round-trip truck ride, with 7 quality tie-downs holding the bike in place solidly enough to survive a sideways, rubber smoking road slide. For my bike it was:
Thu: 298.4
Fri: 310.3
Sat: 288.6
Total: 897.3 bike miles, 1,740 miles for both vehicles. The 5 speed Nissan 2.4L truck got 27.4 MPG, very good for the cruising speeds and repeated 6, 7, and 8% grade mountain climbs, most 2---4 miles long, necessary to get there-&-back.

Having ridden the planned routes on 3 other years' Bashes in this area, my Saturday ride was a solo trip back to the big turbine blade wind farm about 144 miles North that the group riders and I had passed the day before . . . . without stopping. :( The few riders that knew of my planned ride stayed with their original plan to ride with the group, a better choice for a days group ride. The tall 3 blade turbines are almost a stones' throw from the road. A rare impressive sight and one I wanted to study with all my senses and record with the camera in pics and video. Too bad that the nearby trees indicated there was barely any wind at all, indicating that the slow blade rotation observed was obviously just "freewheeling" without generating any electricity. Route 219 that the motel is on goes directly to it. It has several excellent hilly corkscrew roads with nearly straight, scenic country sections in between. A very peaceful, enjoyable ride, increasing to the 18,390 miles now on it. The last 50 miles or so I dialed in really high corner speeds that allowed the F800ST to show it's thrilling race-bike abilities, with nothing but birds, bugs and squirrels watching me go past in 4th/5th or 6th gear.

We all managed, most of the time, to walk to our restaurant choices for breakfast or supper while at the motel. I utilized the somewhat healthy AppleCinnamonOatmeal/yogurt/pastry/OJ/Apples/sausage-or-ham slices continental breakfast the motel provided. I intentionally ate for 2 people, knowing the day would be long and active. Shoneys, Ruby Tuesday and a Subway bordered the motel's huge parking lot. Somehow I gained 5 pounds from this trip. [-( I say that I turned body fat into muscle with all the thousands of corners that were taken. The after hours group talks were educational and fun. Lots of humor, sarcasm and laughing. Oddly, there were no smokers in the groups I joined. Boxer even got his bike's maintenance reminder eliminated (with a new 2020 service date) by Thad's GS-911 and netbook hook-up in the parking lot at night (best for seeing the screen data). Then there were recollections of the days road encounters and gratitude that nobody crashed or went off-road. All agreed it was/is motorcycle heaven and they were really exhausted. Even the police seemed not interested in fully enforcing the speed limit on us responsible BMW riders. Pics and 2 videos to follow.
`09 F800ST

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ctRrider
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Re: Beakster Bash 2012 - May 17th - 20th

Post by ctRrider »

It was good to see everyone again this year. Van, thanks for taking the lead and setting up this years Bash. It was an ideal location. Cycle Rob hit on a key point why WV has such good riding, no bumps or potholes! Roads that are too numerous to count that have the 2 or 3 quick banked turns that end with a banked hairpin curve that dissappears around the mountain. Reminds me of snow skiing! Kevin and I rode to Gettysburg on Sunday then home on Monday. Ran into rain all day Monday back to CT so I was able to get the bike washed and remove all the bugs. Great trip and great friends.
ron prior
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Re: Beakster Bash 2012 - May 17th - 20th

Post by ron prior »

How bout some pictures for those of us,...who went to a different rally,...and wish they hadn't... #-o

Ron
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Re: Beakster Bash 2012 - May 17th - 20th

Post by CycleRob »

Here are pics and 1 funny video that span 3 days. Click Thumbnail. Click the big pic for full size photo if there is one.

Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image

The winds on this mountaintop varied between calm and light, as indicated to me by the tree leaves. It's very likely it was just freewheeling the propellers without generating any power at all. There was only a subdued, cycling air swishing sound with a nearly equal pause in between. Hardly annoying. Area had No Trespassing signs, so I could not get any closer. Their really HUGE size was impressive!!

Image Image Image

Here is a pretty funny candid video showing JFSlater's dissatisfaction with the expensive but still malfunctioning one piece suit's zipper upgrade he just had done. The medium zoom still mistakenly set from the previous picture I took makes the movie a little too shaky and it is best viewed at their downsized tiny version. Click on the link to Open or DownLoad the 4MB MP4 movie:

Image

EDIT: To change pic links to new/faster/better photo provider
Last edited by CycleRob on Mon Jul 15, 2019 6:04 pm, edited 3 times in total.
`09 F800ST

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"Talent, On Loan, From God" --Rush Limbaugh--
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jfslater98
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Re: Beakster Bash 2012 - May 17th - 20th

Post by jfslater98 »

CycleRob wrote: Here is a pretty funny candid video showing JFSlater's dissatisfaction with the expensive but still malfunctioning zipper upgrade he just had done. The medium zoom set from the previous pic makes it a little shaky. Click on the link to Open or DownLoad the 4MB movie:
http://www.adrive.com/public/6tzgpH/BadZipper.AVI
:lol:

Thanks for posting Rob, even I have to admit that's pretty funny! I must note that the suit has not given me any trouble since then. Maybe that was the last bit of "break in" that needed to be done. ;)

Buckster and Boxter have more pictures here,
http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=24958

and I will post my album link there as well. Thanks again to everyone, I miss you all already. Hope to see you again soon!
Gone but not forgotten: 2004 Orange Rockster
ron prior
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Re: Beakster Bash 2012 - May 17th - 20th

Post by ron prior »

Thanks to all for the pics!! I enjoyed'em. Hope to make it next year.

Summer is so dog-gone short,and so few weekends...seems sometimes like all the rallies I'd like, fall on the same weekend........

The MOA national for example, I've made one...because it always falls on one of the Mid-Ohio dates, either Superbike,or V/Days...and those two have become tradition, pushing 30 years now.
swamper
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Re: Beakster Bash 2012 - May 17th - 20th

Post by swamper »

I've hadn't had the chance to make one, where is it next year?????????????
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wncbmw
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Re: Beakster Bash 2012 - May 17th - 20th

Post by wncbmw »

swamper - next year's location is a closely guarded secret! Actually, it has not been determined yet but the handoff for planning next years event has been made and if I had to guess, I would say it will be further north!

Just a guess! ;)
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Biff's R
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Re: Beakster Bash 2012 - May 17th - 20th

Post by Biff's R »

The races at Mid Ohio are nice.
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