Lovely Winter? Ride

All week long the forecast held shifting rain chances for Saturday, but we were pretty sure we were in for rain. In fact we did get some rain on Friday, so it was a wonderful surprise to wake up to sunny skies and dry roads Saturday morning with spring-like temperatures—a day made for riding.

We were up earlier than usual because we needed to pick up the Rocket from the dealership. On Tuesday the dealership sent over a tow to collect the bike which couldn’t be safely ridden due to the front brake caliper’s missing bolt. Sunrise Cycles repaired the Triumph, and we hoped for nice enough weather on Saturday to pick up the motorcycle. So Bill got an early ride as we headed over to my parents’ garage. He took the scenic route up Shore Drive so he could look out over Lake Whitehurst. There was a light haze at tree level but bright sunshine everywhere else.

Last weekend my mind must have been as numb as my fingers because I made no note of the odometer passing 1500 miles. I’ve now ridden the R Nine T roughly equal if not slightly more than Bill. There was road work underway, so we had to head behind the shopping center where we rode over seven speed bumps. These bumps are good practice; one of the learning experiences in the MSF course is to ride the bike over a 2×4. Some of these speed bumps are a few inches higher than a 2×4. To get over the 2×4 in the class, we were told to lift up on the handlebars as we approached and stand up on the pegs. I hadn’t really worked on this skill since the class, so I was having fun with the practice. But I did mess up one speed bump; I was going over it slower than I realized, so I started to sit back down too soon and got a bump in the bottom by the seat.

As we rode, I noticed the muted greens of the shrubs, holly, and pine trees. Either the winter light softens the green, or the other trees that leaf in the spring have a brighter sheen. The more muted color reminded me that it was winter and nature is at rest since the near 60 degrees high definitely felt like spring. I did see the strength of the winter light as it scattered sparkling light across the river.

I enjoyed today’s ride very much even though my right hand went numb. I hadn’t had the numb feeling for several rides, so I don’t know why the numbness came today. I shook my right arm out as I approached stops and that helped shake off the numbness. It didn’t affect my ride; my turns were really tight. I find myself enjoying the balance of the motorcycle as I play with increasing the speed. No handlebar lock but both my left and right turns in the hospital lot were within the lines. My first on street U-turn I rode up on the grass but had a better second one. My no-look turns are almost second nature, and my gravel lot turns are getting more consistently tight. I even felt the bike come to a complete stop on the footless stop as the odometer hit 0.

Because of the road work, Bill led us into some traffic to head back to the garage. The day was so pleasant that I actually began to feel hot sitting at the stop lights. We sat at one light so long my left hand on the clutch started to tire. Some riders will shift into neutral at lights and rest the left hand. But Bill has explained the danger in that. If I’m in neutral and a car comes up too quickly or even possibly running into the back of the bike, being in first gear will allow me to move into one of my escape paths. Motorcycle riders who ride in traffic should always scope out their escape routes when stopped at intersections. I need to work on this skill more. And any time I need more skill work, that means more riding which I am always up for!

Haze over Lake Whitehurst and a happy boater enjoying the spring-like weather.

Finger Numbing Ride

We got our share of the Arctic air hitting the country. Friday’s temperatures had warmed just enough to make sure the precipitation that fell came down as rain, with the colder, freezing temperatures arriving that night. They came with a strong enough winds to dry off the roads, so I’m not complaining. But I made a judgment mistake that made for an uncomfortable ride.

As we prepped the equipment to head over to my parents’ garage, Bill asked me if I wanted my Rev’It winter gloves. I said I’d be OK with the Klim mid-temperature gloves and the heated grips. After all, the R Nine T has hand guards too, so I figured I’d have enough protection from the wind and enough warmth for the ride. I was so wrong.

When we arrived at my parents’ house, we had a couple of tasks. Last week, Bill had noticed a rattle in his front end. After some research and some thought, he realized that the brake calipers had come loose, so he brought his tools for tightening them. There was one little problem; the bottom bolt was missing from the caliper. No riding the Rocket this weekend.

I convinced Bill to take the R Nine T out and see if he could spot the bolt. It is a 2 ½ inch bolt and shiny silver, so if it were laying in the gutter or on the roadway, there was a chance that Bill could spot it. While he rode, I visited with my Mom and helped with some computer issues.

Bill rode for quite a while, but I finally heard the rumble of the motorcycle as he returned. Luckily for him, I went out to check on him. He was at the bottom of the driveway, sitting on the motorcycle. When I got to him, he had his gloves off and was reaching down to the cylinder heads. “I can’t undo the vest,” he told me, “my fingers are too numb.” Bill, who had also worn his mid-weather Klim gloves with the heated grips, could not undo the fastener that connected the vest to the motorcycle. So I had to free him from the bike.

With the knowledge of how cold Bill’s hands got, I realized my ride would have to be short. I figured I would ride with no slow-speed maneuvers and head back when my hands got cold. Had I done that, I wouldn’t have made it around the block. From the start of my ride, I felt my fingertips becoming numb. I strategized by trying not to pre-load the front brake. That way I could press my fingertips against the heated grips; it didn’t help. I never felt in danger with the numbness in my fingers because I kept the ride short. I rode up and down the curvy road where I spotted a pair of white Muscovy ducks. I then cautiously rode up the torn-up roadway so I could zip up the 35-mph road. I then took the long way home, but I was out no more than 20 minutes.

The real test of success would be if I could undo my vest fastener as Bill had taken the car to run some errands. For whatever reason I can’t undo the fastener with my gloves on, but I had enough feeling in my fingers to get unhitched. Where I had a challenge was finding neutral as I parked the bike. The last time I couldn’t slip the shifter into neutral, Bill had to do it. I turned off the motorcycle, dismounted, and used my hand on the shifter to move it up and down until it finally slipped into neutral.

Later as we drove home, Bill asked me if I’d learned anything on this ride. I learned I need my winter gloves to ride when the temperature is below 40 degrees. I also learned to control my frustration and patiently work through a mechanical issue with the motorcycle. On the practical side, I recognized that when the temperature is below freezing, gearing up and taking off should all happen inside the warm house. Next week we’re getting some rain, so we’ll have higher temperatures for our ride if we can get some dry roads. Also, we should have much warmer temperatures with highs in the 50s—much more reasonable riding weather.

Motorcycle tachometer showing green N for neutral.

Two Rides Weekend

I was going to title this blog “Buffeting,” but that was after Saturday’s ride. Sunday’s bonus ride came about because of an incident that occurred during Saturday’s ride and because it is a holiday weekend.

“Buffeting” refers to the wind hitting the rider on the motorcycle. It is usually discussed when riding the motorcycle on highways where clearly there will be a lot of wind generated. Buffeting is why some motorcycles have large windscreens in the front; cruisers often have the windscreens because they are designed for highway travel over great distances where constant wind would wear on the rider. But buffeting can also refer to the wind of which we had plenty this weekend.

Luckily, southeast Virginia is fairly well protected from snowstorms; unluckily too for the kids wanting a snow day. I do hope everyone who is experiencing this first major snowstorm is getting through it well. We had lots of sunshine and temperatures in the mid-50s for both days this weekend, but we also had high winds gusting to 25 mph on Saturday and near 20 mph on Sunday. The fun part about riding in the wind is feeling the wind push one along on the motorcycle. At one point on Saturday’s ride, as I was looping around on the gravel lot, I was pushed forward for 10 yards, laughing all the way.

Bill had warned me before we started riding that I might be changing lanes despite myself. The wind wasn’t quite that powerful, but I did feel it nudging me a bit. And there was the whistling of the wind through my helmet, at times a steady teakettle noise filling my beautiful new helmet.

I didn’t see much wildlife on Saturday except some crows. There were lots of people out walking their dogs both Saturday and Sunday; mid-50s in the middle of January is a gift and people were taking advantage of the sunshine and relative warmth. On Sunday I spotted several turkey buzzards battling the winds, soaring crazily in the air. I also saw an osprey on Sunday and some Canadian geese. Neither day did I see squirrels; they may be digging in for the colder temperatures coming later this week.

There were some swirling leaves in the middle of the road, caught up in wind eddies. I saw one beautiful camellia bush in bloom on both Saturday and Sunday, and on Sunday’s ride, I saw two groupings of pansies, my first of the season. I had to dodge some small branches in the road, and felt my front tire slip a bit on a pinecone.

So what happened to necessitate the Sunday ride? Well when we parked the bikes on Saturday and I removed my helmet, I felt my hair in the ponytail instead of my fuchsia hair glove. I checked my jackets and my shirt, but there was no hair glove. A couple of years ago, I lost the shorter of the two hair gloves Bill had gotten me. We drove around and found it lying in the road near the neighborhood swimming pool. So we packed up the car and drove around expecting to find this longer hair glove. Retracing our route was not successful with no glimpse of the bright fuchsia and white hair glove.

When we woke up Sunday and discussed our agenda for the day, riding the motorcycles again made sense. It was another great day weather-wise for riding, chores could wait until Monday, and we could search for the hair glove from the motorcycles which would make it easier to spot.

We headed out and I was a little uncomfortable. I did not like the added burden of scanning for the hair glove, making me realize I’m not fully confident in my road awareness when riding. In part I was looking out for blown down branches in the road because of the wind. It was Bill who spotted the hair glove; I never saw it. He pulled over on the curvy road and parked while I looked over my shoulder trying to spot the glove. I didn’t see it until Bill walked by carrying it.

Now that the hair glove was found and secured, we continued our ride. My ponytail was tucked under my neck tube and under the high collar of the Schott’s jacket. This impromptu protection worked well in keeping my hair from tangling on this windy day. I think I lost the hair glove because I had not secured it fully to my ponytail band. I usually take the time to double check that the plastic hook is looped through the band, but I didn’t do that on Saturday. I’m not sure why; I wasn’t in a hurry; I was just careless.

In the neighborhood some of the roads have been torn up in preparation for repaving. There is a “Motorcycles Use Extreme Caution” sign posted. The uneven surface did make me nervous because of the ruts, so much so that on Saturday, I missed shifting into first gear at the stop and nearly stalled. Luckily, the boxer engine chugged through its complaints and kept me going. I paid more attention to my shifting on the Sunday ride.

In fact the Sunday ride allowed me to make corrections on things that seemed a little off on the Saturday ride. For example, on my in-street U-turn, I went wide into the grass on the first one Saturday, but Sunday’s were all street. I even had the presence of mind Sunday when I felt the bike tipping a little to let out the clutch and increase the throttle. The only area I still struggled on was the gravel lot. During Saturday’s ride, the dropped branches and increased wind made me feel unstable in my turn practices on the gravel. I felt more confident Sunday until I saw the pair of nail shears. The glint of bright silver in the sun caught my eye and I was surprised to see them in the parking lot of a historic house. I then fixated on the scissors and never fully focused on my turns. After the third missed turn, I gave up and rejoined Bill.

We zipped along and finished our ride in great spirits. Bill wasn’t even upset realizing the Rocket needs some brake work done. Next Saturday looks to be colder and windy, but I’m getting some riding in the wind practice and feel good. I’m looking forward to the challenge of a full winter ride.

Motorcycles use extreme caution orange sign

First Ride of 2024

Saturday morning found us up and out early in an effort to beat the rain. All week the forecast was for a rainy Saturday, but we had a few hours in the morning to squeeze in our ride before the showers started. So we headed over at first light and were on the roads before 8:00 AM.

Well there was a little delay thanks to me. Because of the early hour, I decided to wear my Rev’It Factor 4 winter riding pants. These caused me some issues trying to get the pant leg down over my Daytona boots. The cuffing issues came after the Daytona boots’ zippers fought me. But I was finally dressed, geared up, and ready to ride once I got my helmet on. And yes, the helmet fought me too.

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I received a beautiful new Arai Isle of Man Tourist Trophy helmet. It is a full-face helmet, meaning the helmet is one piece with a liftable visor. The closure is a strap that must be fed between two rings then back through the right ring to secure the helmet (see picture). I worked the helmet down over my balaclava and went to secure it, but I just could not get the two rings to separate. After a few minutes of struggle, the thought occurred to me that perhaps I didn’t actually have both rings. Sure enough, I felt around and discovered that the left ring had wedged up in the padding of the left cheek. Correcting that, I was quickly able to feed the strap through and back, secure the helmet, and start my ride.

We only rode half a block before stopping for a squirrel who stopped in the road in front of Bill’s Rocket while pondering its best course of action. Eventually, it decided to head to the near-side field off the road, and we were able to continue our ride.

I was a little surprised when Bill turned away from the curvy road. With the early hour, we were seeing far more people out walking their dogs than cars on the road. He led us on long stretches of straight roads even circling back around to lead us up the 35-mph road twice. I found this choice interesting as on our first pass by, we startled two large turkey buzzards snacking on the side of the road. On our second ride by, the buzzard nearer the road flew up next to Bill, and I saw the large, nearly 6-foot wingspan next to the large Rocket. I asked Bill about the closeness after the ride, and he said it was about 5 feet away, but from behind it looked closer.

I realized we weren’t going to do U-turns and slow speed maneuvers due to our early morning grogginess. So I was completely surprised when Bill headed up to the light at the intersection of our neighborhood road and took us into a new neighborhood. I say new but it was only new for my riding it on a motorcycle; I had driven the roads many times before. After the initial surprise, I was further surprised when Bill took us left then right instead of left and left. Had we gone with the two lefts, we would have made a short square back into my parents’ neighborhood. But by going left/right, we headed up a main road (35-mph) through two more lights, up another main neighborhood road, before heading back to the intersection and returning to our usual route.

Technically, this was my first ride in main traffic. However, since it was such an early hour on a Saturday, there wasn’t much traffic to ride through. But I am hoping that this ride my open up more roads for future rides.

I did have a “whoa” moment as we headed back to the garage. As we turned left onto a street that is crisscrossed with uneven asphalt strips from recent road construction, my rear tire slipped a little, enough for me to feel the whole motorcycle slide sideways. However, I didn’t panic and grab the brakes but instead rolled off the throttle. The traction control kicked in and kept the motorcycle from slipping sideways and falling, and I was able to ease the bike upright as I completed the turn. It was an interesting sensation that occurred in the blink of an eye, but I was happy with my cool-headed reaction. I’ll have to watch that stretch of the road on future rides though it was probably a random large bit of gravel that got in under the tire.

Early Saturday morning rides agree with me though with January here, I expect the cold weather will prevent too many more of them for the near future.

Chin strap of motorcycle helmet showing strap through the two rings.

New Helmet for the New Year

For Christmas Bill surprised me with a new Arai motorcycle helmet (see picture below). It was not a complete surprise as earlier in the year, we had looked at some Arai helmets. He did surprise me with the style of helmet, though. We had looked at a beautiful helmet with a Japanese koi design, but the helmet I received was the 2023 Isle of Man TT helmet edition, and it is wonderful.

Last Christmas I gave Bill the 2022 Isle of Man TT helmet, a gorgeous gold, red, and black helmet with the triskelion from the flag on it. My helmet also has the triskelion on it, but is brighter with the neon yellow, bright red, and white and black checkered flag in the back. The TT stands for the Tourist Trophy motorcycle race, the deadliest motorcycle race there is. Riders race through the roads of the Isle of Man, even in the rain, so they are about the toughest motorcycle riders there are. And while we admire their courage and craziness, it isn’t the type of riding we aspire to, especially me.

I happily wore my new helmet on my much more sedate ride through the neighborhoods. It had some differences from my Schuberth helmet. For one thing the Arai is an all-in-one helmet not modular. This means that the bottom chin guard portion doesn’t open making for a tighter fit over my head. The fit is also snugger as I can feel the cushioning pushing into my cheeks. But the most complicated difference is the chin strap. On the Schuberth the strap connected via a plastic fitting that had ridges to hold the connector in place. The Arai has the more traditional helmet chin strap using two rings. When I tried the helmet on at Christmas, I was surprised at how easily I could slip the right strap through the two rings and then split the rings and slip the strap back through the right ring. Fully geared up in my Schott’s leather jacket and my Helite safety vest, it was much more of a challenge to affix the chin strap. It was also a challenge to undo the strap after the ride, but with some patient effort, I was able to do both.

We were supposed to have a cool, sunny day for our ride, but there were massive clouds moving in a strong wind. As I mounted the R Nine T (both bikes started with no problem, thank goodness), I spotted an osprey high in the sky. No rude, possibly drunk drivers were encountered, but there were an oddly high number of people moving in and out of driveways or doing odd turnarounds in the street. Since it was Saturday and not New Year’s Eve, I could only figure that the odd traffic was due to college bowl games. Happy to know Ole Miss won.

There was another issue with the new helmet—new helmet smell. The fabric was off-gassing, and when I was in the garage and waiting to start the ride, it was off-putting, and I knew I would have a difficult ride if I had to endure the smell throughout. However, with the wind generated by the ride, the odor was blown away, and I was fine.

We spent extra time going through cul de sacs and working on tight turns. Last week I realized I needed to focus more on using my legs to help balance me during turns, so I worked on using my legs as counterweights during my turns. How this works is when I am turning to the left, I apply pressure with my right leg; this side is easier because the rear brake is on the right side, so I am used to applying pressure on the right side. When I turn to the right side, I apply pressure on the left side which is more of a challenge.

I especially made sure to work on my legs as counterweights when I was practicing in the gravel lot of the historic house. My turns went really well and I had no dabs. While I ride in the gravel lot, Bill parks next door in one of the church lots and watches. When I’ve finished my gravel lot ride, I head over to his lot to rejoin him. Today, as I rode into the church lot, I spotted a bald eagle in the air above the historic house. Bill hadn’t spotted it and was riding off, but I stopped and pointed up to the sky causing the R Nine T to stall as I hadn’t taken the time to shift into neutral. I didn’t care; watching a beautiful, large bald eagle soaring into the sky is worth a stalled bike. Bill saw me and circled back around to watch the majestic bird with me. We continued our ride with huge grins on our faces.

During the ride, I got to 0 on the footless stop and saw Bill throwing both legs out as he tried to get the Rocket down to 0. He later told me he got the speedometer down to 1 and had thrown his legs out just in case. My no look turns went nearly perfectly during today’s ride. But I also learned that there is a downside to pre-loading the front brake—cold fingers. It was cool enough for me to have the heated grips on low. But my two fingers are out on the front brake and not on the heated grip. It was uncomfortably cold, but I’m hoping when we get to actual winter temperatures for our rides, that the higher setting on the heated grip will be enough to help warm up my two fingers on the brake.

We are entering January, so the cold weather is coming. But I don’t mind, just don’t let it rain or snow as that would prevent us from riding. I am looking forward to even more rides in 2024, and I wish you all a very happy New Year! Thank you for reading.

Arai motorcycle helmet in yellow, white, black, and red.

Christmas Eve Ride

Due to some goofiness with the usually reliable R Nine T, we had to delay our weekend ride until Christmas Eve. We tried Saturday to head out. Bill’s Rocket fired right up with no issues. The R Nine T, though, wouldn’t start.

At the end of last week’s ride, I had inadvertently knocked the right turn signal loose in its setting. Ironically, as well-built as most of the BMW motorcycle is, the turn signals are rather flimsily attached. In the past Bill has knocked the turn indicator loose himself, but with the right tools, it can be reattached. So while I visited with my mom, Bill was in the garage working on the turn indicator. When I came out to check on him, it wasn’t going well. The screw part was easily dealt with as the correct socket was engaged. However, the backing nut was protected by extraneous plastic bits that made locking it in place was proving extremely difficult. Eventually, Bill got the nut encased in one of my dad’s old small wrenches, and the indicator was reattached.

At this point it went downhill. Bill shifted the motorcycle around in the garage and went to start it to get it down to the street. The bike spit out a high-pitched “rawr, rawr,” and went dead. After pushing the motorcycle back into the garage, I climbed on the seat and straightened the chassis so Bill could check the oil; it appeared to be low. We couldn’t just add some oil, however, as the special tool that is needed to remove the boxer cylinder head to get to the oil intake was back at my house.

With a night to think on it, we returned the next day with some gas because Bill thought the weird engine sound was possibly caused by some bad residual gas in the tank. Luckily, filling up the tank got the motorcycle started and it ran beautifully throughout my ride. The ride did get off to a rough start. Passing onto the next block at the beginning of our ride, a black Merecedes SUV which I thought was just parked facing the wrong direction on the road, drove out into the street just as Bill was riding past on the Triumph. The driver saw Bill and stopped (luckily the Rocket is nearly the size of a small car). Silly me, I assumed the driver would take that near miss as a lesson and take a second to check for passing traffic before trying to drive off again. He didn’t, so I came to a stop on the side of the road and waited for the Mercedes to clear off down the street. The driver may have been drunk judging from the state of inebriation on his friend who was standing on the side of the road laughing as though hitting a motorcyclist was a game.

It was a rude way to begin what was otherwise a lovely ride. As we stopped at a stop sign after riding up the curvy road, Bill pointed at me and then pointed to his right. At first I thought he was signaling to me to watch for pedestrians on this pleasant day out for a pre-holiday walk. But at the next stop sign, he came to a stop over toward the left, and I realized that he wanted me stopping on the inside of him should there be any cut off turns into our lane. Realizing how we managed the communication got me to thinking about helmet audio systems. There are communication systems that would allow Bill and I to talk to each other while we ride. My mind then wandered to people who have their helmets connected to their phones. While I ride, my phone goes into a driving mode so there is no audible signal of a call or message nor is there a vibration (not that I would feel that through the layers of protective gear nor over the vibration of the bike). But I don’t even want to listen to music while I ride. Maybe if my ride lasted more than an hour or so, or I was trying to ride six or more hours on a trip, music would be a desired distraction. But while I’m riding for my hour or so, I want to hear the rumbles and roars of the motorcycle shifting, accelerating, and decelerating. One of my all-time favorite sounds was the Leo Vince exhaust we had on the Ducati Scrambler. So I found myself recognizing the enjoyment I have in hearing the sounds of my ride.

The trees are wintry in their bare branches with some dry, brown leaves clinging in places. I only saw crows flitting about and squirrels rushing around. But I did enjoy even more of the Christmas decorations; by Christmas Eve pretty much all the decorations are out and inflated even during the daytime.

One thing I worked on during my ride was turning my head all the way during U-turns. Bill had suggested it after watching my practice in the gravel lot last week. I learned that I have been cheating on my head turns and stopping them short. This realization became obvious to me after I had to dab my foot four times during U-turns. A “dab” is when the rider puts a foot down to protect the motorcycle from a fall. I haven’t had to dab in a long time as the R Nine T is such a well-balanced bike. I will be spending the week thinking about what it is about the head turn is causing me to feel unbalanced. And I will spend the week excitedly waiting for my chance to practice and ride again.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Christmas inflatables including a polar bear wearing a Santa hat and waving; Santa and two pigs in an airplane; a tall Santa; a Grinch; a Santa in row boat. — Christmas inflatables seen during my ride.

What’s the Deal with Triumphs?

A beautiful Saturday afternoon greeted us for our ride with sunny skies and warmish temperatures (mid-50s). As I visited with my mom, Bill rode the bikes down to the street as he always does. I haven’t gotten a motorcycle out of the garage since I dropped the Ducati Scrambler in the driveway. I think this is a little unfair as I realized what I did wrong (not in gear) on that drop, but Bill really loves the R Nine T, so I understand his overprotectiveness.

Anyway, Bill had both motorcycles down on the street. We put on our gear—I was wearing my Schott’s leather jacket without the liner; Bill was sticking with the Klim. I finished dressing first and headed down to my bike. I noticed Bill heading out without his Helite airbag vest and gestured to him so he would turn back and put it on before he came all the way down the driveway. I started my bike enjoying the back and forth shake of the boxer engine and waited to hear the rumble of the Rocket. It didn’t come.

Now to get the motorcycles down to the bottom of the driveway, Bill starts them up and shifts into first gear to use the power of the engines to help move the bikes. So the Rocket had started up in the garage, no problem. Yet just as we were ready to start our ride, the Triumph wouldn’t turn over. Having experienced no starts on the Rocket, Bill patiently took out the key fob to check the battery. Dead.

Two and a half months ago, the key fob received a brand-new battery. The fob gets used once a week, and with the rainy weekends and the tire puncture, not used every weekend. The fob has been used maybe 7-8 times. Why, then, is the battery already dead? The fob for my car has gotten two batteries over three years and that fob sees daily use. So what is the deal, Triumph? Why does the Rocket fob burn through batteries? It is a keyless ignition; is the fob constantly searching for the bike? Or is our fob poorly wired?

Whatever the reason, the frustration of having to dismount, disrobe (the gear), dig out a battery, pry the old battery out, and hope the new battery will work. Luckily for our ride, it did. But it sure allowed frustration to build and nearly ruined our ride. However, once we got underway, the joy of riding drove away the frustration.

A lot more Christmas decorations were out including several Grinches, a walrus, and a polar bear delivering a Christmas tree. My ride went really well. The curvy road was fun; I focused on balancing my speed and my lean. The no look turns are improving, and my U-turns were really tight even on the gravel.

The squirrels were out and making up for missing last week. We had five encounters. I saw a turkey buzzard circling just before we headed out. And I saw either the same one or another later into the ride. Other than the turkey buzzards, I saw some large crows enjoying the day, but despite the warm day, it is looking more and more like winter.

As beautiful as the day was and as enjoyable as the ride was, it didn’t end well. As I dismounted the R Nine T, rather hastily as I really needed to use the bathroom, I inadvertently kicked the right turn signal on the back. As well built as the BMWs are, the two turn signals are rather flimsily attached. It doesn’t take much to knock them out of their seating. Bill did it once, and now I’ve done it too. It’s not as bad as the Rocket key fob, but it did let the ride end on a sour note. Overall, however, the light is a minor repair and, doing some work on the motorcycles is part of the fun of riding.

December in Virginia

The weather finally took pity on us and gave us a spectacular December day for riding. While earlier in the week, temperatures had dipped down into the 30s, this Saturday gave us a high right at 70 degrees with clear, sunny skies. Typical for Virginia to have below freezing and a springlike day within the same week. I was happy the spring day came when I could ride.

We headed out wearing our summer Klim jackets. I wore a long sleeve t-shirt over my Alpinestars jacket because there was a breeze. Even though Bill had to help me pull the shirt down over the back protector, he was surprised at the end of the ride to realize I had worn the shirt. But it was just enough to keep me comfortable throughout the ride.

As we hit the curvy road, I worked on my counter steering, watching as the R Nine T moved in response. We passed a lot of people out walking and enjoying the beautiful day. I wondered at several of them who were walking in the street. My parents’ neighborhood has wide streets and sidewalks on both sides of the street. There are sections in the adjoining neighborhoods where sidewalks are not an option, but most of the area has sidewalks. I’ve been a runner, so I understand about asphalt versus cement on joints. But the pace of walkers, especially these walkers, and the cushioning afforded in modern walking shoes, negates a need for walking in the street. It just presents one more obstacle to be aware of.

I figured out early in the ride that Bill was in cruise mode which made me happy. Since we missed our ride last weekend, I just wanted to keep moving. As we turned left out of stops, I was amazed to realize how easy my no-look left turns were going. In three out of four, I was able to keep the bike turned to the left as I looked to the right.

I did get to work in the gravel lot some. The parking lot had sections buried under leaves and pine needles so I avoided those sections as I couldn’t be sure it was dry underneath. But there was enough dry sections to let me have fun making some figure eights and working on tight turns. After a few minutes, though, I rejoined Bill for our cruise. As we rode around I saw families out raking leaves and bags and bags of leaves piled up on the curb. The leaves were more brown than colored and even more branches were bare. I did see some roses hanging in there, but I didn’t see much wildlife out and about on this surprisingly warm day.

Looking ahead to next Saturday, we may be lucky enough for a mostly sunny but cooler day. I sure hope so. It’s been a tough week without the ride therapy and, as we approach every closer to Christmas, the kids get crazier, and I have even more need for my ride.

Bare tree branches under a blue sky. — A typical sight for December–bare tree branches.

Yellow African daisies. — African daisies blooming in December.

Wet Road Win

December is off to a bad start. Rain moved in Friday and stuck around enough Saturday to keep the roads wet well into Sunday afternoon. As my regular readers are well-aware, we don’t ride on wet roads, so it was another no ride weekend, and I’m bummed.

But I thought I would write about why we don’t ride on wet roads. Anyone who watches Lamb Chop Rides or the Missenden Flyer, two British bike reviewers, knows it is possible to ride in the rain. But Bill, who has ridden motorcycles for over 50 years, only once rode in the rain and that was two months ago when we got caught by rain arriving early (Caught by the Rain, October 7, 2023). That ride was just enough to get us back to the garage, so it wasn’t an intentional ride in the rain and the roads weren’t really wet yet as the rain had just started.

Unfortunately for us, the roads were wet and with puddles still evident. Drizzle fell on and off after we arrived at the garage. So why don’t we ride in the rain? Lack of grip. If you are a car driver, then you most likely understand that when driving on wet roads you want greater braking distance from the car in front of you and you’re probably more cautious with your speed. And that’s on four tires.

Of the nearly 6 million car accidents, nearly a quarter happen on wet roads. Motorcycles do not make up a large portion of this statistic only because most riders choose not to ride in the rain. On our commute to and from the garage, we only saw one Harley rider on the wet roads. This non-riding precaution makes sense; motorcycles only have two contact patches with the roads as opposed to the four wheels of a car.

Tires can lose contact with the pavement with just 1/12 of a gallon of water on the roads. Hydroplaning can occur even when riding below 35-mph, and wet roads after a dry spell are worse because the water can mix with oil spills on the roadway, and we had just had two weeks of dry weather. So there were a lot of reasons not to ride on these wet roads.

Another reason not to ride on wet roads, not related to safety, is the wet roads spray up dirt, mud, and oil onto the motorcycle’s chassis and into the engine. So safety and cleanliness are two great reasons not to ride in the rain nor on wet roads. It does make for a big bummer as I do love riding. I’ve looked ahead to the forecast for next weekend—sunny and 65. Fingers crossed that it stays that way or gets even better.

Hint of Winter Ride

Despite waiting until early afternoon, the temperatures stayed in the mid-40s and the sun stayed behind the clouds. The winter gear was brought out though I did chose to wear the leather pants not my winter britches, the Rev’It Trousers Factor 4. I thought with some leggings underneath, I’d be alright, but my legs were the only part of me chilly on the ride.

The sun made some peeks through the clouds, but throughout the ride I worried there might be showers. The rain held off, however, leaving only the wind to deal with. I felt the wind pressure from the moment we took off, pushing against me on the motorcycle. Thanks to my flannel turtleneck, leather jacket, and the heated grips, I was warm enough against the wind (except my thighs), but I felt the first hints of winter’s chill slipping in with the wind.

I was lucky to be able to ride. During the past week, I was dealing with bursitis in my hip causing me pain when I stood up from sitting as well as at times as I moved about. Bill worried my pain might cause a spasm at a stop leading to a bike drop. The pain never got that intense, but I rode with discomfort and fully aware that the pain that had mitigated during the was still very much present.

I noticed more bare branches among the leaves though there was still plenty of spectacular foliage color. The newly planted grass has set up enough to be mown, so we had the pleasant fresh cut grass smell mixing in with the smell of burning wood as fires were lit against the chill. I saw a freshly planted hedge of roses with several blooms, but the newest sites were the Christmas decorations with sparkly deer and many inflatables including penguins, snowmen, and Santa of course.

We rode without much slow speed work. Several times I had to adjust as Bill took a quick turn off the road without signaling to avoid the extra holiday weekend traffic. I used the circumstances as extra awareness training. I did venture into the gravel lot at the historic house for some practice, but I kept it short. Every slip I felt of the tires made me think about the pain in my hip and how I might hesitate to put my foot down to catch the motorcycle. So I did a few turns but didn’t work on being super tight.

I wasn’t too disappointed with our shorter ride. My leg was starting to ache more and part of me worried that I might be aggravating the situation. The bursitis diagnosis is mine not official, but it seems to fit as I’m the right age and I tend to be repetitive in my exercise. The rest of the weekend will be spent resting the hip and bracing myself for the winter rides that will be here before I know it.

Fall foliage trees. — The park near the pool in the afternoon sun.