Featured

Rain, Wind, and Riding

The forecasted rain arrived Friday evening and stayed past noon on Saturday. I was bummed even though I was sure we’d be able to ride on Sunday. So in order to mitigate the wait time from Saturday to Sunday, I decided to go check out the 2024 BMW R1300 GS. As luck would have it, by the time we headed over to the BMW dealership, the roads had mostly dried out. But I had set my sights on seeing the new motorcycle, so we headed over.

When we arrived at Adventure, they had over 15 motorcycles outside on display including the 1300 in the GS Trophy edition. This edition is in a red, white, and royal blue color pattern that looked good on Youtube, but for me the colors didn’t quite fit on the motorcycle that well. Because they had a large inventory of bikes, I was able to sit on the 1300 and then sit on a 1250 to compare. On both bikes I was on my toes, but when we went inside, I was able to sit on a Triple Black edition that featured the adjustable seat height. I was happy to see I could flat foot the bike and have a bend in my knees, close to my position on the R Nine T. The adjustable seat height is a feature that automatically lowers the motorcycle’s suspension as the rider slows down to stop. Harley-Davidson introduced this feature with their adventure bike, the Pan America, and it is a very smart feature that, should it gain increasing popularity, will make motorcycling open to more riders.

When I expressed disappointment at not seeing the 1300 in the Aurelius green metallic, Rick, the sales manager, told us he had one in the back and led us back there to see it. I’m glad he did because between the Trophy colors and the green, I much prefer the green. The lines on the tank are smoother and Bill likes that the frame is black not white.

Because of the recent rain, and because Rick was helping us not Clayton, there was no offer of a test ride. I would like to go back and test ride the green one, but I have to come to grips with reality. The green bike, known as the Option 719, is an upspec motorcycle with a ton of features and would cost, before dealer fees and taxes, $28, 545, so over $30,000 once the additional fees are added. It is amazing how much the motorcycle has increased in price. The 1250 GS would have run around $23,000 with added features. I may have to wait for some used 1300s to show up on CycleTrader to make it a reasonable dream.

Of course I really can’t complain. I have the beautiful R Nine T to ride, and ride I did on another windy Sunday. I remembered to check the wind chill, so I was dressed appropriately in my full leather jacket with the liner, warmest shirt, and Rev’It Factor 4 pants with the liner. Because of the chill, I wasn’t expecting to see any butterflies never mind as many as I saw last week. But I was surprised; there was one cabbage white fluttering around before we left, and I did spot one brave little guy as we rode.

As we turned around on at the end of the curvy road, I was watching a pair of Canadian geese in someone’s yard when my eye was caught by movement in the sky. High aloft the bald eagle was cruising on the strong winds. I stopped to watch, but Bill, who hadn’t seen the eagle, had ridden ahead. It was one of the few times I’ve wished we had a communication system.

Leaving the curvy road, I continued looking up in hopes of seeing the eagle again, but half a mile away and he was gone. Shortly after, though, Bill and I spied two osprey fighting over a fish in the sky. I was happy Bill got in on these raptors, and I began to have a hope of maybe seeing the golden eagle again. I didn’t, but I did see lots of crows.

I also saw more azaleas beginning to bloom and more tulips flowering. The cherry trees had reached full bloom but, due to the heavy rain and strong winds, their blossoms were not as full as they could have been. But the cherry blossoms in their transience remind me of my rides; the rides are wonderful while they last, but they are over all too soon. Of course, like the cherry blossoms, they return.

Featured

Better Late Than Never

Friday and Saturday brought us rain, and I despaired of a Saturday ride. Bill was more optimistic; the rain was supposed to stop around 1 and the sun came out to dry the roads. When showers fell at noon, I figured our Saturday ride was out, but the forecast was right, the sun came out, and the roads, mostly, dried off. Temperatures were in the 60s, so in that regard it was perfect riding weather. But this ride had to be one of our latest as we headed out around four in the afternoon.

It was warm enough to bring out a cabbage white butterfly which I spotted on the drive over to get the motorcycles. I hoped I would see more as we rode, but perhaps the lateness of the afternoon or the rain or the early March date kept other butterflies at bay. The rain drops gave a sparkle to the daffodils, camellias, and the sugar magnolias I saw in bloom. And the green grass shone under the sunlight.

As we headed out, we did have to dodge some puddles here and there. Yet I found out early it was going to be a great ride as we hit the cul de sac at the end of the curvy road, and I did two of my tightest U-turns ever.

Unfortunately, the sun didn’t stay with us throughout the whole ride. While the sun was shining, I was comfortable in my Klim lightweight jacket, but when the clouds blocked the sunlight, I got chilly enough to turn on my heated grips.

Of course I kept my eyes peeled for large birds. The Canadian geese were out in their mating pairs here and there, and I even startled some ducks by the river. An eastern bluebird flew across our path, a few feet in front of Bill’s helmet. And I did spot a large bird, but it was too far away to be certain that it was the golden eagle.

I was finally able to complete both on-street U-turns successfully. The first one was berm to berm, but the second one left me a good foot away from the berm. We stopped at the gravel parking lot outside the historic house, but as I rode into it, I noticed the mud and puddles and felt I should give it a pass. I think part of me just didn’t want to have to wash the motorcycle later.

My emergency stops and restarts went better than before, but I feel like I’m stopped longer than I should be. I did better at scanning the mirrors as I came to a stop. I have to develop comfort with just putting my left toe down and trusting that my acceleration will keep the R Nine T upright.

I’m lucky that Bill was right to have us ride Saturday. I became quite ill Sunday and have been sick all week. I’m working on getting healthy for the weekend because I don’t want to miss my chance to ride. Of course, I need the weather to cooperate and push the rain off until Sunday.

Featured

Golden Ride

Sometimes not having a roof over one’s head is a good thing, and it’s one of the many aspects I love about riding motorcycles. Having the freedom to look up unencumbered by a car roof gave us a spectacular view of a golden eagle.

I remembered this week to check the wind chill though I only checked it for my city and not my parents’, so it was a little chillier than expected but no where near as cold as last week. I only felt the wind through my helmet; I need to check my ventilation because I may have extra open vents. I was wearing the same outfit as last week, but the temperature was at 50 and that made a big difference in my comfort.

We headed out with a detour due to road construction down the block from the garage. Because of the torn-up roads, we didn’t go down the curvy road. I was a little disappointed, but I let the squirrels running about and the Canadian geese distract me. I even spotted some robins, the birds of spring. The skies were cloudy, but yesterday’s rain was on hold and the roadways were dry enough for our ride though we had to dodge a few large puddles.

Since we bypassed the curvy road, it didn’t take us long to reach the cul de sac where we practice on-street U-turns. With last week’s disastrous turns still fresh in my mind, I was a little trepidatious, and that trepidation affected my first turn. Wide into the grass I went; one thing I have improved on is not shaking my head when I make a mistake or goof. I tightened up as I started the second turn and managed to stay on the street. It’s definitely a feel thing and a need for more practice because when I was turning in the gravel lot, I performed my tightest U-turns ever.

Bill led us on a meandering path for our ride, but this was a good thing. We headed up the road to the footless stop Yield later in our ride than usual, and that allowed us to witness the magnificent sight of the golden eagle landing in a tree. The movement of its wings caught both of our attention because it was only about 30 feet up from us on the road. Unfortunately for us, the motorcycle noise disturbed it; the eagle flitted to another tree and, even though we had stopped the bikes, then decided to head off. Our arrival was probably a lucky happenstance for one of the four Canadian geese grazing by the roadside as the eagle most likely was planning on making one of the geese its lunch.

The benefit to startling the golden eagle was we got to see it launch in the air and fly away. Outside of an ostrich at the zoo, this golden eagle is the largest bird I have ever seen. What a spectacular sight; that golden eagle makes me even happier about riding my motorcycle and, while the odds are I won’t get to see that beautiful bird again, I will keep my eyes peeled as I keep riding.

golden eagle in flight — Photo by Andrew Patrick on Pexels.com

Featured

Admirable Ride

Cool, windy, and wet Memorial Day weekend for us, but the wind kept the rain at bay long enough for us to ride. Because we ride neighborhood streets, the wind isn’t much of a factor, but it would’ve been had we tried to ride on the highway. As it was, the wind kept the butterflies away, all except one determined little cabbage white fighting his way to the clover that I spotted near the end of our ride.

As we headed out toward the curvy road, we have a yield sign where we make a left turn. Approaching the intersection, there was a white pick up coming up the road we were going to turn on. He indicated he would turn left at our street, but as he did so, he slowly took the turn and I realized he was looking over our motorcycles. They are two of the best-looking motorcycles on the road. Before the looks of admiration were reserved for Bill when he rode the R Nine T; the 310 and the Fasthouse never drew many looks. But now that I’m on the R Nine T, I draw looks but so does the Triumph Rocket. I think the two bikes complement each other quite nicely.

Later in the ride, as we waited at a stop sign to turn, a driver in a blue Toyota SUV slowly rode by again admiring the beautiful motorcycles. It is fun to know I’m riding a great bike that handles well and looks amazing.

I didn’t focus on any particular skill on this ride. Instead, I let myself enjoy the ride and enjoy how my riding skills have progressed to keep the ride safe. Halfway through the ride, I realized I was leaving the stops in sync with Bill without consciously focusing on doing so. My riding skills have improved so much that I found myself trying the tight turns from a stop and having little trouble–at least at first.

A tight turn from a stop means there isn’t much road to turn onto so the arc of the turn is constrained. In order to navigate this tight turn, I need to turn the wheel to full lock, lean the motorcycle in the direction of the turn, counterbalance with my opposite foot applying pressure on the outside peg, and go. My first few attempts were very successful even though I forgot to load the opposite foot peg. I judged my success on whether I stayed within two feet of the parking space line I was using as my marker. After my successful tries, I had several that didn’t go so well; I kept straightening the wheel too soon. So that just means more to work on.

While I didn’t get to see too many butterflies on this ride, I did get a lovely surprise. Bill led us into a small parking lot beside one of the churches to another tight U-turn. We had a bit of traffic to wait through to turn back onto the main road. As we waited, I saw some rustling in the ligustrum bushes across the street, a large rustling caused by what I thought might be a crow. But instead, an upset kestrel flew out and right past me. Seeing that kestrel made up for the missing butterflies. But I do hope to see many butterflies during next week’s ride.

Featured

International Female Ride Day 2023

It so happened that today’s ride fell on the 17^th International Female Ride Day, and I did my part to show women enjoying motorcycles and riding. It didn’t hurt that it was a gorgeous spring day for riding.

I was also celebrating my second year as a rider. Two years ago, on May 1 and 2, I rode my first ever motorcycle, a Kawasaki Eliminator 250 small cruiser, as part of the MSF course. Soon after, we purchased the BMW G310 GS, and I was riding. A few months later, we got the BMW R Nine T Urban GS for Bill to ride. Eighteen months later, that became my motorcycle as Bill began riding the Triumph Rocket GS. In between the two BMWs, I rode a Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled Fasthouse, a bike made for cold weather riding.

On today’s ride I found myself wondering if my skills riding the dry clutch on the R Nine T would make me a better rider on the 310 or Scrambler. Or would I struggle relearning the friction zones of those motorcycles. I also wondered if I would feel as confident in my tight turning drills or would the two more top-heavy bikes give me problems. Oddly enough, I don’t feel concerned about transitioning to the R 1250 GS, and I believe that is because both the 1250 and the R Nine T have the boxer engines keeping the center of gravity lower.

These thoughts played through my head as I rode. The day was so beautiful it was sheer joy to be out riding. The roses are gorgeous, and I forgot to mention the colorful clematis I see including one bunch of deep purple, bright pink, and white. I also forgot to mention seeing my first magnolia blossoms last week with even more flowers open this week.

There were so many cabbage white butterflies flitting about, I lost count after ten. I did have one zoom across my path. I saw what I think was an American copper and for the first time one of the Sulphur butterflies; these are difficult to distinguish from the back of a motorcycle, but it was a yellow butterfly, so it fits several of the Sulphur family.

Today’s ride also marked us scaring some young goslings, the first I’ve seen this year, as they hurried across a yard with their dutiful parents. In a shady glen by a pond, I saw two large white geese hanging out with some of their Canadian cousins. And again I zoomed past a mating pair of ducks grazing too close to the side of the road.

As for my skills’ practice, I continued to work on my no look turns which are getting easier. I also worked on smooth, synchronized take-offs from stops, meaning I left the stop at the same time as Bill. But I also found myself waiting a beat longer at a few stops so I could ensure that I’m checking for clear roads and not just relying on Bill’s vision.

The neighborhood road construction gave us a new challenge. There was an actual one-foot down ditch in the road that could have been a nasty jolt if entered unprepared. I enjoyed the little bit of off-roading and look forward to my third year of riding.

Happy IFRD!

Featured

A Short but Eventful Ride

Why does it seem that weekly weather patterns are such that the bright, sunny days are all during the week, and the rain comes for the weekend? We’ve had rain forecasted for Friday and Saturday for the past two weekends and have rain forecasted for next Saturday as well. Our luck has held, and we’ve been able to work in a ride, though today’s ride was shortened by falling rain.

Despite two summery days of temperatures in the mid-80s, by Saturday more winter-like weather had returned with highs supposedly In the low 50s but with the strong northeast wind, staying in the low to mid-40s. I returned to wearing my Rev’It Factor 4 Trousers with my lined leather jacket for warmth. I was excited for today’s ride as the R Nine T would hit the 1000-mile mark (and beyond), at least I was hoping it would if we could ride. As I walked down the driveway to the motorcycle, I saw small rain drops on the gas tank and looked over at Bill. We decided to head out and see if these were just random sprinkles and, for a while, they were.

I realized we were racing against the impending rain, but even with that realization, I was not prepared for how fast Bill took off from the first stop. Now his Triumph Rocket has much greater torque than the R Nine T (221 ft. lbs. compared to 85 ft. lbs.), but he hasn’t really laid it down until this ride. I let him take off and stayed in my comfort zone as I accelerated out of that first stop and several more on the ride. One mistake Bill has warned me about repeatedly is trying to keep up when riding with others. The more experienced rider should keep the pace at what the less experienced rider is comfortable with. Usually, Bill does this, but I think he had the urgency of the coming rain adding impetus to his throttle. I stayed true to my riding skills and let him head off. Since we are riding through neighborhoods, he isn’t going to go too fast, and there are enough stops for me to catch up. And I knew he would check his mirrors for me and realize I was lagging.

I did have time to appreciate the lushness of the greens now more evident as the leaves on the trees open and fill in. The gray skies gave a muted beauty to the dogwoods and azaleas, the whites, pinks, and purples of their flowers beautifully contrasted against the lush greenery. I was lucky enough to spot a bright pink peony bush with gorgeous large flowers in bloom, but I didn’t see any butterflies.

I hit the 1000-mile mark at the end of the long road, and we stopped and took a picture of the odometer. I’m only responsible for 300 of those miles but, had I continued riding my 310 or the Scrambler, I would’ve made it to 1000 on my own. Soon after the photo op, I heard rain drops hitting my helmet. Because I could hear the drops, I realized that this was the beginning of harder rain, the rain we would have to stop riding for. So we started to head to the garage.

During our return ride, I almost crashed during a turn. Now I’ve discussed trail braking and how I’ve been working on this skill, and it was this skill and keeping my head that helped me avoid the crash. As I turn, I downshift and use engine braking as well as the brakes to help slow the motorcycle. Entering the left-handed turn, I realized I was turning with more speed than I wanted. In rapid succession my brain registered too much speed, the curb my fast turn was taking me on a collision course with, and the fact that the bike did not engine brake. I continued applying the front and rear brake with more pressure on the rear brake as I worked to straighten up the bike while I also glance down and saw that I had over shifted down into neutral instead of second gear. I believe I was able to recover the turn and control the too-fast motorcycle because of my trail braking practice and because I focused on correcting the motorcycle and did not focus on what had gone wrong. Instead of crashing the front tire into the curb and possibly flying off the motorcycle, I turned wide into the gutter but recovered and safely brought the R Nine T back to the garage.

Later after our ride as we debriefed, Bill said he had forgotten to mention mis-shifting in a turn. This was a lesson experience taught me, and this lesson reinforces just how important training basic skills is. More training means more riding, and I am very happy about that.

Raindrops on visor of white motorcycle helmet.

Patience Rewarded

Featured

Late Friday the dreaded rain arrived continuing into the early hours of Saturday. So I slept in late hoping I would wake up to dry roads. They weren’t quite all the way dry, but they were well on there way, so that by the time we got going, we’d have ridable roads.

The clouds were hanging around with the sun making glimpses. As I started out on my ride, I thought I may have made a bad choice in wearing the Rev’It Ignition 3 leather pants with tights. My core was warm, but my legs were chilly, almost chilly enough for me to miss the Ducati. But as I rode, the sun made its breakthrough and brought the warmth I needed for a comfortable ride.

I did much better on this day’s ride. Most of my stops were spot on; I just had one kerfuffle where as I released the clutch from the stop I rolled a little too aggressively on the throttle and shot back for a moment on the bike. After that I paid better attention to my glove against the throttle to make sure I wasn’t “sticking.”

I haven’t mentioned the footless stops in a while, so I wanted to give an update. I enjoy footless stops more on an old-fashioned motorcycle with an analog dial because I can watch the needle hover over the 0 even if it’s only for a fraction of a second. So I have managed a few footless stops based on this criteria. Now Bill, riding the Rocket with its digital dial, has only gotten it down to 1 on his footless stops. I think both of us aren’t quite comfortable with the large lurch to one side the motorcycles might take as they teeter out of balance. Quite often when we watch Zack Courts on The Daily Rider he flops to one side or the other as he reaches 0 on his stops. What’s the point of footless stops? Well for me they teach me about the balance on the motorcycle. I also think it’s a fun challenge. But Bill and I only practice footless stops at Yield signs; we make full stops at the real deal red octagons.

We saw quite a number of young kids out with their mothers enjoying the sunshine. Kids are fun because the boys especially are fascinated by the motorcycles, and they are fun to wave to. We also encountered a lot of cars in unusual places. The little winding road that is only one and a half car-widths wide was especially busy. We had to navigate around 4 cars where we normally don’t encounter any.

But we are almost officially into spring, so more and more people will be out and about. The geese are almost back in full force, so the goslings should be appearing in a few weeks. More azaleas are blooming and more trees are flowering. The cherry blossoms, my particular favorite, are nearing peak blossom possibly as soon as next week. And I saw more tulips. I was careful this ride to make sure I had my neck tube over my mouth and nose to keep the pollen out. I do enjoy seeing the vivid greens of the growing grass; we ran into several early birds mowing their lawns already. I believe it is better to let the early spring grass grow long and get established. I hold this belief in part because it allows me to enjoy riding my motorcycle on a beautiful spring day and not feel guilty for not doing my own yard work. Not that I do feel guilty; riding is fantastic for relieving my stress and placing me in a wonderful mood.

Cherry blossoms against the sun and blue sky

Featured

Pre-Load Ride

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.

2023 Triumph Rocket GT and 2022 BMW R Nine T Urban GS

Featured

Riding While Hungry

Our ride was late today, after 1:30. In part we delayed a bit waiting for the day to get as warm as it could. But we also ran a few errands beforehand. By the time we mounted the bikes and headed out for our ride, my stomach was rumbling louder than my motorcycle.

One reason for the delay was our stop at CycleGear. I asked for some kind of insulated pant to wear for my winter rides, and we were hoping the Rev’It style Bill found online would be available at CycleGear for a try on. No such luck; in fact we couldn’t find any Rev’It gear in the store.

However, the trip was still beneficial. Our route to our next stop was roundabout, but it allowed us to scope a future riding route. In particular we wanted to see if the new Lesner Bridge had a large grate. The bridge only has two small expansion grates, so less chance of slippage. This route would be my first out into real traffic, so we are being careful in our approach.

After delivering some Christmas cards to a friend, we finally headed over to my parents’ garage to ride. The sun was mostly out with a chilly wind blowing. I had prepared by wearing my fleece lounge pants under my riding jeans. I also had on a wool blended thermal, so I was comfortably warm on the bike. I again had a struggle to shift into first, but I may have found a solution as later in the ride I had another struggle for first. Instead of playing the clutch in and out and shifting as I do, I simply let the clutch all the way out slowly then pulled back in before shifting. That worked on the second struggle, so I will experiment next ride to see if it is the solution.

Once I caught up to Bill, we headed onto our twisty road. I was better able to use trail braking on the twists. It may simply be a matter of training my grip to become comfortable with the preload position. I also took breaks to let my hand rest, and these breaks allowed me to work on the preload throughout my ride.

I was able to focus on some training objectives, but I wasn’t able to really enjoy the Christmas decorations as my mind was on my rumbling tummy. Usually on our ride days, I eat a slice of peanut butter toast and that holds me through the ride until we head home for our delicious brunch of blueberry French toast. But since we didn’t head straight over for our ride, my PB toast had to keep me full longer, and it was not up to the task. At several points during the ride, I had to refocus away from my hunger. At one turn, I came in too fast but, because I had been working on preloading the brakes, I was able to slow my speed and straighten the motorcycle, preventing me from going too wide.

That wider than I wanted turn shook most of my thoughts of food out, and I was better able to focus on my ride. I didn’t have any full locks on my turn practice, but I had fun doing some first gear turns without the friction zone. On my other motorcycles with the more typical wet clutches, I have to keep feathering the clutch in the slow speed practices or the bike will stall. With the dry clutch much like a manual transmission car, once it’s running in first, it will stay running in first. I like this as it allows me to rest my left hand which tires more easily on the R Nine T’s clutch.

Since the R Nine T only has an analog dial showing speed, I have no idea how long we are out on our ride. It was probably only an hour or so as we didn’t ride through all of our usual route. Even so, next week I’ll hope we don’t have any errands to run. Next week my thoughts will be on the cold—the high for Saturday is supposed to only reach 33 degrees—yikes! I’ll find out just how good my heated grips really are.

French toast with berries — Photo by ZNu2019s Food&NatureArt on Pexels.com

Featured

Making Lemonade

Crackle and crunch went the leaves underfoot as we loaded up the car to head out for our ride. With temps in the low 60s, the day promised to be a perfect fall ride.

The ride was delayed but for an excellent reason. Bill wanted to install my brand new LeoVince LV10 carbon fiber slip on exhaust. That’s the lemonade making; last week’s drop gave Bill the idea to go ahead and replace the scratched up stock exhaust (the lemons) with the delicious sounding LeoVince (you can hear what the exhaust sounds like here: https://youtu.be/BndvfPF-Nl0). Now my Ducati Scrambler rumbles and grumbles with a deep-throated roar.

The install took 15-20 minutes, so we were soon heading out. I rode the whole time with a smile on my face enjoying the engine roar even while I acknowledged that I would need to wear ear plugs on future rides. The best sound was when I downshifted; at those times, the exhaust popped and rumbled wonderfully.

I did make one mistake with this ride. I forgot to wear my motorcycle socks. My motorcycle socks are knee high and would have kept my lower legs warm from the wind chill shooting up my jeans’ cuffs. It was chilly enough to make me close my helmet vent and keep my visor down. I was also able to enjoy the slow speed maneuvers as the engine heat warmed up my chilly shins. One such drill was to turn the motorcycle to full lock and dab the feet while completing a circle. I was able to complete two full circles and was a little full of myself. After the ride when we were doing our ride reviews, Bill pointed out that in that exercise, I was supposed to be looking in the opposite direction. Oh well. Something to practice next week.

When I was practicing on the R Nine T, Bill took out the Ducati to enjoy the new exhaust himself. While on the R Nine T, I did have one stall, but I recovered quickly. The city had some digging flags out that I was able to use as cones for slalom practice. I was having such a good ride on the R Nine T, I half-hoped Bill would want to ride the Ducati home so I could stay on the BMW. No luck, but I did tell Bill I feel ready to ride the R Nine T on some pavement.

The roar of the exhaust helped to move along some Canadian geese who were determined to cross the road in front of us. After Bill’s turn on the Ducati, he said we would order the baffle to help mute the sound some. I managed to spot an Atlantis Fritillary butterfly, but there are more Halloween decorations out than butterflies now.

One aspect of this week’s ride with the new exhaust was the realization that just like that, I was having fun on the Ducati again. No doubt the cooler temperatures help but, after last week’s drop, I was questioning my choice in motorcycles. The new exhaust took about ten pounds of weight off the bike, and the deep roar gave me a new sense of fun and adventure on the Scrambler. Next weekend promises the same lovely weather; with the right socks, I’ll be all set to really enjoy my ride.

LeoVince LV10 carbon fiber exhaust. — The LeoVince exhaust on my Ducati Scrambler.

Featured

Keeping Cool

How do I ride a hot motorcycle in July on a 95+ degrees day? And how do I do it wearing three layers of safety gear? By following some simple strategies to keep cool.

For one thing it’s all about the zippers. The way to keep cool is air flow, letting the wind cool me down. So I don’t zip my Alpinestars armored shirt but halfway, and I do the same with my Klim jacket. By keeping the zippers lowered, more air reaches to my core. We tend to think of the core temperature in the cold, but it also works in the heat. Enough air flows through the gear to keep me cool while the motorcycle is moving.

With my helmet I open the air vents, built in to allow for air flow, and I only shut the visor part way. The downside to this is pollen and leaf bits can fly into my eyes. Today in fact a bug pinged off my cheek. But I don’t mind as it does cool me down.

A final cooling strategy is to get out early before the full heat of the day, which we did. Despite our early start, the sun was already burning down. My Mom gave us a fan to put in the garage to help the air circulate as we geared up.

Now many riders can be seen out in short sleeves and some even ride in their shorts. Yes, they are way more comfortable on a hot day, but they are also way less protected. As Motojitsu said, “Better to sweat than bleed.” So our gear is more important than our discomfort.

And I did get uncomfortable. As we cruised the roads, I was fine, but I didn’t do the straightening up from a curve to stop. This drill is towards the end of our ride, so I was really feeling the heat by then. I kept riding in S-turns just to keep moving.

Today’s ride brought a new experience. Last week we brought the gas cans but forgot to fill them up. Today we forgot the cans entirely, distracted by the construction crews arriving on our street. My fuel light has been on for three weeks. When I checked the range on the remaining fuel, the bike told me thirteen miles. Of course, the computer is trying to figure out the range based on how I’m riding. Since I go back and forth between cruising at 25 mph to slow speed (6-9 mph) maneuvering, the gauge got confused. It quickly dropped to 8 miles left where it stayed for a good 10 minutes. Then it quickly dropped down to 4 miles left. At that point, I signaled Bill as we were stopped. He led us from the gravel lot to another church lot to work on S-turns before we headed down the road to the gas station.

We pumped 2.5 gallons in each bike which enabled us to extend our ride as I no longer had to fret about running out of gas and having to push a 400+ pound bike home in the heat. I did much better on my stops, remembering to check the mirrors on almost all of them. The curves were great, but I didn’t enjoy them fully as I was worried about running out of gas. I added swerving the bike with my legs as in an emergency, the arms and legs may be needed to get out of the way. My turns went very well too. I figured out that if I turned the wheel in the direction of the turn (from the stop), and looked in the opposite direction as I first began moving then quickly brought my head around, I was able to make tighter turns without sacrificing my traffic check.

I did get to ride the R Nine T. Bill asked me what kind of day I would have since I didn’t get to ride last week. Last week should’ve been an “on” week making this week an “off” one. As I set off, it looked to be an “on” day after all. I got the bike moving with no stall and drove down the field. On my way back, I remembered I was supposed to stop and restart to practice with the dry clutch. Now I started to have the “off” day. I stalled on most of the stops, but I avoided getting frustrated. Instead, I tried to focus on the feel between the clutch and the throttle. Because it is a dry clutch, it acts like the clutch in a manual transmission car. So I stretched my memory back to driving manual transmissions, and it seemed to me I let up on the clutch some before giving it the gas. I tried this method with the R Nine T and began to see some improvement. This week I’ll look for tips on riding motorcycles with dry clutches, though it really is about the feel on the bike itself.

The bright sun highlighted the crepe myrtles, brown-eyed susans, vincas, and the begonias which have all benefited from the good rain we’ve had lately. I even saw some blooms still on some magnolias. No butterflies about though there were some dragonflies lazily zipping about in the heat. I found it ironic to note a whole gaggle of Canadian geese scampering about in someone’s yard. These birds are flying south for the winter even as we are deep into the heat of summer.

As for keeping cool, when we peeled ourselves out of our safety gear (Bill had to help me out of the Alpinestars shirt as the sleeves were stuck), we compared our large sweat spots on our t-shirts. Bill’s taken to bringing a spare shirt to change into; after this week, I’ll start doing the same. Though looking ahead, next Saturday’s highs are only in the 80s–yay!

Featured

Solo Ride

Last week’s ride was more motorcycling badassery. We were lawbreakers, unintentionally but, as Thomas Jefferson said, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse in any country.” So this week I rode alone to keep us on the right side of “Johnny Law.”

I’m having fun, but we did inadvertently break the law last week. Our beautiful riding Saturday this week came to an abrupt end when, as I was moving around the R Nine T so Bill could check the oil level, I spotted the annual safety inspection sticker—5/22. The state inspection was past due which meant no riding until we get it inspected for this year. The oversight came because we got the R Nine T last June and the registration renews in June, so we thought the safety inspection would be June too. However, our beautiful bike had sat in the dealership for a month before our purchase. Had we bought both BMW bikes at the same time, we’d have been better aware of our deadlines.

We left my parent’s house with the thought that riding was out for this weekend. But by a happy twist of fate, Bill left his glasses in my folks’ garage and didn’t realize it until we had arrived home. This slight mishap led to a new plan for me to ride solo on Sunday as we had to go back over and get the glasses anyway. I offered to let Bill cruise first, but he chose to let me have all the riding fun.

The late morning was hot and humid and wit the Ducati I sit on top of part of the motor, so it was uncomfortably warm when stopped or doing slow-speed maneuvers. I chose to do long stretches of cruising to maximize the cool air washing over me. I didn’t speed, but I did ride down several roads to their end just to stretch out the cooling sensation.

Because this was a solo ride, I mostly was able to work on my rider awareness. I always try and work on awareness of the road and other drivers, but riding behind Bill makes it easy to rely on his awareness a little too much. Everything went well, though I noted a lot of people roll through stops. I did have to watch out for one car’s wacko turn around, but otherwise traffic was light. I avoided the church parking lots as church was still in session and there were cars in the lots. I did get to practice in the gravel lot and had one slip that almost caused me to put my left foot down. I look forward to riding the R Nine T on the gravel and feeling how it handles.

I did take the time to practice my standing and stopping and surprised myself by how well that went. But the hospital lot was out for straightening and stopping drills as that lot doubles as overflow parking for the church across the road. I didn’t mind much, though, as I got overly warm doing my drills.

It seems it was too hot and humid for both the butterflies and the dragonflies as I didn’t see either during my ride. That or I was paying closer attention to the road and missed seeing them. I did see some critters though. A small rabbit leapt across a driveway as I roared into a court. And I spotted an osprey delivering building materials for a nest. I had the most fun when I entered our quiet little viewing court and saw a small Eastern Box Turtle making his lethargic way across the court. He stopped as I rode into the court and kept an eye on me as I circled around. I stopped to get a picture of him as he resumed his slow trudge, enjoying the fact that a motorcycle makes it easier to stop on the side of the road and take nature photos.

I headed home in perfect time as large, dark clouds rolled in. I was able to finish up my ride and get home before the storm hit. Next weekend marks the start of my summer vacation and I’m looking forward to the new riding adventures that await!

Eastern Box Turtle crossing the viewing court.

Featured

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.

Featured

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.

All Geared Out

Featured

July 4^th weekend and we had a day that started in the 60s! For those of you who know coastal Virginia summers, July is known for hazy, hot, and humid, not beautiful, spring-like weather. But thanks to a lovely cold front, we had a gorgeous day for riding. Which was a good thing as it was my first ride wearing our new Klim gear.

I say “our” gear as opposed to mine as we weren’t sure of the sizing, so my boyfriend ordered for himself with me being the back up if the sizes ran small. He got the Klim K Fifty 1 jeans, the Klim Induction gloves, the Gaerne SG12 Enduro boots, and the Klim Induction Pro jacket. He liked the jeans, gloves, and boots which all fit well. And the jacket was nice but a little snug. So I tried on the jacket which just happens to match my bike (the jacket is the Cool Gray color). Because of the cool front, there was some wind creating my coolest ride yet. I actually needed the jacket for some warmth. The air was so cool I rode with my helmet visor down for the first time as well.

As far as the ride itself, it was a little on the short side as we needed to get the bike back and parked by 11:00. I worked on cruising, slaloming, quick stopping, straightening up from a curve, and stopping in a curve. We used the KamelKones again for some slow speed slaloming most of which I stayed in second gear for. One new thing I worked on was a tip I heard in one of Fortnine’s videos we watched this week. The tip was when stopping, in order to help ensure the left leg goes down first, tilt your head to the left.

I worked with this strategy on several sections of the parking lot that slope down to the right and where I have found myself at best putting both feet down simultaneously, but more often setting my right foot down first. I was successful 5 out of 6 tries, and the one unsuccessful try was both feet going down. It amazes me how a seemingly innocuous movement of the head can help with correct body position. But that is one of the fascinating aspects of training on a motorcycle—learning how subtle body movements influence your movement, control, and balance on the motorcycle. It makes me appreciate what a skill riding a motorcycle is, and it helps me understand why my boyfriend is so insistent on my practicing. Today, I realized how much more comfortable I am on my bike, how tight turning is a skill to continue improving, not the nightmare of the MSF test that I thought could fail me. So I realize I need to be careful of hubris, of feeling overly confident on the bike. I have not fallen yet, and I hope I don’t until I’m off-roading (and even then, I really don’t want to fall; I just accept it as an inevitability).

But even knowing there’s an inevitable fall in my future does nothing to diminish the exuberant joy riding brings me. And as I gather more safety equipment for riding, my concern in that looming fall becomes more and more about possible damage to the bike and less and less about possible damage to me.

Author wearing motorcycle helmet and gray Klim jacket. — Wearing my new Klim jacket.

A Quiet Day for Riding

Due to a forgotten key fob, our usual weekend ride was postponed until Sunday. Sunday actually worked out as a better day for riding as long as the rain held off, which luckily for us, it did. The temperature hovered around 80 with the sun hidden behind large, ominous clouds. But we risked heading out and were able to ride.

The looming rain clouds provided a hush over the neighborhoods; mostly our motorcycle engines roared past dog walkers getting out ahead of any storms with very little traffic. Most of the animals seemed secreted away to wait out the impending rain, except for a rather fat dragonfly that was buzzing around the motorcycles.

My focus was much better during this week’s ride with no distracting discomfort due to the heat. I checked my mirrors before all stops and looked ahead to each intersection. Bill had set a new challenge to me. As I went to counter steer, that is apply a push on the opposite handle to turn the motorcycle, Bill challenged me to start the push at my fingertips. This challenge proved trickier than I realized because it felt very odd to apply pressure on the clutch or brake lever without actually pulling in the lever.

In between my counter steering work, I enjoyed the soft air and lush greenery the recent rain brought. The crape myrtles were heavily laden with blossoms pushing their clean scent into the air overpowered at one point by the large gardenia collection blooming along one road. Also in bloom I spotted white hibiscus flowers and will keep my eyes peeled for the bright red flowers I’ve seen in the past.

A day like today is a gift for motorcycle riders in mid-July, and we did spot many other riders taking advantage of the cooler air. The heat will return for more rides, but I can always hope for another summer day for motorcycle riding like today.

white hibiscus flower blooming — Photo by Austin Briones on Pexels.com

Happy 250th Birthday America Ride!

I’m old enough to remember America’s bicentennial, so I am thrilled to be alive for the semisesquentennial, and if I’m lucky and take care, I might be here for the tricentennial. Riding motorcycles sure helps me stay young, even riding on super-hot summer days.

We did get an earlier start to avoid the highest heat of the day, so it was only 92 degrees as we rode. I opted not to wear my Alpinestars, but Bill was a trooper and fully geared up. The plan was to cruise and keep moving, but the wind blast was of heated air and none too cooling.

I was a little distracted during the ride between the heat and all the July 4^th decorations. I really like the little gnomes yard flag that I spotted. And I love the red, white, and blue window bunting.

The heat did bring out summer scents. The gardenias perfumed the air except where the honeysuckle sweetness dominated. As we rode, we passed sprinklers desperately watering the dry grass, and I caught the metallic whiff of well water. When we were kids, July 4^th meant the sprinkler out for us to run through, and I smiled at how fun the 4^th of July has always been.

I did spot one cabbage white butterfly out during our ride. He almost crossed the road between the Rocket and R Nine T. But most critters were in the shade or near water trying to stay cool. We should be getting a break from the heat for next week’s ride, but I’ll also have to hope for a break from the predicted rain.

fireworks above American flag — Photo by Candid Flaneur on Pexels.com

Triple Blacks

What does one get with 86-degree temperatures and 80% humidity? A very sweaty motorcycle ride. Large storm clouds loomed overhead, but the sun showed up enough to keep our ride on the toasty side. But we are now officially in summer, and with July and August still to come, I should expect triple H rides from now on (hazy, hot, and humid).

Due to the summer swelter, we mostly cruised to keep cool air flowing. But I did execute two great on-street U-turns. And I worked a little bit on zooming and diving into S-turns.

The wildlife wasn’t like last week; I barely spotted a squirrel munching a nut by the side of the road. However, there were some butterflies out enjoying the cone flowers and brown-eyed Susans that are now blooming alongside the roses, day lilies, begonias, magnolias, and gardenias. For some reason all three butterflies I spotted during the ride were black which I find an interesting color for butterflies.

The first one I spotted was unmistakably a spicebush swallowtail due to the white markings at the base of the wings. The other two went past so quickly that I can only surmise that one may have been a pipevine swallowtail and one may have been a red purple admiral butterfly. While it is fun spotting butterflies from the seat of a motorcycle, sometimes it can be a little frustrating as I zoom by in one direction while the butterfly flutters off in the other. I can only hope for more sightings in future rides especially while stopped.

spicebush swallowtail butterfly black with white markings on purple flower — Photo by Brian Forsyth on Pexels.com

Wild Wildlife Ride

A warm but not hot summer’s eve greeted us with clouds in the west but plenty of sunshine on our roads. We headed out with a plan to cruise around and not do too much slow-speed maneuvers. We set off with the scent of magnolias, crape myrtles, and mimosas filling the air.

Our first wildlife encounter was with a crazy squirrel crossing the road in front of us. The squirrel was in the oncoming lane to us about two feet from the other side when he heard the roar of our motorcycles. He stopped as we slowed down, looked at us, and proceeded to head back the way he came with several stops to check us out on the way.

Soon after as we headed up the road, our engine roar startled a rabbit nibbling along the berm, the first rabbit I’ve seen from the motorcycle that I can remember. Usually, rabbits come out at dawn or dusk, but he must have been hungry.

The first butterfly I spotted was a zoomy great purple hairstreak zipping between the clover. A block away from him, I spotted the only cabbage white I saw during the entire ride. I spot more butterflies driving to and from the motorcycles than I do during the ride. Perhaps I am not spotting them because I am working more on my street awareness.

As we headed along the final loop before ending our ride, we saw the very unusual sight of a racoon crossing the road into someone’s backyard in front of our motorcycles. I’ve no idea what would’ve made the nocturnal creature feel the need to be out in the middle of the day, but he was, and he was large. If he was returning home, then whoever lives in that house might want to call animal control because he was a large fellow.

In all my rides, this one definitely had the most diverse wildlife. I was disappointed not to see any birds soaring aloft in the thermals, but I did spot an osprey as we headed home. I look forward to spotting more wildlife among the day lilies and hydrangeas next week.

Fresh Air Ride

After a week of a runny nose and phlegmy cough, I wanted fresh air and sunshine in hopes it would help cleanse my sinuses. And today gave me a great day for my attempt. The excessive heat of the past few days (95 and 97 degrees) had given way to a slight cool off—85. The sun, however, hid most of the ride behind clouds that never quite developed into storms.

One of the major problems with motorcycle riding in the summer heat is stops. Early into our ride, we had a long stop as traffic was unusually busy. When one is not moving on the motorcycle so the cool air flow is non-existence, the heat from the engine, which is under one’s derriere roasts the rider. That’s why motorcycle advertisements always show riders out on open roads or riding on dirt trails; they don’t want potential buyers thinking about engine heat when selecting their motorcycles. Ducati is one brand that would suffer if riders thought through the engine heat every stop would subject them to.

Next time you’re in your car at an intersection and you see a motorcyclist stop beside you, realize that while you might be a little envious of the rider’s freedom and “coolness,” you get to be cool in your air-conditioned car. The rider is anxious for the light to change and for his motorcycle to start moving.

We mostly kept moving in our ride, though we did do some U-turns and S-turns. The on-street U-turn had an unexpected obstacle—a pile of sticks was in the road and neither of us spotted it until we were well into our turns. Luckily, all of our practice paid off; both of us kept our turns tight, no dabs, and avoided the sticks.

I did get back on the gravel during this ride and felt my rear tire slipping quite a bit. But I was able to bring the R Nine T around and even successfully complete the two-parking spots turn. The parking lot had some brown-eyed Susans blooming in the shady flower bed.

I didn’t spot as many butterflies among the roses, day lilies, and hydrangeas as I had hoped. But I did see three cabbage whites during the ride. I’ve been spotting tiger swallowtails throughout the week and even on the drive home, but I haven’t seen any during my ride as yet. The ducks were keeping cool in the muddy low tide of the river. And I thought at first there was an eastern spiny turtle in the road that might have been run over, but it was just a McDonald’s bag that had blown out of someone’s trash.

I thought about the Japanese police technique of not using the clutch just the throttle and front brake in fast turns, but I wasn’t ready to actually try it. My sinuses have fogged my brain some, and I didn’t want to risk any falls. Plus, with the heat, we didn’t do too many slow speed turns. The technique involves revving the throttle while braking, and I need more time to think through it and try rolling on the throttle while braking—intentionally. I have lots of rides where I accidentally rolled on the throttle while braking.

Unfortunately for me, the fresh air did not do much to clear out my sinuses. But it did feel good to be outside, and it always feels great to ride my motorcycle, and I can’t wait until next week’s ride.

The Waver

This week’s ride did not benefit from the lovely mid-70s we had earlier in the week. We were greeted with 90 degrees though the humidity hasn’t really kicked in. I suggested we just wear the Klim jackets and leave the Alpinestars on the hangers. And that worked; there were cloudy skies, and our plan was to keep zooming for air flow.

Soon into our ride, a girl about 7-years-old in her bathing suit, came rushing out of her garage and the sound of our engines roaring by, waving excitedly. I don’t think Bill even saw her, but I did and rewarded her with a jaunty wave. I have the luxury of being the waver because even though I work on being aware of the traffic and roads, I can rely on Bill to make sure we’re clear. He was checking ahead to make sure we had room to move over for the walker who chooses to walk in the street as opposed to the convenient sidewalks. The walker gave Bill a wave which I’m not sure he even saw. So I waved back as I passed.

We then turned up a road and had a boy on an electric bike spot us and follow. I watched in the mirror as he followed us for about a mile, noting too that Bill was going a little faster than normal. Bill explained later that he didn’t want the electric bike rider to catch up to us as that wouldn’t really be safe for him. I waved over my shoulder at him as we rode off.

I realized during this ride that I particularly enjoy waving to kids. I think of my waving role as acting as a motorcycle ambassador. As my long-time readers know, I absolutely love riding motorcycles, and I feel the more riders the better. Another reason I think waving is important is awareness. I read or saw someone once say that it would be extremely helpful if kids on road trips played “punch bike” instead of “punch bug.” His reasoning was this would make them aware of motorcycles on the road from an early age. The more awareness drivers have of motorcycles on the roads, the safer it is for the riders.

During my ride, I kept my visor up some for cool air to flow across my head. So I was treated to the delicious smell of someone grilling hamburgers for lunch. There weren’t many butterflies about, just a few cabbage whites including one that crossed Bill’s path but zoomed up overhead to safety. I had an interesting sensation that led to a discovery. As we left a stop turning to the left, I felt the lean of the bike, the near-fall so to speak, and then I felt how my rolling on the throttle brought the motorcycle upright. It is the technique used in slow-speed maneuvers usually with feathering the clutch, but applying the throttle does the same thing.

Oddly enough later that night, Bill found some YouTube videos of Japanese police women in police rodeo competition, and they use the front brake and throttle to twist between cones turn around, and make U-turns, not feathering the clutch. It’s an interesting discovery, using the throttle in first gear with the front brake to maneuver the motorcycle. Since the R Nine T is such a well-balanced motorcycle, I’ll play around with it during next week’s ride, which is also looking to be another warm one.

Toward the end of our ride, as we came around the large curve, we came across several families walking to and from the pool. One was a mother with her small son on a tricycle who had crossed the street in front of us. She was trying to get her son up the driveway lead onto the sidewalk, but he heard our motorcycles, and turned his head to watch our approach, then turned it again to follow us to our stop and our acceleration up the road. He was only about 2-years-old, but he gave the two bikes his rapt attention. I gave him a wave as we passed and thought—there’s a future motorcyclist.

Feeling Duck-tastic!

In my daily life, I’m a teacher. As summer vacation arrived, my principal wished all of us a “duck-tastic summer.” She requested we do something fun for our summer and send a picture to her with our duck. Naturally, I asked Bill to take my photo with my duck on my motorcycle because what could be more fun than a motorcycle ride on a gorgeous day? And I have a whole summer of rides ahead of me

The temperatures were kept pleasant due to a strong breeze out of the north; low 70s after Memorial Day are always welcome in southeastern Virginia. And the sun shone brightly down upon us, so brightly that patches of shade were nearly black. I used that as an extra challenge when looking for possible road obstacles.

I had trouble getting off from the curb at the start of the ride. I didn’t crest enough of the camber for my legs to hold me for my look, but I did something smart. I remained calm, let the R Nine T roll back and restarted. Bill had checked up due to my delay, but I caught up with him fairly quickly.

I also spotted my first butterfly fairly quickly; less than a block into the ride, and a little cabbage white was blown across the road in front of us into some hydrangeas and impatiens. I didn’t expect to see too many butterflies due to the strong wind gusts, but I did manage to spot a few more cabbage whites during my ride. I did spot a red admiral butterfly in my yard as I was unloading my riding gear—a spectacular black butterfly with orange/red markings.

During our ride, we spotted an eastern spiny softshell turtle attempting to cross a shady patch of road. We parked inside one of the church’s parking lots, and Bill hurried the turtle safely across the road and into the water. Soon after the turtle rescue, a great blue heron flew overhead, casting a large shadow on Bill in front of me.

All in all, it was a duck-tastic beginning of summer ride, and I look forward to many more this summer!

author sitting on black and yellow motorcycle waving

Riding Around the Rain

The summer heat of earlier in the week gave way to a cold front that brought rain, wind, and cooler temperatures for our ride. In fact we weren’t sure we would manage our motorcycle ride as early rain fell Saturday morning. But with a little patience, a little extra care, and a lot more attention, the ride was possible.

I tied in today’s ride with what I had been studying last week about paying attention both to traffic and to road hazards. The puddles made road hazards easy to avoid, and there was just enough traffic to allow me a good afternoon of awareness practice. I also felt that riding on slightly damp roads is a good experience in case Bill and I are ever caught in a sudden summer shower.

The gray skies gave a muted, calm beauty to the lush greenness of late spring. The hydrangeas have begun blooming along with the brightly colored day lilies. And the hot temperatures of earlier in the week brought out the gardenia blossoms and even a smattering of crape myrtle blooms. The rain allowed the clean scent of the magnolias and gardenias to drench the air with sweet perfume.

I didn’t spot a single butterfly throughout the ride, but I did spy two ospreys and a great blue heron. The heron was in someone’s front yard and, while the roar of the motorcycle engines disturbed him, he chose only to walk slowly farther into the yard, allowing me a great view of his face and crest.

We did work on slow-speed maneuvers around the puddles. I had the opportunity to wonder if my skills are as good as I think or if the R Nine T is giving me. The balance on my U-turns is spectacular, no doubt due to the balancing impact of the two-cylinder heads of the boxer engine. But I also wondered if the dry clutch gives me over-confidence in my feathering technique. At a stop, Bill stalled the Rocket, something he has done several times over the past couple of months. And I wondered if I were riding a wet clutch motorcycle, would I stall more often? It seems to me I did stall more on the 310 and the Scrambler, but I attributed that more to my lack of riding experience. And I remember struggling to get the feel for the R Nine T’s clutch when I first began riding it. But now it’s very rare for me to stall at a stop. So is that because I’ve become a better rider or because it’s easier to feather the dry clutch? An easier feathering would also explain my confidence in U-turns. It would be interesting to have more than one motorcycle to ride (I’m not strong enough for the Rocket) to see if it’s my technique or the clutch.

Now that I’ve written all that about not stalling, I’ll probably stall two or three times during next week’s ride. But that’s OK because even if I’m stalling the motorcycle, at least I’m out riding the motorcycle.

white gardenia flowers on green bush — Photo by Kartik Das on Pexels.com

Suicidal Butterflies?

As we set out for our motorcycle ride on this warm but not too hot day, I had a goal in mind—work on scanning my environment for potential hazards and pathways of avoidance. During the week, Bill and I watched some YouTube videos on motorcycle safety. One was on what the Japanese version of the MSF teaches, and one was from a British instructor for their version of the MSF. I discovered I have a lot of work ahead.

One of the aspects of riding safety I have not been paying careful attention to is hidden roadway obstacles. For example when I approach an intersection, I know to scan for oncoming traffic, seek an escape route should I need to swerve, and slow down slightly. What I had not been thinking about is the road itself. Is the road smooth? Gravelly? Bumpy? What might be on the road that would cause me to lose control, even briefly, of my steering or braking. It was quite enlightening, and I worked on adding a scan of the road’s surface to my usual scans.

Also during the week, I had watched a YouTube video “What Motorcycling Really Does to Your Brain (Tokyo University Study)” which explained the neuroscientific benefits of riding motorcycles including the brain development and cognitive skills riding builds and maintains. I’ve explained how my motorcycle rides help me deal with stress, and there are studies showing a reduction in cortisol levels from riding and endorphin release, but I didn’t realize it would help keep my brain sharper as I age. I’ve been out having fun while I ride. But I am constantly figuring things out during the ride—where is the road smoother, obstacle free, hiding a potential crash. I also develop my brain while working on my slow-speed drills such as U-turns and fast stops.

And I gain the endorphin benefit of spending time in nature. In addition to the scent of honeysuckle, ligustrum, and magnolia blooms, I love that constant scanning allows me to also enjoy natural sights. I spotted the first cabbage white butterfly several miles into our ride. But the suicidal cabbage white was the fifth one I spotted during the ride. The first cabbage white went fluttering across Bill’s path, and so did the fifth. However, I watched Bill swerve sharply to the left and then flick his left hand in the air as the sixth cabbage white approached his motorcycle. After the ride, he explained that the butterfly was trying its best to collide with Bill’s right mirror. Luckily, Bill’s riding skills kept number five alive.

Traffic was odd during the ride because of neighborhood yard sales. But one benefit to a bad driver backing out of their driveway into our path was the sudden stop gave me a second look at the low-tide river and allowed me to spot the well-camouflaged great blue heron. I also spotted a bedraggled-looking osprey overhead perhaps just waking up for breakfast. We had gone out earlier for our ride in part due to the warmer temperatures but also to avoid the crazy traffic around my neighborhood for the nearby festival.

We have some summer weather heading our way this week complete with the daily chance of thunderstorms. But hopefully we’ll have a sunny day for next week’s ride, and the butterflies will have worked out their issues and just flutter pleasantly by.

white butterfly — Photo by Tu00f4n Thanh Chiu1ebfn on Pexels.com

Sixth Year Start But a Collision!

A day made for riding dawned, and we headed over to the garage with fingers crossed that the easy fix to the R Nine T’s rear brake would work. A short rain shower earlier in the morning left a few curb side puddles, but the bright sunshine dried the roads, so it was clearly a day for motorcycle riding.

The easy fix for the R Nine T was to bleed the brakes. So I left Bill to do the work while I visited with my Mom for Mother’s Day. Everything seemed to be going smoothly as I checked in on Bill’s progress. After about twenty minutes, I went out to help with clean up as Bill said the brake fluid was obviously corrupted (see image). Usually, brake fluid is golden in color, but water must have leaked in when we washed the motorcycles and, a week later, changed the color of the fluid.

Bill sat in the saddle and rolled the bike giving the rear brake a test—the bike jolted to a stop. The rear brake was back. I took a turn and felt the drag on the rear tire as the brake engaged. The R Nine T cooperated, let itself get fixed, and we were off to ride on this beautiful day.

We had finally gotten some much needed rain during the week and the plants and cabbage white butterflies were very happy. As we prepared to leave, the little garage cabbage white fluttered between us, blessing our return to riding and the beginning of my sixth year. The honeysuckle is blooming, and I soon caught a delicious whiff from the blossoms. The ligustrum is also flowering and sending out its fresh scent. I even managed to smell the magnolia blooms now opening before the acrid odor of burning wood took over.

I spotted twelve cabbage white butterflies throughout our ride, and I saw a family of Canadian geese—the parents with four little goslings. We just cruised on this ride, so I spent time checking my rear brake when I could. I had a weird moment when we came to a stop and my left foot had to reach further for the ground than I thought. The only reason I could come up with was I may have had the motorcycle leaning a bit to the right because it wasn’t a stop I hadn’t made hundreds of times before.

Other than that little blip, I had a great ride until the collision. As we turned onto the last loop before heading back to the garage, I spotted cabbage white number nine. It fluttered suddenly on my left and continued forward into my path. He flew right in front of my visor, and I tried to lean my head back, but I heard the “plink” as the little guy made impact. I didn’t see a butterfly dropping to the street, and I didn’t have any butterfly parts stuck to my helmet, so I think he survived the encounter. I sure hope so; next week I’ll keep a sharper eye out for him and his fellow butterflies.

plastic bottle with hose and dark liquid at the bottom with crumpled paper towels to the right