Considering how much threat of rain we’ve had on the past several Saturdays, it was wonderful to wake up to bright sunshine and not a cloud in the sky.  The temperatures were on the high side—upper 70s when we rode and heading north to the mid-80s for the day.  But I had no complaints.

            I missed the 310 today.  While I appreciate the power and handling on the R Nine T very much, I had an acute awareness of the uncomfortable pressure on my wrists.  On the 310 I am riding sitting straight up with no weight forward on my wrists.  The R Nine T riding position has me leaning a little bit forward which creates pressure on my wrists and causes my right hand to become numb during the ride.

            I noticed this slight lean forward position when I sat on the BMW R1250 R.  I don’t like it and would never be able to cruise for any distance on the R Nine T.  I also should stay away from sports bikes.  If you’ve ever seen a MotoGP race, they ride sports bikes, sometimes on the street referred to as “crotch rockets.”  That riding position involves being hunched down over the gas tank, leaning forward with even more pressure on the wrists.  I note this discomfort because it means the R Nine T isn’t my dream bike.  The BMW R1250 GSA I test rode a while ago has a similar upright riding position to the 310.  I’m hoping the new 1300 is the same because I really do like that bike and could see that as my dream bike.

            But even riding on a not-dream bike was wonderful on this beautiful day.  The dry air made the leaves on the road crisp and they fluttered in our riding wake making me smile.  The leaf colors are about half changed over, and I noted the contrast of the russets, yellows, and burgundies against the bright green of newly seeded lawns.

            The squirrels were out busily collecting and squirreling away nuts for the winter.  We had several road encounters including one oblivious squirrel sitting in the road as the Rocket bore down on him.  He finally woke up when the looming shadow of the large front tire hit him and decided to ruminate in someone’s yard.

            The yards also had a lot more Halloween decorations out including a towering, rather frightful white witch, and a cute little purple dragon.  I did not expect to see many butterflies, but I was pleasantly surprised to see nine, including one who fluttered in blessing over top of our motorcycles before we rode.  They were all Cabbage White butterflies, though on the drive home I did see what I think might have been a Columbine Duskywing butterfly.

            Next week’s forecast is for cooler, more seasonal temperatures.  Bill joked about getting up to ride early when the temperatures are in the 40s, but I don’t think that will happen.  However, we are almost in November, so the cooler and colder rides are on their way which made today’s ride that much more precious.

            One thousand, two hundred and ninety-nine days ago I rode my first ever motorcycle.  One thousand, two hundred and ninety-two days ago, we bought my first ever motorcycle, the 2021 BMW G310 GS in Polar Ice (white and gray).  It was a wonderful little bike, absolutely perfect for getting a feel for riding a motorcycle and gaining confidence as a rider.  I’m bittersweet about letting it go, but today we sold it, and I had my final ride on my first ever motorcycle.

            It’s been an interesting selling experience with the 310.  I had 53 interested buyers in it, but it took more than three months to sell it.  Some of the selling issues may have been due to our methods—cash or cashier’s check from one bank, not much negotiation on the price, and the expectation that the buyer would arrange for any shipping.  But I also think the bike was waiting for the right buyer.  We sold it to a gentleman from North Carolina who wanted a beginner bike for his teenage daughter and wife, and he is familiar enough with BMW motorcycles and the 310 to know it was the perfect bike for learning.

            Knowing we had a buyer has led me to reminisce about my experiences on the 310.  I’ve written about those rides, so right now I’m going to focus on how different my beginner bike feels now that I’ve ridden the Ducati Scrambler, the BMW R1250 GSA, and the BMW R Nine T.  For one thing there is no pickup on the 310.  It accelerates so slow-smoothly that it wasn’t until I was on the Ducati that I experienced the sensation of being “thrown from the bike.”  This feeling is when as you roll on the throttle, the acceleration is forceful enough that you feel yourself moved back on the seat as though to fly off the back.  It’s a neat sensation—as long as you don’t actually fly off the bike!

            I rode onto the curvy road and noted that the 310 doesn’t handle the curves anywhere near as effectively as the R Nine T.  I did, however, have a super tight U-turn in the court without really trying.  The poor 310 is so short in gears that just accelerating up to 25 mph necessitated shifting into fourth gear.  Often with the R Nine T, I can ride along smoothly in second gear.

            My one concern on this final ride was stalling the motorcycle.  As I was learning, I often stalled the 310 trying to learn the friction zone.  But despite my trepidation, I handled every acceleration from a stop smoothly.  I came to recognize that I have truly outgrown the 310, my beginner motorcycle.  And this realization made parting with the motorcycle a bit easier.

            As Bill and the new owner were loading the 310 into the trailer, I noticed a bald eagle soaring overhead.  I took this as a good omen on the sale.  I chased after the eagle attempting to get a photo (my phone is too old to take a good picture), I saw a red-tailed hawk being harassed by a crow crossing paths with the eagle.  The eagle coasted on the thermals farther and farther away much like the BMW G310 GS was leaving.  It was a beautiful autumn day to let go of my beginner biker status and hope that it serves its new owners as good if not better than it served me.

Well the rain finally won.  It was aided and abetted by a sinus infection that wiped me out for the week.  The end result was no motorcycle ride which really depressed me.

            Because I was ill, we didn’t go out and look at new motorcycles at any dealerships on this rainy Saturday.  We did, however, check out videos on the brand new 2024 BMW R1300 GS, and I have to admit I’m surprised by how much I really like the look and features of this new version.  I have begun to hope that Bill decides to sell the Rocket—a dream bike, but one that is not always reliable—and return to riding the R Nine T.  That would mean I would have to return to riding the G310 GS which we have still not managed to sell despite all sorts of interest. 

            But I don’t think I would be riding my first motorcycle for long.  I have advanced my skills as a rider in the two and a half years of riding, and I think Bill likes me riding a more sophisticated bike.  So I will hold out some hope that instead of my dream R1250 GS, that one day I can upgrade to a beautiful green and gold R1300 GS—fingers crossed!

            We headed out earlier for our ride, around 10:00, as the forecast called for chance of showers around 1:00.  As we unloaded our gear, I remarked how it was the perfect day for a ride—sunshine and cool temperatures in the low 70s.  But the beautiful morning for riding didn’t last.

            By the time we mounted the motorcycles, the sun had disappeared.  I didn’t think much of it as the rain was supposedly still hours away.  We took off and I accelerated a little too quickly, feeling the torque pull the bike away from me and myself slide back on the seat.  It’s a thrilling sensation but also a reminder of how much power the bike has.

            I had seen several butterflies on the drive over—a pair of Sulphurs dancing (or fighting?), another lone Sulphur, and even a Black Swallowtail.  As we rode, however, with the skies overcast, I figured I had seen all the butterflies I would.  There were a bunch of Canadian geese about, and one squirrel making a dash in front of Bill on the Rocket before deciding better of it.

            Several times during the ride, Bill took off leaving me in his dust.  I was wondering about his speed when I realized we were on the 35-mph road and I was lollygagging at 25.   As we headed toward the shady lot, I thought the skies looked dark enough for it to be dusk.  Shortly thereafter, I heard the “plunk, plunk” of raindrops falling on my helmet.  We were about two miles from the garage, and the rain came down fast and hard.  So we inadvertently wound up riding in the rain which is something Bill had never thought to do.

            When I got back into the garage, I couldn’t shift into neutral.  I got off the bike and tried to shift with my hand, but the gears wouldn’t budge.  I called on Bill to fix the situation, and he finally got the bike in neutral by shifting the gears without pulling in the clutch.  It was an odd occurrence and I wondered if that’s what the service light was for.  We are going to have to get both bikes in for service soon which will impact our weekend ride at some point.

Gray skies again hung over us for our Saturday ride.  I lost track of time trying to figure out why my Mom’s phone was silent on incoming text messages.  My Mom actually had to tell me to give up as she saw Bill all geared up and getting on his motorcycle.  I threw on my gear and headed out to find my R Nine T parked alone at the bottom of the driveway.  I waited a few minutes to see if Bill rode back by then took off.  I met him riding back toward me a few seconds later, and we were off.

            I didn’t expect to see any butterflies on the ride, and I didn’t, but I did see flowers still in bloom.  Something about the milder summer and the generous rain has azaleas blooming again.  I even saw a few day lilies flowering again.  I smiled at the spring-like blooms even as more trees showed some yellowing on the leaves.

            The ride was going well; I was focusing on my stops after seeing that poor stop last week.  The stops have really smoothed out.  My U-turns also went well; both on street turns were a foot inside the berm.  And I was doing great in the gravel lot, more confident after practicing last week.

            But then the ride went south, deep south.  As I left the gravel lot and rode over to rejoin Bill, I heard the weird clicking sound of the Triumph’s engine not turning over.  This stall during our ride was a first; it had happened before but while we were still in the garage.  Bill checked the battery connections which were still tight, but I rode home to get the screwdriver and sandpaper just in case.  Still no go and then the key fob light went red meaning the battery was dying (hard to believe as we had changed the battery a few months ago and have only used it 8-10 times since).  So we needed a new battery.

            Now I asked my Mom if she had the needed battery, but no luck.  I needed to go to the store.  So without real planning, I made my first ride through traffic.  I had to go through one intersection at a light.  I was careful and competent and had no cars around me as I traversed the intersection going and coming.  I navigated the parking lot well with all my U-turn practice, but I bought the wrong batteries.

            Bill had just recently replaced the battery in my car key fob, so we tried that in the Triumph’s fob.  But the light stayed red.  Eventually, Bill had the notion to reset the key fob.  Since he had disconnected the battery earlier, he thought a reset on the fob might be in order.  That finally worked, but it had taken over an hour, and our ride was ruined.  I’m sorry to say but the Triumph Rocket has been more trouble than it’s worth.  As Bill pointed out, 50 years ago, Triumph had a reputation for lousy electrical work, and in the ensuing years, they’ve done nothing to repair it.

            We still have the BMW G 310; I suggested we put the Rocket on CycleTrader, and I go back to riding the 310 while Bill rides the R Nine T.  I can make this offer rather easily as I’ve seen the new R1300 GS models from BMW, and I’ve fallen in love with the Option 719 edition.  I’m not sure I could give up the R Nine T for anything less.