Here is some info on the trip Debbie and I just came back from a great 6 days ride in the mountains of SC, GA, TN and NC. We left Raleigh NC and rode down to Seneca SC and spent 2 days ridings in that area. When we left we went to Walhalla SC and picked up NC 28 (aka Moonshiner 28
http://www.moonshiner28.com/). Its 103 miles of mountain road that that goes thru SC,GA and NC end up the Tail of the Dragon
http://tailofthedragon.com/dragon.html. The ride in itself took about 5 hours. We went thru some very nice towns, like Highlands and found some nice waterfalls too. Be careful of some of the roads around Highlands the asphalt close to the white line is broken in some areas. Other than that the roads on the entire trip where quite good.
We also did the Dragon 3 times (first time for Debbie) although a fear of heights she was a good sport about it. She thought the Dragon was very exciting but the Moonshine 28 run is a long version of the Dragon and the roads are not frequently used either. I took her to the Cherohala Skyway
http://www.cherohala.com/ and we met some great people, and hit one of the waterfalls on the TN side of the skyway, that was a nice treat.
Compared to the last time I was in this area last year, I noticed that a lot more riders are using Hi Viz equipment. It seems that the vests are the number one choice and then the helmets. I saw only two riders with modulating headlights. I also noticed a very large number on BMW riders, they rivaled the HD's as far as presence. Not a bad thing just something I noticed.
I would like to give props to some of the items that made the ride a lot more pleasurable.
First off- Elete Electrolyte Add-In, I got it at Sound Rider
http://store.mm411.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=1106&ParentCat=299 a few months ago. I found in a nut shell it kept me feeling more alert and more comfortable and way less muscle fatigue when on the seat and not as tired and worn out by the end of the day. I was worried about the shelf life since it will spend a lot of time in my side box so I wrote them about the life of the product this was my response.
Hi Ron,
Thank you for buying and trying elete electrolytes.
We are happy to answer your questions. Elete electrolyte add in products have an official shelf life of 3 years from the date of manufacture. You should be able to find something indicating a best use by date on the bottom of the bottle next to the lot number. This is the time frame during which we guarantee the product.
That being said, the product does not spoil or lose potency. Any of the product that is exposed to the open air is likely to dry out leaving mineral crystals behind. You should keep the cap closed and on the bottle whenever you are not using it and may need to rinse crystals from around the cap from time to time.
You can store the product at room temperature or even in your car and should not have problems. There is no need to keep the product refrigerated. In fact, refrigerating the product will lower its saturation point which may cause some minerals to crystallize inside the bottle. These crystals should go back into solution as soon as the product warms up a little.
I hope you have great results using our product. Please let us know if you have any additional questions or concerns.
Thanks,
Val Anderson
elete ElectrolytesSecond- Alpinestars Road Racing Summer Socks, SOKz and Coconut socks from Road Gear. All of them kept my feet happy in the high temp. Both the Alpinestar and the SOKz get my nod... because they stay up above my calves.
And finally my tires, I ran a set of Shinko Ravens 17 front and back and all I can say is that I'm very impressed with them. They handled the twisty with no issue. And like my previous tires (AVONS, Bridgestone and Michelin) they all last around 12,000 miles. My last Raven back tire was installed on December 13, 2011 and had to be replaced April.2012.
We clocked just a tad over 1100 miles of mountain riding.
Well enough typing for me here goes some pictures.
Cheers
Ron
