It has been an anxious week as the forecast showed rain moving in Thursday and staying through the weekend. My iPhone’s weather for Saturday showed rain chances beginning as early as 9:00 AM. But Bill’s Samsung phone had the rain holding off until noon, so we headed out into thick humidity trying to beat the rain.
The rain we had already seen had broken the heat wave and brought highs in the mid-80s. Nearing the end of July, anything below 90 degrees is a welcome relief. In fact the wind of my ride had a beautiful chill to it, helping to keep me cool for most of it. I was even kept cool with both the Klim and the Alpinestars jackets on.
I tried to protect my forehead by tying a handkerchief around my forehead, but then I couldn’t get my helmet down due to tightness. But because it was not as hot a day as it’s been for our more recent rides, I didn’t get the chafing from the helmet lining. I did get damp enough to plaster my Alpinestars jacket against me as can be seen by the jacket’s tracks on my arm.
The skies were gray with the forthcoming storms, so I didn’t see any butterflies as we rode. I did see a spicebush swallowtail on the drive home from riding, but the lack of sun does seem to keep the butterflies at bay. However, the Canadian geese were out and about, including one crazy fellow who almost took on the Rocket. One flock included two white Roman geese who did not care for the noise of the motorcycles at all.
The near run in with the first goose came about on the curvy road both coming and going. Soon after, we came to a sudden stop as Bill spotted a squirrel on the opposite side of the road who decided to cross the road in front of our motorcycles. Our next wildlife run in was spotting two osprey circling each other up in the sky. I was trying to figure out if it was a battle or a mating dance. No turtles out today probably because there wasn’t much sun. But also no butterflies.
My work on this ride was on breaking a habit. As we approached the first stop, mentally I reminded myself to engine brake, but physically, my muscle memory pulled the clutch in fully. So I had to work consciously on my engine braking and eventually found myself late in the ride smoothly engine braking where I matched the energy of the downshift with my pressure on the rear brake. This match up led to engine braking that didn’t create a herky-jerky motion. I look forward to more practicing.
The one downside of the ride was when Bill led us into the hospital parking lot. It was here that I felt the humidity smack into me and create uncomfortable heat. But if I’m going to ride a motorcycle in the summer, I have to expect some heat. I worked on my emergency stops and restarts trying to use engine braking to help me stop more quickly. But with the heat and humidity, we didn’t stay too long. We had beaten the rain, that’s what mattered. Hopefully, we’ll get a break from the humidity too. Next weekend is forecasted to still be in the 80s. If the humidity lowers too, it will be perfect riding weather.
Perfect or not, I will still be out in it riding.
Flutterby Biker 