Today’s ride was HOT! Weatherwise it was a repeat of last Saturday, and I even opted not to wear the Alpinestars jacket, but I think I was already half-baked and nothing was going to make it better. I spent the ride trying to find coolness wherever I could, but it didn’t really work. So I only halfheartedly worked on my straight line riding and leaning forward on the U-turns. I tried to distract myself from the swelter by enjoying the crape myrtles and brown-eyed Susans, but instead I kept looking for pockets of shade to ride through. The only Canadian geese I spotted were in the river in the shady part, and I barely caught a glimpse of a monarch butterfly which I had been on the lookout for since I had spotted two caterpillars on the fennel in my yard.
I think I’m just at the age where I feel the heat more because as a kid, I would’ve played outside in this heat with no problem. And I managed to ride in the summer on the Ducati Scrambler with the hot engine right underneath me, but I’m not handling the heat well at this stage in my life. I’m kind of looking forward to when I get to the age of being slightly chilled. It will certainly make sweltering summer rides easier. The long range forecast for next Saturday shows a high of 80 degrees under partly cloudy skies; I’ve got my fingers crossed that we’ll be given that day for our ride. It will be August after all and the dog days are coming.
Sweltering, that’s the best description for today’s ride. The temperature was at 92, but combined with the humidity, the heat index was at 98 which makes you feel like the icing being spread on hot cinnamon rolls. I debated not wearing the Alpinestars jacket, but Bill promised a short ride with lots of movement, so I put it on but barely zipped it. I did the same with the Klim jacket and thought I might be OK through the ride.
We almost canceled today’s ride because around 7:00 in the morning, the skies opened up and rain poured down. So I went back to bed for a few more hours and found sunny skies and drying roads when I woke up a few hours later. The ride was on.
The skies above us were a mix of blue and large, threatening clouds; we’re in the part of summer where afternoon thunderstorms are often possible, but it was early enough in the afternoon that our ride would be safe from rain. Most of my mindset during the ride was on keeping cool; there wasn’t much of a breeze, but when the R Nine T was moving, the rushing air had a cooling effect.
I continued working on the straight-line skill (doing much better) and the lean forward during U-turns practice. My first U-turn was the on-street turn, and with the lean, my first turn around was all street. I was going even tighter on the second turn around but I had to dab my left foot because I was startled when I felt the motorcycle go into full lock and my speed wavered. I realized afterwards that I shouldn’t have been surprised by the full lock; I will start expecting it as I continue working on the lean.
Early in the ride I spotted the long, white neck of an egret wading in the river alongside some Canadian geese. And I spotted little gaggles of geese here and there causing me to wonder if it’s already migration prep time. But I didn’t see any butterflies dancing among the crape myrtles, brown-eyed Susans, or the zinnias. The heat of the day seemed to keep them at bay and make for some grumpy animals. When we encountered a squirrel indecisively crossing the road, once the little fellow realized the better part of valor was to scamper up onto the grass, he looked over at us and I swear he was shaking a fist as we passed.
I couldn’t blame him; it was hot, sweaty, and uncomfortable. Just so you know, if you’ve ever seen a motorcycle rider splaying his or her legs out away from the tank, it’s an attempt to get some cool air in there. I especially needed that technique on my old Ducati Scrambler, but I found myself several times pushing my knees out and hoping some air flow would cool me off. I was grateful for any bit of shade over the road, and it was as I looked up into a shady branch that I was surprised by a black swallowtail butterfly enjoying the shade too. I was happy I managed to see him as he was black against black almost, and I got to see him a few minutes later as we looped back up the same road, this time in bright sunshine. He didn’t seem to mind the heat.
On the final loop before heading back to the garage, I spotted an osprey taking off. And as if that sight wasn’t impressive enough, a few seconds later I realized the osprey was taking off to chase away the bald eagle from its territory. Two noisy crows pursued the large raptors, probably to bet on who would win. The osprey must’ve achieved its goal as it soared back around and headed to river. Seeing the bald eagle again and the osprey pushed the sweltering heat right out of my mind, though I do think it contributed to an air of grumpiness. One thing I recognized from today’s ride is that despite the awful heat and the sticky humidity, sweltering summer rides can be a lot of fun too, and I can’t wait until the next one.
Oftentimes as I ride, I think about what I will write about as I reflect on the day’s ride. I never include all of my thoughts, of course but, like my thoughts during the ride itself, I let the write up flow where it will. So it turns out I forgot to mention the loud pop I heard two weeks ago (Crossing Paths) and realized something significant did happen during that ride. It turns out the loud pop I heard was my rear tire being punctured by a twisty staple.
Funny enough, when I heard that loud pop, my first thought wasn’t the tire but that I broke something on the motorcycle. However, the rest of that ride went smoothly, and I even rode the following week (Perfect Summer Day) with no problems. Luckily, though, when I parked the R Nine T in the garage after last week’s ride, the rear tire showed the staple in the tire for Bill’s eyes to catch. So Thursday found us over at the garage with the Jago tire plug kit pulling out the staple and putting in the plug and more air.
When we arrived on the summery Saturday for the ride, the tire repair held; now both of us would be riding on repaired rear tires. Bill’s tire repair on the Triumph Rocket has lasted for a year, so I’m good to go with my tire repair. During the ride, I tried the straight line skill again; it isn’t as easy as it sounds. I also had a new trick to work on in my U-turns. I caught part of a Doodle on a Motorcycle video about a weird trick to improve U-turns. The trick was to lean forward over the tank while turning. This lean allows the elbows to come in closer.
Because the day was warm—near 90—our ride was mostly moving. But we did go down the cul-de-sac where we do the on-street U-turns, which was m first attempt. It felt different and, as a new skill, needs practice. My second turn was much tighter than the first. It wasn’t until we were in the shady lot and I had a chance to compare the left and right-side turns, I noted that the tank lean seems to help more on the right-sided U-turn. As with any skill, I will continue practicing it and see how my U-turns improve.
Thanks to Thursday’s heavy rainfall, the crape myrtles were exploding and filling the air with their light, spun-sugar scent. I still saw magnolia blooms and some day lilies hanging on for another week. It took me over half the ride before I finally spotted a cabbage white butterfly in among the brown-eyed Susans, and it wasn’t until our final ride around the crescent that I was the second one fluttering over the grass. With my tire patched and holding strong, I’ll be out riding next week and hoping to see even more butterflies.
The staple that punctured my tire; clearly my treads kept it from going in too deep.
This July 4th weekend has to be one of the best on record. The 4th itself was a beautiful day—sunny, warm but not hot, and low humidity. We had a repeat of that pleasant weather for our Saturday ride, and I couldn’t wait to head out.
I worked on my rear brake “hill assist” as I worked up the camber on takeoff. I improved over last week’s attempt and was able to hold the motorcycle and look down the road. As I rode I worked mostly on my turns trying to focus on the entry and exit points, and I feel I did well. Unfortunately, we didn’t head up the curvy road, but I still worked through the corners.
Bill did something different during the ride and, once I figured out what he was doing, I followed suit. As we headed up the long road, he set himself in between the double yellow lines. At first I looked for any road obstacles he might be avoiding, but I couldn’t spot any. So after another moment, I realized he was working on keeping the Rocket along a straight line, and I moved behind him to have my attempt. We’ve tried the straight line on our bicycles and found that speed helps prevent the gyroscopic effect that would cause wobbling. Of course on a motorcycle, it is much easier to maintain speed, but it was still a challenge I look forward to pursuing in future rides.
The idea for this straight-line challenge comes from some motorcycle videos we’ve watched where people ride BMW R1250 GS bikes through various challenges. One of the challenges is to ride on top of a 2×4 board or between narrow logs. This challenge can be done on any motorcycle if one simply finds a straight line to pursue. My only concern with practicing this skill on the road was maintaining awareness of oncoming traffic. I have the advantage of Bill in front of me as bonus awareness, but I recommend the practice on a quiet road.
I enjoyed the ride and spotted two butterflies. One was a tiger swallowtail fluttering high overhead. The second was the Aphrodite fritillary which enjoys fluttering close to the ground. I noted the opposite nature of these two butterflies; I always seem to spot the swallowtail high among the tree leaves, and I’ve always spotted the fritillary down close to the ground. Neither seemed to be enjoying the gorgeous explosion of bright orange day lilies that I spotted everywhere on our ride.
I haven’t seen the little garage cabbage white in several weeks. But this week, a fat dragonfly sailed overhead. And, as I headed into the garage at the end of the ride, a fat, black carpenter bee nearly collided with me. But she veered away just in time, so I may spot her again during next week’s ride. I hope this lovely summer weather holds.
My attempt to photograph the fritillary butterfly.
Flutterby Biker 