Monthly Archives: June 2008

T-ball Practice And Back To MITM

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We got up early and got Reese out to his t-ball practice. This is his second year of it and the improvement is amazing. It’s still loosely organized chaos, but not nearly as crazy as last year’s practices were. He’s getting the fundamentals down well. After we got back from the practice it was time for me to head back to MITM, and had to say goodbye again, which really stinks.

Back at MITM I set up the PST and opened it up for viewing. It seemed to be pretty popular.

Later on we headed out for dinner and got a surprise while we were there. It turns out that there’s an Orthodox church out there in the middle of the cornfields of rural southern Illinois. So we went over and met the priest, Fr. Paul, who showed us around the church. It’s about one hundred years old and was undergoing a refurbishment so there was scaffolding in place, but I think everyone enjoyed the visit. For most of them it was the first time in an Orthodox church.

We got back to the farm and I set up the dob to get the glass cooling down. After dark we did a little observing of the moon, Saturn, and Mars. There was too much ambient light to really get any decent views of deep sky objects, but everyone really liked what they could see so it wasn’t a real loss.

Up To Peoria To See Reese

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Heading up the road to Peoria to see Reese. I got in just before dinner time and I think he was as happy to see me as I was to see him. It was a quiet evening, just dinner and playing a little frisbee outside.

On The Road To MITM

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I had to take the Jeep this time because the Sportster isn’t up for it, or more to the point, I can’t take the abuse a long distance ride on it dishes out any more. I didn’t take the Beemer because I’m just not ready to do a long ride on it yet. It was probably a good thing that I didn’t because the 25+ MPH tail winds turned into crosswinds once I hit I-44.

I got in just before sunset, got my tent pitched, and headed over to the campfire to enjoy a tasty adult beverage or two.

I Bought A Motorcycle Today

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I picked up the cashier’s check and headed back over to pick up the RT this evening. It’s home, in the garage, looking good. The ride back was nice, it really handles the wind well and I’m starting to get used to it. It’s funny, I didn’t want to get off the highway. It’s like it was calling to me to just head to points elsewhere. Soon enough, soon enough…

Now I’ve got to brave the county tax office to get the title transferred. That ought to be loads of fun…

Pics are up

Kegging The St. Maximus Wheat

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Well, it’s got a name now after how fast it disappeared after Pascha. Henceforth to be known as St. Maximus Wheat. It’s in the keg now and I’m just doing a final leak test before getting it in the fridge for forced carbonation. Tasted a little bit on the way out and it’s yummy!

BMW R1150RT Test Ride

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I’ve been thinking about picking up a sport touring machine for a while and with gas getting more expensive and me getting older, touring on a Sportster just isn’t as much fun as it used to be. I went out today to meet with a local guy who has an RT for sale. The bike looked good, felt comfortable, and the test ride was great. I’m going back tomorrow to pay for it and take it home. Here’s some basic observations from the test ride:

The RT handles cross winds a LOT better than the Sportster. It just shimmies a little instead of taking a dive.

The ABS really is grabby until you get used to it. By the end of the test ride I was a lot more comfortable with it than at the beginning.

Six gears are better than five.

Adjustable windshields rock!

After riding a single bike for ten years it’s going to take a while to get used to this one.