Considering how much threat of rain we’ve had on the past several Saturdays, it was wonderful to wake up to bright sunshine and not a cloud in the sky.  The temperatures were on the high side—upper 70s when we rode and heading north to the mid-80s for the day.  But I had no complaints.

            I missed the 310 today.  While I appreciate the power and handling on the R Nine T very much, I had an acute awareness of the uncomfortable pressure on my wrists.  On the 310 I am riding sitting straight up with no weight forward on my wrists.  The R Nine T riding position has me leaning a little bit forward which creates pressure on my wrists and causes my right hand to become numb during the ride.

            I noticed this slight lean forward position when I sat on the BMW R1250 R.  I don’t like it and would never be able to cruise for any distance on the R Nine T.  I also should stay away from sports bikes.  If you’ve ever seen a MotoGP race, they ride sports bikes, sometimes on the street referred to as “crotch rockets.”  That riding position involves being hunched down over the gas tank, leaning forward with even more pressure on the wrists.  I note this discomfort because it means the R Nine T isn’t my dream bike.  The BMW R1250 GSA I test rode a while ago has a similar upright riding position to the 310.  I’m hoping the new 1300 is the same because I really do like that bike and could see that as my dream bike.

            But even riding on a not-dream bike was wonderful on this beautiful day.  The dry air made the leaves on the road crisp and they fluttered in our riding wake making me smile.  The leaf colors are about half changed over, and I noted the contrast of the russets, yellows, and burgundies against the bright green of newly seeded lawns.

            The squirrels were out busily collecting and squirreling away nuts for the winter.  We had several road encounters including one oblivious squirrel sitting in the road as the Rocket bore down on him.  He finally woke up when the looming shadow of the large front tire hit him and decided to ruminate in someone’s yard.

            The yards also had a lot more Halloween decorations out including a towering, rather frightful white witch, and a cute little purple dragon.  I did not expect to see many butterflies, but I was pleasantly surprised to see nine, including one who fluttered in blessing over top of our motorcycles before we rode.  They were all Cabbage White butterflies, though on the drive home I did see what I think might have been a Columbine Duskywing butterfly.

            Next week’s forecast is for cooler, more seasonal temperatures.  Bill joked about getting up to ride early when the temperatures are in the 40s, but I don’t think that will happen.  However, we are almost in November, so the cooler and colder rides are on their way which made today’s ride that much more precious.

            One thousand, two hundred and ninety-nine days ago I rode my first ever motorcycle.  One thousand, two hundred and ninety-two days ago, we bought my first ever motorcycle, the 2021 BMW G310 GS in Polar Ice (white and gray).  It was a wonderful little bike, absolutely perfect for getting a feel for riding a motorcycle and gaining confidence as a rider.  I’m bittersweet about letting it go, but today we sold it, and I had my final ride on my first ever motorcycle.

            It’s been an interesting selling experience with the 310.  I had 53 interested buyers in it, but it took more than three months to sell it.  Some of the selling issues may have been due to our methods—cash or cashier’s check from one bank, not much negotiation on the price, and the expectation that the buyer would arrange for any shipping.  But I also think the bike was waiting for the right buyer.  We sold it to a gentleman from North Carolina who wanted a beginner bike for his teenage daughter and wife, and he is familiar enough with BMW motorcycles and the 310 to know it was the perfect bike for learning.

            Knowing we had a buyer has led me to reminisce about my experiences on the 310.  I’ve written about those rides, so right now I’m going to focus on how different my beginner bike feels now that I’ve ridden the Ducati Scrambler, the BMW R1250 GSA, and the BMW R Nine T.  For one thing there is no pickup on the 310.  It accelerates so slow-smoothly that it wasn’t until I was on the Ducati that I experienced the sensation of being “thrown from the bike.”  This feeling is when as you roll on the throttle, the acceleration is forceful enough that you feel yourself moved back on the seat as though to fly off the back.  It’s a neat sensation—as long as you don’t actually fly off the bike!

            I rode onto the curvy road and noted that the 310 doesn’t handle the curves anywhere near as effectively as the R Nine T.  I did, however, have a super tight U-turn in the court without really trying.  The poor 310 is so short in gears that just accelerating up to 25 mph necessitated shifting into fourth gear.  Often with the R Nine T, I can ride along smoothly in second gear.

            My one concern on this final ride was stalling the motorcycle.  As I was learning, I often stalled the 310 trying to learn the friction zone.  But despite my trepidation, I handled every acceleration from a stop smoothly.  I came to recognize that I have truly outgrown the 310, my beginner motorcycle.  And this realization made parting with the motorcycle a bit easier.

            As Bill and the new owner were loading the 310 into the trailer, I noticed a bald eagle soaring overhead.  I took this as a good omen on the sale.  I chased after the eagle attempting to get a photo (my phone is too old to take a good picture), I saw a red-tailed hawk being harassed by a crow crossing paths with the eagle.  The eagle coasted on the thermals farther and farther away much like the BMW G310 GS was leaving.  It was a beautiful autumn day to let go of my beginner biker status and hope that it serves its new owners as good if not better than it served me.

Well the rain finally won.  It was aided and abetted by a sinus infection that wiped me out for the week.  The end result was no motorcycle ride which really depressed me.

            Because I was ill, we didn’t go out and look at new motorcycles at any dealerships on this rainy Saturday.  We did, however, check out videos on the brand new 2024 BMW R1300 GS, and I have to admit I’m surprised by how much I really like the look and features of this new version.  I have begun to hope that Bill decides to sell the Rocket—a dream bike, but one that is not always reliable—and return to riding the R Nine T.  That would mean I would have to return to riding the G310 GS which we have still not managed to sell despite all sorts of interest. 

            But I don’t think I would be riding my first motorcycle for long.  I have advanced my skills as a rider in the two and a half years of riding, and I think Bill likes me riding a more sophisticated bike.  So I will hold out some hope that instead of my dream R1250 GS, that one day I can upgrade to a beautiful green and gold R1300 GS—fingers crossed!

            We headed out earlier for our ride, around 10:00, as the forecast called for chance of showers around 1:00.  As we unloaded our gear, I remarked how it was the perfect day for a ride—sunshine and cool temperatures in the low 70s.  But the beautiful morning for riding didn’t last.

            By the time we mounted the motorcycles, the sun had disappeared.  I didn’t think much of it as the rain was supposedly still hours away.  We took off and I accelerated a little too quickly, feeling the torque pull the bike away from me and myself slide back on the seat.  It’s a thrilling sensation but also a reminder of how much power the bike has.

            I had seen several butterflies on the drive over—a pair of Sulphurs dancing (or fighting?), another lone Sulphur, and even a Black Swallowtail.  As we rode, however, with the skies overcast, I figured I had seen all the butterflies I would.  There were a bunch of Canadian geese about, and one squirrel making a dash in front of Bill on the Rocket before deciding better of it.

            Several times during the ride, Bill took off leaving me in his dust.  I was wondering about his speed when I realized we were on the 35-mph road and I was lollygagging at 25.   As we headed toward the shady lot, I thought the skies looked dark enough for it to be dusk.  Shortly thereafter, I heard the “plunk, plunk” of raindrops falling on my helmet.  We were about two miles from the garage, and the rain came down fast and hard.  So we inadvertently wound up riding in the rain which is something Bill had never thought to do.

            When I got back into the garage, I couldn’t shift into neutral.  I got off the bike and tried to shift with my hand, but the gears wouldn’t budge.  I called on Bill to fix the situation, and he finally got the bike in neutral by shifting the gears without pulling in the clutch.  It was an odd occurrence and I wondered if that’s what the service light was for.  We are going to have to get both bikes in for service soon which will impact our weekend ride at some point.

Gray skies again hung over us for our Saturday ride.  I lost track of time trying to figure out why my Mom’s phone was silent on incoming text messages.  My Mom actually had to tell me to give up as she saw Bill all geared up and getting on his motorcycle.  I threw on my gear and headed out to find my R Nine T parked alone at the bottom of the driveway.  I waited a few minutes to see if Bill rode back by then took off.  I met him riding back toward me a few seconds later, and we were off.

            I didn’t expect to see any butterflies on the ride, and I didn’t, but I did see flowers still in bloom.  Something about the milder summer and the generous rain has azaleas blooming again.  I even saw a few day lilies flowering again.  I smiled at the spring-like blooms even as more trees showed some yellowing on the leaves.

            The ride was going well; I was focusing on my stops after seeing that poor stop last week.  The stops have really smoothed out.  My U-turns also went well; both on street turns were a foot inside the berm.  And I was doing great in the gravel lot, more confident after practicing last week.

            But then the ride went south, deep south.  As I left the gravel lot and rode over to rejoin Bill, I heard the weird clicking sound of the Triumph’s engine not turning over.  This stall during our ride was a first; it had happened before but while we were still in the garage.  Bill checked the battery connections which were still tight, but I rode home to get the screwdriver and sandpaper just in case.  Still no go and then the key fob light went red meaning the battery was dying (hard to believe as we had changed the battery a few months ago and have only used it 8-10 times since).  So we needed a new battery.

            Now I asked my Mom if she had the needed battery, but no luck.  I needed to go to the store.  So without real planning, I made my first ride through traffic.  I had to go through one intersection at a light.  I was careful and competent and had no cars around me as I traversed the intersection going and coming.  I navigated the parking lot well with all my U-turn practice, but I bought the wrong batteries.

            Bill had just recently replaced the battery in my car key fob, so we tried that in the Triumph’s fob.  But the light stayed red.  Eventually, Bill had the notion to reset the key fob.  Since he had disconnected the battery earlier, he thought a reset on the fob might be in order.  That finally worked, but it had taken over an hour, and our ride was ruined.  I’m sorry to say but the Triumph Rocket has been more trouble than it’s worth.  As Bill pointed out, 50 years ago, Triumph had a reputation for lousy electrical work, and in the ensuing years, they’ve done nothing to repair it.

            We still have the BMW G 310; I suggested we put the Rocket on CycleTrader, and I go back to riding the 310 while Bill rides the R Nine T.  I can make this offer rather easily as I’ve seen the new R1300 GS models from BMW, and I’ve fallen in love with the Option 719 edition.  I’m not sure I could give up the R Nine T for anything less.

            Technically, the roads were dry enough for a Saturday ride.  But as Tropical Storm Ophelia passed over our area, the winds were still quite gusty, and the skies looked ready to open at any moment.  So we waited until Sunday and were rewarded with a fantastic ride.

            The skies still looked ready to open up on us, but we trusted the forecast which called only for cloudy skies and headed out.  As I went to mount my bike, a tiny Fritillary butterfly stopped by to dance around the handlebars.  Outside of the Cabbage White I saw as we drove over to my parents’ house, that little guy was the only butterfly I saw.

            The storm knocked down a lot of branches and left a damp scent in the air.  The greens were all dark, the flowers muted.  I did spot a blooming clematis crawling up a mailbox.  I keep expecting to see mums, but I haven’t yet.  We had to change direction as we headed down the long road because power crews were working on the lines; another remnant from the storm.

            I worked on my left turns as I was still not satisfied with my angle of approach.  They got better toward the end of my ride.  I had a warning light on the motorcycle; it’s due for another service at 1300 miles.  Bill stopped because he heard a rattling noise every time he hit a bump.  We later learned that the noise was coming from his helmet; he’ll have to figure that one out.

            Today, Bill signaled for me to head over into the gravel lot of the historic house.  I had fun working on my U-turns and just riding on the gravel.  He sat and watched me practice, so on the drive home, I suggested he work in the church lot while I work in the gravel.  But he said he enjoys watching me work the bike.

            I had one mis-shift into neutral but caught it in time to correct.  My on-street U-turns were a little wider than last week, but I realized I wasn’t focused.  I’ve become a decent enough rider that earlier in the week, I spotted a rider with poor technique.  He was coming to a stop.  I noticed the bike jerk a little and the rider throw both legs out to put both feet down.  The reason he had to throw both legs out was he was stopping with the front brake.  By using the front brake, the rider needs to make sure the bike is straight on.  Even so, the front brake causes the motorcycle to dive a bit in the front meaning the steering is not where one would expect.  Having watched this poor stop, I consciously worked on my stops; rear brake, left foot out and down before adding the right foot.  At one stop the bike lurched a bit to the right, but because I was using the rear brake to stop, I had control over the steering.

            It was a ride of scents.  In addition to the dampness left by the storm, we rode through someone grilling hamburgers outside, making my mouth water.  We also rode into a new parking lot that had just been resurfaced, so the bitter tar smell overwhelmed me.  We didn’t stay there long.

            I miss seeing the butterflies, but as the weather keeps cooling, I’ll have to enjoy the more comfortable rides with less beauty to look at.  I’m happy the storm left us Sunday for our ride; I even chose riding over watching the NFL.  This choice was a good one as my team, the Washington Commanders, didn’t show up to play against Buffalo.  As I told Bill, motorcycle riding always takes precedence over football; I have my priorities straight.

            Last week as we neared my parents’ house, the skies opened up and drenched us.  We finished the drive over on roads rapidly getting slick with the rainwater.  It was quite depressing, and it kept us from riding.  I still planned to write about the day, but I came to the realization that not riding put me in funk where writing about not riding was rubbing salt on the wound.  As the days passed, guilt crept in over top of the funk, but since I had a week off from riding, I accepted a week off from writing too.  But this week I was back in the saddle.

            The weather gods were appeasing us for the rained out weekend; the day was spectacularly sunny and comfortable with temperatures in the upper 70s.  Fully geared up, I was comfortable the whole ride, at least in my attire.  Half a minute into the ride, I had an uncomfortable left turn where I had a momentary fear of falling as I leaned the bike over to tighten up my turn.  I didn’t fall; I did realize I needed to analyze what I was doing wrong.

            I had noticed over the past few rides that in my left turns I had to lean the bike over more to manage the turn.  What I came to understand on today’s ride was that I am taking too wide an entry angle into my left turns, so I began working on beginning my left turns closer to the middle of the land I’m leaving.  Now the reason I was too wide on my left turn entries was to avoid cars in the opposite lane.  But that wide entry left me little room on my right for maneuvering.  The bad entry is part of why I almost crashed that day I mis-shifted into neutral on my left turn.  During today’s ride, I stayed near the center line of my exiting lane which kept me closer to the center line of my entry lane.  This position left me with plenty of lane to my right for corrections.  However, I was lucky there was no oncoming traffic as I practiced my left turns.

            I had a great second street U-turn, clearly two feet away from the berm.  But when we went into the library’s parking lot, I could only manage three spaces for my turns (two is considered primo).  I do need to get more comfortable with full lock on U-turns.  When I can manage that, then I might make the U-turn in two spaces.

            I was surprised early in our ride by a Monarch butterfly—my first of this year.  During the ride, I saw either one very busy other one, or two more.  At one point we entered a cul de sac and I saw about ten small butterflies wildly flitting about a Matgold bush.  There were Sulphurs and Fritillarys.  As we returned down the long straightaway, I saw two small Fritillarys seemingly dancing around each other.  I wondered, though, if they weren’t engaged in a violent struggle that to my eyes looks like a dance.

            Signs of autumn were evident as a few leaves fell, and I saw yellowing leaves on a small maple.  The crape myrtles have more leaves than blossoms now, though I am still seeing buds and blooms on the magnolias.  I would love for autumn to get here but only if it lasts a good long while.  I won’t miss the summer storms; there are more storms predicted for next weekend.  I hope I don’t have to stretch the joy from this ride over two weeks.  Let’s all cross our fingers and hope the storms arrive early or are delayed for next Saturday’s ride.

            Hurricane Idalia passed south of us luckily, so though we had some rain and wind on Thursday, we were left a gorgeous Saturday in the storm’s wake—sunny and 76 degrees.  Perfect riding weather is that which keeps the rider comfortably cool which is what I was.  At the beginning of the ride, I almost regretted keeping my jackets half-zipped because the air was so cool, but the bright sun soon warmed me up enough to make for a sensational ride.

            Bill was feeling better, so he was able to join me.  As we headed out, a Sulphur butterfly flew along the left side of us, slightly behind Bill and slightly ahead of me.  I think the butterflies might be attracted to the bright colors of our motorcycles—the bright crimson on the Triumph Rocket and the sunny yellow on the R Nine T.  Whatever it is that brings the butterflies around, I appreciate the chance to see and admire them.

            During my ride, I focused on the feeling of the handlebars as I counter steered through the turns.  I watched as the slight pressure on one side of the bars let the bike flick through the curves.  I also worked on my stops and my no-look turns.  I noticed how much improved I am on the no-look turns especially on the right turns.

            It turns out I can’t not pre-load the front brake, so I’ve adjusted my strength training to prevent hand numbness.  At the first tingles of numbness, I began releasing the front brake as I approached stops so I could flex my fingers and shake out my hand.  This strategy enabled me to complete the ride without having to stop and shake my arm out.  I also wondered if my improving grip is helping me ride longer without numbness.  I’ve been working at the gym on chin ups which is strengthening my grip.  I just realized that this may benefit me on my motorcycle rides.

            As we rode, I noted how the green leaves and green grass all seem a deeper shade than they did at the onset of summer creating a tranquil lushness.  We’ve had enough rain and cool days this summer to allow the crape myrtles, magnolias, brown-eyed Susans, roses, and clematis to bloom throughout the summer.  Though the increasing number of Canadian geese indicate that autumn is well on its way.  Luckily, I was able to see several more Sulphurs, a Tiger Swallowtail, some Cabbage Whites and, as I parked the motorcycle in the garage, I glimpsed a Pink-edged Sulphur.  I’ll enjoy the butterflies over the next few weeks rides because soon they’ll be gone.

Today was a spectacular day for spotting butterflies—six varieties.  In fact as I walked down the driveway to the motorcycle, a large Canadian Tiger Swallowtail came zipping along from across the street.  She flew right over the bike, right over me, headed up to the roof of my parents’ house, and circled back around.  She hung out for so long that I managed to get a picture of her!  I stood in the driveway dropping gloves and keys and laughing as I watched her flying about.

            Not thirty seconds later into my ride, I saw two Fritillary butterflies dancing about.  I wondered if butterflies are inherently lazy insects.  Bill wasn’t feeling well and decided not to ride, and we had delayed heading over.  My ride didn’t start until 1:00 in the afternoon, and spotting the variety of butterflies that I did, I had to conclude that they enjoy sleeping in.  Because I was riding solo, I took the swallowtail’s pre-ride flight as sort of a blessing.  Without Bill, I had to watch for everything—curve lines, oncoming traffic, cars pulling out.  I worked on the observational skills which was really good for me.

            As I rode into the ritzy neighborhood, I saw an unusual butterfly.  It may have been a Great Spangled Fritillary, but I can’t be sure.  I’m guessing at that because of its size; it was much larger than the other fritillary butterflies.  One of the problems with watching butterflies from the back of a motorcycle is not being able to track the insect for a proper identification.  Anyway, it was a butterfly and not another cabbage white, so it was fun to see.

            It was hot, near 90 degrees, so I spent most of the ride cruising with just turns in courts.  Because last week’s middle of the street U-turn didn’t go well, I did try that.  The first one was a disaster—into the grass, but the second one was a success.  I again encountered a small box turtle working his way across the court.  He stopped when I did and stared me down, so I rode off and left him to it.  Soon after I spotted what I think was a Great Purple Hairstreak butterfly but may have been a small Black Swallowtail whose yellow markings have not come in.  And I finally did spot a Sulphur recognizing the bright yellow as I rode closer to it.  Before my ride ended, one little Cabbage White made an appearance as did a smaller Tiger Swallowtail.

            I missed having Bill on the ride, but I liked the challenge of being responsible for all the decisions.  I briefly thought about a quick little sojourn into traffic, but I decided instead to stick to the roads I know and save traffic for when I’m riding with Bill; his motorcycle is too big to miss!

In my non-riding life, I work as a teacher, so today’s ride marked my final ride of the summer of 2023 as I’m back to school on Monday.  We were blessed with an absolutely gorgeous riding day with temperatures in the lower 80s and a delicious cool breeze.  Soon into our ride, I spotted a black swallowtail and knew the day was set to be great.

            After last week’s ride where I didn’t wear any Alpinestar jacket but still experienced the numbing in my right hand, I decided the issue had to be in my pre-loading of the front brake.  I therefore decided not to pre-load on this ride and see if that kept any numbness away.  I struggled not to wrap my index and middle finger around the front brake, several times during the ride having to consciously remove them.  I liked realizing that because pre-load is so important; I appreciate that it has become “the norm” for me.

            Unfortunately, by not pre-loading, I did not experience the numbness.  I hated learning that, so I determined to train up my grip for the pre-load.  When we were three-quarters of the way through the ride, I started to pre-load the front brake.  My thought was to pre-load for a set number of miles since I don’t have a clock, and to practice at the end of the ride.  I tried for four miles on this ride but that was too long.  Next week I’ll try for three miles.  I hope it is a matter of training up my grip strength.  For those of you wondering, I do have the front brake lever in the closest setting to the throttle.  If I set the lever further out, I’d be straining my fingers to reach.

            I had hoped to see some Sulphur butterflies during the ride as I had started to see many of them during the week as I drove around, but I didn’t spot any.  I did glimpse a cabbage white and I was lucky enough to spot an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.  Having seen the black swallowtail for the first time on this ride and only now seeing the Sulphurs, I realized I should educate myself more on when certain butterflies emerge throughout the spring and summer.  There were many dragonflies about as there are many mosquitos for them to feed on.

            One flower I have seen in gorgeous bloom but keep forgetting to mention is the hibiscus.  There is a tall stand in someone’s yard—six to seven feet in height–of the scarlet rose mallow swamp hibiscus.  And then there is a smaller, four-foot bloom down by the river, planted by the birds.  It’s funny but most people associate the hibiscus with Hawaii, but there is a native varietal to Virginia—I have the Eastern rose mallow variety in my yard.

            Speaking of birds, we spotted several flocks of Canadian geese, proving that the fall migration is well underway.  Fitting, I suppose, as this ride is the end of my summer rides.  I look forward to the cooler days which make the rides so much more enjoyable.

(PS—the sale of the 310 fell through as there was something hincky going on.  The potential buyer sent me an email at midnight the night before the deal went down to inform me he was paying with check.  From his initial contact, the offer was for cash, so there was something off with the last-minute pay by check.  We have a potential buyer coming to look at it in a few weeks, but we get to enjoy the 310 for a little longer.)