All week I had been looking forward to my ride.  The weather was forecasted as sunny and 64 degrees—perfect motorcycle riding conditions.  The rain would arrive on Thursday and, hopefully, leave by Friday.  And while there was some late rain on Friday, the wind picked up, the temperatures rose, and the roads were dry.  As promised, the sun was brightly shiny, there were no clouds the sea of blue, and some gusty wind was the only less than ideal condition.  But since I don’t ride on the interstate, the wind was not a factor other than keeping me cool.

            The day was so lovely, I opted to wear my Klim summer jacket for the ride and a short sleeve t-shirt underneath.  The jacket was fine, but I was a little too optimistic with the short sleeves.  My arms were a little chilled, so I turned on my heated grips on the low setting, and that was enough to keep the ride pleasant.

            I spent some time focusing on how my legs can steer the motorcycle, marveling at how well the R Nine T leans into corners.  It occurred to me during this ride that the R Nine T is my favorite motorcycle to ride.  Now this is in comparison to the BMW G310 GS and the Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled.  I don’t think I can fairly compare the R Nine T to the 1250 GS as I only did a test ride on the latter bike.  I think the 1250 GS will ultimately prove to be my favorite motorcycle, but right now I am totally loving the performance on the R Nine T.  I can’t believe how nervous the dry clutch made me because I realized on today’s ride that the dry clutch, at least for me, is much easier to work with.  Perhaps this ease of use is because I grew up driving manual transmission cars, and I have a better feel for that kind of clutch.  I find myself not stalling at stops anywhere near as much as I did on the 310 or the Scrambler.

            Now some of the improvement is due to my growth as a rider and development of skills.  The 310 was my first motorcycle, so I spent much of the time on that bike getting used to riding and perhaps not as much time as getting a feel for the motorcycle.  With the Ducati I was riding a more powerful engine on a taller bike, and I still only had six months experience riding motorcycles.  But with the R Nine T, I started riding this bike with 18 months’ experience, and I developed my feel for the dry clutch on the grassy field.  There I stalled usually more often than not, but Bill would always tell me afterward that a large part of the problem was being on dirt and grass, that it would be easier on the pavement.  And yet again, he was right.

            I love my comfort level on the R Nine T.  It is allowing me to really focus on my skills.  When I started her up, I didn’t fully pull in the clutch, so I knew I wouldn’t shift out of neutral.  I released the clutch, then pulled it in slowly and fully, and I felt the motorcycle drop into first gear.  I love the way the motorcycle leans into the curves and corners something I noticed on the other two motorcycles but didn’t fully appreciate.  I love the balance on the R Nine T; it is so well-balanced that even when I feel the first bauble during tight turn practice, I am confident in correcting.  I like too that on this motorcycle, I can easily pre-load the front brake, something I struggled with on the Ducati and was too inexperienced a rider to attempt on the 310.

            On this beautiful ride, I found myself wondering if I did want the BMW R 1250 GS, or did I just want to continue riding the R Nine T.  I gave this quite a lot of thought as I looked out at the bright sunshine on the blooming trees, camellias, daffodils, and even a few dwarf azaleas.  I realized that if I had to keep the R Nine T because circumstances didn’t allow for the purchase of a new motorcycle (for one thing, we have to sell the other two), I would be fine.  I would even be happy because it is such a wonderful motorcycle.  But I would always wonder and wish I had the chance to ride the 1250 GS and make it my own.  So ultimately, I do one day want to own the adventure motorcycle.  Until that day, however, I will quite happily continue riding my R Nine T, happier still when I am given such wondrously gorgeous days for riding.

(This post is for last weekend, February 26, 2023. My apologies for the delay.)

I spent the week worried.  All week long the forecast was for a rainy Saturday.  The percentage chances went up and down, but never disappeared.  During the week, nearly every weekday was perfect for riding; we even had a summery Thursday as temperatures climbed into the low 80s.  But the winter storm blitzing across the country wasn’t going to bypass my little corner of the world.  So we made a plan.

            The plan was simple; get up early and try to get the ride in before the rain arrived.  As we headed over to my parents’ garage, the sun was out, teasing me with a sunny, cool day.  However, by the time I was geared up and mounting the bike, the rain clouds were gathering and blocking out the sun.  Nevertheless, the meteorologist inside my phone’s weather app claimed the rain wouldn’t start until 10:00 AM.  We headed out to test how accurate that forecast was.

            As I moved along the curvy road, I found myself paying attention to my counter steering.  I realized that on most of my rides, I don’t give conscious thought to my counter steering; I just do it.  I began wondering what else I do as I ride without conscious thought that is a habit of a good rider.

            When coming to a stop, I automatically use only the rear brake and place my left foot down to secure the stop then pull in the front brake.  Remember, this method of stopping ensures a safe stop should the front wheel not be completely straight.  As I am stopping, I also find myself checking my mirrors more out of habit than direct thought.

            Another riding habit I have developed is using the rear brake in slow turns.  I used to have to think about applying the rear brake to aid in my speed adjustments as I completed U-turns and S-turns.  On today’s ride I found myself realizing that I am applying it automatically.

            My thoughts then turned to the realization that I am approaching my second year of riding.  So it should be no surprise to me to realize I have developed some very good, safe, automatic riding habits.  But I have more to develop.  As we headed down the long straightaway, Bill was weaving back and forth.  I started weaving too to avoid overtaking him on the road.  When we took a short break, Bill told me he had been practicing steering the Rocket with just his knees.  I then incorporated knee steering at points during the remainder of my ride.

            I also need a lot more practice with the trail braking.  It is getting easier to do; I am able to keep two fingers on the front brake throughout my ride, but I do still have to think about it.  But I know that with a few more months of riding, that too will become automatic. 

And it will be easy to get that practice as we are very much enjoying spring-like weather as we enter into March next week.  More and more Canadian geese are about; Bill shepherded two of them out of the road as a large flatbed truck approached from the other direction.  The camellia bushes are in full, glorious bloom, and I even saw the first buds opening on a Japanese weeping cherry.  Pretty soon the azaleas will blossom and spring will have officially arrived—the perfect riding season.

It wasn’t the coldest day for our ride, but it was in the low forties.  The day before the high temperatures were in the mid-sixties; tomorrow, the temperatures would again be in the mid-sixties.  But for our Saturday ride, a cold north wind blew winter back into our lives.  So how do I stay comfortable riding on cold days?

            I’ve mentioned my Rev’It Trousers Factor 4 winter pants, which I was wearing with a pair of winter leggings on underneath.  And I’ve discussed my Rev’It gloves and leather jacket.  I’ve added some other gear for warmth.  I found a flannel turtleneck on Amazon that I wear under an Eddie Bauer thick thermal men’s shirt.  Wearing these under my Alpinestars armored jacket and my Schott’s leather jacket with the lining provide plenty of warmth.  The only place left where I felt the chill was my face.  Bill solved that by bringing over an old balaclava he had but didn’t use that had ventilation at the nose and mouth.  This head wrap, though it does make my helmet a little snug, keeps my cheeks warm, and helped keep me comfortably warm on our ride.

            Despite the cold temperatures, signs of spring greeted us.  Daffodils were blooming as were ten sugar magnolias.  I saw a plum tree in bloom as well as some crabapples.  The sun shone brightly on our ride, making the colors in the flowers pop.  The birds were busy flitting about possibly working on their nests, and the Canadian geese are pairing off.

            I noticed on my ride the difference in my U-turns and circles when I’m following Bill versus when I’m practicing on my own.  When I follow Bill, I have to keep an eye on where he is in the turn.  His Triumph Rocket has a much longer wheel-base making his turns wider than what I can do on the R Nine T.  So I worked on turning as tightly as I could before widening out to keep out of Bill’s path.  When we were in the hospital lot and I was working on my own, I did my tightest U-turn to date.

            But even as we practiced, I was uncomfortable.  My right hand was going numb.  I thought it might be because of my pre-load position on the throttle and front-brake.  But when we stopped momentarily, I realized my clothes were interfering with the circulation in my right arm.  As this had never happened before, I was a little confused as to what had happened.  After our ride, as I took off my gear, I realized my flannel and thermal shirts had twisted up on the arm above the elbow.  During the ride, the twisted fabric tightened enough to impede the blood flow and cause the numbness.  So I now know to make sure my clothes are straight especially when I’m layered up for a cold ride.

            Monday is Presidents’ Day and may give us the opportunity for another ride.  I certainly hope so; the more rides, the better!

After a week of worrying about rain on Saturday, we found ourselves waking up to sunshine and temperatures in the 50s; perfect weather for riding.  Yet we almost didn’t get to ride.

            My Mom’s toilet has been on the fritz for two weeks or so.  My brother replaced the fill valve, but the tank either didn’t fill or kept running.  Knowing we would be heading over for our ride, Mom asked if Bill could install whatever part the toilet needed to work.  We stopped at Home Depot and picked up the complete toilet repair kit, the one that says it takes only minutes to install.  It didn’t take only minutes.

            For one thing the flapper attachment wouldn’t disconnect from the tank, necessitating Bill take the tank off and saw it.  Then there was the disintegrated rubber that created a black slime that got everywhere.  Additionally, the part of the handle that the chain connects to had broken off, so I had to run to the Taylor’s to pick up a new handle.  The Korky repair kit said “Easiest install,” but that claim must presuppose one is replacing newish toilet parts.  The repair took two hours, so we didn’t head out on our ride until almost 4:00.

            By that time the sun wasn’t shining as brightly, though it was still out.  We headed out for a short ride, and I again found myself marveling at how well the R Nine T rides.  I enjoyed leaning into the curves and feeling the bike accelerate beneath me.  I was better able to do my tight turns as I wasn’t frozen.  In practicing one of my turns, I went to full lock and felt the bike start to dip out from under me; my reaction was just what it should’ve been—let out the clutch and give the bike more speed.  The bike stayed upright and my practice continued.

            I was especially pleased at my automatic reaction.  Earlier in the week, Bill explained the difference between our current riding practice and riding in traffic.  As you may have noticed, I am able on our current route, to think about my riding and the reaction of the bike.  In traffic my riding skills would need to be automatic as my focus would need to be on everything around me.  That’s not to say that I ride now oblivious to cars and obstacles on the road.  But because we are cruising through neighborhoods, we are dealing with far fewer cars than if we were out in traffic.  In our discussion Bill pointed out that my riding skills need to be automatic; I can’t be focused on what gear have I shifted into, am I counter steering, did I look in my mirrors as I came to a stop.  These skills need to be what I am doing while my mind is paying attention to the traffic around me.

            In order to reach that level of confidence with my riding skills, I need confidence in my handling of my motorcycle.  I am amazed at how quickly I am gaining confidence in my riding skills on the R Nine T.  I rode the BMW G310 GS for seven months, and I rode the Ducati Scrambler for almost a year.  Both of these motorcycles helped me enormously develop my riding skills, yet I feel most comfortable on the R Nine T.  Now that I’ve developed the feel for the dry clutch, I really like how it handles.  I had a moment where, if I were riding one of the other bikes, I would’ve stalled, but on the R Nine T a little more throttle kept me rolling.

            I’m lucky to be able to take my time learning the motorcycles and learning my riding skills.  Would I like to ride more?  Yes, of course.  There are days when I leave work and I think how wonderful riding a motorcycle home would be, to let the engine roar and wind blow away residual stress from the workday.  But then some crazy driver cuts me off or tailgates me, and I realize the motorcycle ride home would be even more stressful.

            For now I will remain content with my Saturday rides.  It’s clear that spring is fast approaching, and hopefully the toilet will continue to work, so I can have long, fun rides on the amazing R Nine T.

We have a rule against riding in the rain; slick roads are difficult to navigate on four tires let alone two.  We also don’t ride when it’s in the twenties (or lower).  Bu today’s weather was forecasted as sunny and a high of thirty-five, so we headed out after 1:00 to enjoy our ride.  The R Nine T throughout the ride told me it was too cold.

            I mentioned in “Riding in the Snow” how Bill’s Triumph Rocket displayed a cold weather warning message.  During today’s ride, instead of displaying the mileage, my display said “COLD” and flashed the temperature ranging from 34 to 37.  I noticed this change two minutes into our ride and thought it would eventually go away.  It didn’t.  Maybe it was too cold to ride.

            Despite the icy air, there wasn’t too much wind and lots of sunshine.  And there were lots of birds about.  As we rode down the twisty road, I noticed a raptor high above being harassed by crows.  A few minutes later, I saw it was a red-tailed hawk and more crows were harassing it.  But the osprey I saw was being left alone.

            Two days earlier the groundhog saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter.  And while the air temperature during our ride seemed to support that prediction, the flock of robins that scattered off the road in front of us suggests spring is very near.  I also think the Canadian geese sunning themselves down by the river are another indication of the vernal return.

            Because of the cold, I was wearing my Rev’It gloves, and I thought I would not be able to preload because of the bulkiness of the gloves.  Surprisingly, though, I was able to, not as easily as with my other, lighter gloves, but I did preload most of the ride.  I actually realized halfway through the ride that riding with my hand in the preload position on the front brake felt better than having all fingers on the throttle.  It was an interesting discovery.

            We rode the usual route with only two really cold wind paths.  I had on my Factor 4 pants with a pair of exercise leggings on underneath, and Bill had given me an old balaclava to wear.  I was mostly warm as I practiced my S-turns, U-turns, and trail braking.  I did great checking mirrors on stops and shifting in and out of neutral and first.  But I felt something was a little off.  Maybe it was that COLD display with the fluctuating temperatures, all in the mid-thirties, and the snowflake emblem on the right, but I sensed that my riding skills weren’t at top form.  My turns were wider than last week, but I didn’t try much to tighten them up.  After the ride, even Bill said the cold was affecting him.  Perhaps I should pay closer attention to my motorcycle when it warns me of the cold.

It was a gift of a day for motorcycle riding; bright sunshine, barely a cloud in the blue sky, and temperatures rising to 60 degrees.  I was able to take the lining out of my jacket and wear my Rev’It Ignition 3 leather pants.  Bill took advantage of the beautiful day to wax the tank on the R Nine T (see picture).  Last week we noticed two lines on the tank, so Bill wanted to add that extra protection.  I thought through what might be causing the lines, and the only real difference between me and Bill on the bike is that I attached the cord for the Helite vest before mounting the bike and he always connected after.  So today I made a point of waiting until I was astride the motorcycle to clip the vest in to see if that kept lines off the bike.

            I also made sure to adjust the knee protectors in the pants before we took off—more on that later.  The day was so pretty, we saw plenty of people out walking and riding bikes.  I shifted easily into first gear, but as we headed down the curvy road, I had a shifting kerfuffle and found myself wondering what gear I was in.  Most modern motorcycles have a gear indicator light; both my BMW G310 GS and Ducati Scrambler have gear indicators.  But since the R Nine T is a retro bike, and has a clock not an LCD display, there are limits to the information available.  There is an indicator for neutral, but that’s it.  As nice as a gear indicator would be, I like learning from the experience of the ride.  It turned out I was in third gear though I had thought I was in fourth.  I decided what I needed to do was feel the motorcycle more.  If I shifted too high up a gear, I should feel the shuddering of the bike to tell me that.

            As we headed down the curvy road, I found myself using my preloaded front brake briefly.  I entered one of the curves a tad too quickly, but with the preloaded brake, I was able to drop the speed safely.  This particular curve was near a driveway with large brick posts, and my mind went to target fixation, imagining how that would work.  I could have been focused on the post instead of slowing my speed in the curve, and that could have led to an accident. Luckily, because I have been working on my skills, nothing of the sort happened.

            During our ride, we did a lot of figure eights.  As we spun around in one court, a little head popped up from some bushes, a young boy helping his mother do some yard work, and watched us intently.  As we headed out of the court, I gave the boy a honk of the horn and wave.  In the court with the realistic cat figurine, I saw a tall great blue heron perched on a dock railing.  It was amazing to see the long, thin bird stretching its neck to the sky.

            I remembered to go off-road a bit as we did our on-street U-turn.  It was strange feeling the grass under my tires again but good practice for me.  My U-turns on the R Nine T are getting tighter.  I worked on making sure my head was completely around, and I felt confident enough to try the tight U-turns in the gravel lot with the large wooden beams.  I had to dab on one turn, but the other turn went great.

            The whole ride was going very well until my left knee protector shifted in such a way as to press down on my kneecap, causing me great discomfort.  We were heading toward the hospital overflow lot, so I made a quick adjustment to lessen the pain until we got there.  Once there, I was able to shift into neutral and quickly dismounted the bike.  I walked around to try and adjust the pants while Bill rode over to see what was going on.  We decided to head home where I got practice in parking the bike at the top of the driveway, then restarting to pilot the motorcycle into the garage.

            We were all smiles as we finished the ride on this beautiful day.  Next week we won’t be so lucky—rain forecasted all week except Saturday, but temperatures in the low thirties.  We’re not out of winter yet.

As evident in the picture of the motorcycles, we had a bright, sunny Saturday for our ride.  The temperatures were a little on the chilly side, a high of 48 with a cold north wind, but the rain was going to wait until Sunday.  With my heated grips, I was able to wear my new Klim Adventure GTX short gloves.  And because I was able to wear these smaller gloves, I was able to ride with the front brake pre-loaded for nearly the entire ride.

            As mentioned in earlier blog entries, pre-load means to have a one or two fingers on the front brake lever, pulling in the slack of the brake.  I’ve been using pre-load as I work on my trail braking in curves and corners, but pre-load is an important safe riding skill.  There’s a YouTube vlogger, a retired NY motorcycle policeman, who refers to his supporters as “Preloaders” (Be the Boss of Your Motorcycle).  So what makes pre-loading so important?

            One dangerous motorcycle crash is called a “high side.”  This crash involves the rider being launched over the top of the handlebars.  Slamming on the front brake suddenly is a leading cause of high sides as the motorcycle may stop, but there is no front brake on the acceleration of the rider’s body, so that keeps going. 

            Now when leaning into a corner and suddenly slamming on the front brake, the rider may have a “low side” crash.  This crash occurs when the rider applies the front brake while in the leaned position and the front tire loses traction causing the rider to fall sideways off the bike, on the low side.  My trail braking practice is to prevent a sudden stoppage on the front tire which would cause the loss of traction.

            So the purpose of pre-loading the front brake is to prevent a sudden loss of traction in the front tire because it allows me to gradually increase the braking pressure.  How so?  Well with the slack already pulled in on the brake, any pressure I apply to the front brake lever is activating the brake, so I don’t have to yank in the brake.

            I have tried to ride pre-loaded on all of my motorcycles, but it is only on the BMW R Nine T that I have been successful.  My grip must be stronger now too as I was able to ride in the pre-load position for almost the entire ride without my hand hurting.  My only discomfort came again from the new winter pants, though it wasn’t as bad as last week.  The motorcycle fought me a little with the gear shifting.  When we were ready to set off, it wouldn’t drop into first.  I let the clutch out and back in and was able to shift into first.  But later when we were in the hospital lot, I couldn’t shift into neutral.  Bill had to come over and manipulate the shifter.  While there, he took a quick spin on the R Nine T and marveled at how small the 1200 cc motorcycle is compared to his 2500 cc Triumph Rocket.

            I worked on trail braking, stops, pre-loads, and U-turns.  When we did our in-street U-turn, Bill rode off onto the berm.  He later explained that he wanted to practice the sensation of going off-road so that should he be forced off, it won’t be a weird experience.  So I will add that to my practice next week.

            I was happy to be able to ride in the gravel lot again; the lack of rain made that possible.  I’m almost ready to try my turn around inside the wooden borders.  As I worked in the hospital lot, I marveled at how well-balanced the R Nine T is.  I need to be careful not to get too comfortable with this balance and forget that I can drop the bike.

            We were lucky with little traffic as we rode, but there were a lot of people out and about enjoying the sunny day.  We did see lots of dogs, even three new ones who came out to bark at us.  Only one squirrel made a crazy dash across the road in front of Bill, but far enough away he didn’t have to stop.  I found myself missing the nature sights on the ride.  I’ll have to get used to it as spring is still quite a ways away.  There is one yard that has Valentine’s Day decorations out, so I try and make the most out of that.  Of course, I can always enjoy the sight of Bill riding on his beautiful Rocket.

Flurries, that is.  But still, we rode in the snow.  Obviously, it was a cold, wintry day in both feel and looks.  Gray skies and a north wind joined us for our ride on a 38-degree day with wind chills in the twenties.  It was good day to try out my new Rev’It Trousers Factor 4 winter riding pants.

            These pants are not as comfortable around the waist as my Ignition 3 pants.  The Ignition 3 have Velcro tighteners on the side, but the Factor 4 don’t.  The weight of the knee pads and the fabric pull the pants low, not embarrassingly so, but low enough to add a challenge on the ride to getting my right foot down.  I am wondering if I can find suspenders strong enough to help keep the pants up.

            As for keeping me warm, the pants did fine.  The only parts of me that got cold were my cheeks under the helmet and my right hand a little.  I’m actually not quite sure if my right hand was really cold or if it was discomfort from a cut on the tip of my index finger.

            But other than those minor issues, the ride was great.  I had fun watching the flurries melt on my gas tank as I waited for Bill to gear up.  I really enjoyed the curvy road; the R Nine T loves to lean.  I even worked some trail braking in wearing the large Rev’It winter gloves.  My stops were a little goofy at first with the new pants pulling up my right leg, but my leg eventually adjusted.  I did great watching the rearview mirrors at stops. We did a street U-turn meaning we turned around while on the neighborhood street rather than in the cul-de-sac.  My first go round brought me very close to the grassy berm, but on my second U-turn, I went to full-lock and aced the turn.

            In our practice we visited a new parking lot, a tiny little squarish tarmac probably leftover from the old Burger King that used to be on the lot before it was transformed into a post office and Dominos.  On our way over, a large hawk swooped down and flew across Bill’s path of travel.  We didn’t do more than three turns in the lot before heading over to the hospital lot.  While there, Bill called me over to his bike.  The Triumph had a message about the cold weather and that conditions may not be great for riding.  Unfortunately, getting a phone out to take a picture was a complicated process in all our weather gear.  It was cute, but it was also timely, and we decided to head home out of the flurries.  Next week should be flurry free and a comfortable 50-degree ride; I can’t wait.

A bike on the road is worth two in the shed.

Anonymous (https://wildtriumph.com/motorcycle-quotes-sayings/)

The Christmas season is very generous to me.  Not only do I receive gifts for Christmas, but my birthday falls within the twelve days of Christmas, so I now have two new Rev’It riding pants and new Klim gloves.

            For Christmas I was given the Rev’It Factor 4 thermal lined waterproof pants.  These come with knee protectors and a removeable thermal liner to keep me warm on cold, winter rides.  On my birthday I received the Rev’It Ignition 3 pants which combines leather with breathable mesh for protection and air flow.  These pants also have a removable liner, but they are for warmer rides.  Both pants fit me way better than the Klim riding jeans which we did get in a larger size than I needed.

            Now that I was better geared up, we headed out on a beautiful sunny day in the low-50s.  I wore the Ignition 3 pants, and I also tried my new Klim Adventure GTX short gloves.  Bill gave me these gloves as a moderate weather glove because my Rev’It gloves are for really cold wintry rides and my other Klim gloves are perforated for summer air flow.  I did find myself putting on the heated grips on low with these new gloves.

            As for the pants, they will certainly need some breaking in.  I have to get used to the snugger fit which I found made mounting the bike a leg lift exercise.  I also need to adjust the knee pads.  Throughout two-thirds of my ride, my left knee was under pressure from the knee protection.  It was so uncomfortable, I thought for sure I’d have a bruise on my knee after the ride (I didn’t).  l finally managed to get the protector adjusted by kicking my left leg out straight.

            The ride itself was fantastic.  The sun was bright but, because we headed out earlier in the afternoon, not shining into our eyes.  Most of the Christmas decorations had been packed up, thought there was a cute inflatable of Santa in a car still waving at us.  We passed a snowy egret and two ducks chilling in the lake near the road.  Overhead, turkey vultures were lazily circling about.  No crazy squirrels in the road on this ride.  And, when I ignored the pants, I realized how wonderful a motorcycle the R Nine T is to ride. 

            For starters I easily found first gear which was helpful as my mind was distracted by the feel of riding in the new pants.  I realized how wonderful the Daytona boots are as I had no trouble shifting or braking wearing the boots with the new pants.  I’m very pleased with that as the Daytona’s have a one-inch lift which will help me flat foot the BMW R 1250 GS later in my riding career.  I also realized how easy the clutch is out on the road.  When we were practicing our slow turns and braking out of a curve, I could easily manipulate the clutch.  With the BMW G 310, I often stalled on slow speed drills.  The dry clutch really is fun.

            Yet, the motorcycle did mess with me a little.  We were parked and chatting about how the ride was going when Bill suggested he film a short video of me riding in my new pants.  Now I should have warned him that I hadn’t found neutral when I stopped my bike.  Restarting the ignition, I tried to find neutral as Bill walked away to start filming.  I never saw neutral, but I did believe I had shifted into first.  Nope.  I started riding toward Bill and the engine cut off on me.  Since I was struggling, I let Bill hop on and play with the clutch.  I was in third gear which is a surprise as I never leave first gear during my slow speed practice.  So I still have quite a bit to learn about using that dry clutch.

            I don’t mind more to learn as that’s another reason to ride.  Not that I need any more reasons because riding motorcycles is a total blast.

            Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and the new year is off to a great start.  My holidays were great except for the Arctic blast that prevented us from a Christmas Eve ride.  When the high barely crept into the low 20s, we decided to stay snug and warm at home.

            After Christmas, our area was blessed with gradually warming temperatures, giving us multiple sunny days in the 60s—perfect riding weather.  And Bill did get a short ride in on Thursday; the Ducati was due for its annual state inspection, so we headed off to Honda of Norfolk.  While Bill patiently waited for the inspector to become available, I was able to check out the CRF250F.  This motorcycle is an off-road trail bike that we are considering.  We’d like to purchase two of these bikes and, as Bill calls it, “rag” them off-road.  Bill got his first motorcycle at the age of thirteen, and he had a large field next to his house to ride it in.  So he appreciates the riding skills one can learn on a lighter bike in the dirt.  Because it is designed to ride off road, it is a tall motorcycle; a seat height of almost 25 inches.  But the suspension is soft and sank down as I mounted the bike so I could easily flat foot the bike.  We haven’t gotten to the serious purchase phase yet, but it was great having the opportunity to see and sit on the bikes.

            Now I mentioned that we had a week of spectacular weather, riding weather.  And I was off from work the whole week.  So why didn’t we take advantage and go for a weekday ride?  Well, my Mom was having trees removed, so the yard was torn up and there were large machines all around the house that week.  Our motorcycles were trapped in the garage.

            Also, unfortunately for us, rain moved in late Friday and lingered all through Saturday into Saturday night.  Road surfaces become slippery in the rain, especially if there are oil slicks on the road.  Plus, I’m using 50/50 on/off-road tires, which means the tread is chunky, so there are gaps where the tire is not in full contact with the ground.  These gaps don’t make for the best traction on wet roads.  We began to believe there would be no ride this weekend either.

            If you search “motorcycle riding as therapy,” you’ll find over 15 million hits.  The Semel Institute for Neuroscience at UCLA found that riding a motorcycle decreased cortisol, a stress hormone, by 28%.  Even I have written about how therapeutic I find my riding (“Hint of Fall Riding” published Dec. 5, 2021).  When it became obvious that Saturday’s ride was a no-go, we headed over to Southside Harley-Davidson to see if they were as well stocked as Bayside.  They did have a good number of motorcycles, including a gorgeous red Fatboy, several Pan Americans, Nightsters, and even a few Livewires (HD’s electric motorcycle).  Bill was amazed to realize that the Harley’s didn’t seem as large now that he’s been riding a Triumph Rocket.  But looking at motorcycles isn’t the same as riding them, and I admit I was getting a bit depressed.

            Our only hope was that the promised sunshine for Sunday would show up and shine enough to dry out the roads if we were patient and planned on a much later start.  Thankfully, 2023 gave us what we wanted and the roads dried out enough to allow us our ride.  I needed the escape as my football team came out in the second half and stunk up the field.

            The Arctic storm brought enough strong winds to blow clear almost all of the trees.  But with the sunshine, warm temps (65), and most people having tomorrow off, there were lots of people out and about.  We saw several kids playing on new Christmas bikes, scooters, and skateboards.  Bill had a near run in with a screwy squirrel; I watched from behind and I swear, it was like the squirrel was playing chicken with the front tire of the Rocket.  Finally, he darted off the road and let us resume our ride. 

            I worked on keeping two fingers on the front brake as I worked the throttle.  This position is known as pre-loading because the slack is pulled in on the brake to pre-load it so that when pulled, actual brake pressure is being applied to the front wheel.  It is considered one of the safer ways to ride.  I believe I was successful at the pre-load on this ride because I was able to wear my summer gloves on the warmer day. 

            Because I found it easier to pre-load the front brake, I was better able to work on braking into the curves.  I found turning easier, and I was able to turn tighter in courts.  I only had to widen out my turns to keep clear of Bill on the Rocket. 

            One aspect of our ride that has changed some since Bill acquired the Rocket is how we now make multiple runs on the 35-mph road.  It is clear that he feels the grunt of the torque on his new bike, and I found myself wondering as we rode if we would venture out onto a higher speed road soon.  We’ve discussed some options; maybe if the weather cooperates, we can put one of those options into play.

            The one downer on our ride was the position of the sun.  Due to our rain delay, we were out riding much later in the day than usual and, being winter, the sun is much lower in the sky. Together, these circumstances meant we were riding into the glare of the sun on several roads.  My helmet does have a visor, but I had taken it off in December because when I wear my leather jacket, the collar pushes the helmet in the back and the visor blocks some of my vision.  But the low sun shouldn’t be too much of a problem as we don’t usually ride at 3:00 in the afternoon.

            After such a wet and dreary Saturday, however, I’ll take the sun even in my eyes a bit since it means I get to ride.  And the days are slowly stretching out.  It’s far too early to think about spring, but some more weekends in the 60s in the middle of winter would sure be wonderful.  Next week’s ride will be more wintry as the high is only in the 40s, but that will be my chance to try out my new winter riding pants.