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!
Flutterby Biker 