If you have ever lived in the southeastern United States, then you know that when the dewpoint is 72 degrees and the humidity is at 72%, you’re in for a super muggy day. Even getting out to ride early didn’t spare us from the oppressive, damp air. I battled my dread as I geared up knowing that my air-cooled Ducati Scrambler was going to be extra uncomfortable to ride. And I was not wrong.
In addition to the humidity, there was no breeze, so we had to generate our own wind chill from the soupy air. There wasn’t much. I found myself riding with my visor up the whole time, and I even lifted up the bottom of my modular helmet when I was working on slow speed drills in parking lots. But it wasn’t enough. I could feel the sweat pooling inside my riding boots and knew I’d have to peel myself out of my gear after the ride.
The worst part of this super humid day was my focus was off. My mind was registering the discomfort especially as we practiced S-turns in the gravel lot—not a good place to be unfocused. I shook myself out of it, but that only lasted until the next slow speed practice. I even thought I might have to get off the motorcycle for a break, and I did get a short break as Bill counseled me to take my hand off the front brake as we worked on starting in a curve then straightening to a stop.
One thing I did not mention in last week’s blog (Air-Cooled Engine vs. Summer) is that the worst heat experience is when I stop. The stopping position means my feet go to the ground and my thighs push up against the air-cooled (read HOT) engine. When I’m riding, I feel the heat off the engine, but I can open up my thighs away from the bike. So I hope you understand why I dread the stopping practice. And the stopping practice comes near the end of our ride, so I’m near well-done when we get to it. My reward, however, is getting on the air/oil-cooled BMW with its low engine that does not cook my thihgs.
Now we did get a break from the sunshine as we rode under cloudy skies, and we maybe rode a little too fast on the long stretches. I found myself wishing we were riding on a 45-mph road as even the 35-mph road was only a little refreshing. I enjoyed watching an osprey hovering for a moment before diving down for its breakfast. And both Bill and I got to watch a young bunny hopping along a hedge, startled by the motorcycles entering its quiet cul de sac.
As I transitioned to the R Nine T, a cabbage white butterfly danced between Bill and me, the first I had seen from a motorcycle in quite a few weeks. The start of my ride on the R Nine T went well as I didn’t stall right away. But after my first stop, I repeatedly stalled. I did figure out that I was letting off the clutch completely and needed to let the bike start going with the clutch partially in. Bill also suggested again that the muddy ground was giving me trouble. In fact he got on the R Nine T and it stalled on him as he first tried to get it moving. One recommendation he showed me when riding on a softer surface is to stand up and get the bike moving. It was a short practice but I learned a lot from it.
We returned the bikes to the garage and did manage to peel ourselves out of the gear. Looking ahead to our next ride, the high for the day is forecasted at 82 with a low of 68. The Canadian geese are in full migration, we saw three different gaggles, heralding the arrival of autumn—yay!
Flutterby Biker 