Can I Please Have Another Day Like This One?

Thanks to the northeast wind, the clouds that brought us rain most of the week blew away, and we had as perfect a day for riding as one can get in summer. No cloud in the sky and the breeze keeping temperatures in the low 80s made for a lovely ride. The only thing missing was the butterflies.

As we drove over, I spotted a sulfur butterfly and a spicebush swallowtail, so I was hoping the sunshine would bring the butterflies out. But I only spotted one tiger swallowtail up high in the trees (I couldn’t make out if it was an eastern or a Canadian). We had gotten a late start on the ride, so I suppose they were out earlier in the day. I did see dragonflies who are clearly enjoying the bountiful mosquitoes. Bill thinks the golden eagle may have flown over him because he saw a enormous shadow pass overhead, but whatever made the shadow was lost in the trees. I didn’t see it, though at one point in the ride, a bird’s shadow passed over me, but I couldn’t make out the bird as it was flying behind me.

I did better on this ride with my engine braking. I continued to smooth out the application of the brake and the half pull of the clutch to avoid the herky-jerky motion, only experiencing that once during the ride. I did, however, have a few jerks when I applied engine braking to my emergency stops. The day was so nice, I didn’t mind practicing in the hospital lot. I worked on seeing how short a stop I could make using engine braking to help me stop. I was able to shorten my stopping distance by half a parking space and stopped within two spaces.

At the end of our ride, we made one more emergency stop on the road. I watched as Bill did his and made a point to ride further up before trying my stop. I stopped half a bike length behind Bill, so I feel I am making great progress on these stops. And it’s a good thing we do practice emergency stops. As we headed up one road, a Toyota 4 Runner came up to a yield sign. The driver should’ve yielded to the Rocket, but he didn’t, so we both had to do some quick braking. I don’t think car drivers realize just how exposed motorcyclists are. If there is an impact from a collision, we lose just about every time.

But I am wearing loads of safety gear and not riding much above forty mph, and working on safe emergency stops, so even if the car drivers are too aggressive, I should be OK. Bill gave me a new safety feature to work on for my next ride—checking for potential corner cutters as we approach stops. I’m looking forward to that practice even knowing the summer temperatures are heading back up as we head into August.

dragonfly on wooded wall — Photo by Leigh Heasley on Pexels.com

Beating the Rain

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.

Author's arm with jacket markings from Alpinestars jacket.

Sunny Sunday Ride

After three days of rain, sometimes quite heavy, we were able to head out on a hot Sunday having waited for the roads to mostly dry out. There were some lingering clouds that provided a little bit of coverage at times, but we rode mostly under bright sunshine in a blue sky.

Last week Bill taught me about using engine braking as I was stopping to help the motorcycle stop more quickly. I mistakenly thought I was doing that as I would down shift as I approached the stops, but all I was doing was downshifting. Bill told me I needed to only partially pull in the clutch as I downshifted and feel the herky-jerky movement of the motorcycle as the shifting pulled down the revs. According to Ari Henning at Revzilla, engine braking is “the process of reducing speed by closing the throttle and allowing engine drag to slow you down.” When the throttle is closed, it cuts off air to the piston. The piston, however, is still trying to suck in air which creates a vacuum that drags on the piston, slowing it down and by extension, the rear wheel.

Because I have been downshifting while approaching stops, it wasn’t too difficult for me to adjust to a partial pull in of the clutch to implement engine braking. And I did come to quicker and easier stops, many times not really needing the front brake. However, I did have a different challenge. Because of my right-hand numbness, I would use the approaches to stops to shake out my arm. Since I am slowing down toward the stop, I could come off the throttle with my right hand and bang it against my thigh to try and shake out the numbness. But with the engine braking and the herky-jerky motion I experienced, I didn’t think it wise to try and hold the bike with just my left hand. So I found a different way to shake out my right arm. As I accelerated on the road, I would pull in the clutch momentarily and pull my hand off the throttle. It was a good alternative and helped me wake up the hand.

It also allowed me to air out my hand on this hot day. Looking around, I spotted a lone turkey vulture lazing about in the sky. I did spot a quick, small brown butterfly but couldn’t get a good enough look to identify it. As we rode up and down the fast road, Bill kept slowing down in the shady spot. On the second pass, I figured out what he was looking at. There was an eastern spiny softshell turtle chilling on the sidewalk, but he was very difficult to see as the spot is covered by thick trees and the sidewalk is black asphalt not concrete. On our final pass, he stuck his head out to watch us zoom by.

I noticed on this ride that, despite the heat and the sweat, I wasn’t too uncomfortable except for my helmet. The heat and the rubbing of the helmet lining against my forehead got to be painful enough I started adjusting my helmet to relieve the pressure. I think next week I’ll wear some kind of head band to create a cushion. Hopefully, next weekend I’ll get the chance to try it out; more rain forecasted through the weekend, so I’ll be crossing my fingers the weather gives us enough of a break we can ride.

eastern spiny softshell turtle photograph by Brian Stevens — I’m more familiar with seeing the eastern spiny softshell turtle sunning itself on a log in the river, not on a shady sidewalk.

Next Time You See a “Cool” Motorcycle Rider, Remember This

Wet underwear. James Dean, Steve McQueen, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider, and Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator—all icons on a motorcycle of coolness. But even these icons were they to ride on a sunny summer day with temperatures in the 90s and humidity in the 80s would find themselves feeling damp all over. Last week I felt the heat plastering my t-shirt to my back. This week’s heat melted the “plaster” and rolled down my back.

But I’m getting used to riding in the mid-Atlantic summertime heat. We did get a little bit of an earlier start—11:00 instead of 1:00. There was an excessive heat warning, but hazy, hot, and humid in July is normal for around here. We again opted out of the Alpinestars jackets, and I kept my Klim zipper as low as possible to allow for air flow. As long as we were moving, the ride was comfortable.

Except as the heat built, the lining of my helmet began to dig into my forehead. I again turned my head side to side to let air flow through the helmet vents, and I wore my sunglasses so I could keep my visor cracked. But I couldn’t get air onto my forehead, and I had a red slash at my hairline when I took my helmet off.

The heat did get to me some. As we cruised up the fast road, I got distracted by the cool breeze. I was thinking how wonderful the air felt and forgot to check out the little church parking lot and overshot the turn. One of the churches has a wide, rectangular parking lot that Bill likes to lead us into to practice figure eights. If there’s a car in the lot, we ride by. But if the lot is free of any vehicles, Bill heads into it. Because my mind was focused on the cool air hitting me, and because Bill had checked up on the road in front of me, I didn’t register his turn signal in time to slow down and make a comfortable turn into the parking lot. I did slow down and think about turning, but I would have been wide and next to the turn in for the parking lot is a cluster of trees.

I also knew the historic house and another church were about twenty yards away, so I would be able to turn around and rejoin Bill. Of course, Bill had no idea what had happened or even, briefly, where I was. One of the few times during a ride I would have liked to be able to communicate with him. I was gone for less than two minutes, so since he was in a parking lot, I figured he’d sit there and wait until I showed up again. But join him I did, and we circled around to hit the fast road again. I was on the lookout for a pull off into the parking lot, but Bill kept us zooming.

We again skipped the slow speed maneuvers since that’s when we really feel the heat. But we did do the on-street U-turns. I was a little too close on the first turn and went to the edge of the road but stayed out of the grass. My second turn had more distance and that went really well.

The wildlife was quiet trying to stay cool. I did see a cabbage white butterfly before we left the garage, and I had believed I would go through the ride without spotting any when one intrepid little guy fluttered across my path. There were a few small birds flitting between trees, and a chorus of birds singing their hearts out in the cul de sac at the end of the long road.

It was after the ride that I realized I had sweated enough to soak my skivvies. It was then I realized the funny juxtaposition of the “cool dude” iconic images of motorcycle riders and the rather damp reality of the rider’s situation on a hot summer’s day. So as you’re out driving around this summer and you spot a motorcycle rider trying to look cool, just remember—wet underwear. I’ll be out next weekend riding in the triple H July weather with my undergarments getting damp but not my riding spirit.

bright sunshine among clouds — Photo by Lukas on Pexels.com

The Heat Is Winning

This Saturday I was smarter. As Bill reached for his Alpinestars jacket, I said, “Uh-uh.” I planned since I saw the 90 degrees not to wear mine, so I needed Bill not to wear his. With just the Klim jacket on and unzipped down to my navel, the breeze hit me well enough to keep me comfortable throughout the ride. The cloudy skies also helped as the sun went in and out and didn’t beat down on us through the whole ride.

It was a tricky ride as there were a lot of weird traffic patterns around. As we headed down the curvy road, we had to check up due to parked cars and lawn trucks on the side of the road. The curvy road is a narrow two-lane road that allows parking on the road; it makes the road a good one to work on awareness.

The crape myrtles have blossomed alongside the brown-eyed Susans, providing bright spots of color among all the green. I even spotted some honeysuckle still in bloom though there wasn’t enough of a breeze for me to catch a whiff of the delicious scent. But I didn’t see too many butterflies—just one cabbage white and someone fluttering over my head. I only saw enough to make out that it was mostly black, but I didn’t see enough markings to make out who it was.

On our first U-turn, I found myself making such a tight turn, I was inside Bill’s turn, so I had to turn the wheel out and go wide to stay out of his way. It was a fun experience and gave me the confidence to nail both my on-street U-turns with nothing but asphalt. The R Nine T balances so well, I felt almost stopped in the turn with no tipping.

Three miles into the ride, I felt my Hanes t-shirt plaster itself with sweat against my back. While the unzipped jacket let the air in the front well enough to keep me comfortable, the Helite airbag turtle vest pressed the back of the jacket against my skin. It wasn’t too bad; with the breeze blowing, I was able to turn my head slightly side to side and feel the wind blow through the vents.

Six miles into the ride I felt my right hand go numb. Since we aren’t spending time on slow speed maneuvers in the heat, I don’t have an opportunity to park the bike and shake my arm out. So what I do is release the throttle as I’m approaching a stop and bang my arm against my side. I wish I could figure out how to avoid the numbness entirely, but I’m unwilling to give up preloading the front brake. I am curious if I were to ride a different motorcycle along the same route, if the preload would numb my hand. I wasn’t very good at preloading the front brake when I was on the Ducati or the 310, but I don’t doubt I would preload on any bike I ride from now on. As I’m writing this, I am wondering if strengthening my forearm muscles would help prevent the numbness. I’ll give it a try this week at the gym and see if next week’s ride is more comfortable.

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.

Gearing Up for Summer

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!