Wilsons Sandbox

Last riding season in Chicago was on hold a somewhat due to a lot of cold and rainy weather over the summer. Fall/Winter 2007-08 in Chicago was real crap. Early cold weather and near record snowfall kept the riding season pretty short. Prior season I rode up thru Jan 4, 2007 and started again on April 9. This past season I stopped riding on November 4, 2007 and didn't start until April 21, 2008 - 6 whole months. Global warming my ass.... Prior upgrades - Nerf bars, JC Whitney hardcase luggage. Winter upgrades - 16 tooth front sprocket. Super-X X-Ring chain Bridgestone Trailwing 21 tires, front and back. Magnetic drain plug Handlebar end vibration dampeners. "Marine" sealed battery JC Whitney Gel seat Sprocket, tires and chain went on in early October, so I actually had it out for a couple runs before winter. Battery replacement was mandatory as my OEM battery stopped holding a charge. I went for the bar-ends and gel seat to improve long distance comfort. Observations: Sprocket, chain and tires improve roadability dramatically. Off- road riding is limited to hardpack or gravel, so that isn't really compromised. Bar-ends seem to work pretty well for minimizing mirror vibration. New Gel gloves help as originals were 2 years old. I tend to be light on the throttle so I have to overev slightly starting in first gear with the 16 tooth sprocket. And you tend to hunt between 4th and 5th gears in the 35-45 MPH range to keep from lugging the engine. Since I don't ride in the city much, not that big a deal. Above that, the ride is greatly improved doing about 3500 RPM at 55 MPH on the speedo and it pulls nicely to 75 MPH. Sealed battery is impressive relative to the OEM battery. Magnetic drain plug was a lark, so I won't know use until the end of the season. I'm anxious to see how the gel seat works out.

Hi Gang; Years ago, I saw a book that I wanted to buy but never did. It may have been one of the "Off The Beaten Path" books, but I'm not sure. You know, "California Off The Beaten Path" or something like that. Maybe it was "California Back Roads" but I think that one was all paved roads. I'm just not sure any more. Sorry, but I only saw it once at a book store, though I saw ads for it, too. Anyway, it was written by a male author and on the cover this book had a picture of a pickup (with a camper on it) sitting on a dirt road. It had lots of maps and descriptions of dirt road routes. They were mostly in the Sierras, naturally, but I think he included other areas as well. Does anyone recognize this description? Do you know the title? What are some of your favorite books? TIA; Lash [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]