This Saturday was a typical August summer day—highs around 96 with a heat index of 108 and a heat advisory in effect. We managed to get up and out fairly early (9:30), but the temps were already hitting 88 for my practice.
My bad luck with the weather appeared balanced by the clear street—nothing parked in front of the Armco, and nobody but me parked on the street. However, no sooner had I mounted the bike and started her up, than a city Ford pickup truck turned onto my practice area and parked in front of the Armco. Earlier that week, the city had decided they needed to extend the ending sidewalk 9 more feet, so the workers were there to pull up the markers. So my U-turn, stopping, and slaloming area was disrupted, which meant I could do slow cruising around this half of the neighborhood.
My work was on street smarts for bikers—stopping correctly, starting, head on a swivel. I had several courts I could practice turns in, and I had a through street that kept me off the main road and in the neighborhood. What I found fascinating was how much more I was thinking about riding the bike, things that rarely cross my mind when I’m driving. I realized that every driveway held a car that could back out into my path. The cars parked on the side of the road could pull out in front of me or have someone step out from between them.
There is something about riding on a motorcycle that makes everything more real and more immediate. I’m not sure it’s as simple as the lack of four doors, a front end, and a roof. The aspects of a car do provide a barrier to insulate you from your immediate surroundings. Unconsciously, you drive around in your car and expect to be seen because others are driving cars too—though how many people are in accidents where one party claims not to have seen the other? What I’m getting at, and something Bill has drilled into me, is that people don’t see motorcycles—literally—because they don’t relate to motorcycles. Now that doesn’t mean every driver out there ignores motorcycles. It means that your eyes are more likely trained to see other cars/trucks, and you don’t expect to see the motorcycle.
My neighborhood cruise, because it was solo, made me very aware of my visibility issues. Even though I sit on a high bike, most parked vehicles on the side of the road block me from cars backing out of driveways. My awareness of this reality increased on my routes, making this ride extremely beneficial to my overall riding abilities. I had returned to my little dead-end street to find the pickup truck pulling away. So I settled into some figure 8 practice, making two 8s before seeing the pickup truck returning and bringing two large dump trucks with it. The only thing besides the new sidewalk were 4 orange barrels left behind, so I was flummoxed as to why these overlarge vehicles were backing up onto my little dead end. And I was not too shot with city budgeting when I realized that these 3 trucks and crew of 6 were there to put some dirt down alongside the sidewalk—a stunning example of bureaucracy in action.
I returned to my neighborhood cruising while the big trucks were there, about 10 minutes’ worth. Finally, I had the shady spot of road to myself and resumed my figure 8s. I managed a full steering lock on one turn, surprising myself by how confidently I handled the bike. I realized as I worked on tightening up my turns that I trusted my ability to dab if necessary to keep the bike upright; this signified to me how much more confident I am as a rider.
Bill came out and sat in his chair, so I worked some stopping into my practice. I worked on pulling my body back as I ramped up on the brakes, managing to stop shorter each time. Because it was such a hot day, I suggested we head over to get the R NineT which Bill had to do a repair on. Last week we noticed the right taillight had popped out of its mooring, so Bill had to unscrew the locking mechanism, reseat it, and tighten it back up. Not a difficult repair but a fairly miserable one on this hot day.
Finally, it was time for us both to head out for our neighborhood cruise—my favorite part of the day. I think I’ve mentioned that the street in front of my parents’ house has a fairly steep cant, and this cant is clearly working against me. Not once, but three times I stalled trying to head out behind Bill! So much for feeling confident. I have to work on how much throttle to give as I work out of the friction zone—next week’s practice.
I finally got out on the road and caught up, sort of, with Bill. We went on our usual route except for added fun Bill turned into the gravel parking lot at the Ferry Plantation House and even road a bit onto the grass. I followed suit, noting the changed feel of riding on the gravel and grass and smiling because we both very much want to do some off-road riding like this—though obviously in a larger area than the parking lot.
We’re forecasted for highs in the 80s next Saturday, but the neighbor is having a dual wedding next weekend, so more riding adventures to come for sure.
Flutterby Biker 