A Feel for the Bike

Today’s ride taught me that I have developed a good feel for the Ducati Scrambler. I say that because today as I rode, as we made our circles and S-turns, I felt how smoothly I maneuvered the motorcycle, even the two times I rolled a little too heavily on the throttle. I can’t blame the gloves because I was wearing the Klim summer gloves again today and still I rolled the throttle unintentionally. Nothing too bad, just a slight boost to my acceleration. I actually enjoyed the second intense roll on as it threw me back on the bike.

Overall my acceleration was smooth and I did a good job of keeping up with Bill. We headed out into the neighborhood on a gorgeous spring day. Before we even mounted the motorcycles, a cabbage white butterfly flitted by in front of me as I stood waiting for Bill. We started early with the court circles, and I let myself enjoy the lean as we circled around.

We turned into the school lot and I got to slalom on the bus lines. Bill needed to zip up his jacket. Then we were off again onto our usual route. We hit the same court with the pair of geese though today they hightailed it to the water and didn’t try to take us on. This let us do some S-turns in the court since we weren’t disturbing the wildlife. I worked on smooth braking and was able to focus on my balance at the stops enough to notice two times where I almost put my right foot down first. Riders are taught to always put their left foot down when stopping because this allows the right foot to remain on the rear brake. Obviously, as I’m coming to a stop, I am pulling on the front brake with my right hand, but the rear brake adds extra safety, so the right foot needs to stay on the brake until the bike is fully stopped. Today, I successfully placed my left foot down first every time, but twice I had to quickly place the right foot down as well for balance. I did learn months ago that a trick to help with placing the left foot down first is to lean your head to the left, and I realized today I need to practice doing that.

We surprised a great egret and got to watch it fly low across the water with its expansive wing span. The sun was so bright in the sky that it was easy to see the shadows of the birds flying overhead including the shadow of a hawk. At one point as we turned down a new road, I heard a phenomenal chorus of birdsong causing me to smile. The birdsong shifted my focus to what I hear as I ride because predominantly it is just my motorcycle. I’ve mentioned that I can’t hear Bill’s R Nine T as I ride behind, usually all I hear is my Ducati. But I realized that oftentimes it is possible to hear the birds singing as we ride as well as lawnmowers and blowers as people work in their yards.

It wasn’t just the sounds that made me smile; the views were spectacular. Though the cherry blossoms suffered from the storm on Thursday, the dogwoods and Japanese maples looked glorious. And these trees are complimented by the brilliant brightness of the azalea blooms and the gorgeous tulips. I let the beauty of the day comfort me as we were unable to do our gravel lot practice; too many cars parked there. Springtime brings everyone out, though, and I am very happy I get to experience it from the seat of my motorcycle!

Rhododendrons and Azaleas, Temple Newsam by Rich Tea is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0

Blossoming and Blowing

The thick pollen coated the back of my throat on this blustery spring day, but that did not deter me. The sun was bright in the windy skies, and the flowers and trees were blooming.

I started off the ride with an adjusted clutch lever, closer for an easier grip. This caused issues shifting issues as I had to rediscover the sweet spot for the clutch, but I wasn’t too concerned as I understood the problem and knew I’d adapt to the changed clutch position. I now want to bring the brake lever closer too. Some riders hold to the philosophy of maintaining one to two fingers over the brake and clutch as they ride. I want to try riding like this so I have all my options for a comfortable and safe ride.

We set out into the wind. The wind was 15 10 20 mph from the west with 25-30 mph gusts, so the wind was with us the whole ride. I enjoyed it; I like the fight to stay on the motorcycle as the wind tries to push me off. The best part of the battle with the wind was as we rode up the 35-mph road; that was straight into the wind and my hardest battle to stay on the bike. I smiled the whole time.

We did some U-turn practice in the courts and on the gravel lot by the historic house. I found myself marveling at how confident I felt on the bike even as the back tire slipped a bit in the gravel. We took off on a few new roads, seeking to stretch out the beautiful ride. Everywhere I looked, there were Yoshino cherry trees, azaleas, dogwoods, daffodils, tulips, and more flowering plants and trees I didn’t know the name of blooming.

The westerly wind had a chill to it, so I didn’t see any butterflies taking advantage of the flowering wonderland. But the birds were out everywhere, zipping by as they busily worked on their nests. In one court we rode into, a pair of Canadian geese were crossing the court toward the nearby water. They hadn’t cleared the asphalt and took umbrage with us riding into their court. We rode around in our circle as the geese seemed to be clearing off the pavement but for some reason, as we circled around again, the lead goose decided to charge at us. Now we were safely avoiding them giving them a wide berth of at least 12 feet, but the goose started beelining toward Bill and then, after Bill rode past, toward me. I smiled as I apologized to Mr. Goose for disturbing him and his lady. I’ll have to keep an eye out for goslings in the upcoming rides.

We finished up our ride with quick braking practice. Sometimes I do miss my solo practice riding, but today I noted that during our cruising, I’m able to practice leaning into the curves and accelerating on the way out, something I did at a very slow speed during the MSF course. So I am always learning on my rides and always having a blast!

The Butterflies Are Back!

Yep, half a dozen cabbage white butterflies flitting about, including a pair either fighting or hooking up who zoomed about like a golden snitch from Harry Potter, accentuated our ride on this gorgeous spring day. While tomorrow is the official start to spring, today was a huge head start, with even a hint of summer as the temperatures rose toward the 80s. We wore our summer gear, the Klim jackets and gloves; I had to adjust to the feel of the much lighter weight gloves on both the throttle and the clutch. I found myself rolling on the throttle unintentionally and, when I stopped to think about it, I realized I was moving my hand as though I was in the larger, heavier Rev’It gloves. In the Klim gloves, this meant my hand was closer to and on the throttle whereas in the Rev’It gloves, I would still need to close my grip further. But I did adjust and enjoyed the solid feel of the grips.

Just a quarter mile into our ride and the first butterfly fluttered by in front of me and I knew we were in for a super fun ride. Even as we started on our usual route, I knew we were in for a treat. For one thing despite the gorgeous day, there were not too many cars out on our route. As we left one neighborhood and entered the ritzier one, I saw the second butterfly. Perhaps it was the thought of flying, but seeing that little white guy made me realize that I hadn’t attached my Helite vest to the connector on the bike. I pulled over and remedied this, easily shifting into neutral, while Bill began looping around in the court. By the time he noticed I had pulled over, I was shifting back into first and joining him in the loops. We had been making circles in the courts, but today Bill led us into S-turns, and I somehow felt the little bit extra was more of the fun of the day. I also enjoyed the bigger challenge of finessing the friction zone as we weaved around the court.

As we left that court, I saw another butterfly, but then I thought it might be the same little guy having made some progress. Need I admit it was a day for lots of silly smiles? We continued our route, pulling into the court where a house is under construction. I noticed two ospreys battling for territory (or mates) up in the sky. Then I noticed one of the construction workers leaning his head out as he walked out from behind his work vehicle to watch Bill ride away on the gorgeous BMW R Nine T Urban GS—it is a very good-looking motorcycle.

We stretched our ride out, heading into the other ritzy neighborhood, and discovering another house under construction. Bill then took me up a road that leads to the busy main thoroughfare. He pulled into a deserted parking lot and led me up to the closed office building where there was a large window out front or, in our case, a large mirror. It was yet more fun to see the two of us geared up and on our bikes together.

What a glorious riding day this was, a perfect distraction, and more finessing with the clutch. I hope today is a harbinger of more good riding days to come and of the butterflies to come.

Finessing the Friction Zone

Cold, bright sunshine greeted us for our ride, our timing thrown off a bit by the leap forward for Daylight Savings Time. But yesterday was a huge no-go between the rain, wind, and snow flurries. Welcome to March in the Mid-Atlantic. We were happy to have dry roads for our ride and just a few gusts of wind.

Because of the cold, we had to gear up in our layers. Bill got ready way faster than me; I’m slowed down by the need to shift my ponytail out between layers, so he took off for short little jaunts while I finished gearing up. The Rev’It gloves fought me, but I wrested them on finally and we were off. We hadn’t gotten past more than three houses before I realized I hadn’t secured my Helite vest to the Ducati. I tried to signal Bill at the first stop sign to hold up, but my signal didn’t work. I let him take off and took the time to click the connector; he held up at the end of the block until I rejoined him, and we finally started our cruise proper.

The gear worked in keeping the wind chill at bay for a comfortable cruise, mostly. The gloves still affect my grip, and I found myself longing for the warmer weather and the switch back to the Klim gloves. But I decided to find a positive in riding with these gloves, and I did. I used my discomfort with my grip to focus on squeezing the bike and gripping more with my thighs. Once I did this, the gloves didn’t bother me as much, and I could relax and enjoy the feel of the ride.

There were a few gaggles of geese about, small groups with the birds paired off as we approach spring. A high-flying hawk soared above us, but no bald eagles are likely as we are avoiding that road due to construction. I had fun on the gravel doing S-turns, feeling a slight slip. Neutral was not easy to find today, but I got there eventually.

We finished up a short ride because the roads were pretty busy. Probably everyone was out today having hunkered down during yesterday’s storm. My Mom was out when we left, so I had closed the garage. Usually at the end of our rides, we drive the bikes up into the garage. But today we had to park them at the top of the driveway while I ran inside to open the garage. That meant in order to move the Ducati into the garage, I needed to use the friction zone. Now my parents’ have a very steep driveway, so as I started the bike and shifted into first, gravity tried pulling me back and down toward the street. So I had to release the clutch while releasing the front brake. My attitude was “all I can do is try,” knowing Bill could always take over if I failed. But to my giddy relief, I was able to use the friction zone and walk the Ducati into the garage. It is such a sense of achievement when I successfully execute my motorcycle skills.

Drops and Stops

Well it finally happened; I dropped my Ducati Scrambler. It started innocuously enough. Bill let me move the Ducati down to the street to start it up and let it warm up. I got it turned around and rolled it (no engine power) down to the curb, managing to park the back tire nicely abutting the curb. I then leaned the bike to the left to set it on its kickstand and prepared to dismount. Only one tiny problem—I hadn’t put the kickstand down. I realized this just as I felt the bike tip past the point I could right it. Down it went.

I almost dropped the BMW G310 GS once coming into a turn, but I was able to manhandle it and keep it upright. But the Ducat weighs 70 pounds more, and my foot was too far out to get my leg under me for support. In a way I was glad the drop happened like this, where the bike wasn’t under power and in motion. Unfortunately, because I was perpendicular to the camber of the road, I did some scratch damage to the foot peg and the Barkbusters. But the worst damage was a bent shifter. Bill handled the damage perfectly, no anger, no repercussions, just the mindset that it was going to happen eventually because everyone drops their bike eventually.

I was ready to give up my ride for the day and let Bill head off on the R NineT, but he felt the shifter was fixable with a pipe wrench. He headed off to get one while I waited and let myself calm down. Within five minutes the shifter was fixed and the bike was ready to ride.

We headed out on this cold morning, 36 degrees with a wind chill in the twenties. It didn’t take long before we came across a slow-moving Toyota Rav4. We were at the stop sign waiting for oncoming traffic to pass. We waited and waited, realizing that the SUV was moving slowly, but not so far back we could turn in front of the vehicle. As the middle-aged woman driving passed by us, we realized her head was down and her focus clearly told us she was on her phone. This lady proceeded down the road, turned onto the road we were turning on, and made a third turn—all while staying on her phone. We pulled off into the school’s parking lot to let her pass and give us a safety buffer, but what a scary thought to realize how far this woman was willing to drive—through a neighborhood with kids and pedestrians—all while looking at her phone.

One of the best escapes the motorcycle provides is an escape from the phone. Not only would you not be on your phone as you need both hands for shifting, braking, and steering. But you can’t even hear the text chime as you’re revving the throttle and zooming about. Today I realized that Bill can’t hear what I’m doing on my bike just as I can’t hear his bike. So today I felt lost in my own world. Of course I can see Bill, but all I hear and feel is my motorcycle, letting myself get lost in the ride.

I did better with the gloves on the bike today, revving the throttle only twice. I did notice, however, when I was riding the 310 the next day, that the gloves make it difficult to turn on the turn signals. Moving forward, I will focus a little more on my grip in these Rev’It gloves to help me have better control.

Our ride picked up after we got around Mrs. Texter. We saw an osprey circling over the river when we had stopped for a moment. I noticed plum blossoms already opened, a sure sign that spring is almost here. The geese we saw were coupled up in mating pairs, another sign of the vernal season despite the winter chill in the air. It was such a cold, dank ride, my fingers started to get numb, so I was happy when we cut the ride short. Plus, I knew I would be riding again the next day.

The next day was 10 degrees warmer, a good day to get the BMW G310 GS out and about. I stalled three times trying to get the bike up enough for me to see around the neighbor’s SUV. I headed out over to the Greek church parking lot to practice S turns and riding on a straight line. I then cruised about, riding by someone who owns the BMW 1250 GSA, smiling because I like the bike and may own one one day, but also because I could recognize the bike.

I didn’t plan on a long ride as Bill was at home not riding. But I did get to go slalom in the orange cones at the high school parking lot, and I explored more of the back roads of the neighborhood. I stalled twice at stops because the 310 requires more throttle input coming out of the friction zone than the Ducati does. But that’s part of why I was out riding the 310, to experience and learn the riding differences between the two bikes. This will help me later in learning how to ride other motorcycles, something I am really looking forward to in the not-too-distant future.

The bent shifter on my Ducati Desert Sled.

Trying to Get a Grip

Today was a beautiful day for the mental escape riding a motorcycle provides. Sunshine and fifties for our temps with gusty wind that didn’t affect our ride. We headed out for our neighborhood cruise, and I found myself cracking my helmet visor as I had overdone the clothes and was actually a bit warm. I had on my Rev’It Taurus GTX gloves for the colder temperatures, and I spent a good part of the ride analyzing the feel, grip, and comfort of these top-of-the-line gloves.
Because these gloves are insulated for warmth and have Goretex for weather protection, the fit is bulky. I have to push down between the fingers when I put them on to tighten the fit, but even then, there is a lot of fabric between me and the throttle. This is my fifth ride wearing these gloves, so they are new and naturally stiff. Today I wondered if I could wear the gloves around the house to try and loosen them up some as I do with my boots. I’m not sure, but it is worth a try.
I have established, after getting to wear my Klim summer gloves last week, that the gloves do affect my pull on the clutch and brake and my roll on with the throttle. In fact I had several excessive roll ons due to the gloves, so I have to work on getting a better feel on my right hand between the glove and throttle. I had no difficulty shifting with my left, perhaps because these thicker gloves cause me to pull harder on the clutch.
Where the gloves shine is the warmth they provide. Today was only slightly chilly, but I’ve worn the gloves while riding on 30-degree days with no chill to my fingers. I look forward to discovering whether with more use the gloves do loosen up and flex better; I certainly hope so.
As for our ride, every court we entered we circled three times, and I worked on watching over my shoulder for any potential cars. Last week Bill pointed out that as we enter a court to turn around, a car might be entering behind us but heading straight into a driveway, not realizing that we are circling. So I worked on checking my mirrors and checking over my shoulder during all of the circles.
We did S turns on the gravel parking lot, and I had two heart pumping moments when I felt the back tire slip. One day I’ll train using that slippage to help bring the bike around (backing in), but that will have to wait until we are on a softer surface than even the gravel. We did some more S turns in the hospital overflow parking. I was being cocky and doing tighter turns than Bill, so I had to dab my foot as I did too tight a turn.
Other than crows and a few gulls, I only saw one sole Canadian goose. Seeing that, and someone in the neighborhood flying a Canadian flag, brought my escaping thoughts to the terrible events happening in Ottawa today. I don’t want to be political, but I do want to say I support the Freedom Truckers. Motorcycle riding is freedom in motion; I’m glad I get weekly reminders of what it means to be free.

Harley-Davidsons Everywhere

If I tell you we spotted at least 25 Harley-Davidsons as we ventured out for our own motorcycle ride, would you know what the weather was for today? That’s right, a sneak peek at spring here on Lincoln’s birthday with gorgeous sunshine and temperatures right around 70. It almost became a game with us who could spot the Harley first as we drove over to and home from my parents’ house.

I suppose I find it so striking because it reveals how much of an appeal motorcycle riding has for so many people. Now a Harley-Davidson rider is usually going to be on a large cruiser bike such as a Road King with fairings and saddlebags and perhaps even a passenger on the pillion. And most of the ones we saw were cruising by on the interstate. We have no interest in riding the interstates, especially in southeastern Virginia, but our future may contain some more touring oriented bikes.

But for now we’re enjoying the R Nine T and the Scrambler. No practice alone for me today as we had a late start and Bill didn’t want to wait to ride. Out we went together in our warm weather gear with big smiles on our faces. Our first gravel lot was completely car free, so we looped about in it for a few minutes. My back tire slid just a bit, and I was surprised to find that I didn’t panic.

I realized on today’s ride that I am much more confident and relaxed with riding, so much so, I let my mind wander to another squid thought of backending my bike. Backending the bike means to skid the back tire around to turn the front end of the motorcycle. As I had that thought, I was reminded that it has been 10 months of riding with no drop. But I’ll wait until we’re on a softer surface.

Because of the warmth of the day, I was wearing my Klim summer gloves, so I made a study of whether my shifting issue from last week was more of a clutch issue or more with the shifter. I determined that it was the clutch. On my BMW G310 GS, I don’t have to have the clutch fully pulled in toward the handle, but on the Ducati Scrambler, I do have to come much closer to the handle with the clutch for smooth shifting. Realizing this, I quickly eliminated any shifting problems and easily found neutral.

We had more fun in our other gravel lot, working on circles. As we did so, I learned on the Ducati, I don’t need to feather the clutch as much as I do on the BMW, so I could worry less about stalling—none today. As we finished up the ride, I ran into some traffic. One was a car turning between Bill and me, but the other was a lady coming to a stop at the intersection for Bill, but then deciding she could run through the stop sign in front of me. I was aware of her approaching the intersection, and I had a feeling she would run the stop in front of me, so I slowed down and had no issues. But it is not a pleasant reminder of how drivers don’t think when it comes to motorcyclists.

I ended on a positive by making a beautiful short, fast stop, feeling the weight of the back end as it tried to throw me up, but bracing myself and controlling the bike well. I was sorry Bill didn’t see it, having ridden on ahead. We have some nice weather ahead for next weekend, though 20 degrees cooler. I look forward to the full return of spring for our riding.

As I finished writing this blog, before editing it, I took a break and had to laugh; I was still wearing my blue necktube from my ride. Clearly, I still want to ride.

Harley-Davidson motorcycles cruising on the street. — Photo by Quintin Gellar on Pexels.com

A Day Worth Waiting For

Finally! Despite rain late into last night, the roads dried off, the sun came out, and we had a day to ride. It’s been three weeks since I rode and a month for Bill, so we were extra happy that the weather forecast was right and the day was nice. There was some wind keeping it cold, but with the bright sunshine everywhere, it felt warmer.

And we weren’t the only ones out enjoying the prettier weather. We passed a small group of Canadian geese (6) driving into the neighborhood. And once I was out on the Scrambler, I passed another smaller group of 4. It felt great to be back on the motorcycle, though it was a bit like my first-time riding. I realized that my last ride was on my G310 and on different roads, so I was relearning the feel of my Ducati and relearning my practice routes.

The roads were fairly quiet which made my practice easier. The gravel parking lot at the neighborhood park was free of cars, allowing me to loop through it several times. I even rode my little dirt track, though carefully as there was a lot of mud from last night’s rain. My focus was on the feel of the bike, shifting the gears in my thick Rev’It winter gloves and keeping my left foot up. So I only did a few U-turns and only one fast stop as the gloves are stiff. I’m hoping that with some more winter rides, the gloves will wear in and loosen up some.

I slalomed through the bus lanes at the elementary school, riding by the house often as I expected Bill to be waiting so he could ride too. After about 20 minutes, there he was, geared up and ready to go. So we went and picked up the R NineT and headed out on our neighborhood cruise. Since we hadn’t ridden these roads in a month, we found some road work in the neighborhood—more gravel. I was watching the road and watching Bill as I always do when I caught sight of the bald eagle soaring above us. So not only was I thrilled to be back riding my motorcycle, but I had the added excitement of seeing the bald eagle coasting through the bright blue sky. As I watched the beautiful eagle, I realized that my sensation riding the motorcycle is as close as I will get to an eagle soaring aloft in the sky. I rode with a smile plastered on my face.

The smile turned to a laugh when we cruised by the first group of geese. Several of them were crossing the road, so we had slowed to a crawl as the stragglers made it across. As they cleared the road and we rode by, the big goose in charge chased after the stragglers, honking a reprimand for their slow progress.

The birds continued to entertain us on our ride. We passed more geese playing in a puddle. A mockingbird flew right in front of Bill. And, as we paused for our chat on the gravel lot, we watched four turkey vultures flitting about in the tall pine trees. I had some issues shifting from second to third during the ride. I would pull in the clutch and lift the shifter, only to look down and see I was still in second. I believe that is part of getting used to the gloves and the feel of the clutch. I was able to easily find neutral two out of three tries, which was a pleasant surprise as I was sure, after not riding the Scrambler for a month, I would lose the progress I had made in finding neutral.

Next weekend is looking to be a warmer ride, so I will get more practice in shifting and finding neutral and, hopefully, another chance to see the bald eagle in flight.

Me in my warm riding gear with the stiff Rev’It gloves; I love my Schott’s leather jacket.

Maybe Next Weekend

We seem to be in a weather cycle where the week starts cold, gradually warms up, then goes cold again for the weekend, adding in some precipitation to make the roads hazardous. This Saturday’s snowfall was not as heavy as the week before, and many of the main roads are drivable, but there’s too much risk of icy patches on the neighborhood streets for our ride this weekend. And we are super bummed out about it.

However, a look ahead to next week’s forecast shows a hopeful break in the pattern. We’ll have the gradual warm up from today’s high of 37 to a high of 59 by Friday with an 80% chance of rain for Friday. Saturday will be cold, again, but partly cloudy with the same again on Sunday. So as long as the Friday rain comes and goes early enough to let the roads dry, we’re looking forward to two days of motorcycle riding next weekend. It will be cold winter riding, but with the right gear, the cold is manageable.

I can’t imagine what it’s like for riders who put their motorcycles up for the winter and wait months for the spring weather before riding again. I’m going stir crazy having missed two weekends; I can’t imagine going two months—or longer—without the fun and freedom of cruising on my bike. I would love to hear from a seasonal rider who does put the bike up for the winter. What do you do in place of your motorcycle rides? Maybe you live where there’s enough snow for snowboarding or skiing or some other adventurous fun. Maybe you work on your motorcycle, completing any needed maintenance, upgrading some features on the bike. Or do you just put motorcycle riding out of your mind until the warmer weather arrives?

Of course one big distraction is watching Youtube videos on the new releases in motorcycles. We are awaiting the arrival of the 2022 BMW K 1600 GTL at Adventure BMW which should be arriving in February. They already have the 2022 1250 GS and 1250 RT in stock, so we’re hoping when the 1600s arrive, we can head over for some test rides.

We also watched the big Harley-Davidson announcement where it is clear HD is trying to broaden its appeal with the new Low Rider S and Low Rider ST. They are also going a little retro with the flame paint jobs on the CVO (custom vehicle operation) motorcycles; we like the CVO street glide in the Envious Green Fade, but I’m not ready for an 800+ pound motorcycle just yet. Now we’re seeing videos from people disappointed in the HD announcement having expected a whole new bike. But Harley gave us the Pan America and the Sportster just last year, and they are hinting at a new bike later in the year, so I thought the announcements were great.

We’re not turning into homebodies, though. Even though it’s too icy and wet for the motorcycles, we do take out our bikes for some training. I work on my U-turns on the bicycle and was doing some fantastic S-turns in the parking lot of the Greek church. I also rode through some piled up snow, feeling the slip of the rear tire on the ice, just a little. And I’ve been working on riding the bike in a straight line down the parking lot lines. This is rather difficult, but I’ve learned not to pedal as the pedaling causes the bike to rock to the sides. I’ve also worked on using a soft grip which I need on the motorcycle, especially when we’re riding on gravel or dirt roads. Keep your fingers-crossed that we will be back on the motorcycles practicing all of this and more next weekend!🤞

“A bike on the road is worth two in the shed.”
Anonymous–https://wanderingbiker.net/motorcycle-quotes/

Snow Day!

No riding this weekend; we are snowed in!