http://ephratamotorcycle.com/

It's the 1st Sunday of October tomorrow.

It's a pretty amazing event for a Podunk place like Ephrata.

I'll be there after work, about 9am or so.

Mechanic77, you in? After the fog burns off we can go run Maple Grove Rd.

Anyone else?

Wish I'd seen this earlier. Some great roads up that way. Looks like they have one more, next month. Let me know if... 8)

DUDE!!!!!! Im in I left you a message sorry its a bit late but I was out all day saturday with my boys...... Ill just wait to hear from you to find out where to catch up with you at

HELL YEAH!!!!!!! NOW THAT WAS FUN :thumbsup

Wish I'd seen this earlier. Some great roads up that way. Looks like they have one more, next month. Let me know if... 8)

Sorry it was so last minute.
It's my weekend to work and I'm automatically on the hook for 12 hrs.
When I found out I only had to work 8 I threw up the post.

Next month will also be my weekend to work, and will be more weather dependent, but you could make plans with Mechanic and I'll try to swap my Sunday with one of the other Operators on my line so I can join in too.

mechanic77

HELL YEAH!!!!!!! NOW THAT WAS FUN Thumbs Up

Glad you had a good time. I had fun too. Did you smell the burning rubber when we passed the drag strip? We'll have to get together again soon to bomb some back roads, although I just showed you the best ones I know.

Who'da thunk that many bikes in a place called Ephrata!

Mech, write up a commentary or play by play. I'd like to see the day from your perspective.

Man it really was fun .... I had no idea such good roads where only 3 minutes from my house :lol: Had a nice ride to get to the meet had a good time at the meet with all those bikes and women and all the boobies man oh man the boobies !!!! :shock: LUVED it...... then to top it all off after you see all those nice bikes and hear all the people either entering or leaing and revvving their engines just makes you wanna go tear it up so we just hopped on our bikes after some food and coffe and did just that Tore it up !!!! As long as its not raining Im going next month too .... cold doesnt stop me from riding... You know sunday I couldnt sleep so I went out riding on farmersville and used that road to tweak my suspension that little bit I needed ..... it was the exact road I needed to get it dialed in PERFECTLY and have scrape marks on my pegs now to prove it :twisted: All in all it was a good time and really didnt even cost anything other then food if you decide to eat and some gasoline :thumbsup

Sorry it was so last minute.
It's my weekend to work and I'm automatically on the hook for 12 hrs.
When I found out I only had to work 8 I threw up the post.

Next month will also be my weekend to work, and will be more weather dependent, but you could make plans with Mechanic and I'll try to swap my Sunday with one of the other Operators on my line so I can join in too.

Hey, shit (work) happens. Thanks for the tip, regardless. If the weather's at all decent, I will definitely look to get up there for the next one. It ain't real cold 'till it snows! :D

Cool man. I'll start dropping hints about swapping days.

Or...maybe...I'll just come down with a case of...Anal Glaucoma! :shock:

Oo, sounds serious. Better take some time off... :lol:

Yeah, every once in a blue moon it hits like the flu.
Then I just. can't. see. my ass. being there. :lol:

Sometimes, I like to call in mentally ill. Helps if I have a chain saw sound in the background... :shock:

OK so Mech77 and I are in for Sun the 4th.

Are you still planning to attend?

The weather looks inviting. Not too cold, but not too warm to wear the GOOD riding gear. Low 41 and high 57, Prob a bit higher where you are.

Sent you a PM also.

Yup, I'm there. Temps aren't much different here. Should be fun! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5sjYFDe9YM&mode=related&search=

Pretty good stuff.

Speaking of which, did we ever figure out a place to meet up tomorrow? Looking forward to a ride if we're all still up for it. 8)

Yeah man, I'll meet up you at McD's in West York for coffee and then we'll burn on up to Ephrata.

Don't know what happened to Mech77.

I think he fell off the face of the earth.

Hope nothing happened.

Just thought I'd give a review for anyone that's interested.

I Google'd up a McD's as a place to meet up with jfeagan. When I got there there was none to be found, but there was a convenience store near by. Got a cup of coffee and found a picnic table near the intersection and parked the bike by the road. I figured (correctly) that the yellow 9'er would be hard to miss. After a while JF pulled in. He got a cup of coffee and warmed up a bit, then we pulled out and headed up to Mech77's place to meet him and Dave from the Hornet's Nest.

After we watched Dave ride by twice we all went out to the street and waved at him. We admired the collection of bikes and got ready to ride up to the bike meet. It was a mini naked parade with 3 599's and Mech's Z, just in case the Hornet's needed a bit more Zzzzzzz.

Since I am the familiar with the local roads I became the leader by default, which made me a bit nervous as it was the first time I've ever ridden with more than one other person at a time. Mech's advice to "take it easy" as Dave is apparently a bit accident prone (He's on his 2nd 06) didn't do much to ease my anxiety.

We took a nice SLOW pace to the Legion which let everyone get comfortable with each other and had a good time hanging out, checking out the great variety of bikes and chatting with some other riders here and there.

Dave then said he wanted to go ride Maple Grove rd. he'd heard about from Mech, and Mech asked if everyone was comfortable with increasing the pace. No one had a problem with that, which relieved me a bit, but I still made a quick speech about "riding your own ride", some of the local road hazards to be aware of and watch out for and repeated several times for no one to try to keep up. I also tried to make it quite clear that I would not continue until the group was back together at every turn.

After letting everyone know the beginning of our route we set off slowly at first, then increasing the pace as we went along. At every major turn I would slow to make sure everyone was together. When we got to the best part I turned up the heat for myself and we spread out according to our comfort levels. There is a pretty good straight about half way through where I idled in 2nd for a few minutes to get everyone back together again and make sure we still had everyone, before turning the heat back on to finish up.

We pulled over where the road comes out at the superslab and talked about the road just past and what to do next. Concensus was to slab it down to a road a found on the map on the way back towards JF's, called river road.

After gassing up we started down river road. The first 8 miles or so were really nice, with a lot of curves and rolling road and a twist or two thrown in just for good measure. Passed a park area that was full of sport bikes. Should have turned around there and gone back as the road got a lot more technical (GOOD STUFF) and much worse surface condition (BAD STUFF). Took our time and rode it out to the next road that crosses the Susquehanna where we let em run a bit crossing the bridge. Made our way up the west side of the river till we found another mini mart for another rest and bull session (and directions back to Rt. 30 as I was a bit turned around).

As we set off again everyone was ready to be heading for home. When we got to 30 I continued past and pulled into a parking lot to shake hands and say "Nice riding with you man" only to find that Mech was the only one still with me. JF and Dave had gotten on the highway and headed for home. I guess they were more anxious than I had thought.

Mech then led the way back to our neck of the woods to end the day for us. All in all I had a great time even though I was a touch saddle sore. I enjoyed everyone's company and hope I did acceptable job of leading the group. I also want to apologize for river road one more time. It looked like a great road on the map.

:thumbsup It was a great time indeed .... met a few z riders from the area also...... awesome riding ...... its hard work keeping up with Doug in the twisities ..... he is the fastest rider of the group....... and the flat out blast across the bridge was a great rush........ my favorite part of the ride besides the twisties is power up a hill and not letting off and carrying the front wheel over the crest and down the hill then touching it down at the bottom.... just like a roller coaster ride..... Im glad everyone had a good time .... cant wait to do something again !!! :D

Hey guys i'm new here but i live about 2 miles away from Maple grove rd. we'll have to hook up if ya want to hit some of the twistys around here. The best place to really go nuts is up near tower city, been offroading for years up there and found some awsome black top. My girl and me hit ephrata on sun, just as we were leaving 3 5-niners showed up parking right next to us, said they from maryland, it was cool to see others out there.

Tim '06 5-niner

That was us buddy. I was on the Yellow.
I think your lady was riding a rebel?

said they from maryland
That would have been jfeagan.

we'll have to hook up if ya want to hit some of the twistys around here.
That would be great. I'm always lookin for a good road to ride. :rad

its hard work keeping up with Doug in the twisities ..... he is the fastest rider of the group.
Only cause I know the road. Never had to wait on anyone on river road. :ride

Can't speak for Dave, but I had a great time. Even River Road was fun in it's own special way. Some better twisties than a lot of roads around my place, but I have less horse poop.

At the split, I guess I didn't realize we intended to stop one more time or I would have. I heard Dave beep as he peeled off. Anyway, it was just as well I got running. Hit the mountain near home right at sundown and it cooled off big time for the last half hour. I was ready to get indoors after that. :roll:

Elvis, it was us you were talking to. I was the only one from Maryland, though. It was great to see some of the more exotic bikes that don't usually show up in my neck of the woods. For all the Harley dealers I can get to in a 1/2-hour, I never see Buells!

So, I'm hot to get back over next season. Got a message from a guy calling himself EvilEd here on the forum; he's hoping to hook up with us next year. It'd be cool to get a little bit bigger group. Even if you have to come from a little further away, it's worth the trip. And where else than PA can you ride by so many snack food plants in so few miles? :wink:

Anyway, thanks again to Doug for finding good roads. He did a fine job leading the group. :ride

Count me in for a spring time ride. I'm just commuting now, my wife said you can get what you want but you have to use it.

Wow the locals are crawling out of the woodwork all of a sudden.

Welcome aboard and we'll meet up in the spring.
:grouphug

Looks like the first meet up is March 2nd. Who's going?

Ted (Mech77) and I were shooting yesterday and talked a bit about that.

I'm thinking of waiting a few more days untill it falls within the 10 day forecast before I even think about making riding plans this early in the year.

Riding at 38* and raining is well just......... :crazy

Will post up again here when I have a better idea of the weather forecast. :thumbsup

Well folks, I'm sorry to say it, but a forecast high of 42 is just too cold for any serious riding for me. :crybaby

Will start looking for the 1st Sunday of April.
Should be a lot better chance of decent weather then. :ride

It's too bad, I'm across the state by Port Jervis and no 599's around here as far as I can tell. Bit of a ride for me to swarm down that way, I'm riding solo around here it seems.

Well folks, I'm sorry to say it, but a forecast high of 42 is just too cold

Dont give up the ship just yet... Sunday is a way off...

I'd love to shoot up there for a ride. The low is forecast for mid-30's here, which is plenty good enough for me to start out on the initial trek.

For those of you with more lizard DNA, my personal coldest ride temp was 15 degrees F. And with a good, stiff headwind. Still not as crazy as those guys in Canada who insist on riding down to -48 F. :shock:

But as it turns out, I'll be out of state Thursday through Saturday. Thus, my beloved wife will be reluctant to see me disappear for yet another day with the kids already going nuts. Well, they're nuts all the time, but it gets a little crazier when I'm gone for a few days. My riding on Sunday will no doubt be set up to take the kids out by turns.

April it is! :)

OK folks, the weather forecast looks acceptable for Sunday April 6th. :woohoo

However it's my weekend to work so I can't personally commit too much until I find out what the weekend schedule at work holds. :(

Since I'm on 2nd shift right now I'll at least be able to make an appearance, but things are a bit slower too so I might be off. 8)

I guess that means is anyone interested?

Should I try to find a good road or two for after the breakfast?

Let's do it! I need some saddle time. 8)

I am planning to make it this sunday with my girlfriend pillion. It will be cold in the morning but we can handel it. My buddy John should be coming up from MD on his Super Hawk. I don't think I'll be twisting it up on the back roads with ya'll if I got a passenger but we'll see. What time does it actually start to? 8:00-9:00?

Their site says bikes usually start showing up around 8, although we have a hard time getting there that early since jfeagin is coming from Hagerstown.

I don't think I'll pushing the back roads too hard yet. Still lots of crap laying around from the winter. I did find another OK road though that's in the general area. Not as good as Maple Grove, but better than River rd.

If you all want to get to the rally earlier, I can leave here earlier. So long as the forecast holds up, the ride should be fine. I'll just go to bed a little earlier the night before. 8)

Shall we meet up somewhere before hitting the rally as we did last time?

Actually at this point it looks like it's just you and me and they finally posted the weekend work schedule and I'm on for Sat and Sun 4pm to midnight. (bastards)

Maybe we should put it off for another month, but if you still want to go I'll meet up with you. It won't be super early and I'll have to watch the time in the afternoon.

I haven't even heard from Mech!

They added me in early (noon) on Sunday. :evil:

I guess I'm just out for this month. Sorry if I got anybody's hope's up. :(

I'm sorry to hear that, man. I guess it'll have to be next month for you.

If anybody else wants to hit it, I'm still up for the ride. Let me know.

Hey!

The weekend forecast is not looking so good for 1st Sunday in May. Rain. Bleh. But I am still around. Now that I know this thread is here I'll try to check up on it periodically. I would be interested in doing another group ride in that area.

I've been given a used GPS thing. It's a cheapie (beggars can't be choosers) and not water proof. I also need to get an accessory plug installed to power it. But perhaps I can avoid constantly calling for directions for where to meat up. Either that or I'll ride the bike into the river.

In August I'm heading down to Deals Gap. That should be good.

Looks like the weather should hold out for an attempt at Ephrata today. I'm heading out. Burn it up!

Time stamp is wrong. It's 0650

Mech asked me to go too, but alas i was working today.
Got to rip it up a bit on the way home though.

1st Sunday in July and August are not my weekend to work, although July is bad due to the holiday.

I could probably wiggle my way out of June if I start planning now, and there's enough interest.

Later all,
Doug

Well it is obvious to all in SEPA that my weather gadget was far off the mark. It was in fact an ideal riding day. I did some local riding. About four hours worth. It was fun. A group ride may have been more fun.

I'm up for June or July. I don't know about August since, as I said, I'm going down to Deals Gap.

I'm currently working out to get in condition for that trip so that I don't arrive dead and tired of riding a bike. It's a long way to go for 11 miles of road. Although there are other rides in the area. Nevertheless, I want to be in good shape for it all.

Hey guys, sorry I missed this Sunday. But not too much, the track day was a blast!

Looking ahead, June isn't good, as I'll have company that week. But I could definitely make July.

If anybody's interested, I'm working on mapping some good central PA routes for my GPS. As I finish them, I'll post up on Google Maps so you can all see.

i was just there today, lots of bikers very few riders. the ride through the back roads was much more fun.


ps looking for a 69-74 cb750

I wasn't paying attention to my calendar. First Sunday fell earlier in the month than I anticipated.

Looks like they are going to shut down the plant power on the 6th of July.
So I'm planning on going if anyone wants to join me.

Looks like they are going to shut down the plant power on the 6th of July.
So I'm planning on going if anyone wants to join me.

I'll post on Friday or Saturday before if I can make it. I don't know if I will have my new tires for Deals Gap by then or not. If not, I will be riding slower than last time. I think I have chain lube on my rear tire. I'm also close to the wear bars on both tires.

I've got a GPS now. So maybe I won't keep missing the meeting point.

I'm working on a Saturday ride in the Baltimore area. Can't get away both days. If any of you guys up there want to trek down, check the MD riders thread for whatever we work out.

Next time I'll be around for Ephrata will be September. Hope to see some of you there!

OK. So Dave's probably in.
James is out.
I will be working Saturday or I'd probably try to join up you.
Ted said he's in for Sunday in Ephrata.

Anyone else? :ride

As this is going to be a holiday weekend, I figure there will be one hell of a turnout. For now I'm in. Best of all, I've got new tires! I've been scrubbing them in on the local roads. I'm looking forward to hitting the twisty roads over there.

No squaring off of the rear is allowed. I've got reservations for Deals Gap Motel in August. Oh yeah.

I'm going come hell or high water.
Ted is out, he has family obligations.

Looks like it may be just you and me Dave.

If you're still in, I'll send you a pm on Friday to make plans to meet up.

I think rain is the only worry. I have to see how my new Dunlops are going to deal with that. The tread pattern on the front doesn't look ideal, but we shall see. Better to find out up here than down at The Dragon.

I also want to video Another Gathering. There should be a sequel.

My GPS has no weather protection of any sort other than the ability to run off its internal battery. It's got a lousy user interface too. I can't believe it was meant for use in cars. Anyway, I think my tank bag can protect it if it does indeed rain.

OK.

So anybody that wants to try it I'll be in the RR Donnelly printing company parking lot at greenfield road and rt 30 in Lancaster and will leave for Ephrata around 8:30 am.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=rr%20donnelley%2C%20greenfield%20rd%2C%20lancast er%2C%20pa

From rt 30 east exit greenfield rd. Go through the light at the end of the off ramp and take the first right into the employee parking area. (It's about a 1/4 mile around the side of the plant fronting on rt 30.)

From rt 30 west exit greenfield rd. L onto Greenfield rd. Cross over rt 30 and take a right at the light. immediately take another right into the employee parking area. (It's about a 1/4 mile around the side of the plant fronting on rt 30.)

216 Greenfield Rd, Lancaster, PA - (717) 392-4074‎ ?

Looks like I have to leave at about 0700 - 0715 to meet you there on time. I've got that address in my GPS. Just watch it steer me into a lake.

That's the one.

Sorry about Sunday. I hope you weren't too put out. Weekend stuff and forgetting to set the alarm really was a lose.

OK guys (and gals) so here's the link again.

http://ephratamotorcycle.com/

Next Sunday looks good weather wise, If anyone's up to get together for breakfast and a ride it is my weekend off.

If we can get a few 9 er's (anyone that wants to go really) together I will bring the camera along. Some action shots on the back roads would be cool. Maybe we'll also visit the bikini bike wash at the MC shop up the road. :naughty Hope they'll let me take some pictures there too!

September is my next possible. I'm not sure yet though.

I put some real solid miles on this past week.

So what's the story on September 7th? Should I try to be up for that?

If we can get a group up, I can be convinced to cancel my track day on the 6th. I'll see if some of the Baltimore-area guys would like to swarm.

Are you getting the same wind and rain that I am, J? I've got a tree branch down in the front yard now. I mowed this morning to take advantage of the wet lawn to avoid allergies. I got done just in time.

Pretty much was the same stuff. Didn't start around here until quarter past nine, though. Our track day got rained out, of course. I had a nice nap around midday. Didn't touch the mower until Sunday. :wink:

Hey, Dave, what do you say to October, if there's decent weather?