Ten Cabbages and One Mystery

We’re on the cusp of hot weather riding already as March finished up. But today’s ride was just below sweaty as temperatures hit 78 degrees under sunny skies. I’m nearing the end of comfort in my leather riding pants and will have to switch to my baggy jeans for next week’s ride. I already only wore my Hanes t-shirt under the Alpinestar jacket and needed to lower my Klim jacket zipper to stay comfortable.

We did get a bit of an earlier start, so the temperature was only up to 76. As we head deeper into spring and closer to summer, our rides will have to get earlier. At midday, there was a lot going on. People were out and about and the traffic was much heavier than we’re used to. And lots of people were enjoying the beautiful day, working in yards, walking, riding, and running. Bill detoured us into a cul de sac and one point to let the cars thin out, and we’re riding through neighborhoods.

I spotted my first tulips of the spring in bright red, yellow, and pinks. The whitish yellow daffodils were holding strong, but the bright yellow ones are wrinkling and withering already. The Yoshino cherry blossom trees hit peak blooms this week. As I rode around, it was as though I was attending a private cherry blossom festival.

I fully expected to see many butterflies, and I did spot our garage cabbage white buddy before we started our ride. The next one turned up a mile and a half later, but then there was a long gap before I spotted another. Five more miles into the ride, I finally saw another cabbage white, and then they seemed to be everywhere—ten spotted throughout the ride. As we headed into a quiet cul de sac to turn around, I spotted a yellow butterfly high in the trees. I think it was a young tiger swallowtail, but unfortunately, it fluttered away from the roadway, so I couldn’t get a good look.

I noticed something about the trees as we headed up the long road. More trees are budding as their leaves prepare to open and, if you look at large group of trees, the colors of the buds very much mirror the various colors of autumn. There are greens of course, but also yellows, burgundies, even burnt umber. It was quite beautiful. I noted the dogwoods are beginning to bloom and even some azaleas, the ones with the small flowers, were already blooming.

My ride continued smoothly with me focusing on counter steering as I weaved back and forth on the roads. I also enjoyed turning tightly in my U-turns and feeling the lean of the motorcycle on my turns. After our ride, Bill pointed out the heat will probably keep us from doing too many slow speed maneuvers. I don’t mind; I enjoy success at slow-speed drills, but I really prefer cruising. And I’m not the only one. We spotted eight motorcycles out and about as we headed over for our ride; six of them were Harley-Davidson cruisers and two race bikes.

My smooth ride ended on a blip. Inside the garage I couldn’t find neutral with the shifter. After several attempts, I went ahead and shut the R Nine T off and reached down with my hand to move the shifter into neutral. As Bill explained later, motorcycles have personalities, and my shift quirk is part of the R Nine T’s character. I can live with the quirk especially since it doesn’t impact my ability to ride.

Sargent's cherry tree with pink buds and white blossoms

Winning the Weather Lottery

Spring officially arrived with Thursday’s vernal equinox and gave us another gorgeous day for riding motorcycles. The northwest winds from Friday shifted to the southwest under sunny skies, giving us temperatures approaching a balmy 70 degrees. In fact I had no chill whatsoever on this ride and was perfectly comfortable.

My comfort extended to my ride as well. Early in the ride, as Bill and I turn off my parents’ block, the road is terribly torn up with the different neighborhood projects. There are cuts in the asphalt, small metal access lids sticking out, and slippery gravel patches all over. As I returned to riding, I’ve had some concern over this stretch of road picturing tire slips or boot slips as we come to a stop. I’ve even thought I might catch the front tire between asphalt chunks, but so far I’ve navigated the rough roads OK. But the damage to the street does make me extra cautious and aware.

I focused on my engine braking, enjoying the chugga-chugga rumble of the down shifts. I also worked on my no-look turns and, since Bill led us into more U-turns, tightening up my turns. I feel my skills are returning back to their pre-break levels. I’ll know I’m fully back when I can do the on-street U-turn and my quick stops and restarts.

Just like last week, there was a cabbage white butterfly fluttering about before our ride. And two miles into the ride, I began seeing even more cabbage whites—eight in all and a little yellow sulphur whom I got an excellent view of as it fluttered beside me for several yards. The only large bird I spotted in the clear blue sky was a great blue heron lazily making its way down to the river. When Bill led us into a cul de sac where we stop and gaze at the view of the river, I spotted a little goldfinch moving about a large pine tree.

I did have my first bug run in. As I headed up the long road, I felt an impact against my throat from what I suspect was a bumblebee. Luckily, I had my neck tube on, so if the bug didn’t make it, I wouldn’t have bug guts on my neck (she made it). I’m not surprised the bees are out; the flowering trees are filling with blossoms. This week during the ride, I spotted several weeping cherry trees blossoming and the beginning blooms on the Yoshino trees.

It’s funny to realize that as a motorcycle rider, I am as excited to see the spring as a kid who’s been waiting to get to play outside. I suppose it is very comparable. Kids ride their bikes, fly kites, run around; I ride my R Nine T, and the fun I’m having makes me feel like a kid again.

Yoshino cherry blossoms beginning to bloom

The Butterflies Are Back

Officially spring begins this Thursday with the March 20 vernal equinox. But it was already abundantly clear that spring has sprung. The forecast was for clouds with the sun making an appearance around 4:00, but the sun pushed the clouds aside and shone brightly down on a gorgeous Saturday in the mid-60s. As I set the gear out, I looked out the window and saw a very small cabbage white butterfly making the unofficial start to spring “official.”

Later, as we were gearing up in the garage, another cabbage white flew from the left to right across the top of the garage. The spring riding season has been butterfly blessed. And I spotted the first cabbage white of the ride two miles in and the second one a few seconds later. All in all, I spotted five cabbage whites during the ride moving about the dandelions, daffodils, camellias, and flowering trees. The sugar magnolias are reaching peak bloom as was the one plum tree I saw. I also spotted two star magnolias in bloom and wished I could smell the blossoms. More trees are showing buds especially the red buds on the oaks. I did get to enjoy the crisp smell of freshly mown grass as there were several early mowers out trimming lawns.

My ride was very smooth. I focused on engine braking and “no look” turns. A no look turn is actually a turn where I look in the opposite direction for oncoming traffic. For example, if I’m making a right turn, I look toward the left. Again, I was very pleased with how easily the skills returned. It was such a beautiful day for riding I found myself weaving back and forth several times in sheer bliss.

Since we’ve entered daylight savings time, the sun remains higher in the sky for our rides, so there’s no issue with light in my eyes. On this ride Bill detoured us to the side of the road to discuss the approach to a tricky intersection with a yield sign. He pointed out that on our motorcycles, we are essentially unseeable by drivers who approach the yield sign and, if they don’t spot large movement from a vehicle, blow right through it. It doesn’t help that there’s a large patch of pampas grass and some cedar trees impeding the view. So Bill explained why he slows down and goes a little wide as we approach this yield sign to give us an opportunity for avoidance.

We did a little bit more with slow speed maneuvers, heading into the small church’s parking lot to do a few figure eights. I spotted a small group of Canadian geese in the field beside the church, a duck and drake enjoying a swim, and lots of crows. I was surprised to not see any vultures, and I wondered if it was too warm for them, and they prefer to float later in the cooler part of the day.

Soon the mating osprey will start building nests, and I hope to spot a bald eagle, though we haven’t been up the curvy road due to construction. Still, the eagles have to build nests too, so I’ll keep my eyes open. And of course, as we officially move into springtime, I’ll start to see a greater variety of butterflies during my rides; plenty to look forward to.

red leaf buds on oak tree branches against blue sky

Feeling the Ride

As I was loading my riding gear into the car, I felt drops of moisture. Walking back into the house, I spotted tiny drops of rain on the brick steps. Inside after a minute, I heard the rain hitting the rough albeit for only a few seconds. But any rain can threaten the ride, and my spirits sank.

We headed over anyway to see what the weather was like and to run some errands. Entering my parents’ neighborhood, there was evidence of rain on the hoods and windshields of parked cars, but the sun was bright in the sky and the roads were dry—the ride was on!

The temperature was in the mid-50s, so I wasn’t sure what gear was best to wear. I went with my lightweight Klim jacket with flannel and thermal shirts underneath, and that combination was enough to keep my core warm. But I made a mistake with the pants; I chose the Rev’It leathers instead of the Factor 4 winter pants and, even with tights underneath, my thighs were cold throughout the ride. The boxer engine provided enough of a faring to keep my lower legs warm, and the heated grips along with my mid-weight gloves kept my hands warm. However, I didn’t mind the chill. My thinking was that part of riding a motorcycle is embracing the weather directly. Sure, I can add some things for more comfort, but the riding experience includes experiencing the weather.

My ride was smoother than last week’s because I didn’t have the worry about stalling the R Nine T; I had gained that confidence. The trees are beginning to show buds as spring officially approaches. I even spotted a flowering plum tree and a sugar magnolia beginning to bloom. In a few more weeks, the cherry blossoms will be out followed by the dogwoods and azaleas. The wildlife included more turkey buzzards and Canadian geese.

I did have a mis-shift, not getting out of second, and it made me briefly rue the lack of a gear indicator on the R Nine T. Then my mind wandered to the lack of a fuel gauge and how that lack (in addition to the price) makes this model of motorcycle impractical for young men. Young men are probably the largest motorcycle buying demographic, but they are young men, so they aren’t going to be the most practical about riding. I was imagining taking off on the R Nine T for a long ride and running out of gas because of a lack of awareness as to how far one has ridden already on the tank of gas. Very impractical, but a very fun bike.

Of course I don’t have to worry about running out of gas. With Bill on the Triumph Rocket, he’s always running low on gas well before me. And the Rocket has a fuel gauge to give him plenty of warning, so we can always be prepared for our rides.

flowering plum tree — Photo by Gu Bra on Pexels.com

Return to Riding

Finally! A beautiful, early spring-like day arrived and I was up for a motorcycle ride. The temperature was in the low-70s, the sun was shining brightly, and the snow was completely melted. And yes, welcome to southeastern Virginia’s strange weather patterns—a blizzard last week; spring this week.

I was a little nervous about the ride. It’s been over six weeks, my core is weakened, and motorcycle riding can require body strength to readjust and correct potential mishaps. I also worried about my basic skills like feathering the clutch so the R Nine T wouldn’t stall. But as the expression goes, “It’s like riding a bike,” and it was. My skills returned easily and readily.

I also had a fantastic omen. As I headed to the car, I happened to look up at the clear blue sky and saw a bald eagle fly over and watched as he soared down the block.

I told Bill I wanted an easy, loping ride through the neighborhoods with no slow-speed drills. As I’m writing this, I realize that once I was on the R Nine T, I didn’t have any worries about the clutch feathering. My biggest concern came as we turned the corner around my parents’ block and I rode over the torn up strips of road. But after a moment’s thought of how my tire could slip in the uneven gravel, my worries left me, and I relaxed to enjoy my first ride in too long.

The daffodils took the opportunity of the beautiful day to begin blooming, adding bright spots of yellow to the still-wintry landscape along with the reds and pinks of the camellias. The Canadian geese are returning more plentiful as they migrate northward. I spotted many sparrows darting about but didn’t see any robins. I was pushing my luck to hope I could spot another eagle, but all I saw were turkey vultures buffeting about in the strong winds.

March, despite the lovely temperature and sunshine, is coming in like a lion; the wind was gusting some but picked up later in the evening. But I am so happy that the day was perfect for my return to riding.

daffodil under blue sky — Photo by Eva Bronzini on Pexels.com