(I hope everyone had a terrific Thanksgiving holiday!)
The trees have hit their peak colors as November comes to an end. Everywhere we looked on this bright, sunny Saturday, we saw the best of autumn colors. The weather went our way again as the rain came early Friday and ended with enough time for the roads to mostly dry out for our Saturday ride.
But it was a slow start for me. The R Nine T would not shift down into first. Bill warned me when he first began riding the motorcycle that it was tricky finding first sometimes. Finding neutral is easy, but first gear can be elusive. I had only had one experience where the bike wouldn’t shift into first back when I was practicing in the field. My street rides had begun with smooth shifts into first. Not today. Bill launched off on the Rocket leaving me sitting at the bottom of the driveway.
I believe I have matured a bit as a rider. I did not panic at not getting first. I patiently tried shifting up to second. No luck. I did my best to roll the bike back and forth to get the gear to drop. No luck. I played the clutch in and out, took a deep breath, and “thunk,” the bike dropped into first and I was off.
Catching up to Bill, we headed onto our curvy road where I could enjoy leaning the motorcycle. The temperatures were in the mid-to upper 50s, so I was wearing my Klim summer jacket and gloves, but I did turn on the heated grips. I forgot my motorcycle socks again, so my legs were a little chilly.
We wanted to get gas, so we headed to the gas station. We filled the Rocket up with three gallons and put two gallons in the R Nine T, filling that bike to the brim. As Bill put it, “the R Nine T just sips gas.” Here at the station was my second battle to shift into first. Because the R Nine T has a dry clutch, the plates can fight the shifting. Most motorcycles have a wet clutch because these clutches have a larger friction zone, are easier to shift, and make less noise. The dry clutch sends more power to the rear wheel, thus making it easier to zoom off. Dry clutches are most often found on MotoGP racing motorcycles.
Anyway, Bill took off again and I didn’t. I again remained patient while I worked the bike into first gear. Because I was leaving the gas station pump, I had to be extra careful and extra watchful for oncoming traffic from multiple directions (front, rear, left, and right). I was lucky in that the station wasn’t busy at that time, and I soon rejoined Bill for our ride. Since we don’t have any helmet-to-helmet communications, I wasn’t able to let Bill know what was going on until the end of our ride.
While the motorcycle shifting was a fight, I did extremely well with my circles, U-turns, and S-turns. I paid attention to applying pressure on the outside peg of the turns. I was so successful at the pegs, I was able to bring the bike into full lock on two right-turn circles. Full lock means the handlebars are turned as far as the front end will let them. At full lock one can make the tightest turn. So I was thrilled that I managed it twice.
Not much wildlife out and about. I saw a couple of turkey vultures circling overhead and had my own near run-in with an indecisive squirrel. And there was a trio of Thanksgiving blow ups on a front porch—a pilgrim with a pumpkin pie, a turkey, and a football turkey. But the trees were the stars of this ride. The maples especially had spectacular burgundy and ochre shades. I will miss the colors when the leaves finally fall. I will have to rely on the Christmas decorations to provide the sights for our December rides.
I had one more challenge at the end of the ride. My Mom was off shopping, so we had locked up the garage when we headed out. So I parked at the top of the steep driveway and went inside to open the garage. My challenge was to restart the motorcycle, shift into first, and use the friction zone to get it into the garage while starting on the inclined driveway. I managed it beautifully, so as I write this blog, I am reminding myself not to get cocky!
Flutterby Biker 