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.
Flutterby Biker 