Heat or Humidity?

Our first official ride of the summer saw us heading out in heat that is more common in late July or August. When we rode around 11, the temperature was already hitting 90 degrees and still climbing. So why didn’t we get up early and ride when the temperature was down in the mid-70s? The answer is humidity. At 6:00 AM the humidity was 95%. Heading out into such humidity is like walking into soup. So which is worse? High humidity but more comfortable temperatures? Or high heat with lower humidity? The debate continues.

Our ride Saturday showed that the heat was uncomfortable. Bill was so hot after just pulling the motorcycles out of the garage, he opted not to wear his Alpinestars jacket under his Klim. I wore mine with the zipper down to my waist, but I wish I hadn’t. As we headed out, I noted big, fluffy cumulus clouds dotting the blue sky; there were many, but they seemed averse to covering the sun.

I had noted at my house that there weren’t many animals about, and that trend continued during our ride. I didn’t see any squirrels and only spotted one brave cabbage white butterfly hovering low over some clover. Late in the ride I did spot an osprey either hunting or enjoying the cooler temperature high up in the air. Down low, there was no relief from the heat. Usually, as we ride, the wind provides some comforting cool air, but not in today’s heat. The wind buffeting me was warm air and offered no relief.

We avoided slow speed maneuvers, but the constant heat during the ride made it seem like all we were doing was slow speed maneuvers. When we parked the bikes and I was taking off my gear, my arm held onto the pattern of the Alpinestars sleeve as the heat had plastered it against my arm. My thought after the ride was that I want to try the high humidity and lower temperature because the high heat just zapped me. Feel free to comment as to which you think is better for riding—heat or humidity.

Of course, as we move deeper into summer, soon the heat and humidity will work together to make any ride swampy and miserable. But even in the heat of summer, I still look cool riding my motorcycle (LOL)!

cabbage white butterfly resting on cherry tree — Cabbage white butterfly napping in the shade of my cherry tree–what a lucky picture to get!

Three Swallowtails in One Ride

One scent I have associated with summertime since I was a kid is that of the mimosa blossoms. The light, fruity scent of the fuzzy flowers has been a favorite sniff discovered as a child when a simple walk around the block or down to my friend’s house, led me to a medium size mimosa tree with branches of blossoms hanging out over the sidewalk. Sadly, many years later, the tree was taken down, though there are still plenty around. But I was happy to spot a mischievous volunteer shooting up from the old, long-gone mimosa, and I’m hoping it gets to grow and bloom.

In addition to the mimosa trees, the crape myrtles have begun to bloom. I mostly see white blooming trees, but the lavenders, pinks, and reds will soon join in and provide summer color. The crape myrtle has a light scent that reminds me of a bar of soap whereas the mimosas smell as sweet as their eponymous drinks. Odd fact—the mimosa cocktail is also sometimes called the Buck’s Fizz, though there are different views on proportionality of champagne to orange juice.

I also spotted the very sweet-smelling gardenias in bloom. Unfortunately, there are no gardenia bushes growing close enough to the road for me to sniff as I ride past. Sometimes, with the right wind, I can get a hint of the flower’s perfume. And I spotted some brown-eyed Susans enjoying the sun.

And there was a lot of sunshine on today’s ride. Most of the sky was clear blue, so clear I could spot six or seven seagulls soaring high in the sky and distinguish them. The wind had shifted around to the northeast, so the breeze was keeping things comfortable. It was also blowing the butterflies high. During different stages of my ride, I spotted three eastern tiger swallowtails, and I thought it funny how they were all at least ten feet up above the road or higher. I saw some cabbage whites, but they kept closer to the flowers.

I spent my ride working on trail braking in the turns. At this stage, I’m really just trying to fully understand what it is and how it works, and I do think my knowledge is improving. I also got to work on my sudden stops and awareness thanks to Bill a few times. The first time was as we were turning around in the cul de sac at the end of the long straightaway. Bill wobbled some in his turnaround and dabbed his left foot which caused me to slow up considerably as I was following and didn’t want to run into him should the bike dump (as unlikely as that was).

It is so unusual for Bill to dab his foot in a turn that I was overly cautious when we did our first on-street turnaround. I was paying closer attention to Bill’s turn and overshot the road and went a foot off into the grass. I was smart enough to check my surroundings and realized I needed to go up the road a bit as I was too close to a telephone poll that would be in my way should I need to go off the road again. My second turn, though, was much better as I could completely focus on getting myself around; Bill had headed off up the road and had to stop and wait for me to catch up.

I did a little practice in the gravel lot, enough to know that my turns there are getting better. I noticed, though, that I don’t lean as much into my turns on the gravel and need to discuss that with Bill. Am I being overly careful? Or is it a good idea to not lean the bike as much on slippery gravel?

My sudden stop and go drills are evolving. I am now supposed to work on not feeling the ABS come on but to brake the bike, release, and rebrake the bike. According to Fortnine (Youtuber), this practice lets the rider stop the brake sooner whereas the ABS will cause the bike to continue forward about twenty or so more feet. That would be the difference between a near miss and a collision. But I have a lot of work to do; every sudden stop I forced the ABS on. But that’s one of the many joys of riding a motorcycle—more to learn and more to practice means more riding!

mimosa tree in bloom against blue sky — Blooming mimosa tree next to the garage.

Gearing Up in the Heat

When I was a kid riding around with my mom or dad driving and I spotted a motorcycle rider in summertime, I marveled at how they could wear jeans, boots, and leather vests or jackets in the hazy hot humid heat of southeastern Virginia. Yet, as we all know, bikers are the ultimate in looking cool. How did that work?

Well now that I’m a rider, I have a better idea of how those bikers kept their cool. I won’t claim to looking cool on my very cool looking R Nine T. I’m geared out for safety first and foremost, so I have on a jacket with Kevlar worked in with a bright yellow safety airbag vest over top wearing baggy, reinforced safety jeans. The coolest piece of equipment I wear is my TT helmet. But I am able to keep cool while riding out on a bright, super sunny day with temperatures nearing 90 degrees. The key to coolness is cruising.

The iconic biker image of riding out free on an open road exists because that’s the way to ride comfortably cool on hot days. So today’s ride was mostly cruising with U-turns only when we were in a cul de sac or the one shady parking lot we visited. I don’t mind not doing my slow speed drills on a hot day because my motorcycle is mostly black, so it can get quite warm without the breeze washing over me. I am lucky in that the engine is a boxer with the cylinder heads down low and out in front of me, and every hot ride I really appreciate the BMW’s design. It is much more comfortable than the Ducati’s longitudinal twin engine right up under the seat. Now, it’s Bill on the Rocket who is more likely to cut the ride short because of the heat rather than me.

He didn’t cut this ride short, but he did make sure we hit the “fast” road extra. I loved riding around and appreciating the cooling wind. The sky was a clear blue, and I luckily spotted a bright white egret with its snowy feather framed first by the blue then the green leaves of its nesting tree. I also saw many cabbage white butterflies about, including one little guy who flew across my path and then zipped right by my ear. One of the neatest things I saw was a red bellied woodpecker in flight; I saw the bright crest as it zoomed up into a magnolia tree.

Soon we’ll be shifting our rides to earlier in the day to avoid the heat. I wonder if I’ll see more butterflies and birds earlier in the day. I can’t wait to find out.

Rider on motorcycle — My summer riding gear except I’m wearing the black Daytona boots.

Leaning In

Warm sunshine with only wispy clouds in the sky greeted us for our weekend ride. The weather was so ideal for riding, a biker gang, the Mutineers, passed us as we drove over to the garage. There were five guys in their jeans and leather vests with their Mutineers logo emblazoned on the back. They were riding two abreast which is really not a good idea, and they used hand signals for their lane changes and the exit ramp.

Hand signals are from the days when motorcycles didn’t have turn indicators. Bill’s first Harley didn’t have turn indicators. But as I watched the gang go past, I realized too that the hand signals serve as a command cue, similar to hand signals in the military, to lead the group. The biker in the front right corner was the first to raise his right fist, bent elbow in the sign for a right turn, and the group followed. Now their motorcycles could have been old enough to predate indicators; as they were passing me at about 70 mph, it was hard to get a good look at the bikes, but from the sound, I’m pretty sure they were all Harleys.

My mind wandered from the hand signals to the communication devices available to riders. But I liked the old school way of communicating with the hand signals. While there is a convenience to being able to speak directly to a riding partner, there is something meditative about riding with only my thoughts in my head. I also enjoy the training I get from having to watch and follow Bill’s leadership, working on my reaction speed for quick stops like the one for the indecisive young squirrel.

Like the biker gang, I was wearing jeans today. Of course, my jeans are Klim reinforced riding jeans, baggy enough to house the protective gear, not sleek fitting Levis. I was more comfortable in the jeans on this 80-degree day, only getting hot during slow speed, parking lot maneuvers. But I was focused on my lean in the U-turns. As I completed my second on-street U-turn, I felt myself leaning into the turn, and I liked it.

I’m not saying I have never leaned the motorcycle in a U-turn before. However, for some reason during this ride, I really felt the lean, and I had no fear of it. So as we turned around in the cul de sacs, I worked on feeling the lean as an aspect of tightening the turns, and I continued to work with it.

I also worked on my trail braking into the curves and the fast stop and start. I had one really wobbly fast stop that caused me to throw both feet onto the pavement, but the rest of the stops went well. Bill talked to me about working on stopping without forcing the anti-lock brakes on, so that will be for next week.

Since the sun was shining, I saw plenty of butterflies, including my first encounter with an aggressive black swallowtail that flew at me before heading off to more natural colors. And there were plenty of lovely colors especially the day lilies that are flourishing right now. I saw yellows, oranges, and a vibrant flame-colored one. The hydrangeas are colorful, flowering balls of light blues, whites, and purples.

In a quiet cul de sac, I spotted a great blue heron hunting in the shallows. He looked over at us hearing the roar of our engines, watching in perfect stillness, before deciding we weren’t a threat. The Canadian geese were more offended as we rode past, as they should’ve been as Bill was using the Rocket to herd them off the road. And just as I despaired of seeing any birds of prey, an osprey soared up into view. That’s one of the many fun aspects of heading out for a ride; there’s always a surprise around the next corner if you’re looking for it. And I will be out again looking next week.

Black swallowtail butterfly in clover — I captured this image of a black swallowtail butterfly the day before my ride.