Ride Date: Sunday, April 28, 2019
The first ride of my 2019 riding season should have happened about a month ago, but it was nevertheless good to get back in the saddle.
While the salt has been off central Ohio roadways for weeks now, my delinquency in attending to my 2008 Yamaha FJR1300’s winter maintenance kept me from logging any riding time until Sunday. With the valves checked, fluids changed and new front tire mounted and balanced, Jadzia the FJR was ready for her first extended ride of 2019 on Sunday afternoon.
My destination was the same one I’ve used several times for my first ride of the year. When I lived in Delaware, Ohio from 2014-2016, I rode my first FJR1300 to a Speedway station in Beaverdam, Ohio, at the junction of I-75 and U.S. 30 and back. It was 160 miles round trip from Delaware, which was how far my old Bandit 1200 would go on a tank of gas. I used the ride to burn the older, Stabil-containing gasoline and refill the tank with fresh fuel.
I used the same Speedway as the destination for my first ride in 2017, even though I was living 200 miles further away from it in Youngstown, Ohio. In 2018, Jadzia was in storage at Cycle Stop in Rochester, N.Y. until early May, so my first ride that year was the ride to Columbus.
I debated whether to find a new destination for my first ride this year, but decided the traditional destination still worked. I live about 30 miles further away from Beaverdam, which closely matches the FJR’s fuel range of about 200 miles per tank.
I also used the ride to stop at Freddy’s Street Food in Delaware, Ohio. It’s one of my favorite restaurants in the Columbus area.
Route
I got on I-270 at U.S. 62 (Exit 2) and headed clockwise to Exit 17B (U.S. 33 West). I got off U.S. 33 at U.S. 42 and headed northeast to Delaware, where I got on the U.S. 23 expressway. I followed U.S. 23 to Upper Sandusky, where U.S. 23 overlaps with U.S. 30 on the Upper Sandusky bypass. At the U.S. 23/U.S. 30 split, I followed U.S. 30 to the exit for Ohio Route 696, on which the Speedway station is located.
For the trip home, I followed U.S. 30 back to U.S. 23, staying on U.S. 23 through Delaware to scenic Ohio Route 315 South. I followed 315 to its end at I-71, getting off at Frank Road and heading home from there.
I forgot to reset my trip meter before I left, but Google Maps informed me that today’s ride was about 231 miles
Weather
It was a dry but brisk day. While the sun was shining for the entire trip, there was a strong, constant wind that was especially potent during the return trip. Temperatures were in the mid-to-high 50s.
This was a day when having my heated grips installed would have been nice. I was wearing a t-shirt under my riding jacket and its liner, and was a tad cold during the trip. Had I worn a long-sleeve layer underneath the jacket, I probably would have been a lot more comfortable.
Summary
Jadzia performed well on her first ride of the year. My feel for the clutch came back very quickly, and the bike got smoother as it burned off the months old fuel in its tank. The new front Dunlop Roadsmart II tire felt a little slick at first, but began showing great grip and feel after about 100 miles of riding.
There wasn’t a lot a scenery along the route through the plains and farm fields of north-central Ohio. One of the reasons I originally picked the route was because it’s two lanes in each direction and doesn’t handle a lot of traffic. That held true today, which helped get the break-in ride over with as quickly as possible. One site of personal importance I rode by was Route 30 Harley-Davidson, the former Thiel’s Wheels dealership where I bought my first FJR1300.
The Asphalt Life 