Slow July

I haven't posted in a while because I haven't had much to say (no offense). The past month (July) certainly seemed to be either very hot or very humid or both. After starting out hot and dry, the weather pattern quickly changed to hot and humid (and wet). The lawn went from being slightly tan (dormant) to being pretty green (again).

I had an opportunity to ride, one morning, in the wet. It was not raining but it had been earlier in the morning. In an effort not to temp fate, I opted to put the laptop in the waterproof sack and I wore the liner in the Bushwacker. It was definitely a sticky ride to work. Granted, it was still very humid and the temperatures were in the upper 70s. So, I wasn't surprised to feel like I was in a sauna. However, while at speed, it wasn't too bad. Waiting at traffic signals caused the most discomfort. Naturally, it did not rain on me during the ride to the office. So, I still have not ridden in the actual rain while in the Bushwacker. Maybe some day...

The tires continue ti impress me. Although, I recently read a thread on Adventure Rider that indicated some are not all that happy with them. I have yet to experience any of the issues that were noted. They are smooth, hold a line in a corner and track on a straight line. The inmate that started that thread does ride a bike (Triumph Tiger) that's much different than the NX. Others chime in and it seems most ride something similar; Suzuki V-Strom (650cc or 1000cc version, I'm not sure). Perhaps these tires do well on lighter weight bikes. At 240 lbs, the NX is obviously much different than those previously mentioned.

The rear rack project is at a stand still while I'm doing a lot of work on the TransAlp. I discovered a leaking valve cover gasket, on the rear cylinder, during my ride home from purchasing the bike. There is some major dis-assembly involved and while you have all of those parts off, you may as well do some maintenance while you're at it. So far, the TA has new valve cover gaskets, new spark plugs and adjusted valves. The carburetors have been cleaned and I have bumped up the pilot jet sizes from 38 to 40 (not a big jump but enough to resolve some know idle issues). I have some new fuel line on order which will be the key to re-assembling everything. I also need to change the thermostat. After that, I can put everything back together and , hopefully, the TA will be good-to-go for years to come.

Derailed by a Derecho

Courtesy of a fast moving storm front that involved a derecho (pronounced "deh-REY-cho" in English), my office was without power for most of the week of July 10, 2011. The storm front actually went through on the morning of Monday, July 11, 2011. Since I worked from home for the rest of that week, there wasn't much commuting (on the NX). The office complex continued to suffer, with the air conditioning failing, on Monday, July 18,2011 (resulting in another day at home). Things seem to be back to normal and power was finally restored, in Chicago-land, on Sunday, July 17, 2011. Naturally, the commute resumes in some blistering conditions. Chicago-land is supposed to endure highs in the mid-to-upper 90s this week and humidity is supposed to be off-the-charts as well. I'm glad I had my home HVAC system serviced earlier in the year. The ride home today should be fun, fun, fun........