Our luck with the temperatures finally ran out; the weather was typical for Memorial Day weekend in southeast Virginia—hot and humid. Actually, for us, low 80s isn’t too hot, but the humidity was up and the sun was bright making this ride warm and sweaty. I learned a valuable lesson with my riding gear on this warm, nearing-summer day. Do not wear the leather riding pants when the temperature hits 80 or above; it can lead to chafing.
Usually when I wear my Rev’It Ignition 3 leather riding pants, I wear a pair of tights underneath for an additional layer of warmth. Knowing that the ride was going to be warm, I opted to skip the tights, wear some knee pads to protect my knees, and wear the leather pants. Not a good idea. My right inner thigh about halfway through the ride began to rub a little raw. I stood up and shifted a bit to move the pants around, but I realized that I either wear the tights and get sweatier, or it’s time to switch to the Klim riding jeans.
I did think about wearing bike shorts under the leathers, but that solution still adds another layer of cloth and more to sweat through. Today’s ride was an experiment in what constitutes too hot for the leather pants, and I’ve determined 80 degrees or higher. Switching the pants isn’t a big deal, but Bill really likes me in the leathers.
It was a warm enough day that I kept my jackets partially unzipped. And it was my first really warm ride to feel how the ventilation on my Arai helmet worked. I made sure I had opened all the vents fully, and I was comfortable enough while we cruised, though on slow-speed maneuvers, I opened up the visor some. I did have a red, angry mark across my forehead when I removed my helmet, but to prevent that much like the chafing, I would need to add more layers when I’m already toasty.
As I was gearing up in the garage, a cabbage white flew by, almost flying into the garage. I chased after her to try and get a picture, but every time I was close enough to snap the pic, she moved herself in front of something white and disappeared. She was only the first of many butterflies I saw on this bright, sunny day, including an eastern tiger swallowtail, and possibly a Juvenal’s Duskywing butterfly. It certainly was dark enough.
With the sunshine and all the flowers in bloom, of course there were lots of butterflies about. I also saw some dragonflies, a real harbinger of summer as the dragonflies means the mosquitoes are coming. I forgot to mention that a few weeks ago, I saw a small dragonfly in the garage. I wondered if the bright reds and yellows in my helmet had attracted it.
The Canadian goslings have reached the teenager stage and are almost as tall as their parents. A young child of about three was watching the gaggle in fascination. We encouraged a couple of mallards to move away from the edge of the road as we zoomed past. And I almost missed a turn when I spotted a beautiful osprey with wings full spread in the blue sky.
As we rode, I worked on trail braking. Actually, what Bill had asked me to work on was feeling the dive of the front end of the bike when I pull in the front brake and then the release as I trail off the brake. I still tried a little bit of trail braking in some of my turns, and I am getting a better understanding of the importance of having some of the front brake engaged in a turn so that if something goes wrong, I can continue my braking while straightening up the motorcycle.
Someone was having a party—graduation or Memorial Day—so our on-street U-turn road was blocked on both sides. But I did my best ever U-turn in the handicap spots on the gravel lot; I am finally learning to trust the R Nine T and my ability to accelerate on the incline. My right arm did start to go numb. I am wondering now if it is the pre-load position; however, I don’t want to give up pre-loading the front brake to find out. I do have my left fingers extended over the clutch, but I don’t pre-load that, so I am not exerting pressure until I am ready to shift gears. My gear shifts were a little odd; I didn’t miss a gear, but at least three times during the ride I felt as though I had. Of course, the R Nine T doesn’t have a gear indicator other than the neutral light, so I’m always in a little suspense as to what gear I might be in until we stop and I can shift down to first.
Another riding mystery to be solved, and the only way to solve it is with more rides which I am always ready for!
Flutterby Biker 