Monday, May 10, 2010

Miami Motorcycle Salon

Originally posted 4/25/2008


Notice how good our booth looked with the TPX on our bike?

We were at the Miami Motorcycle Salon last weekend down in beautiful (and warm) Miami Beach. Using the show as an excuse, I got my first long ride in for the season. I took the un-scenic route of I-95 from New York down to Miami and back, as I had time restrictions (after all, it was technically work). It was my first long ride on the east coast. It took me two and a half days on the way down and two days on the way back, totaling 2,836 miles, and no ticket.

On the way down I had beautiful weather. A bit chilly in New York and New Jersey, but warmed up after Delaware. As always, I had the TPX with me. The Jersey cops were out in force as I went through the state, seeing them all over the road pulling over people. I just went along with the flow of traffic and was on good behavior. Didn't really see that many cops in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, and traffic was relatively heavy, plus, I had my TPX off as I rode through Virginia because radar detectors are illegal to use there, so I was also on good behavior. It cracked me up a bit as I entered into Virginia because right after the "Welcome to Virginia" sign they had a "Radar Detectors are Illegal in Virginia" sign shortly after to remind you that you can't use them there. Once I got into the Carolinas though, a different story. I noticed that the flow of traffic was significantly faster and I could sense that I could open up my throttle a bit, so I did. I'll just say that my speedometer hit 3 digits quite often going through the Carolinas. I slowed down a bit in Georgia since I had a friend that lived there telling me of horror stories of how bad the cops are there, so I was pretty cautious. My cautiousness and the TPX saved me from a ticket there. I had my lunch break at B&J's Seafood in Darien, and as I was making my way back onto I-95 riding through Darien, my TPX went off. Since I was going at the speed limit of 35, there wasn't a need for me to let go of the throttle. Sure enough, about 2 blocks up the road there was a cop hiding behind a sign pointing his radar gun at my direction. The TPX didn't exactly save me from a ticket as I was going at the speed limit, but had I been going any faster, it probably would have. As for Florida, a lot of cops as I got closer to Miami. I noticed that not all cops would have their radar guns on. Seems like they would only turn their guns on if they have a vehicle targeted.

On the way back, I hit some rain and wind in North Carolina. The TPX held up fine as it is supposed to in the rain. I was pretty much doing the same thing on the way back, being cautious getting out of Miami, opening up the throttle a bit going through Florida, being cautious again in Georgia, then opening up again in the Carolinas, then from Virginia on just pretty much went with the flow of traffic. The TPX did its job again in New Jersey. I was definitely going faster than the posted speed limit and the general flow of traffic on the Turnpike. At around milepost 30, I was cruising along behind a pick up truck. We were both going pretty good, and I was about a good 3 seconds behind. We then approached 2 semi trucks on a slight-right bend on the road. Since the pickup was already in the left lane, it just kept on going, and I was in the right lane, I had to move over to the left lane to pass the semis. As I started to move over, the TPX went off with a weak Ka alert, and I instinctively let go of the throttle. The signal remained and I soon passed the semis and as soon as I got in front of them, I see a cop pulling out from the side of the road and the alert on the TPX stopped. I knew exactly what had happened. The cop was monitoring the traffic and he was either going after me or the pickup truck. I didn't see the cop because the semis blocked my view and I'm pretty sure the pickup truck didn't either. Surely enough, the cop sped by past me and the semis and pulled the pickup truck over. Phew!

It was a great first long ride of the season, and the TPX performed great on the ride. Yes, I'm biased, but I'm always happy to see the TPX work like it's supposed to when I ride with it.

Can't wait for the next ride.

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