Today was a spectacular day for spotting butterflies—six varieties.  In fact as I walked down the driveway to the motorcycle, a large Canadian Tiger Swallowtail came zipping along from across the street.  She flew right over the bike, right over me, headed up to the roof of my parents’ house, and circled back around.  She hung out for so long that I managed to get a picture of her!  I stood in the driveway dropping gloves and keys and laughing as I watched her flying about.

            Not thirty seconds later into my ride, I saw two Fritillary butterflies dancing about.  I wondered if butterflies are inherently lazy insects.  Bill wasn’t feeling well and decided not to ride, and we had delayed heading over.  My ride didn’t start until 1:00 in the afternoon, and spotting the variety of butterflies that I did, I had to conclude that they enjoy sleeping in.  Because I was riding solo, I took the swallowtail’s pre-ride flight as sort of a blessing.  Without Bill, I had to watch for everything—curve lines, oncoming traffic, cars pulling out.  I worked on the observational skills which was really good for me.

            As I rode into the ritzy neighborhood, I saw an unusual butterfly.  It may have been a Great Spangled Fritillary, but I can’t be sure.  I’m guessing at that because of its size; it was much larger than the other fritillary butterflies.  One of the problems with watching butterflies from the back of a motorcycle is not being able to track the insect for a proper identification.  Anyway, it was a butterfly and not another cabbage white, so it was fun to see.

            It was hot, near 90 degrees, so I spent most of the ride cruising with just turns in courts.  Because last week’s middle of the street U-turn didn’t go well, I did try that.  The first one was a disaster—into the grass, but the second one was a success.  I again encountered a small box turtle working his way across the court.  He stopped when I did and stared me down, so I rode off and left him to it.  Soon after I spotted what I think was a Great Purple Hairstreak butterfly but may have been a small Black Swallowtail whose yellow markings have not come in.  And I finally did spot a Sulphur recognizing the bright yellow as I rode closer to it.  Before my ride ended, one little Cabbage White made an appearance as did a smaller Tiger Swallowtail.

            I missed having Bill on the ride, but I liked the challenge of being responsible for all the decisions.  I briefly thought about a quick little sojourn into traffic, but I decided instead to stick to the roads I know and save traffic for when I’m riding with Bill; his motorcycle is too big to miss!

In my non-riding life, I work as a teacher, so today’s ride marked my final ride of the summer of 2023 as I’m back to school on Monday.  We were blessed with an absolutely gorgeous riding day with temperatures in the lower 80s and a delicious cool breeze.  Soon into our ride, I spotted a black swallowtail and knew the day was set to be great.

            After last week’s ride where I didn’t wear any Alpinestar jacket but still experienced the numbing in my right hand, I decided the issue had to be in my pre-loading of the front brake.  I therefore decided not to pre-load on this ride and see if that kept any numbness away.  I struggled not to wrap my index and middle finger around the front brake, several times during the ride having to consciously remove them.  I liked realizing that because pre-load is so important; I appreciate that it has become “the norm” for me.

            Unfortunately, by not pre-loading, I did not experience the numbness.  I hated learning that, so I determined to train up my grip for the pre-load.  When we were three-quarters of the way through the ride, I started to pre-load the front brake.  My thought was to pre-load for a set number of miles since I don’t have a clock, and to practice at the end of the ride.  I tried for four miles on this ride but that was too long.  Next week I’ll try for three miles.  I hope it is a matter of training up my grip strength.  For those of you wondering, I do have the front brake lever in the closest setting to the throttle.  If I set the lever further out, I’d be straining my fingers to reach.

            I had hoped to see some Sulphur butterflies during the ride as I had started to see many of them during the week as I drove around, but I didn’t spot any.  I did glimpse a cabbage white and I was lucky enough to spot an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.  Having seen the black swallowtail for the first time on this ride and only now seeing the Sulphurs, I realized I should educate myself more on when certain butterflies emerge throughout the spring and summer.  There were many dragonflies about as there are many mosquitos for them to feed on.

            One flower I have seen in gorgeous bloom but keep forgetting to mention is the hibiscus.  There is a tall stand in someone’s yard—six to seven feet in height–of the scarlet rose mallow swamp hibiscus.  And then there is a smaller, four-foot bloom down by the river, planted by the birds.  It’s funny but most people associate the hibiscus with Hawaii, but there is a native varietal to Virginia—I have the Eastern rose mallow variety in my yard.

            Speaking of birds, we spotted several flocks of Canadian geese, proving that the fall migration is well underway.  Fitting, I suppose, as this ride is the end of my summer rides.  I look forward to the cooler days which make the rides so much more enjoyable.

(PS—the sale of the 310 fell through as there was something hincky going on.  The potential buyer sent me an email at midnight the night before the deal went down to inform me he was paying with check.  From his initial contact, the offer was for cash, so there was something off with the last-minute pay by check.  We have a potential buyer coming to look at it in a few weeks, but we get to enjoy the 310 for a little longer.)

On Wednesday we made a Virginian from Daleville very happy when we sold him our Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled Fasthouse.  From the moment he jumped down from his Ford F-150, he couldn’t stop smiling as he looked at the motorcycle.  He even said, “I don’t need to ride it; I want it.”  The transaction took half an hour, and we found ourselves the owner of only three motorcycles but not for long.  We have a buyer set up for my little BMW G 310 GS for this Wednesday.  I’ve been thinking about these two motorcycles and my experiences on both.  I find myself sadder about losing the 310 than the Scrambler. 

            The 310 was my first motorcycle bought a week after I passed the MSF course.  It has a 313 cc engine with only 33 HP and 28 NM of torque, so it is not a power motorcycle or a bike one blows out at the track.  The engine has a purr to it, and from my experience, I have to say it is a great motorcycle for developing riding skills.  It was light enough for me to haul up and save from a drop (385 pounds dry).  The friction zone is a challenge to learn, but on a beginner bike, I think that’s a good thing.  The skills I learned finessing the friction zone on the 310 transferred to both the Ducati and the R Nine T, meaning I didn’t stall the motorcycle much.

            The 310 is also a relatively gentle motorcycle; even when I rolled a little too strongly on the throttle, I never felt as though I would fly off the back of the bike.  The Ducati several times tried to throw me off the back.  Please don’t misunderstand; that is a thrilling feeling especially if you’ve held on!  That was my experience on both the Scrambler and at times the R Nine T.  I loved it.  I enjoyed the 73 HP and 48.8 NM of torque; it made me feel more like I was riding a “real” motorcycle, which is being unfair to the 310, but I am trying to illustrate the difference between the bikes.  The Ducati also had more of a motorcycle grumble magnified brilliantly when we put the LeoVince exhaust on it.  But I had issues with the bike.  Because it is a bike made to go off-road as well as on, it is a tall motorcycle (seat height 33.9 inches), and I struggled with the bike’s top-heavy weight (425 lbs. dry).  I’m sure my mixed feelings toward the Scrambler is due to the two drops.  Ever had a teacher you really disliked?  You were relieved when you got out of her class, but later on upon reflection, you realize you really learned something from that teacher.  That’s how I feel about the Ducati.  I learned to be much more careful in my handling of the motorcycle.

            The first drop was due to my mindlessness.  I got off the motorcycle after parking it at the bottom of the driveway.  Except I hadn’t parked the motorcycle because I forgot to put the kickstand down.  I now take a few moments when I’m parking the motorcycle to ensure it is in neutral and that the kickstand is down and solid before dismounting.  My second drop was due to incorrect thinking.  I was backing the bike out of the garage and had kept it in neutral instead of shifting into first gear.  So when I had the bike perpendicular to the driveway which meant my right foot could not reach the ground and the motorcycle started tipping to the right, I couldn’t let out the clutch and use speed to help get the bike upright.  Since that experience, I’ve worked diligently on using speed to correct the motorcycle when it starts to tip.

            The worst part of the Ducati for me and for where I live and ride is the engine heat.  It is one of the top three aspects Ducati owners dislike about their motorcycles.  It made riding in safety gear incredibly uncomfortable, and on some rides I had to dismount the bike and sit and cool off in the shade.  This engine aspect of the Ducati makes me like the BMW R Nine T’s boxer engine design where the engine is well below me.  However, the Ducati did build my riding skills; I learned to handle a heavier, more powerful motorcycle, helping me get ready to ride the R Nine T.  I think handling the top-heavy Scrambler on slow speed maneuvers has made handling the lower-weighted R Nine T much easier.

            I hope the new owners of both of these motorcycles enjoy their rides on them.  I had some great rides and many wonderful learning opportunities on both, and I know riding different motorcycles has benefited my skills development greatly.

(We did have another early morning ride on Saturday during which I spotted a goldfinch zooming out of a bunch of brown-eyed Susans, and I learned that my right-arm numbness has nothing to do with the jacket, but more on that next week.)

            After last week’s full blast of summer, we were treated to a lovely week where the temperatures didn’t get out of the 80s.  And even though we were inundated with rain on Friday, with a bit of patience Saturday morning, the roads dried out and we were able to ride.

            There were many more Canadian geese about; I saw four groups during our ride and passed a very large flock driving to and from the motorcycles.  Fall migration seems to be underway which means cooler riding weather is coming.

            Yesterday’s rain knocked puddles of crape myrtle blossoms onto the pavement—pretty to look at yet not good for stopping.  Luckily, these bloom puddles were on the edges of the road and easy to avoid.  Unfortunately for some largish insect—maybe a locust—it was unable to avoid my helmet.  It flew at me from my left, and my only awareness was from the loud thump of impact when it hit my helmet.  Perhaps the main downside of motorcycle riding is there is no windshield for insect splats just the rider.

            The only butterfly I saw during the ride was a small Aphrodite Fritillary though I did see some Cabbage Whites as I drove back home.  There were some large dragonflies zipping about, fattened up on all the mosquitoes.  I was lucky enough to spot two raptors on this ride—an osprey hunting over the river and what I believe to be a sharp-shinned hawk zipping from tree to tree.  Though I am being unfair to all the “regular” birds I see during my rides—the robins, cardinals, thrashers, morning doves, and crows.

            My ride went very well.  I managed a footless stop definitively.  The reason I know this is, not only was the speedometer needles on the zero, but the bike lurched toward the right due to the stoppage.  My response to the lurch was to let out the clutch and roll on the throttle; increasing the speed helps to straighten the motorcycle.  I was not as quick to increase my speed when we were doing the on-street U-turn.  I was making my tightest turn on the street when I felt the bike wobble, so I started to stick out my left leg.  But I caught myself before the foot touched pavement, pulled the leg back in, and increased my speed.

            The air was cool as we rode along.  I did remember to switch Alpinestar jackets with Bill to see if that prevented my right-hand numbness.  It didn’t, but it wasn’t as bad.  I’ll look into getting a larger sized jacket if one is available.  Either that, or I need to make my arms into spaghetti noodles.  Whatever I do, one thing is for sure, I’ll keep riding!