WOW!  What a bad stretch of weather we have been having.  Since I got back from Tennessee about four weeks ago, we have had snow, freezing rain, or both almost every day.  The days that we do not have snow or ice, we had enough the night before that I cannot ride to work.  While the RT is a very capable bike, I don’t relish the thought of sliding to work on the ice.  I will have to look through my older photos and post some ride reports for rides that I have taken in the past three summers.  I am sure that I have some photos somewhere, as Amy is really good about taking them.  When I ride alone,  I am bad about not taking photos.  I get focused on riding and forget to take photos.

Even though there has been lousy weather for riding the motorcycle, there is some great news.  As I am sure you have noticed, the gas prices are getting back down to where they should be.  Today, as I was driving to a friend’s house to work on a computer, a gas station in Waynesburg, OH had gas for $1.38.  I haven’t seen a price that low in years.  The CEO of Gulf oil was on Fox News the other day and he said that gas WILL fall to $1.00 per gallon.  I can’t wait.  The politicians want to talk about economic stimulus, well giving Americans the extra disposable income that they will have by cutting fuel prices to $1.00 per gallon will do far more than anything a politician can do.  In case you haven;t picked up on it in other posts, I am not one to wait on the Government to help me.  I tend to think that Government involvement is what messes so many things up.  I know one guy who doesn’t have a real job, he sits around mostly and complains about his situation, says that his chosen politician will fix everything, and wonders why he is in the same situation 30 years later even though he has been through several administrations in Washington.  That life isn’t for me!  The only person that can improve my situation is me!  Enough about my political views though.  Gas prices are plummeting despite OPEC’s best efforts and I am thrilled.

Look for my next post a little sooner than this one came.  I have been very busy with Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations.  I know what you are thinking, “He said Thanksgiving and Christmas!”  That’s right people, I said it, unlike the employees of most of the stores you will do your Christmas shopping in this year.  I find it funny that they want me to spend tons of money on Christmas gifts, but then say they might offend me if they said Christmas.

Well, we had a close call today, and had the time of our lives trying to stretch our fuel supply. When we came to the Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort, after riding about 300 miles to get there, we still had “plenty” of fuel. My R1200RT showed that I still had about 40 miles to empty, my Uncle’s R1150RT showed that he still had more than a gallon left, as the low fuel light was not on. We made it to the North Carolina and Tennessee border, and his light came on. With the unreasonable 30 MPH speed trap speed limit on US 129 “The Tail of the Dragon” we were stuck in second and third gears, which is not good for fuel. Turning onto the Foothills Parkway, with 24 miles to home, and 16 miles to the nearest gas, my computer now read 8 miles to empty. We rode to the summit of the Foothills Parkway, and shut the bikes off, employing what those of us in Ohio call “West Virginia Overdrive” but you are free to pick your own state, if you are from Georgia, it could be “Alabama Overdrive.” In other words, we shut the bikes off and coasted down from the summit, over 8 miles. There is a gas station at the end of the Parkway, on US 321. At the end of the Parkway, we started the bikes, turned onto US-321, and into the gas station. WE MADE IT. We pulled up to the pumps and were out of the woods. For the entire 8 mile coasting session, my bike showed “Gas —” In other words “Hey Dummy, you should have bought gas an hour ago!!!! You are now out!!!!” Anyway, here is a photo of the gas station that would save us.

That’s right people, they no longer sell gas!  According to the GPS, the next station is 5 miles away, and we do not have the gas to make the trip.  We set out in the direction of the gas station, running at the speed of maximum efficiency.  I employ more “West Virginia Overdrive.”  We crest a hill, just as my Uncle’s bike starts to sputter a little, and we can see the next station.  We are able to make it there and get some gas.  It turns out that his tank is 6.5 gallons, and the pump reports that he purchased 6.6. gallons.  I still had about 20 more miles, as the trip computer is pessimistic by about 0.5 gallons.  

While some people may not have had this much fun facing an out of gas situation, we thought it was fun stretching the mileage all we could.  My wife has AAA coverage, my Uncle and I both have roadside assistance from the BMW MOA, and we were only minutes from his house, so a gas can was not far away.