Let's see if some of mine work...

Kmart meeting spot: Gotta love State Troopers.  









The yellow bikes are the cool bikes, lol.

We finally made our way to Logan Park to meet up with the rest of our group... with a police escort.  







Arriving at Carlisle...

im not going to lie, all those 500fs together looked pretty sexy....

police escort?  they have issues with groups of bikes riding?

only when the group does somethings stupid....

where's the narration rich?

Quote from: un1261only when the group does somethings stupid....

:lol:    

Yeah Rich... we're all waiting to hear the details.  

(More pics to follow from me tonight sometime...)

yeah yeah I'm getting there

And who is that scarey looking bald guy with the blue shirt and sunglasses??? OMG what a freeeek.

Gotta love the Donut shop in the background of the cop car  :mrgreen:

if this is successful well then you'll see something:)

It is a little quick and rough, but here is a quick narrative of the basic highlights of the trip. It doesn't include much else other than Saturday, and mainly just the arger group stuff. Feeel free to add your own stuff  

================================

2005 Carlisle Summer Bike Fest and GSTwin.com Group Ride
A Narrative by Rich ("Phaedrus")

Some of us GSTwin.com members planned a GS500 group ride to the 2005 Carlisle Summer Bike Fest in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Carlisle is well known for it's car shows such as the All Chrysler Nationals, All GM Nationals, Corvettes at Carlisle, etc. Bike Fest is gaining more and more popularity each year and for good reason. It brings in an estimated 60,000 people and hundreds upon hundreds of bikes. We had members come from New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey.

Members present included: Phaedrus (Rich), Weazelnoze (Chris), SuZuki10 (Amanda), LadyJules31 (Julie), un1261 (Sue), pdg108 (Paul), Ginoe (Gino), Jace009GS (Jason), texasengr (Tim), bcutrufelli (Ben). Amanda's  boyfriend Manny was also in attendance with his Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 cruiser, and two of his friends joined us later in the day on Saturday with their sport bikes as well.

We met in small groups and then collectively formed into a larger group as we headed west toward Carlisle. Rich had went down Friday night and stayed in Allentown, while everyone else arrived later the next morning. While Rich was looking for the hotel, he split off into the shoulder for about 20-25 feet to get to a gas station, with an undercover cop right behind him. The officer was not pleased with the unorthodox traffic maneauver but let him go with a warning, and even helped Rich find the hotel he was looking for. This was the first of 3 encounters with police that Rich would have over the weekend!

Anyway, the first GS group consisted of Amanda, Manny, and Sue from New Jersey. They rode together to meet Chris in Lansdale, PA, and then to Allentown, PA to meet up with Rich, Julie, and Gino by 9am in the KMart Parking Lot. The collective group would then ride to Logan Park in Dillsburg PA to meet up with Jason, Paul, and Tim. That was the plan!

As some of us were begining to congrgate in the parking lot at 9am, a state trooper pulls up beside us and gets out of his car and comes walking toward us. This was to be Rich's second encounter with the police! As he got closer he knew our names! It turns out it was a member from our site! I will not disclose his identity, but he is a GS rider that we were hoping would be able to make it to Bike Fest with us but he was unable to because he had to work. So while he couldn't ride to Carlisle with us, he did stop by and meet us and say hello and wish us a good ride. It was good to see him. He had also met previously with Chris, Sue, and Amanda and had them spooked equally. Haha!

We left Allentown around 9:30-9:45am with plans of arriving at Logan Park around 11am. After riding around lost for a while, and stopping for directions twice, Julie gave up the lead to Rich as he had been given more directions.  When we went to turn around at a stop light and pulled into what he thought was a turning lane to allow U-turns at the red light, we noticed a cop sitting by the intersection. Not realizing it was "illegal", we all made the turn and within a minute he had us all pulled over to the side of the road demanding to see our licences, registrations, and insurance. If you are keeping count, this was Rich's third encounter with law enforcement over the weekend. The officer was quite upset about the maneuver we had just performed (even though we did it safeley) since they had a fatality there last week. Had we known U-turns were not allowed there, we obviously would not have done it, especially since there was a cop sitting about 30 feet away watching us!

Luckily everyone's paperwork checked out OK. We informed him (and the other officer that had pulled up for backup) that we were lost, and were looking for Logan Park so we could meet up with the rest of our bike group. He was already familiar with that group as he had already saw and talked to them earlier! The first officer then told us how he used to ride a Harley and how much he enjoyed motorcyle riding also. So in a positive turn of events, he let us all off with a warning (when he could have given us each a ticket for $150 for the U-turn) and BOTH COP CARS ESCORTED US to Logan Park to meet up with our group! The look on the faces of the rest of our group (Paul, Jason, Tim) as we got escorted by the two police cars was priceless. Luckily, Chris's quick thinking prevailed and he was able to get a photo of this experience. Good job Chris!!

So we met with the others and were now a collective group and were ready to head to Carlisle, about 10 miles away. The collective group ride from Logan Park to Carlisle was uneventful for the most part, but we did get to see a lot of other bikes. Bikes were swarming all over the place, and the closer we got to Carlisle, the more bikes there were. The town of Carlisle was infested with bikes of all kinds; sport bikes, cruisers, touring bikes, choppers, you name it. Chris had to park in a separate lot since he had a car, and the on-grounds parking was reserved for motorcycles but we all parked together. We got some really nice photos of all of our bikes together.

The Carlisle Summer Bike Fest itself was incredible. There were so many bikes, many of them tweaked and modified. We saw some of the Orange County Choppers bikes, a bagged, 4 wheel Heyabusa, a cruiser with a Chevy 350 engine, and much more. There was a burn out competition, a beauty contest for the girls, a sport bike stunt show, and tons of things to see and do. Some of us were able to capture video clips and stills of the shows. Some of the guys hung out by the Dynometer and watched bikes test their power, while others were more impressed with the virtual drag race where two bikes line up and simulate a drag race and the results are measure via a computer based on weight, horsepower, shifting, etc. Some of us, like me, mostly just wandered around the grounds talking to everyone, checking out the bikes, vendors, and other stuff going on. During the festival, Jason got away from the group followed by Julie next. They both had plans (separately I assume!) later in the evening but it was still really great that they were able to join us for as long as they did! The last big event on Saturday, right after the burn out competition,  was the Kawasaki Ninja 636 giveaway. Sadly, no one from our group one. We were hoping though!

After the show, some of us left while others had made plans to stay in the area in a hotel just outside of Harrisburg. Those of us that stayed
in the hotel included Rich, Chris, Sue, Amanda (and her BF and her BF's friends). After a couple fiascos checking in, we all decided to go out and grab a bite to eat. Some of us rode the bikes, while a couple of us rode in Chris's car. To make a long story a little shorter, we ended up in a rather "rough" section of town in a grille/bar we did not really seem to fit in at, so say the least! We learned not to take dining reccomendations from people that appear "homeless" as one member put it! We were certainly an odd sight in that bar. The locals kind of stared at us a little bit and everything got quiet when we first walked in, just like you would see in the movies. There was also a slight tension in the air but we stuck it out. It took us what seemed like forever to get our food, and when we did, it was small and unfiling. The cheeseburgers used cheeze whiz instead of sliced cheeze and the chicken looked more like tuna fish. But it was fairly tastey and cheap! However, since it was unfilling and everyone was practically starved, we went to McDonald's and ate again. Hah! There we talked briefly with a girl who worked there who also has a GS500F! Some of us told her about the site, so hopefully she'll be dropping in! A little member recruitment / public relations courtesy of Chris!

So we went back to the hotel and pretty much did our own things. Some went to bed, some went to the bar for a drink, and some stayed in the hotel room and had a couple beers and watched TV. The day was long, and hot, and everyone seemed to be suffering from sunburn and mild dehydration! It was definitely a long but exciting and very interesting day.

The next morning we got up and went to Perkin's for breakfast, except for Sue who had gotten up and left earlier that morning. I was so
exhausted and so hungry, I was ready for a real meal with real service! After breakfast, Amanda and her group went back to Bike Fest while Chris and I left East toward home.

The 2005 Carlisle Summer Bike Fest and GSTwin.com Group ride was a GREAT experience and everyone had a fun time. There is not much that could have made it better; the weather was PERFECT, the bikes were impressive, the people in our group got along extremely well like we were all friends before, and everyone made it home safe and secure. Even the police were kind to us!

It is weekends like this that remind us what motorcycle riding is all about!

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great write up rich! i think you covered just about all aspects of the trip  

damn yall were wearing jackets in july. its way to hot in VA to wear any jackets.   looks like a fun meet

Most smart riders will wear some kind of protection, especially on long trips. It might be too hot to wear a jacket, but a vented riding jacket is way cooler than the operating room table and skin graffs.  

I dunno about you, but I LIKE my skin right where it is  

i tried the no skin thing. didnt really like it too much so i think i'll bundle up.

Quote from: PhaedrusMost smart riders will wear some kind of protection, especially on long trips. It might be too hot to wear a jacket, but a vented riding jacket is way cooler than the operating room table and skin graffs.  

I dunno about you, but I LIKE my skin right where it is  

most smart people dont ride motorcycles, so we are already less practical than the general population .  I understand the reason for a jacket but i dont think a person who doesnt wear one is any less "smart"

I just made the trip to charlottesville there and back with a t-shirt and jeans same thing the other two riders wore. avg speed. 90mph peaked at 110-115mph.  if i had wore any other article of clothing i think i would have had a heat stroke lol.




so were those troopers dicks to you guys? did they just randomly stop or did they want to hang out?

1. You went 115mph on a GS with a 15t sprocket? Haha, yeah ok bub    Maybe you did, maybe you didn't. I wasn't there, and I don't know how much your other mods bring up your top end. But I am sure you've never really felt the scrape of your skin on pavement. I know Chris had it worse than me, but I have had it going around 25-30mph and let me tell you: it sucks. A quick way to ruin a great day.

2. No the state troopers weren't dicks. Obviously you didn't read the write up.  

3. A vented riding jacket isn't as hot and confining as you would think. Do you have one? My old leather jacket (not made for riding) was HOT, but it wasn't vented. A vented riding jacket is a BEAUTIFUL thing. You feel a good breeze as you ride and you are protected. It is only hot when you are stopped, and as you can see from the pics, when we were just hanging out we weren't wearing them.  :nana:

4. "Most smart people don't ride motorcycles"?? I don't think it has anything to do with being smart, but everything to do with being adventuresome. There are a lot of very smart people, right here on GStwin. You can do just about anything and still be smart about it. Matter of fact, the greater the adventure the smarter you gotta be if you plan on ever being able to do it again... :nana:

But you do what you wish; to each their own. This isn't a "gear debate" thread so I'll end it here. I wish you happy trails and may you keep all of your skin  

Quote from: Phaedrus1. You went 115mph on a GS with a 15t sprocket? Haha, yeah ok bub    Maybe you did, maybe you didn't. I wasn't there, and I don't know how much your other mods bring up your top end. But I am sure you've never really felt the scrape of your skin on pavement. I know Chris had it worse than me, but I have had it going around 25-30mph and let me tell you: it sucks. A quick way to ruin a great day.

2. No the state troopers weren't dicks. Obviously you didn't read the write up.  

3. A vented riding jacket isn't as hot and confining as you would think. Do you have one? My old leather jacket (not made for riding) was HOT, but it wasn't vented. A vented riding jacket is a BEAUTIFUL thing. You feel a good breeze as you ride and you are protected. It is only hot when you are stopped, and as you can see from the pics, when we were just hanging out we weren't wearing them.  :nana:



But you do what you wish; to each their own. This isn't a "gear debate" thread so I'll end it here. I wish you happy trails and may you keep all of your skin  

try laying down on your bike with your feat on the passenger pegs and going full throttle. youll hit 115 easy. (when i get a mini cam to put on my helmate or somthing ill take some vid.  remember the guy who broke the speed record in a motorcycle? he layed down on the bike and gained  a good amount of speed.

i do own a vented jacket. sorry but its alot hotter than wearing just a t-shirt.

I was just trying to make a statment that it must be hot riding in those jackets but you guys live up north and i know its cooler and less humid there.

wasnt trying to debate. or take any flames either.  

I have layed my bike down before and I have lost skin. I still have scars to prove it.  thanks for asking  

anyways looks like you guys had fun. (great to see bikers get together)  ill start wearing my jacket again when it gets colder here.

Quote from: Susuki_Jah

so were those troopers dicks to you guys? did they just randomly stop or did they want to hang out?

You obviously didn't read Rich's narrative... Or anything else everyone has been saying about the cops we encountered on our Carlisle ride.    :dunno:

Quote from: LadyJules31

Quote from: Susuki_Jah

so were those troopers dicks to you guys? did they just randomly stop or did they want to hang out?

You obviously didn't read Rich's narrative... Or anything else everyone has been saying about the cops we encountered on our Carlisle ride.    :dunno:

I looked at the pictures . kinda skimed through it first. (went back and read it.  i think its awesome you took the time to repost exactly what the previously guy that replied to me said about me not reading it. maybe we can post it again so we can read it over and over again.