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Here is a report from Harold on a recent motorcycle trip he took with his son and friends. If you have something you would like to share with our readers just email it to us. I hope to hear about your adventure soon.

Harold's Trip

Trip Report-Day 1

Some days are better than others, as I'm sure you know. The good news is that the mystery of the flat front tire on my Gold Wing has been solved at last. The bad news is we wasted an hour and a half getting it fixed. As you recall, this all started last May when we arrived at the Starke KOA and found my front tire nearly flat. We tried the soapy water thing and found no leak. I aired it up and rode it home. Periodic checking showed no leak. When the tropical storm came through a few weeks ago, I moved the bike inside the garage. Guess what....flat front tire. Later I pumped it up and dipped it in a sink full of water....nothing. I rode it around...no leak. A couple weeks ago I rode it to Holopaw and the tire was low when I started back. I aired it up again and checked it every day...no leak. It was still up this morning when we left. At the gas stop on Rt 40 it was low again. This time Geoff came through and found the leak. It was the valve stem. It was cracked around the base where it went through the rim. Super glue did not fix it. Knowing the nearest bike shop was in Ocala, we decided to continue. Now the fun begins. The valve stem is a 90 degree type; it has to be because of the wheel design. The Harley dealer had no such thing because no Harley uses that type stem. We proceeded down the road to the Honda dealer who had the correct valve stem, but nobody available to install it. I bought the valve stem, took it to another 'all brands' shop back up the road and got it installed. It checks out leak free so far.

Near Chiefland Geoff's GL650 Silver Wing lost its turn signals. At a gas stop we pulled the rear turn lenses (damaging both in the process) to check the bulbs. Both good. I the pulled a side cover and fiddled with the connectors to the flasher unit. Presto! Turn signals now work. Had to tape the lenses back in place and we were on the road again. Will get replacement lenses from Steve's Cycle in Tifton some day.

Other than that, the ride was nice. It was pretty hot during the middle of the day, so I suffered when we were caught in traffic. We had lunch at the Hilltop Restaurant in Williston. Arrived here at Torreya State Park at 6:30PM. Set up the tents and rode to Bristol for dinner. Back in camp Geoff got the fire going and then it started sprinkling rain. It has stopped now and looks like we will have a nice night for sleeping.

Long day....407 miles. More to come........

Trip Report-day 2

A better day than yesterday. Had orange juice and coffee in camp. Rode to Chattahoochee for breakfast at Jerry's restaurant on US90. The first picture was taken looking north just after sunrise. You can see the lights at the I-10 rest stop about 15 miles away. Most of the ride was hot and uncomfortable today. Stopped in Union Springs at a Huddle House for a snack. We then rode to Tuskegee and visited the Tuskegee Airmen's Museum. Right now it is not much...some displays and videos in a temporary building. The attached pictures show the plans to make a really nice facility.

From there we rode some delightful roads to Cheaha State Park. After setting up our tents we went up to the lodge for dinner. The last picture shows the sunset from the deck of the lodge. You can see the lake in the lower left part of the picture...caught a small bass there on the way to dinner. It is now much cooler and the campfire feels good.

Tomorrow we head for Fort Mountain. More to come.........

Trip Report-Day 3

Again it was a better day than yesterday. Had breakfast at the lodge at Cheaha...good pancakes! Great bike roads from there into Georgia. Lunch in Gaylesville at a home cooking buffet place. Got held up by a stopped train in Calhoun. Made a couple stops along Little River Canyon, nice views. Nice, curvy, windy road up to Fort Mountain State Park. No luck fishing. Tall tales around a nice campfire.

212 miles today......more to come.......

Trip Report-Day 4

A very nice short ride today. From Fort Mountain we rode to Ellijay for breakfast only to find that the Calico Cupboard is under new management and not open for breakfast. We went to the Davis House instead, very good. From there to T.W.O. was great....good curvy roads and perfect weather. We set up camp and went to Turner's Corner for lunch. Back to camp and a nap. Tired of my air mattress leaking, so got a new one at Wal-Mart. Dinner at Danny's. Back at T.W.O. We had beer and tall tales around the campfire. Tomorrow we head back for home. I have had poor luck finding any Wi-Fi service, so you will get a bunch of reports at one time.

Only 127 miles today.......more to come......

Trip Report-Day 5

Nice, cool night for sleeping last night at T.W.O. The front that was supposed to bring rain must have slipped off to the east someplace. Breakfast at the lodge, good chat with other bikers. Lunch at McDonald's in Washington, GA. Hard time getting right road, but finally made it to Hamberg State Park. Rode 20 miles to Sandersville for dinner. Fished with Geoff: Dad 1, Geoff 0. Beer and talk around good campfire.

228 miles today......more to come.........

Trip Report-Day 6

A nice day with no major problems for a change. A bit cool at Hamberg this morning- 52 degrees. Rode to the Waffle House in Sandersville for breakfast. Came down US441 to Fargo. Lunch at the Suwanee Restaurant. Shortly after that we are riding along nice as you please when I felt something crawling around my right ear. We did a quick stop, I yanked my helmet off and found a daddy longlegs in my helmet. Must have been there since leaving camp this morning. I have had a couple of those things in my tent every night, but this is the first one in my helmet.

Arrived at the Starke KOA about 4:30. Set up tents since no kabins were available. The attached picture is our setup at the KOA. Richard and Geoff watched the Gator game in the day room while I fished in the pond. They had more fun than I did. The fish get smarter every year.

273 miles today........home tomorrow....

Final Trip Report

We're back! It was nice and cool at the Starke KOA when we left this morning. Nice ride on Rt 100 to I-95. Got a bit warm before we got back to Melbourne. Overall, it was a good trip...minor problems, good weather, good roads. Will try again next year, should be recovered by then.

Total miles: 1747. Will try to set up an overnight campout sometime soon......ride safe.......

Harold

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