[ST] Afternoon escape

["William A. Flowers" <wflowers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Today was the 3rd day from hell in a row at the office.  In anticipation
I rode Jewel to work with the plan to escape for a bit at lunch. 
Mentally I toyed with the idea of a "short" 3 or 5 hour lunch, or even
calling on the cellphone to say "sorry, I ran out of gas 30 miles north"
but reality set in.

I knew I only had an hour (plus maybe a bit) so I had to make the best
of it.  A quick check of Weather Underground shows 81F and 59% humidity
at 12:30, and both still rising.  Good thing I left the leather jacket
at home and wore my BroshTex jacket instead! A quick drink of water,
application of lip balm and I'm ready.

12:42 I'm on the bike and heading for Philippe Parkway, a short winding
residential road that is great if there is no traffic, on my way out of
town via the shortest route. Of course, a clear road rarely happens. 
:-( Today I had good news and bad news.  I was behind a string of 3
vehicles and no place to pass, however they were moving at a good speed,
often 10 over the limit!

Onto 580 east over the top of Tampa Bay to the escape route from
sprawling suburbia -- Race Track Road.  The first stretch past Tampa
Downs racetrack is painfully slow, but then the traffic falls away and I
am into countryside.  Regretfully, looking at all the new construction
underway, I realize it'll soon be a longer trip to get out of town.

Some long sweepers taken fast get me to Crawley Road.  There is a good
mix of moderate turns and sweepers, with a few S curves thrown in for
good measure.  However the road is lined with small horse ranches and
rural housing, well set back.  I just have to keep my eye open for
anything entering the road and I'll be fine.

No cars today? Fantastic! Forget about those yellow signs with
recommended cornering speeds and ride to the sight limits.  Today I'm
one with Jewel and the limit I reach first is prudence, not me or the
bike.

If the recommended corning speed for 4 wheels is 25 then 2 wheels is
double that, right?  :-)

Turn left at Tarpon Springs - Fern Lake Rd. (CR582).  Again no traffic. 
Here's a chance to really open the throttle.  I'm at the Patterson Road
turnoff already?  Wow!  Those 2 miles went by in a blink!

Left onto Patterson Road southbound for my last taste of twisties.  I'm
halfway through the ride and 20 minutes into my "lunch".  Through the
first hard left taking a better line than I ever had.  First very hard
right and ... oops! ... I started the turn late so I'm running wide. 
Just lean it over more, a bit of throttle and I'm through with a big
grin!  I never even went near the yellow center line.

Into the first of the turns that have warning signs that look like a
snake.  My transitions from left to right to left are better than they
have been for a long time, maybe ever.  And it sure feels good.

As I get setup for the last set of sweepers and into a highspeed run
terminating in the final S curve I finally catch up with a minivan. 
Darn! There is no one behind me so I slow way, way down to open a big
gap between us.  What's this? He's turning off! Perfect.  Wack the
throttle and through the first sweeper, still accelerating.  Shift and
accelerate, shift and accelerate.  A sharper right coming up quick, so
it is time to ease off.  Then there is just enough time to set myself up
for that tight S curve.  Next is the final runout at the south end of
the road and back to Race Track Road.

South again, back to 580 and then home for a quick lunch before
returning the office.  32 miles in 40 minutes.  Hmmm, that is 48mph
average.  But the fastest speed limit posted was only 45! And there was
some traffic, and a few traffic lights.  I'd been moving! :-)

Today was magic.  I'd been playing with the front preload to get it as
good as stock can be.  And I finally had it dialled in as well as I can
expect.  Anymore preload and the ride gets real harsh. The Pirelli
Dragon GTS tyres really feel great.  All I need now is a RaceTech
upgrade ... someday.

I'm going to have to do this again, soon!

- --
Bill "Bench Dawg" Flowers
Clearwater FL
'00 Sapphire Blue ST "Jewel"


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