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.)
Flutterby Biker 