The Backroads Report August 31st, 2024 #331

Published: Sat, 08/31/24

Updated: Sat, 08/31/24

Welcome to the Jungle

The Chain Gang

Do you know that aroma, almost a taste, before a hard rain is about to hit or when it does? We all do, but did you know there is a name for this?

It is called petrichor – and there are a few scientific brains that explain it – but sometimes I think I live with it.

Our barn, even in a drought, seems to be a walk-in humidor.

This poses several issues, but the one I want to deal with this month is what all this moisture can and will do to your bike's drive train.

Regardless of how I "thought" I was correctly maintaining four of the five motorcycles living under our metal roof, tell-tale rust and lackluster wearability kept rearing their heads.

Jungle

Welcome to the Jungle proudly brought to you by

Law Office of Paul Gargiulo, P.C.

Can-Am Pulse & Origin

Can-Am is releasing a pair of new electric motorcycles - the Pulse and the Origin - that have unique styling, liquid-cooled batteries, enclosed and silent chain drive, and herald the return of an iconic brand.

Can-Am

The Other Side of Sturgis

https://www.motorcycle.com/bikes/features/exploring-other-side-of-sturgis-pan-america-44606095

Great article on the Harley-Davidson Pan America from Motorcycle.com's Joe Jackson

If you’ve never had the pleasure of riding in the Black Hills of South Dakota you’re missing out on some of the best roads the United States has to offer. The rolling hills are tattooed with hundreds of miles of two lane black top connecting the state’s constellation of scenic views.

The Other Side of Sturgis

Riding the Dalton Highway

http://r.news.adventuremotorcycle.com/mk/cl/f/sh/1t6Af4OiGsF30umtxH0cJGsgGAqUTq/rqfTIk6iIpAN

With 414 miles of frost-heaves, broken chip-seal, and grated dirt surfaces, the Dalton Highway certainly has its challenges. On a good day, you can ride it wide open. On a bad day… you can go home in a helicopter.
After many trips up this road, Phil Freeman compiled this valuable list of “must-know” tips that he’d like to share with you.

Dalton Highway

2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1

Horsepower Obsession Has Led to This

We wish the tires good luck. When the 2025 Corvette ZR1 arrives in showrooms next year, its massive rear Michelins will be tasked with transferring 1064 horsepower to forward motion. Context is required: Most contemporary passenger cars and crossovers still have fewer than 300 horses. The original 1953 Corvette had just 150 horsepower and even in 1975, the base Vette eked out only 190 hp. Now we have four-figure power for America’s sports car. Incredible.

2025 Corvette

The World’s Most Dangerous Seas?

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/worlds-most-dangerous-seas

From the Drake Passage to the Bermuda Triangle, these waters have a reputation for death and destruction.

Quick, what’s the world’s most dangerous sea? Is it the Bermuda Triangle, where ships are said to mysteriously vanish? The Atlantic Ocean, where the RMS Titanic met its end? Or is it the infamous Drake Passage, the seas around the Cape of Good Hope, or the waters off Cape Horn? These are all fantastic candidates. But truth be told, the answer to the question is a little more complicated than you might think.

Dangerous Seas

Cop Drop!?

TODAY!

Now this is VERY different...A Blue Knights NJ IX AMA-Sponsored Ride, Pig Roast, Vendors, Activities, lots of fun...oh, and you can go skydiving too!

We have NEVER heard of a motorcycle event like this!

Music will be provided by Ruckus (the band, not the little Honda!)

Book your Skydive today!

Cop Drop

Comics that ask "what if?"

Why we need more ChangeUps!

Web cartoonist Randall Munroe answers simple what-if questions ("what if you hit a baseball moving at the speed of light?") using math, physics, logic and deadpan humor. In this charming talk, a reader's question about Google's data warehouse leads Munroe down a circuitous path to a hilariously over-detailed answer — in which, shhh, you might actually learn something.

Change Ups!

What? You Don't Read

Backroads Magazine?

Some of you just get The Backroads Report

but you really need to read the magazine...

All Issues Available Here!

Backroads Magazine Current Edition

Progressive

Bluebird of Bitterness

The Escape of the Week

https://bmwmoaf.regfox.com/fourth-annual-laurel-highlands-weekend

BMW Laurel Highlands Weekend

Are you looking for your next ride destination? Check out the Laurel Highlands Weekend for a casual fall getaway in Pennsylvania!

Hosted by the Laurel Highlands BMW Rider's Club, southwest Pennsylvania offers some great riding and sight seeing options. They have lots of local routes to explore the area and relax in the company of friends.

Registration for the Laurel Highlands Weekend is only $29 and includes

an awesome Friday night catered B-B-Q dinner buffet!
Friday and Saturday are designated for exploring Central PA with guided and self-guided rides that visit Laurel Highlands, the Fallingwater World Heritage site, Flight 93 Memorial and a Somerset Covered Bridge Tour
Saturday evening Meet-and-Greet hosted by the BMW MOA for tire kickin', story tellin' and giveaways with refreshments and a group photo

Laurel Highlands Rally

Presents

Song of the Week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3x2vcergP0

Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Gordon Lightfoot - Live

Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?

We have all heard this song, but there is an upcoming story in Backroads that will go in search of this historic shipwreck.

Think of what the words above truly mean...

How terrifying this must have been to those on board.

Lightfoot actually went to each family to ask permission to release the song. If just one family said no - we never would have known about this stunningly scary and tragic event.

Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald