A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Several days of rain gave way to a gorgeous, sunny, warm but not hot Saturday morning. A glorious day for a ride. The sun was so bright in the sky, we put off washing the bikes until a partly cloudy day. This was my third week successfully backing the bike out of the garage and remembering to put the kickstand down.

We headed out into a quiet neighborhood, not much traffic and not too many people up and about yet. It is a holiday weekend, so people may have been enjoying the opportunity to sleep in. Even the dragonflies must’ve been sleeping in as I only saw a few early on in the ride. Right off the bat, though, a cabbage white butterfly sent us on our way.

We headed into the ritzy neighborhood and road straight down the long road just to feel the bikes under us and the cool breeze. A few turns in the court and we again did a different route through the neighborhood. One of the skills I was supposed to work on was trail braking which is where I gradually apply brakes while entering a curve then gradually releasing the brake as I come out of the curve. Now in the MSF course, I was told to brake before the curve but not be on the brake in the curve and accelerate out. The reason for this is due to newbie riders most likely applying too much brake into the curve and thus falling. But motorcycle racers trail brake to benefit from forcing more of the rubber from the front tire to maintain contact with the road. I tried at our slow 25 mph speed to trail brake, but I’m not sure if I was successful or not. I didn’t fail, but I don’t know that I increased the tire surface contact with the road.

I did have success with my stopping using the rear brake only and stepping out my left foot. I did so well I only used the front brake on one stop. That was for stops while out on the road. We added quick braking while riding at 15-20 mph. One braking skill we forgot was to brake while standing. Add that to next week’s ride.

Our route was so backwards, I thought we weren’t going to ride in the gravel lot because we turned right out of the church lot instead of left. But we looped around and hit the gravel. The recent rain may have churned up the gravel; I felt both my wheels slip sideways under me. It gives me a visceral thrill as I feel that slip and makes me look forward to more off-road riding in the future.

We extended the ride about half an hour longer and I noted that my hands are holding up better. My right hand didn’t get tired until we were nearing the end of the ride and doing our straighten-up-and-stop-out-of-curves practice. The dragonflies were more prevalent in the latter portion of our ride, and I saw 6 cabbage whites in all during the ride. And I actually managed to catch enough of a glimpse of an American Copper butterfly. They may enjoy the blooming hydrangeas or the day lilies that have begun to open.

The best part of our ride came as we were circling around to head home. As we approached the stop sign at my old practice road, two families of Canadian geese were traversing the road. When our bikes roared up to the stop sign, the goslings reared back and tried to head back in the direction from which they came. But the adults were determined to shepherd the families to a new food source and fussed at the babies to keep going. We cut off our motors to help calm the goslings down and enjoyed watching the parade. It was a lovely image with which to end our ride and kept us both smiling all the way home.

Roasting

We made our earliest start ever, getting over to ride by 10:00 AM. Why? Because the forecast was for a high of 97. As it was, the temps were already in the mid-80s with a heat index flirting with 90. This was more like a ride in August than May; however, we still geared up and headed out.

It was community yard sale weekend in my parents’ neighborhood, so we rode straight over to the ritzy neighborhood to avoid the extra traffic the yard sales brought. Of course, I noted that several homes in the ritzy neighborhood were piggybacking on the community sale to host their own yard sales. But traffic wasn’t too bad despite being busier, except the truck U-turner turning around his truck full of bikes while looking at his phone and the minivan lady with her phone in one hand and a map in the other. Scary, but we were aware and avoided them.

As we headed out on our ride, we headed into a bevy of dragonflies. Clearly the hot weather agrees with them or their eggs hatch in May because they were everywhere throughout our ride. One little guy was zooming right into my path but deftly lifted and swerved to avoid both the motorcycle and me. I saw a beautiful blue one and marveled how fantastic it is to be on a motorcycle and be able to see the dragonflies so clearly as to distinguish their colors.

The cabbage white butterflies were out, too, but not in as large a number. I managed to see 8 throughout the ride, but I also got to see a black swallowtail which gave me an extra smile. Almost everyone was staying in the shade even during this earlier warmth of the day. A great egret was stalking its breakfast in the river, two Canadian geese were canoodling in the grass, and some ducks were waddling across the street.

The air was full of the scent of honeysuckle and Ligustrum. There was a cooling breeze out of the west, but it was a day when I preferred the straight rides letting the wind chill cool us off. Whenever we entered a court to work on our slow circles, I could feel the exhaust heat against my right inner thigh. When we were working on straightening up out of circles, I felt as though my leg was roasting on a spit. I found myself thinking longingly of the BMW 1250 GS with its boxer twin engine (just like the R Nine T). With the cylinders down in front of my feet and an exhaust pipe down and back by the rear tire, it won’t be as toasty roasty as the Desert Sled.

Due to the heat, I opted not to take the R Nine T into the field. I didn’t want Bill having to stand around all geared up in the sun and heat. I regretted that decision a little bit as the heat emanated up my body from the exhaust. After our ride, I was sweatier than Bill! I am praying for no rain next Friday so the field will be dry. Part of moving up to the 1250 GS is being able to handle the boxer engine, so I need some experience with the R Nine T to develop my competence and comfort.

And if you were wondering whether we still gear up in the heat, the answer is yes. I still put on the Alpinestars jacket under the Klim which is under the Helite vest. I noticed that with the Barkbusters hand guards, my hands in their summer gloves don’t get the full effect of the wind. I found myself holding up my left hand to let the wind run through all my venting holes.

As for skills practice, we worked on straightening up out of curves, both doing much better than last week. We also added something else to our stopping practice. This week on Youtube, Bill found Boots and Jeans, and Boots was going over how to stop his large Honda Goldwing. Now remember from last week, I use the front brake to slow the bike, but for the full stop, I only use the rear brake so that if the bike is not completely straight and it starts to wobble, I can straighten it out. Boots showed us how, as he releases the front brake, he sticks his left leg out straight and, as the bike comes to a stop, lets his heel touch down first and then the rest of the foot. This foot technique helps prevent the jump that can be experienced from stopping the bike and setting the foot flat down. As I practiced it, I noted it was an interesting sensation and did make me feel more stable in my stops.

I did more slowing circles and then letting the clutch out to help straighten the bike. And I was very conscientious about making sure the kickstand was down the two times the bike was parked. Another successful week finding neutral, too. Other than roasted thigh, it was a fantastic ride. I can’t wait for next weekend when the temps will be a much more delightful 77 degrees. I wonder who I’ll see more of—the dragonflies or the butterflies? And will I finally get to ride the R Nine T?

Return to Riding

Gray skies and wet roads greeted us Saturday morning. So we jumped in the car and took a road trip to Richmond to visit Moto Richmond, a dealership that carries Triumph, KTM, and Moto Guzzi. It was a rainy drive with a brief downpour that caused stoppage on the interstate. But with only one wrong turn, we made it to the dealership. One reason we went was to allow Bill to compare the Triumph Rocket III R and GT models directly, so he could decide which model he prefers (the GT). We also were able to see the carnival red color which the 2023 Rocket will come out in; this color was on the gold line Bobber and is a beautiful shade of red. We also got to see the Scrambler XE in the Baja Orange again, but this time it was next to the Cobalt Blue Jet Black, so we could discern which color we preferred (the blue).

Another reason we went was to see the Triumph Tiger 1200 Rally Pro which, unfortunately for us, had been sold that week. They had the Rally in the 900 version, so I could compare the feel of that motorcycle to the BMW GS 1250. The Triumph is a bit top heavy. I was also able to sit on the KTM 1200 Adventure for a further comparison, and I felt that bike was far too heavy for me to control. So I left feeling more confident in my choice of the GS.

The drive home was drier as the showers passed through. We took this as a hopeful sign we would be able to ride on Sunday. And we were.

Sunday was on the warm side for our ride, but it was sunny and dry and the driveway was fixed. I told Bill I felt giddy about our impending ride as we drove over to get the bikes. I would not, however, be able to try out the R Nine T as the field was still too wet. We hadn’t gone more than a block in our ride before I saw my first cabbage white butterfly. Half a block later, I saw the second. In all I saw 16 cabbage whites on our ride and saw 4 more on the drive back home. Clearly, these little butterflies enjoy the warmer weather.

They must also like roses and honeysuckle and these were in full bloom. I saw several clematis blooming still, a few late dogwoods, and even a pink peony. Only a pair of Canada geese were out, though we saw a drake as we stopped to take in a view of the lake. Lots of people and dogs were out today, probably making up for the rainy days we’ve had over the past week.

As for my riding skills, I was able to work on letting out the clutch as I felt the bike tipping while doing slow circles. Another skill I worked on is coming to a stop using only the rear brake. This is an essential skill because if I am using the front brake and the bike is not dead on straight, the bike can tip over. By using the rear brake, I can quickly adjust the direction of the bike if it is tipping or let out the clutch to keep the bike moving which will help straighten up the motorcycle.

We also worked on straightening up and coming to a stop from a curve, something we hadn’t really worked on since the MSF class. The best parts of the ride were when we rode with some speed to create a cool breeze; the Ducati engine is a lot warmer than the BMW 310. Overall, I had a great ride, easily found neutral every time, then I almost dropped the bike at the end of the ride. As I shifted into neutral and cut the bike off, I noted the fuel light was on; I began to lean the bike to the left to dismount when I realized I didn’t have the kickstand down. The worst part is that to the left was the R Nine T, so had I dropped the bike, it would’ve landed on Bill’s with me sandwiched in the middle. Since my one drop of the Ducati was from getting off the bike without ensuring the kickstand was down, I clearly have an issue. Bill suggested I recite an “end of the ride” checklist to help me fix this problem.

Other than this serious gaffe, the butterflies joined me and Bill for a fantastic ride. The week looks a lot drier, so let’s hope I get the chance to ride the R Nine T in the field next weekend.

Ready for our ride; the Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled (background) and the BMW R NineT (foreground).

Window Shopping

Another beautiful Saturday with temps around 70, yet no ride. The bikes are currently trapped inside my parents’ garage as a large rectangular slab of concrete is currently dug up in the front leaving a two-foot-deep trench. So when no riding is possible, we head off to look at motorcycles.

Our first stop was Adventure BMW to see what was in the showroom. Unfortunately, in their case, the website is up-to-date, so there were only a few new bikes and no R 1250 GSs in stock. Bill was happy, though, The R18 bagger was there for him to play with. I sat on the R 1250, the street version of the adventure bike and didn’t notice much to the weight. We talked with Rick, the sales manager, and he brought out the fob so we could look at the TFT dash and open up the baggage compartments on the R18. For fun we also sat on the S1000 R, a track bike for sure, a younger person’s motorcycle with a seat as hard as a 2×4.

From Adventure we stopped by my parents’ house to wish my Mom a happy Mother’s Day, then headed over to Sunrise Cycles to see if any new Triumph Rockets had arrived. We were disappointed to see none had. But we were finally able to see the Gold Line Triumph Scrambler XE in the Baja California orange. We had admired this bike online for some time and were very curious to see it in person. Had we liked it more in person it might have made a stand against the BMW 1250 GS. But, while a pretty motorcycle, the orange is not as striking in person.

So the next step for me is to ride the R NineT so I can get a feel for both the boxer engine and a more powerful engine in preparation for my the 1250 GS. Meanwhile, I missed zooming along on the Ducati Scrambler. Here’s hoping the driveway gets finished and the weather is nice for next weekend.

“You do not need a therapist if you own a motorcycle, any kind of motorcycle!”
Dan Aykroyd (found on: https://wildtriumph.com/motorcycle-quotes-sayings/)