Gas prices

[dshpipes]

Wow guys. You're making me really glad that I only ride my bike or take public transit!

 

[Rob_In_MO]

Wow guys. You're making me really glad that I only ride my bike or take public transit!

Funny you mention that, I have a fantastic B&M that I visit occasionally in Cape Girardeau. Mind you, it's normally about 85-miles each way.

I spent 2-hours on Google Maps & Google Earth, switching back and forth, plotting out a route to Cape completely avoiding highways or interstates. Reason being, I thought it would be an Epic Ride on my Honda Metropolitan Scooter (50cc).

Well, I found a way with no Interstates, no major Highways, and no gravel roads - just county highways & county roads. The route that I plotted out and loaded into the Garmin was 81-miles each way. So - back in April I went on the ride. Took me 2 1/2 hours each way, but I went the 162-miles there and back - and it only took 1.5 gallons of gas!

Since I had all day, the time it took didn't matter. Actually it was a very nice ride. The Honda is liquid cooled, and a ride like that is nothing for it. I in no way stressed that engine, as I ran between 30-35 mph the whole way. Come on, it's a Honda! Just ride the damn thing and don't worry about it.

I just wanted to do it for the fun of it. I made the same ride again in early May. No traffic to speak of, no problems, smooth roads - actually very peaceful and quiet.


Now - how many other idiots do you know that would ride a 50cc Scooter to a town 81-miles away (and back)? 8)

 

[Brewdude]

Rob, I cut my teeth on a Honda 50 when I was like 14 or 15 yrs old. This was on a farm my late Mom grew up on in SE WI (Elkhorn). The family that bought it when my grandparents retired from dairy farming were well established in the area and they actually named the road after them! It's called Brey Road to this day.

So I worked on that farm for a couple weeks each summer back then, and had the great privilege of riding the Honda 50 that the oldest daughter had. Took it all over the area, despite no licence, no helmet, and no common sense! LOL!

That's where I got the motorcycle bug, and eventually rode for about 13 yrs. NOT on a 50cc either!



That little scooter would go all week on a couple gallons!


Cheers,

RR

 

[monbla256]

Rob, I cut my teeth on a Honda 50 when I was like 14 or 15 yrs old. This was on a farm my late Mom grew up on in SE WI (Elkhorn). The family that bought it when my grandparents retired from dairy farming were well established in the area and they actually named the road after them! It's called Brey Road to this day.

So I worked on that farm for a couple weeks each summer back then, and had the great privilege of riding the Honda 50 that the oldest daughter had. Took it all over the area, despite no licence, no helmet, and no common sense! LOL!

That's where I got the motorcycle bug, and eventually rode for about 13 yrs. NOT on a 50cc either!



That little scooter would go all week on a couple gallons!


Cheers,

RR

Brewdude,
I started out on a Triumph Tiger Cub T20 back in the early '60s. A small 200cc thumper that I rode till I got my 650 Bonnie when i was a senior. I still have my '68 BMW R-50 but I need to rebuild the engine after all these years! I LOVE scooters

 

[Kyle Weiss]

In Nevada, and especially for my work, I have to have a truck. There's no gettin' around it. *shrug* Motorcycles are alright, too--just gotta know where the gas stations are if you're going out of town... :lol:

 

[dshpipes]

Rob, that sounds like a beautiful journey! I love taking long meandering rides like that. It really cleanses the soul.

Now your get around town scooter sounds like a great ride, but just imagine how epic a journey you would've had if you were rockin' the quality bike I've got.

Check it out. 2006 model. This baby will get you there and back and the gas mileage is pretty impressive. Just be prepared to pack a lunch.

 

[Rob_In_MO]

Rob, that sounds like a beautiful journey! I love taking long meandering rides like that. It really cleanses the soul.

Now your get around town scooter sounds like a great ride, but just imagine how epic a journey you would've had if you were rockin' the quality bike I've got.

Check it out. 2006 model. This baby will get you there and back and the gas mileage is pretty impressive. Just be prepared to pack a lunch.

I tell you, Dave, it was a blast. Just the thought of a 50cc engine (1/3 the displacement of my push mower) propelling me effortlessly on a 160+ mile round trip, more than once - that was the challenge and what made it so fun. Of course we are all familiar with 'Honda Reliability', and that engine has been around for YEARS. They just added water jackets and made it liquid cooled. Naturally this will only prolong the life of that near-bulletproof engine. Many Metropolitan & Ruckus (same engine) owners report over 30k miles on them before the engine ever has to be touched. That's Effin Crazy!

It's really a lot of fun. I never realized how much scenery you miss when driving at highway speeds.


Nice bike BTW. I really got into biking years ago, and i've been thinking about it a lot here lately. I might have to dig mine out of the shed and get it road-ready again.

 

[dshpipes]

It's really a lot of fun. I never realized how much scenery you miss when driving at highway speeds.

This. So much of this. And the smells too.

Last summer was when I really got into my bike. I spent 3 months in Cortland, NY where I worked as a sound designer for a summer stock theatre there. Cortland is in between Syracuse and Ithaca and as such is surrounded by 30+ miles of scenic roadways in all directions. For most of the summer, I was doing 8 to 30 miles 3 or 4 times a week. Biking in an area like that can make you never want to leave.

Biking in Chicago is fine, but it's not soul cleansing like riding in the hills of upstate NY was.

Nice bike BTW. I really got into biking years ago, and i've been thinking about it a lot here lately. I might have to dig mine out of the shed and get it road-ready again.

I highly recommend it. To me, nothing feels better than setting up camp or crashing in your bed after a nice 30+ mile bike ride. There's just something satisfying about covering a distance like that under your own power that makes you feel like you could do anything.

Plus it's fun as hell.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Ruckus scoots are awesome, by the way. 8)

You know, I always find it amusing the urbanophiles that proudly take pictures of themselves eating some hand-picked, $20 vegan salad, showing off their bicycles and patting themselves on the back that they huff and pedal through the smog-choked metropolitan areas they live, saying "...if only EVERYONE was like us." (Not you guys, but you know the type.)

Then there's the hybrid owner, state job, with obligatory custom smug license plate, the hippie modern version of the stock broker from 1988 with the red Ferrari--both doing so well in their time they can afford to look down their nose on everyone else that isn't rollin' like 'em. One is rich in pocket, the other rich in "heart." (Again, not you guys, but when I saw a Prius with a plate with the words "MY PART" on them, I kind of wanted to go buy some veal and throw batteries in the river.)

Not everyone works and lives in cities. The thought of the elimination of the combustion engine (especially before something comparable or better is developed) makes me giggle. I can definitely leave a production industry and go sell my art on the sidewalks...it has a lovely retirement plan. :lol:

Sorry, just had to give you city slickers some guff. :lol!: I'm for saving on gas and cleaning up the air, but I can't help but wonder what kind of muffler I could develop for some folks' egos and if there's a catalytic converter for trendy ideas masquerading as solutions.

 

[monbla256]

EVERYONE has justifications for whatever they do, however they do it! That's just life

 

[Kyle Weiss]

EVERYONE has justifications for whatever they do, however they do it! That's just life

Nope. Some people are quite comfortable in their own lack of reasoning due to lack of thought or observation. 8)

 

[Doc Manhattan]

(Again, not you guys, but when I saw a Prius with a plate with the words "MY PART" on them, I kind of wanted to go buy some veal and throw batteries in the river.)

My mother was fond of yelling at people like that Prius owner, "Get off the cross, honey, we need the wood."

On the flipside, I am fond of the Prius owners who keep a sense of humor about it. My friend has a white Prius with the full-size longhorns attached to the front, a la a J.R. Ewing Caddy. The good people of New Jersey don't know what to make of it.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Hahaha Doc, that's pretty funny. I'm glad I'm not the only one that sees the Prius as the rolling church from which to preach. :lol: Good on yer mum. Have you ever overheard proud Prius owners patting each other on the back? "I got 55 MPG the other day... " "...well, I got 57...." Similar conversations I've overheard are guys that talk about how big the wheels on their truck are. Too funny.

The Prius isn't at fault, though. It's a pretty neat example of innovation and technology. Personally, if money were no object, I'd install a 350 in the back and make a FunnyPrius (something like that has to have been done already). Overall, they're cooler and more practical than a Smart Car. :mrgreen:

 

[Doc Manhattan]

The Prius isn't at fault, though. It's a pretty neat example of innovation and technology. Personally, if money were no object, I'd install a 350 in the back and make a FunnyPrius (something like that has to have been done already). Overall, they're cooler and more practical than a Smart Car. :mrgreen:

You just loved that scene in Harold & Maude where he chops the MG into a hearse, didn't you? (I did.)

I hate the smug mileage braggarts, with the exception of people who have gone Full Engineer on the issue and have started modding their Prii to get ludicrous efficiency. I read about a guy with an older (relatively!) Prius who built his own battery cutover switch (so he could switch to battery for a few seconds when coasting at high speed) and installed a battery-only, retractable fifth wheel, which he'd engage when he needed a little extra pop to go uphill at low speed but didn't want to put the pedal down too much. I've seen pics of aftermarket solar-panel strapped hybrid, too. Once you hit the "Mythbusters" degree of tinkering, it switches back from annoying to endearing.

 

[Rob_In_MO]

Prius, Prius, Prius...


My '99 Metro got 40-mpg in town and 50-mpg on the highway if I watched how I drove it.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I did like that Harold & Maude scene...I'm pretty transparent.

:lol!:

Yeah, some Prius modders have done fascinating, cool things. Anyone willing to tinker and make a better wheel (or set of them) to whatever their fancy is, is okay in my book. 8)

Now, for my all-electric AMC Gremlin...

 

[Brewdude]

Not everyone works and lives in cities. The thought of the elimination of the combustion engine (especially before something comparable or better is developed) makes me giggle. I can definitely leave a production industry and go sell my art on the sidewalks...it has a lovely retirement plan. :lol:

OK, now that there is funny and made me LOL. Good one Kyle!

My, how this thread has taken a twist and turn. And here in my area the price of regular just dropped to $3.88. Which is still at least .50/gal more than most of the rest of youse guys!

:evil:


Cheers,

RR

 

[Rob_In_MO]

Down to $3.10 today. This is better, but it still has a way to go...

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I hope it's gone down enough to ease the mileage I'm taking (0.555 cents) for my trip to the boondocks for work today through Thursday... :| I haven't checked a local station lately.

 

[monbla256]

Just filled up my mother's car, was $3.02/gal. looks like it's goin' down around here