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Golden Ride

Sometimes not having a roof over one’s head is a good thing, and it’s one of the many aspects I love about riding motorcycles. Having the freedom to look up unencumbered by a car roof gave us a spectacular view of a golden eagle.

I remembered this week to check the wind chill though I only checked it for my city and not my parents’, so it was a little chillier than expected but no where near as cold as last week. I only felt the wind through my helmet; I need to check my ventilation because I may have extra open vents. I was wearing the same outfit as last week, but the temperature was at 50 and that made a big difference in my comfort.

We headed out with a detour due to road construction down the block from the garage. Because of the torn-up roads, we didn’t go down the curvy road. I was a little disappointed, but I let the squirrels running about and the Canadian geese distract me. I even spotted some robins, the birds of spring. The skies were cloudy, but yesterday’s rain was on hold and the roadways were dry enough for our ride though we had to dodge a few large puddles.

Since we bypassed the curvy road, it didn’t take us long to reach the cul de sac where we practice on-street U-turns. With last week’s disastrous turns still fresh in my mind, I was a little trepidatious, and that trepidation affected my first turn. Wide into the grass I went; one thing I have improved on is not shaking my head when I make a mistake or goof. I tightened up as I started the second turn and managed to stay on the street. It’s definitely a feel thing and a need for more practice because when I was turning in the gravel lot, I performed my tightest U-turns ever.

Bill led us on a meandering path for our ride, but this was a good thing. We headed up the road to the footless stop Yield later in our ride than usual, and that allowed us to witness the magnificent sight of the golden eagle landing in a tree. The movement of its wings caught both of our attention because it was only about 30 feet up from us on the road. Unfortunately for us, the motorcycle noise disturbed it; the eagle flitted to another tree and, even though we had stopped the bikes, then decided to head off. Our arrival was probably a lucky happenstance for one of the four Canadian geese grazing by the roadside as the eagle most likely was planning on making one of the geese its lunch.

The benefit to startling the golden eagle was we got to see it launch in the air and fly away. Outside of an ostrich at the zoo, this golden eagle is the largest bird I have ever seen. What a spectacular sight; that golden eagle makes me even happier about riding my motorcycle and, while the odds are I won’t get to see that beautiful bird again, I will keep my eyes peeled as I keep riding.

golden eagle in flight — Photo by Andrew Patrick on Pexels.com

Wind Chill

Winter returned for this week’s ride but seemingly not too aggressively. Temperatures were in the mid-40s and there was sunshine amongst some clouds. But I didn’t check the wind chill as I prepared my riding outfit, and I paid for it during my ride.

In addition to checking the wind chill on cold days, I also need to check whether Bill added my liner for my leather jacket. I made a mistake in wearing my Rev’It leather pants with the liner and tights underneath, and I also chose my thermal overshirt rather than the flannel one rated for cold weather.

Because I was cold, I focused a little too much on my discomfort. My hands were cold enough even with the heated grips on high, so much so that I stopped pre-loaded the front brake several times to grip the handle with my full hands. During U-turn practice, I took advantage of only using the rear brake to warm up my right hand. Then as we cruised up stretches of the road, I released the clutch and gripped the left side. It worked enough to keep me from being miserable on the ride, but I was cold enough to learn my lesson about checking the wind chill.

I did see even more daffodils in bloom as we rode, though I knew there would be no butterfly to surprise me this week. I hope the little guy from last Saturday found some warm spot to hang out. I was surprised to see an apple tree (I think) in full pink bloom. I wasn’t expecting to see the fruit trees blooming already, but they are starting.

The fruit tree was in bloom along the stretch of road where we do the on-street U-turns. Today, however, there was a woman walking her dog along our usual stretch of road, so Bill had us do the U-turns in a different part of the road. On my first turn I had to daub my left foot and on the second, I went off well onto the berm. It occurred to me that I was unsuccessful because it was a different part of the road and possibly narrower, but to me that was just an excuse. If I can do an on-street U-turn, it should not matter which stretch of the road we are on to do it. Later, Bill told me it was a narrower part of the road, and I shouldn’t be surprised that I struggled. I did great later on my turns in the gravel lot to make up for the lousy street turns.

We didn’t get to practice our stops and immediate restarts because when Bill tried his first one, the Rocket cut off. We started our ride with the Rocket telling us it had a range of 20 miles, so we headed home on the fumes because no one wants to try and push a 648-pound motorcycle up a steep driveway! Next week, we’ll gas up the motorcycles and return to our scheduled practice. And I’ll check the wind chill as I prep my riding attire.

Surprising Almost Spring Ride

It looked like Punxsutawney Phil was right; we were heading into an early spring. Today’s weather was a gift in February—highs in the mid-60s under partly cloudy skies. Rain was forecasted for much later, so we were presented with a day made for motorcycle riding.

There was a morning kerfuffle involving a missing envelope, but that situation was eventually resolved. The delay meant we benefited from the full warmth of the day on our ride. I had a rather eclectic mix of riding gear on. I was wearing my Rev’It Ignition 3 leather pants with the liner in but without my tights underneath. I had on a t-shirt under the Alpinestars jacket with a thermal sweatshirt over top underneath the Klim summer riding jacket. And I wore my mid-weight Klim gloves for hand warmth. As we first rode off, I felt a little too warm but, with the bike up and running creating the wind chill, I was actually comfortable.

There were a lot of people out enjoying the springish day either walking, running, or on their bicycles. As we headed up the curvy road, we went wide to the left to avoid some pedestrians out for a stroll, and then had to swerve back to the right to avoid the two Canadian geese grazing at the edge of the road. Either they had been there for quite some time or it was a favorite grazing spot for the gaggle judging by the amount of goose poop on the road. I hoped for a sighting of the bald eagle but only saw a bunch of turkey vultures out on the thermals.

The camellias are in full bloom now, but I also spotted some early blooming daffodils open to the sunshine. And I was completely surprised when I headed up the court where we perform our on street U-turns and saw a small cabbage white butterfly flit past me. I truly hadn’t expected a butterfly in February and had a silly smile on my face as I completed both U-turns—one wide, one great.

It was such a beautiful day, I found myself wishing I was just cruising. Instead, I worked on my stops and my turns in the gravel lot. Bill had us add a new drill—a fast stop and start. This drill actually has a swerve component as well, but I’m just beginning to get the feel for it, so I’m just on the stop and start aspect. The purpose of the drill is to enable me to takeoff quickly from a stop to avoid a rear-end collision. On a motorcycle just like in a car, a sudden stop could end up a rear end collision if the driver behind you is too close and/or not paying attention. In a car the bumper, trunk, backseats, and airbags all come to the driver’s aid. On a motorcycle the rider could go flying or even be crushed between the rear ender and the obstacle that caused the sudden stop in the first place.

So knowing how to stop quickly, check rearview mirrors, and take off quickly can be extremely useful for a motorcycle rider. An additional component of this exercise is to swerve around the obstruction, but that’s a higher level of the drill that I’m not ready for. I just worked on sudden stopping, placing my left foot down, and taking off as soon as my foot touched. I was pretty slow. In part my slowness was due to my checking the mirrors after I put my foot down—too late. I need to be checking the mirrors as I’m stopping, so that will be my work next week. I also am still sticking to the throttle with my right hand causing it to rev when I’m stopping. I still need to figure that out, but I believe it is because I am gripping harder on the brake and the handlebars causing me to “stick” on the throttle. That just means more practice.

And I am always up for my practice and more riding on my motorcycle. Next week will be more of a return to winter (unless the forecast changes) but it looks like we’ll get through this winter with only one day of bitter cold riding. I’m looking forward to the spring and all the lovely blossoms and blooms and butterflies I’ll see.

Random Thoughts Ride

While Punxsutawney Phil may not have seen his shadow, the temperatures are still more wintry than vernal, but we did have clear skies and bright sunshine, making for a very pleasant ride. We also had mostly smooth roads as the repaving was completed this past week. Of course, the workers are beginning to tear up new roads in the neighborhood, but our main travel roads are slick under the new asphalt. I was a little saddened by this as it means no need for our ride around; no more speed bump practice nor traffic-awareness practice.

I found my mind wandering all over the place as I rode. At first I was preoccupied with my cold chin. Somehow I had inadvertently opened the front vent on my helmet and had some trouble getting it closed. I eventually succeeded and was comfortable for the rest of my ride. As I zipped up the twisty road, I felt the beauty of the counter steer flicking the R Nine T from curve to curve. I also looked up into the clear blue overhead in hopes of glimpsing the bald eagle or at least an osprey. Instead, I saw some turkey buzzards high aloft enjoying the day.

I noted some yellow and burgundy pansies shining in the sunlight. Pansies are an interesting flower; they thrive through the cold winter, yet the word “pansy” usually means a wimpy person. I started wondering if what makes the pansy a “pansy,” is that it doesn’t like the extreme heat or cold. But that is true of most flowers, so why isn’t a wimpy person a begonia or an iris? I’ve always liked pansies because around here they bloom all through the winter, providing some color to the dull greens and omnipresent browns of winter.

I did see a bright snowy white egret hunting in the river near the road. That broke up the monotony of the black crows that were everywhere. Later in the ride, I saw three Canadian geese flying low over the river, and toward the end of the ride, I spotted pelicans. There were many squirrels about, but none crazy enough to jump in front of the motorcycles.

My on-street U-turns went very well, but I had some difficulty in the gravel lot with the right-side turns. My first two setups were off, so I had to loop through the parking lot and restart. I eventually got the right side as well as the left side turns and was pleased at how tight they are. The R Nine T is so well-balanced that I feel as though I could stop momentarily and it wouldn’t fall over.

I did have a bauble when Bill and I first turned into the hospital lot. To the right there’s a small, eight-car lot that sort of forces tighter U-turns. We went in and I turned so tightly on the first turn that I had to adjust to avoid running up on Bill. That adjustment through me off my line and I got in Bill’s way as he tried to circle around again. It doesn’t happen often, but it was a reminder to me that when I adjust in the turn, I need to adjust all the way through.

I was sorry to see our ride come to an end, but I was also hungry and ready for lunch. We had a glorious winter day for riding and, if old Phil is right, we’ll be into spring riding soon! Which reminds me, during my ride, I had to sneeze, and I couldn’t find the latch to lift the helmet’s visor. I’ll need to practice finding that if I’m to ride around during allergy season!

Yellow and burgundy pansies with blue pansies in the background. — Photo by Sszer L on Pexels.com