Rhymes with Sunday…

Hey, today is Sunday (Monday if you’re reading this in China, and a lot of folks do), and I’ll tell you what I mean with that title a little further down.

As I promised myself yesterday, I went to the range this morning and I brought two toys with me – the M1A I told you about earlier and a Ruger Gunsite Rifle (aka the GSR).   The GSR is chambered in 308 Winchester, just like the Springfield Armory M1A.  Whew…Ruger, Springfield Armory, Winchester…it gets confusing keeping track of all these manufacturers’ names!

The GSR is a bolt action rifle, so it will shoot just about any load.  The M1A, on the other hand, is gas-actuated, and when you reload for it the loads have to be within a certain range of powder charges and bullet weights.   Too light a bullet or too light a charge, and the action won’t cycle.  Too heavy a bullet or too heavy a charge, and you’ll bend the operating rod.   The loads I assembled last night were just perfect, and they worked fine in both rifles.   Good times.

After a nice lunch with Sue and a bit of shopping, I was out on my TT250.   While we were eating, though, Sue asked if I had bought insurance on the TT yet.   Oops!  I’d forgotten about that!   I guess I was so excited about picking up the bike that little detail got away from me.

I tried to get the bike insured online from Geico, but the TT was not in Geico’s online database yet.  I called them on their 800 number and the guy took care of me.   For another buck a year, my TT250 is now covered.   Geico comes through!

It was a dumb move on my part forgetting to get the insurance last week, but I’m good to go now.   Every once in a while when I do something dumb like this, it helps me realize I’m moving too fast and I have to pay more attention to the details.  Or, maybe I’m just dumb.   I got in a political argument with a buddy once (talking politics is always a dangerous thing to do), and he told me I was so dumb I probably needed an hour and a half to watch 60 Minutes (you know, the TV news show).   That made me laugh so hard I forgot what we were arguing about.

Anyway, before I took the TT out I rotated the shift lever up one spline, and that worked wonders.   The bike shifts a lot smoother now.  It’s easy enough to do…it took all of a minute and all was well with the world.

Today was a glorious day, and after attending to the above details I was up in the San Gabriels on my way to Mt. Baldy…

The wildflowers are still in full bloom, and I stopped to get a few photos…

You probably recognize Glendora Ridge Road.  I’ve been riding and writing about it for years.   It’s a perfect place for breaking in a new bike.  The stretch in the photo below is the actual ridgeline.    It’s a great ride.

There’s a three-way intersection at the western end of Glendora Ridge Road, and there were a few bikes parked up there this afternoon.   You can just barely make out a Suzuki GS500 parked behind my TT…

That Suzuki belongs to my new good buddy Andrew, who I met up there today.  We chatted about our bikes a bit and then we rode back to Mt. Baldy.  It was a grand ride.

Check out the sign.   This is a road known for its shenanigans.

Here’s another cool TT photo.  I couldn’t get the colors exactly the way I wanted in this photo, so I converted it to black and white.  I like it.

The shot below is one of Andrew headed toward Mt. Baldy Village, with me right behind him.   Andrew is a new rider (he’s been on two wheels for about a year), and he was putting his GS500 through its paces.   I stayed right on his tail.  He pushed the Suzuki hard, but when you get in the twisties, displacement is not the determining factor for how quickly you get through.

I had fun.   We rode the entire length of Glendora Ridge Road with Andrew trying to shake me, but he couldn’t.   When we stopped at the eastern end, Andrew said he was amazed that a 250 could keep up with him.  Hey, this little TT is a torque monster, and it really shreds in the corners.  We chatted a bit more, and Andrew told me he’s a car designer working with a well-known manufacturer.  I can’t tell you the company, but they’re from Korea and the name rhymes with Sunday…

One last shot, folks, taken from the TT saddle in one of the Mt. Baldy tunnels.

And folks, that was it for my Sunday.   I hope your weekend was as good as mine.