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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.

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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.

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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
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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.

Photo by Stephen Noulton on Pexels.com
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International Female Ride Day 2023

It so happened that today’s ride fell on the 17th 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!

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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

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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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!

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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
Eastern Box Turtle crossing the viewing court.
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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.

Photo by Ella Wei on Pexels.com
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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.
Rev’It Taurus GTX Gloves
Photo by Jared VanderMeer on Pexels.com

All Geared Out

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July 4th 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.

Racing Isaias

            Finally, we managed to ride our motorcycles again!  Despite some early morning sprinkles dusting the roads with moisture, the remnants of Isaias heading our way held off and the roads dried off enough for our ride.

            The wind was strong, keeping me cool throughout the ride but not allowing for any butterflies.  I had spotted a few sulphurs and monarchs during the week, but I knew it would be a butterfly-free ride.  Though there are those second blooming azaleas flowering along with the mums everyone sets out this time of year to tempt the little pollinators.

            The roads had piles of leaves for our tires to crunch over.  At one point, the leaves fell in such a way to make it seem like it was snowing.  The colors were muted by the gray skies, but it was still a beautiful autumn day.  Of course, I was looking through happy eyes as I was thrilled to be back riding again.

            I suspected there might be some rust on my riding skills, but it didn’t appear so.  My two on-street U-turns were near perfect; perfection would’ve been full lock.  I even had a great 2-spot turn on the gravel lot.  I did fall into a booby trap.  When the leaves are piled on the roads, they can hide objects.  As we were turning around in a parking lot, my front tire slipped on some hidden trap causing me to put out my foot in case I needed to dab to catch the bike.  But I was able to recover without the dab.  I tried to see what I hit, but it remained hidden.

            But my experience did remind me to be cautious when riding among leaves.  Hitting a rock or a stick just right can shoot the front tire somewhere other than expected.  But that’s why one of the many items motorcyclists need to keep aware of.

            With the wind and approaching storm, I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t see much wildlife.  There were three buzzards trying to navigate the wind, but I had just registered that I hadn’t seen any geese when we rode by the church field, and I watched as the flock took flight.  I thought I spotted the great blue heron, but it turned out to be a spindly bush sprouting up near the river’s edge blown in the strong wind.  There was a bright white egret enjoying the river’s low tide.

            But the most prominent sites were the Halloween decorations.  Since we went two weeks without a ride, more people have put up their décor.  Popular this year are large spider webs that attach to the front of the house and have LED eyes.  The wind gave movement to someone’s three little witches silhouettes and caused a skeleton to dance.  One house has a skeleton rock band and a four skeleton audience.  I think the Halloween decorations are helpful as well as entertaining; trick or treaters know which houses are participating in the great candy-a-palooza.

            I hope to find even more fun Halloween décor on next week’s ride, and I hope for some sunshine so I can really enjoy the fall colors.  But as long as I can get out on my R Nine T, I’ll take what I can get.

PS–We beat the storm easily as it seems to have fizzled out over land.

autumn trees on a cloudy day
Photo by Hrushik Perumalla on Pexels.com

Two Missed Rides

            My last blog was “Much Needed Moto Therapy” and, after now two weekends with no ride, I am again much needing some moto therapy. 

            I knew I would miss my ride last weekend.  I was out of town.  I also knew, looking ahead at the forecast, that rain was threatening the next weekend’s ride.  As of Friday, the “experts” predicted rain arriving late in the afternoon, so I went to sleep Friday night dreaming of my ride.

            Reality sometimes really stinks.  Saturday morning I looked out and saw raindrops glistening off the power lines.  The road was not wet—yet, but I realized that there was a soft drizzle falling.  The roads would dampen as the morning wore on.  My last bit of hope was that the drizzle wasn’t falling over at my parents’ house, but the text response to my query was wet roads there too.  The dreariness outside matched my internal dreariness.

            Eventually we went over to visit the motorcycles, and Bill added some air to the tires.  I said hello to my R Nine T.  We might have squeezed in a ride as the roads seemed to have dried off, but we didn’t even bother bringing the gear.  Plus, the skies did look like they could open up at any moment.

            The beginning of rain on the roads is considered the most dangerous riding conditions—even a light rain.  The accumulation of oil, grease, and road grime rise up to the road surface creating a slick, almost icy surface, that doesn’t wash away until heavier rain falls.  Of course the heavier rain causes its own risk.  Hydroplaning is the obvious risk, but on the two tires of the motorcycle there are only two small contact patches of rubber with the road, so loss of traction is a constant risk.  Our rule is never ride in the rain.

            Looking ahead, the week looks to be perfect fall weather.  As for the weekend, clouds are shown for Saturday with rain chances on Sunday.  I’ll be praying all week for the rain to hold off and allow us our ride.  Meanwhile, the gray day is a perfect reflection for my mood.

Rain drops on power lines with green and yellow leaves behind.

Much Needed Moto-Therapy

            Avast, me hearties!  It be “Talk Like a Pirate” day!  If you didn’t know, that is a real thing in the same way Friday was National Cheeseburger day.  There was treasure to be had, but there was also a near stranding, and my motorcycle ride provided me with some much needed de-stressing.

            Our ride almost didn’t happen.  I needed to help fix my Mom’s printer, so while I was working on that, Bill decided to reattach the shade hook that had broken off my rear seat shade.  He figured out how to get the stuck plastic to move, but he stumbled upon a larger problem when he finished the repair and went to raise the window.  The car wouldn’t start.  I tried; it made that sick, gasping sound as it tries to catch but dies.  The battery light was on, and the car is five years old.  Even my Mom knows modern car batteries only seem to last five years.  So instead of jumping on our motorcycles and enjoying the sunny day in the low-80s for a ride, Bill removed all the plastic “over-coating” to get the battery out. 

            We had some luck.  Within my Dad’s remain tools (brothers have borrowed the rest), was the just right size long socket wrench to remove the battery bolts.  And, because the battery died at my parents’ house, I could borrow my Mom’s car to head to Autozone to buy a new battery.  Three hundred dollars and almost two hours later, Bill was installing the new Duralast battery, the car started and, hot, sweaty, and tired, we could finally ride.

            While the car repair operation was underway, I had the chance to watch the Blue Angels which were performing at the air show.  They were miles away, but I could clearly see two blue jets flying up and around in a tandem loop.  Mostly I listened to them as I held an umbrella to provide Bill some shade from the sun.  I hoped for a close fly by like I saw last year, but no luck.  Our luck was used up with the car situation.  I had fun spotting the tiny jets flying in and out of the fluffy clouds.  I managed to catch the wavy contrail of one of the jets as it flew straight up. 

            Later than planned, we finally were able to gear up and head out on the motorcycles—the reason we were there.  I had managed to fix my Mom’s printer; the computer mostly just needed some serious updates.  Because the afternoon had been so stressful, I was extra careful with my awareness.  I noted the shadows from the trees were longer across the roads, so I looked more carefully for hidden hazards.  That didn’t make the ride stressful; it was the opposite.  The air rushing over me cooled me off, and I enjoyed the R Nine T leaning and falling away from me in the turns.  Bursts of speed made me laugh out loud, and I almost thoroughly enjoyed the ride.  Almost.     

            Halfway into the zooming, my chin started to itch badly enough that I actually tried to get to it.  My full-face helmet prevented me any access to scratch the itch.  I tried blowing air down on it.  But I had to endure it until the itch went away as mysteriously as it appeared.  I laughed about it because it seemed par for the day.

            The only wildlife I spotted were two squirrels off on the sidewalks.  The mornings have been dipping into the 60s, so butterflies are soon going to disappear for the season.  Fall arrives next week and, if it keeps giving me cool days like today for motorcycle riding, I’ll take all they bring.

blue sky with jet contrail rising up from wispy cloud

Look Out!

            The weather pattern as we approach autumn seems to have hit a rut.  The days warm up into the week, and storms break out as the weekend approaches.  Friday night hit us with some heavy rain, and Saturday held on to large, looming storm clouds.  Luckily, the rain held off and the roads dried enough for our ride, but it does seem like we’ve depended on luck a lot lately to get a ride in.

            Since it was so cloudy, I didn’t expect to see any butterflies.  I did get to spot a monarch, black swallowtail, and a large orange sulphur butterfly the day before as my job let me spend most of my time outside.  I chased a summer azure in the grass trying to get a picture, but no luck.  I enjoyed the distraction from the heat of the day.  Saturday gave us a slight break from the heat but not the humidity.  Bill noted that just get the motorcycles out of the garage left him with a plastered t-shirt.

            But as we rode, there was enough of a breeze to keep me comfortable.  I did enjoy every opportunity to zoom a bit and increase the wind flow.  I noted more signs of autumn.  Joining the brown pine needles along the berm of the road were brown, red, and yellow crape myrtle leaves.  Among the trees, more colors beyond green could be spotted in the leaves.  Even as the magnolias kept their blooms as did some of the crape myrtles. 

            People are ready for fall.  I spotted someone with a pumpkin already sitting on their porch, and I even saw my first Halloween blow ups, including one that was a “ghoul” bus.  A “Welcome Fall” flag was flying as were several NFL team flags.  We passed through a gauntlet of parked cars as someone held a watch party for the college games.  I even saw my first eddy of brown leaves dance across the road.

            About half way through our ride, which was going exceedingly well for me—all street on the U-turns, lovely leaning in on turns—when the collision happened.  I saw it coming, and I suppose I target fixated just a bit.  Seemingly from nowhere, a maple tree seed pod came spinning into my line of sight.  By the time I went to swerve, the pod collided with my visor with a thwick before moving on.  I am disappointed in myself for not swerving.  As we head fully into autumn, I should have more opportunities to dodge flying debris.  And I can hardly wait for the chance on next week’s ride.

yellow, red, and green leaves against a cloudy sky

Caught by the Rain

            Last week I wrote about how motorcycle riders are at the whim of the weather.  This week we tried an earlier start to beat the afternoon rain, and we almost made it.  Luckily, we were only caught be a soft few drops and not the downpour that came later.  My first realization of the rain was the drops on my visor, but it wasn’t enough of a rain to leave drops on the tank of the R Nine T.

            The clouds worked with the temperature to make for a comfortable last weekend of the summer ride.  While autumn doesn’t officially begin until September 22, this being Labor Day weekend, it usually demarcates summer’s end.  Kids everywhere are back in school (or will be on Tuesday).  Many families were out walking together to enjoy their time together, and the traffic was light.

            The second warning of the impending rain was the one gaggle of geese I spotted.  They were standing as still as statues under the cover of a stand of cherry trees.  They were so still that I had ridden past them going up the road and didn’t see them until coming back up the road at sitting at the stop sign.  And while I had spotted a monarch butterfly crossing the road as we drove over, I didn’t hold out much hope of seeing any butterflies under the clouds.  However, I lucked into spotting a cabbage white crossing in front of us as we headed into the church parking lot to work on fast figure eights.  What surprised me was how quickly the little guy disappeared among the vincas and azaleas.

            My ride was fun but not entirely smooth.  The on-street U-turns both went into the grass; the first one due to me having to divert as I came up quicker on Bill than expected.  The second one, I don’t know what happened; I just was wide and let myself roll onto the grass.  I did enjoy the lean on my turns, the almost falling sensation.  In my mind I compared it to riding a roller coaster except on the motorcycle, I’m in charge of the car.

            Luckily, when the rain started, it was very soft so the roads didn’t get wet.  We headed back to the garage, and I was happy to have gotten the ride in.  It’s been a lucky summer for motorcycle rides, and I hope, as I notice more hints of autumn, the fall gives us more of the same.

yellow cherry tree leaves among the green leaves

Roadkill Ride

            When it comes to riding motorcycles, riders are at the whim of the weather.  Looming storm clouds gave me an “iffy” feeling about a ride.  But my weather app said storms weren’t expected until later in the afternoon, so we headed out despite the skies looking ready to open up at any moment.  As long as the rain held off, it was a perfect day for a ride.  The temperature was in the low 80s and, even with the large clouds, the humidity wasn’t too bad, making the ride quite comfortable. 

            I remembered to lift up my kickstand before shifting into first starting off the ride right.  Before we headed out, I spotted three different butterflies—a black swallowtail, an Aphrodite fritillary, and a cabbage white.  I thought that meant I’d have a butterfly filled ride, but those three were it! 

            However, I did see signs of autumn’s approach.  We passed several larger flocks of geese with two different groups crossing the road in front of us.  Our engine roars also disturbed a flock of robins who’ve been congregating more as they prepare for their annual migration.

            The pine trees have also begun shedding their needles leaving clumps of brown needles along the berm of the roads and a delicious piney scent in the air.  But not every scent in the air is pleasant from the seat of a motorcycle.  As we rode past where the river abuts the road, I noticed a furry clump on the berm what looked to be a run over muskrat.  Heading out for the ride, I did what I always do when spotting anything like roadkill; I held my breath until we were well past.

            Soon after passing, we rode past a clump of gardenias in bloom, and I breathed in their sweet scent deeply knowing they won’t be blooming for much longer.  I love the colors of the flowers under cloudy skies.  They seem like a muted oil painting adding splashes of color to the deep greens but not vivid bouquets dominating the landscape.  I looked for changing leaves among the trees but didn’t notice too many though the Japanese maples are beginning to deepen in color.

            My ride went well, no mis-shifts at all, though my U-turns were kind of lazy and wider than when I really work them.  I didn’t mind; I needed this ride to restore me after my first week back with students; kids are energy vampires and they had zapped me.  So my ride was in part restorative.  But I did have one major slip up.

            As we headed back up the river road, and since we were on the opposite side from the dead muskrat, I wasn’t as focused on my breathing as I should’ve been.  I caught a whiff of roadkill through my helmet vents (thank goodness my visor was down).  The scent of decay lingered until I passed a large stand of crape myrtles and was able to breathe in deeply their fresh, clean scent.  But I’ve learned that even when I desperately need a relaxing ride, I can’t relax my road awareness even for a moment.  If I do, the consequences can be nasty.

            I did spot several vultures during the ride, but they hadn’t found the muskrat yet.  It did remind me of the ride where Bill on the Rocket startled a group of vultures dining on some roadkill once.  Even roadkill needs defensive riding when on a motorcycle.

            Hopefully, next week’s ride will give further hints of autumn with less unpleasantness.

muskrat entering a river
Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels.com

Goofy Ride

Part of riding a motorcycle is developing routines.  There is the routine of T-CLOCS* that they teach riders in the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course.  There is the routine of gearing up—in my case Daytona riding boots, Alpinestars jacket, Klim jacket (for summer), Helite turtle airbag vest, helmet, and gloves.  And there is the routine at the start of the ride—mounting the motorcycle, connecting the airbag vest, unlocking the front wheel, checking that the motorcycle is in neutral, turning the front wheel to make it easier to lift off the stand, kicking in the kickstand, starting the motorcycle with right hand on the front brake just in case, and shifting into first gear ready to roll.  All routine motions that at this point don’t require too much brainpower.  Except when my brain skips one step in the routine.

            It was a lucky summer day for riding.  Some overnight rain had given us cooler temperatures in the low 80s.  And while large looming storm clouds hinted at a future deluge, the sun was out and the rain left us alone for our ride.  I even spotted a yellow sulphur butterfly before the ride, a good omen of more butterfly sightings during my ride.

            I needed a good ride.  As a teacher librarian in my grown-up life, I had spent the week prepping for the new school year, made extra exhausting by my needing to reshelve two-thirds of my book collection having gotten new windows and bookshelves over the summer.  I felt lucky the weather cooperated, and I was eager to start my riding therapy.  Perhaps I was a little too eager because I skipped a step in my routine.

            In some ways I was also lucky that this misstep happened at the onset of the ride because that gave me an awareness of needing to stay aware during my ride.  The step I skipped doesn’t seem like a big deal; I forgot to kick up the kickstand when I pulled the R Nine T up.  As a safety feature, the R Nine T won’t let the rider shift into gear with the kickstand down.  So when I shifted from neutral into first, my motor shut off.  It took me a few beats to realize the problem was the kickstand because when the motor kicked off, I couldn’t get the R Nine T back into neutral.  I’ve had some missed shifts during rides, and I’ve had instances of arriving in the garage to park and not be able to shift into neutral, but I’ve never had the problem at the start of a ride.

            Of course, I’m not in the habit of forgetting to raise the kickstand.  When a motorcycle resists shifting into neutral, it is helpful to reach down with the left hand and wiggle the shifter around until it finds neutral.  After what seemed like five minutes but was probably only one, I found neutral, lifted the motorcycle off the kickstand, kicked up the stand, and shifted into first gear, ready to ride.  One little step in the routine forgotten delayed both Bill and I.

            My slip up did make me extra conscientious about checking my mirrors and looking ahead into oncoming traffic and intersections.  This extra awareness helped me with an emergency stop late in the ride.  But as we headed out with a cool breeze, I did enjoy the crape myrtle scent freshened by last night’s rain.  I also enjoyed the fresh cut grass as people took advantage of the beautiful day to be outside doing yardwork, walking, or riding bikes.

            During the ride, I had two mis-shifts, so I found myself listening for the thwunk of the gears shifting.  As I listened for my shifts, I still managed to spot a black swallowtail camouflaging itself in the shadows of an azalea bush.  And we passed a gaggle of geese enjoying the circle of shade provided by a magnolia tree.  I managed to spot a falcon in between all the crows.  And as I finished executing a beautiful two-spot U-turn in the gravel lot, a monarch butterfly flew by.

            Our ride was mostly just us with some people out and about, but when we encountered traffic, it was in odd ways.  The first oddity was as we approached a chokepoint in the road.  We navigated around an electric Amazon deliver van to find ourselves slowing way down (footless stop almost) as we waited on a car to come through the chokepoint at the exact time two pedestrians arrived at the chokepoint.  Later, as we neared the end of our ride and were zooming our last bit of zoom, I realized Bill was stopping and slammed on my brakes as oncoming traffic arrived faster than expected and prevented our left-hand turn.  I managed my emergency stop without having to put my feet down because the R Nine T is so well-balanced.

*A link to the MSF page explaining the acronym.

black motorcycle with kickstand down
Photo by Baran Karakelle on Pexels.com

Earache Ride

The most important piece of safety equipment for a motorcycle rider is the helmet, of course.  Riding jeans, jackets, and gloves help to prevent the need for skin grafts if a rider crashes, but the helmet protects one’s noggin, so it is the most necessary piece of equipment.  Surprisingly, it is only required equipment in 17 states and Washington DC.  I, of course, always ride with my helmet.

            For a helmet to be effective, it must be snug.  By snug, I mean tight.  If one wonders how tight a helmet needs to be, look at a geared-up MotoGP rider like Marc Marquez; his cheeks are pushed into wrinkles from the tightness.  I don’t tighten up that much, but I do cinch my helmet.  And for today’s ride, I cinched it in such a way that my left ear folded over and was pinched, painfully so, the entire ride.  Hence the earache ride.

            I used the pain to help me focus on the road.  It made focusing a challenge because, as most of us know, pain is quite distracting.  It was helpful that two miles into the ride I spotted a cabbage white butterfly flitting among the white and pink vincas.  I was surprised to see the butterfly because there were four kids seeking something among the vincas and azaleas.

            During the ride, I also saw gatherings of Canadian geese.  I’ve also spotted robins beginning to congregate, sure signs that autumn is approaching.  And the day was pleasant for the middle of August.  Muggy with some humidity, but the overnight rain gave us some relief.  Additionally, there was a cool breeze blowing that kept the ride comfortable—except for my left ear.

            During the week, I’ve seen several tiny butterflies, the kind that flutter up from the grass when one walks across it.  I realized that these are the butterflies I never spot from the road.  In fact this blog was originally going to focus on them until the earache incident.  I’ve spotted two tiny white butterflies, or perhaps the same one twice.  I think they are what is known as a summer azure.  What amazed me was after an initial nervous flutter as I squatted down to capture him on camera, he returned one clover over and posed for the picture below.

            Seeing these little guys made me realize that on those rides where I didn’t spot any of their larger kin, these guys were still down among the grass and clovers.  Now on today’s ride I did spot another big brother, a black swallowtail flew over our heads across the road.  And as I was loading the gear, a checkered white butterfly flew around me and the car close enough I thought it might flutter inside the car.

            So despite the pain, I had a fantastic ride.  I should’ve tried to fix the ear, but I actually had tried, having already taken the helmet off once.  My ear seemed determined to fold over.  I’m kind of proud that I didn’t opt to loosen the helmet, choosing my safety over comfort.  I am hoping that this was a freak ear fold and it won’t happen again.  I think I may have come down straighter with the helmet than from the front.  I’ll figure out the issue so next week’s ride will be more comfortable; well, as long as the temperatures agree.  We’re still a month away from official autumn, but I hope the geese and robins gathering mean autumn-like temperatures are on their way!

tiny white butterfly on white clover flower
The summer azure posing on the clover for me.

Shade and Shadows

Last week it was the humidity, this week’s ride was the heat.  The sun was shining brightly around the large, fluffy cotton ball clouds.  And the sun was burning hot.  The garage thermostat went from 87 degrees up to 88 as we prepped to ride.  When riding in heat, the goal is to keep moving to keep the air flowing over one.

            As I headed out of the garage, I saw a shadow in the shape of a butterfly.  When I got outside, I think I spotted the cabbage white heading into the branches of the neighbor’s magnolia tree.  Otherwise, I only saw a couple of dragonflies. 

            I was thankful for my yellow seat as Bill pushed up off his black seat which had baked in its few minutes sitting in that sun.  I braced myself for being uncomfortable during the ride and worked on forcing my focus on my road awareness and safety.  As we rode, I sought out patches of shade to ride through.  Physically, I’m not sure it was that much cooler, but psychologically, it helped.

            Again, other than some ducks deep in the shade over the river inlet, not much wildlife was moving.  People wise, I only saw two tween girls out walking and a young man returning from the store.  When it’s too hot for yard work, it’s hot.  I managed two beautiful all street on-street U-turns, but that was the only slow-speed drill we did.  I enjoyed zooming up the fast road in one direction, but on the return trip up that road, we were stuck behind a slow-moving Ford Expedition.

            I did get to work on my throttle skill as I had to park the motorcycle and open the garage.  I’ve described how steep the driveway is; it doesn’t flatten out until the garage floor.  So when I restarted the R Nine T, I had to keep the motorcycle from rolling backwards down the driveway.  Now I could try and rely just on my leg strength, but that would mean my legs are working to stop over 500 pounds with gravity’s help.  So the trick is to roll on the throttle enough to not only prevent the motorcycle from rolling backwards but to gently move into the garage.  It’s not like I can zoom unless I want to go through the walls.  And I’m happy to say I nailed it.

            The best part of the hot day was as Bill and I were taking off our gear and chatting, a black swallowtail butterfly flew halfway into the garage before turning around and flying out.  Every ride gives me something special to smile about.

black swallowtail butterfly
Photo by Chris F on Pexels.com

Muggy Ride

As we enter August, we usually start hearing about the triple Hs—hazy, hot, and humid.  There’s even a saying, “It’s not the heat; it’s the humidity.”  And today’s ride was proof it’s all due to the humidity.

            We hadn’t ridden half a block before I felt that uncomfortable moist sensation in my armpits.  The day itself was beautiful for August—sunny, breezy, and temperatures in the upper 80s.  But it was humid.  I kept my visor up for the ride so I could feel some air flow.  It didn’t really help.

            Since the sun was out, I was hoping to see some butterflies.  During the week, I’ve spotted tiger swallowtails, black swallowtails, cabbage whites, and even one sulphur.  But during the ride, the wildlife was mostly absent.  There were a few bees and dragonflies about, and I spotted some ducks on the river in the shade, but I didn’t see any butterflies, birds, or squirrels.  Except, I did spot two raptors high aloft in the sky; too high to determine if they were vultures or something more interesting.  It was only as I headed toward the garage that I managed to spot an osprey rising up for an afternoon snack hunt.

            Most of the activity we encountered was in traffic.  Many people were zooming by in their air conditioned cars.  A few intrepid young men were out doing some yard work, and we did cross paths with a young man riding a white sports bike, a Kawasaki Ninja I think.  I gave him the two-fingered motorcycle wave back and wondered briefly as he went past us again if he was going to try and join us in our parking lot drill.  He didn’t.  We must’ve looked odd to him.  He was out riding in jeans and a short-sleeve t-shirt, his only protection his helmet.  We’re geared up in thick riding boots, Kevlar jeans and jackets, safety vests, gloves and our helmets, even on a summer day.  But perhaps we gave him something to think about.  Jeans and t-shirts are fine as long as one stays on the motorcycle, but any kind of tumble onto the pavement, and bare arms get shredded.

            I had a near tumble.  I finally returned to the gravel lot for some practice, and I expected my skills to be rusty.  So when a large rock caused my front wheel to slip, I was ready to dab and catch the motorcycle, but I didn’t have to.  I was able to recover my balance and keep going, but I laughed to help relieve the adrenaline rush.  And it made me hope for nice enough weather next week to return to the gravel for some more practice even if it has to be a muggy ride.

white sports bike Kawasaki Ninja 650
Similar to the sports bike that passed us twice.