Hurricane Idalia passed south of us luckily, so though we had some rain and wind on Thursday, we were left a gorgeous Saturday in the storm’s wake—sunny and 76 degrees.  Perfect riding weather is that which keeps the rider comfortably cool which is what I was.  At the beginning of the ride, I almost regretted keeping my jackets half-zipped because the air was so cool, but the bright sun soon warmed me up enough to make for a sensational ride.

            Bill was feeling better, so he was able to join me.  As we headed out, a Sulphur butterfly flew along the left side of us, slightly behind Bill and slightly ahead of me.  I think the butterflies might be attracted to the bright colors of our motorcycles—the bright crimson on the Triumph Rocket and the sunny yellow on the R Nine T.  Whatever it is that brings the butterflies around, I appreciate the chance to see and admire them.

            During my ride, I focused on the feeling of the handlebars as I counter steered through the turns.  I watched as the slight pressure on one side of the bars let the bike flick through the curves.  I also worked on my stops and my no-look turns.  I noticed how much improved I am on the no-look turns especially on the right turns.

            It turns out I can’t not pre-load the front brake, so I’ve adjusted my strength training to prevent hand numbness.  At the first tingles of numbness, I began releasing the front brake as I approached stops so I could flex my fingers and shake out my hand.  This strategy enabled me to complete the ride without having to stop and shake my arm out.  I also wondered if my improving grip is helping me ride longer without numbness.  I’ve been working at the gym on chin ups which is strengthening my grip.  I just realized that this may benefit me on my motorcycle rides.

            As we rode, I noted how the green leaves and green grass all seem a deeper shade than they did at the onset of summer creating a tranquil lushness.  We’ve had enough rain and cool days this summer to allow the crape myrtles, magnolias, brown-eyed Susans, roses, and clematis to bloom throughout the summer.  Though the increasing number of Canadian geese indicate that autumn is well on its way.  Luckily, I was able to see several more Sulphurs, a Tiger Swallowtail, some Cabbage Whites and, as I parked the motorcycle in the garage, I glimpsed a Pink-edged Sulphur.  I’ll enjoy the butterflies over the next few weeks rides because soon they’ll be gone.

Today was a spectacular day for spotting butterflies—six varieties.  In fact as I walked down the driveway to the motorcycle, a large Canadian Tiger Swallowtail came zipping along from across the street.  She flew right over the bike, right over me, headed up to the roof of my parents’ house, and circled back around.  She hung out for so long that I managed to get a picture of her!  I stood in the driveway dropping gloves and keys and laughing as I watched her flying about.

            Not thirty seconds later into my ride, I saw two Fritillary butterflies dancing about.  I wondered if butterflies are inherently lazy insects.  Bill wasn’t feeling well and decided not to ride, and we had delayed heading over.  My ride didn’t start until 1:00 in the afternoon, and spotting the variety of butterflies that I did, I had to conclude that they enjoy sleeping in.  Because I was riding solo, I took the swallowtail’s pre-ride flight as sort of a blessing.  Without Bill, I had to watch for everything—curve lines, oncoming traffic, cars pulling out.  I worked on the observational skills which was really good for me.

            As I rode into the ritzy neighborhood, I saw an unusual butterfly.  It may have been a Great Spangled Fritillary, but I can’t be sure.  I’m guessing at that because of its size; it was much larger than the other fritillary butterflies.  One of the problems with watching butterflies from the back of a motorcycle is not being able to track the insect for a proper identification.  Anyway, it was a butterfly and not another cabbage white, so it was fun to see.

            It was hot, near 90 degrees, so I spent most of the ride cruising with just turns in courts.  Because last week’s middle of the street U-turn didn’t go well, I did try that.  The first one was a disaster—into the grass, but the second one was a success.  I again encountered a small box turtle working his way across the court.  He stopped when I did and stared me down, so I rode off and left him to it.  Soon after I spotted what I think was a Great Purple Hairstreak butterfly but may have been a small Black Swallowtail whose yellow markings have not come in.  And I finally did spot a Sulphur recognizing the bright yellow as I rode closer to it.  Before my ride ended, one little Cabbage White made an appearance as did a smaller Tiger Swallowtail.

            I missed having Bill on the ride, but I liked the challenge of being responsible for all the decisions.  I briefly thought about a quick little sojourn into traffic, but I decided instead to stick to the roads I know and save traffic for when I’m riding with Bill; his motorcycle is too big to miss!

In my non-riding life, I work as a teacher, so today’s ride marked my final ride of the summer of 2023 as I’m back to school on Monday.  We were blessed with an absolutely gorgeous riding day with temperatures in the lower 80s and a delicious cool breeze.  Soon into our ride, I spotted a black swallowtail and knew the day was set to be great.

            After last week’s ride where I didn’t wear any Alpinestar jacket but still experienced the numbing in my right hand, I decided the issue had to be in my pre-loading of the front brake.  I therefore decided not to pre-load on this ride and see if that kept any numbness away.  I struggled not to wrap my index and middle finger around the front brake, several times during the ride having to consciously remove them.  I liked realizing that because pre-load is so important; I appreciate that it has become “the norm” for me.

            Unfortunately, by not pre-loading, I did not experience the numbness.  I hated learning that, so I determined to train up my grip for the pre-load.  When we were three-quarters of the way through the ride, I started to pre-load the front brake.  My thought was to pre-load for a set number of miles since I don’t have a clock, and to practice at the end of the ride.  I tried for four miles on this ride but that was too long.  Next week I’ll try for three miles.  I hope it is a matter of training up my grip strength.  For those of you wondering, I do have the front brake lever in the closest setting to the throttle.  If I set the lever further out, I’d be straining my fingers to reach.

            I had hoped to see some Sulphur butterflies during the ride as I had started to see many of them during the week as I drove around, but I didn’t spot any.  I did glimpse a cabbage white and I was lucky enough to spot an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.  Having seen the black swallowtail for the first time on this ride and only now seeing the Sulphurs, I realized I should educate myself more on when certain butterflies emerge throughout the spring and summer.  There were many dragonflies about as there are many mosquitos for them to feed on.

            One flower I have seen in gorgeous bloom but keep forgetting to mention is the hibiscus.  There is a tall stand in someone’s yard—six to seven feet in height–of the scarlet rose mallow swamp hibiscus.  And then there is a smaller, four-foot bloom down by the river, planted by the birds.  It’s funny but most people associate the hibiscus with Hawaii, but there is a native varietal to Virginia—I have the Eastern rose mallow variety in my yard.

            Speaking of birds, we spotted several flocks of Canadian geese, proving that the fall migration is well underway.  Fitting, I suppose, as this ride is the end of my summer rides.  I look forward to the cooler days which make the rides so much more enjoyable.

(PS—the sale of the 310 fell through as there was something hincky going on.  The potential buyer sent me an email at midnight the night before the deal went down to inform me he was paying with check.  From his initial contact, the offer was for cash, so there was something off with the last-minute pay by check.  We have a potential buyer coming to look at it in a few weeks, but we get to enjoy the 310 for a little longer.)

On Wednesday we made a Virginian from Daleville very happy when we sold him our Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled Fasthouse.  From the moment he jumped down from his Ford F-150, he couldn’t stop smiling as he looked at the motorcycle.  He even said, “I don’t need to ride it; I want it.”  The transaction took half an hour, and we found ourselves the owner of only three motorcycles but not for long.  We have a buyer set up for my little BMW G 310 GS for this Wednesday.  I’ve been thinking about these two motorcycles and my experiences on both.  I find myself sadder about losing the 310 than the Scrambler. 

            The 310 was my first motorcycle bought a week after I passed the MSF course.  It has a 313 cc engine with only 33 HP and 28 NM of torque, so it is not a power motorcycle or a bike one blows out at the track.  The engine has a purr to it, and from my experience, I have to say it is a great motorcycle for developing riding skills.  It was light enough for me to haul up and save from a drop (385 pounds dry).  The friction zone is a challenge to learn, but on a beginner bike, I think that’s a good thing.  The skills I learned finessing the friction zone on the 310 transferred to both the Ducati and the R Nine T, meaning I didn’t stall the motorcycle much.

            The 310 is also a relatively gentle motorcycle; even when I rolled a little too strongly on the throttle, I never felt as though I would fly off the back of the bike.  The Ducati several times tried to throw me off the back.  Please don’t misunderstand; that is a thrilling feeling especially if you’ve held on!  That was my experience on both the Scrambler and at times the R Nine T.  I loved it.  I enjoyed the 73 HP and 48.8 NM of torque; it made me feel more like I was riding a “real” motorcycle, which is being unfair to the 310, but I am trying to illustrate the difference between the bikes.  The Ducati also had more of a motorcycle grumble magnified brilliantly when we put the LeoVince exhaust on it.  But I had issues with the bike.  Because it is a bike made to go off-road as well as on, it is a tall motorcycle (seat height 33.9 inches), and I struggled with the bike’s top-heavy weight (425 lbs. dry).  I’m sure my mixed feelings toward the Scrambler is due to the two drops.  Ever had a teacher you really disliked?  You were relieved when you got out of her class, but later on upon reflection, you realize you really learned something from that teacher.  That’s how I feel about the Ducati.  I learned to be much more careful in my handling of the motorcycle.

            The first drop was due to my mindlessness.  I got off the motorcycle after parking it at the bottom of the driveway.  Except I hadn’t parked the motorcycle because I forgot to put the kickstand down.  I now take a few moments when I’m parking the motorcycle to ensure it is in neutral and that the kickstand is down and solid before dismounting.  My second drop was due to incorrect thinking.  I was backing the bike out of the garage and had kept it in neutral instead of shifting into first gear.  So when I had the bike perpendicular to the driveway which meant my right foot could not reach the ground and the motorcycle started tipping to the right, I couldn’t let out the clutch and use speed to help get the bike upright.  Since that experience, I’ve worked diligently on using speed to correct the motorcycle when it starts to tip.

            The worst part of the Ducati for me and for where I live and ride is the engine heat.  It is one of the top three aspects Ducati owners dislike about their motorcycles.  It made riding in safety gear incredibly uncomfortable, and on some rides I had to dismount the bike and sit and cool off in the shade.  This engine aspect of the Ducati makes me like the BMW R Nine T’s boxer engine design where the engine is well below me.  However, the Ducati did build my riding skills; I learned to handle a heavier, more powerful motorcycle, helping me get ready to ride the R Nine T.  I think handling the top-heavy Scrambler on slow speed maneuvers has made handling the lower-weighted R Nine T much easier.

            I hope the new owners of both of these motorcycles enjoy their rides on them.  I had some great rides and many wonderful learning opportunities on both, and I know riding different motorcycles has benefited my skills development greatly.

(We did have another early morning ride on Saturday during which I spotted a goldfinch zooming out of a bunch of brown-eyed Susans, and I learned that my right-arm numbness has nothing to do with the jacket, but more on that next week.)

            After last week’s full blast of summer, we were treated to a lovely week where the temperatures didn’t get out of the 80s.  And even though we were inundated with rain on Friday, with a bit of patience Saturday morning, the roads dried out and we were able to ride.

            There were many more Canadian geese about; I saw four groups during our ride and passed a very large flock driving to and from the motorcycles.  Fall migration seems to be underway which means cooler riding weather is coming.

            Yesterday’s rain knocked puddles of crape myrtle blossoms onto the pavement—pretty to look at yet not good for stopping.  Luckily, these bloom puddles were on the edges of the road and easy to avoid.  Unfortunately for some largish insect—maybe a locust—it was unable to avoid my helmet.  It flew at me from my left, and my only awareness was from the loud thump of impact when it hit my helmet.  Perhaps the main downside of motorcycle riding is there is no windshield for insect splats just the rider.

            The only butterfly I saw during the ride was a small Aphrodite Fritillary though I did see some Cabbage Whites as I drove back home.  There were some large dragonflies zipping about, fattened up on all the mosquitoes.  I was lucky enough to spot two raptors on this ride—an osprey hunting over the river and what I believe to be a sharp-shinned hawk zipping from tree to tree.  Though I am being unfair to all the “regular” birds I see during my rides—the robins, cardinals, thrashers, morning doves, and crows.

            My ride went very well.  I managed a footless stop definitively.  The reason I know this is, not only was the speedometer needles on the zero, but the bike lurched toward the right due to the stoppage.  My response to the lurch was to let out the clutch and roll on the throttle; increasing the speed helps to straighten the motorcycle.  I was not as quick to increase my speed when we were doing the on-street U-turn.  I was making my tightest turn on the street when I felt the bike wobble, so I started to stick out my left leg.  But I caught myself before the foot touched pavement, pulled the leg back in, and increased my speed.

            The air was cool as we rode along.  I did remember to switch Alpinestar jackets with Bill to see if that prevented my right-hand numbness.  It didn’t, but it wasn’t as bad.  I’ll look into getting a larger sized jacket if one is available.  Either that, or I need to make my arms into spaghetti noodles.  Whatever I do, one thing is for sure, I’ll keep riding!

            As pretty much everyone in the country knows, we’ve had some hot weather this week.  We’re pretty much at the height of the triple H summer—hazy, hot, and humid—with many days building into afternoon thunderstorms.  So we strategized for Saturday’s high of 96 degrees by getting up and heading out before 8:00 AM.

            I got a little nervous as we drove over and saw raindrops begin falling on the windshield.  Luckily, no storm developed until later in the afternoon, and the clouds gave us some extra cooling at the beginning of our ride.  I was wearing a plain white cotton undershirt and, with the 82 degrees and cloudy skies, was comfortable for most of the ride.

            Due to the earlier start, I was able to see a small gaggle of Canadian geese beating the heat and getting an early breakfast.  We also saw several squirrels acting squirrelly, in the road and not sure which way to go for safety.  And there were many dragonflies about maybe breakfasting on mosquitos who got too early a start on their day.

            Because we had gotten up earlier than normal for a Saturday, Bill led us out for cruising and we avoided slow speed maneuvers.  I took this as an opportunity to figure out a way to shake out my right hand.  I forgot to switch Alpinestar jackets with Bill, a strategy he suggested last week to see if my jacket is cut tight and causing the numbness.  Since we stayed on the roads and cruised, I didn’t get my chance to park the bike and work my hand.  I certainly didn’t want to cut our ride short, so I found a solution.  As I come to a stop, I use the rear brake (foot only) which means my right hand is temporarily idle.  Once I come to a stop, get my left foot down, and know the bike is stable, I pull in the front brake usually.  My strategy was to shake out my right hand as I came to a stop before pulling in the front brake.  It helped, but I came to the realization that I would not be able to do a long ride on the R Nine T if it didn’t have cruise control.

            I found myself during the cruise thinking quite a bit about motorcycle types and riding positions.  The R Nine T is what is known as a retro bike but it has a bit of naked bike styling to it.  A naked bike is usually a sport bike without a faring (a faring is like the body work on a car that helps create aerodynamic wind flow).  One of the main complaints about the sport bike riding position is that the rider has to lean forward putting pressure on the wrists.  The R Nine T riding position has me leaning just slightly forward, so it doesn’t put a lot of pressure on my wrists.

            However, I’m not on a cruiser like Bill’s Triumph Rocket 3.  The cruiser position (think most Harley-Davidsons) has the rider sitting upright with the legs forward (though Bill opted for the mid-range peg position).  Cruisers are meant to be ridden for long periods of time on the straight highways of America, so they are built for rider comfort.  My thoughts, though, were mostly wondering again about the comfort of the BMW R 1250 GS. 

            Of course I can’t blame the R Nine T outright for my discomfort.  My left hand doesn’t get numb.  One theory as to why my right hand goes numb is that my right arm (I’m right-handed) muscles are larger and this causes my Alpinestar sleeve to pinch.  I’ll see next week because I’ll remember to try Bill’s jacket.

            I also hope next week I’ll still get to enjoy the spectacular colors of the crape myrtles.  The summer thunderstorms have really benefited these trees as they are heavy with their pink, purple, and white blossoms.  I hoped to see some butterflies among them, but all I spotted was a black butterfly zip by too fast for me to clearly identify it.  I’ll be on the lookout for it and more on next week’s ride.

A beautiful summer day in the mid-80s is quite a gift.  Having checked the forecast for Saturday earlier in the week, I had been especially looking forward to today’s ride.  All week we had temperatures into the 90s with building humidity that resulted in daily afternoon thunderstorms.  But Saturday was partly cloudy with a high of 85, what should be a beautiful summer’s day for riding a motorcycle.

            The ride began well enough, with a comfortable coolness coming from the wind generated by the ride.  Bill did have to tighten up the battery connections again to get the Triumph Rocket to start but, after last weekend’s lesson, that was a quick fix.  We headed out with cloud cover and cooling air, but my left shoulder was hurting.  Somehow the clasp on the Alpinestars armored jacket was pressing into my front shoulder most uncomfortably.  I reached in to adjust the strap, which I could do because I kept my jacket zipped only halfway to increase air flow.  But it kept digging in.

            I couldn’t understand the issue.  The strap was not the one I had undone to get the jacket on and then secure the plating.  My best guess was that it had gotten twisted when I put my gear away last week.  Had it continued to press in painfully, I would’ve stopped riding, dismounted, and fully adjusted my gear.  But after shifting it around four or five times, it became just a little uncomfortable and completely endurable.

            We rode the twisty road, and I worked again on setting up my entries into the curves.   These went great giving me time to enjoy some scenery.   I saw some beautiful tall phlox in a gorgeous fuchsia shade along the twisties. 

            Having not done much with slow speed maneuvers last weekend, we spent quite a bit of the ride zooming into courts and cul de sacs to work on U-turns and S-turns.  It was during all of this turn practice that I noticed my right hand again becoming numb.  As soon as we got to the shady parking lot, I parked the bike and worked on loosening up my sleeve.  I don’t actually know what causes this numbness; it is a fairly new development that I’ve only noticed as I ride the R Nine T.  I’ve tried various undershirts thinking that my sleeve may have twisted underneath the safety gear and caused pressure on my arm.

            During today’s ride, I began to wonder if the numbness is due to my pre-loading my front brake.  I would think the pre-load and rolling on the throttle would be enough motion through the hand and arm to prevent any numbness, but something is causing it.  I have wondered if it might be the riding position of the R Nine T.  I don’t sit entirely upright, like I did on the 310, Scrambler, and GSA; I ride with a slight hunching forward.  However, if the position was causing the numbness, I would think I’d experience some numbness in my left hand as well.  Bill has suggested that my Alpinestars jacket may be causing the numbness because of the change in my arms.  I workout and lift weights, in part to better help me handle motorcycles, and I am beginning to see some muscle definition.  So Bill’s theory is that definition is creating a new tightness in the sleeve and leading to the numbness.  Next week I’m going to try wearing Bill’s jacket and see if that prevents my right hand from falling asleep.

            I did have a distraction from the numbness and that was, the heat.  Even though the day was cooler, the humidity worked on me to the point where I began to feel a little sick.  I’ve decided that the t-shirt I got that is supposed to wick moisture away from my body doesn’t breathe well enough.  I’m going to try wearing a plain, white, men’s undershirt underneath my gear and see if that works to keep me more comfortable.

            I tried something new while we worked in the hospital lot.   Because I was feeling the heat, I didn’t want to spend too much time on slow U-turns.  Earlier in the week, Bill had mentioned that I should try and lock up the brakes so I could feel the ABS (anti-lock braking system) kick in.  I asked him how I would know if the ABS was activated, and he explained that I would feel a shudder in the motorcycle, like a “chiggering.”  To keep cool and still work on my riding skills, I sped along in the lot and grabbed hard on the brakes.  I felt the ABS activate three times.  Why should I do this?  As a skill, understanding the feel of the ABS can help me in an emergency braking situation to not freak out and, heaven forbid, stop braking.  The practice also let me work up a cooling breeze to help with the heat.

            Despite the discomforts of the ride, I did have a good time.  I enjoyed seeing some tall sunflowers in bloom and caught a strong whiff of fragrant air from a mimosa tree.  And I was quick enough to spot not only a couple of cabbage white butterflies, but two small Fritillary butterflies, one of which fluttered by six inches from my helmet.  My riding skills are becoming second nature allowing me to enjoy these natural sites while keeping aware and riding safely.

It was a warm mid-July morning with the promise of more thunderstorms at some point in the day as we planned to head out for our ride.  We didn’t get far at first, but eventually we did get going. 

My parents’ driveway is very steep; walking up it I can feel my calf muscles straining.  Plus, ever since I dropped the Ducati Scrambler in the driveway, Bill has been the one to back both motorcycles out of the garage and park them down on the road.  He starts with the Rocket and then the R Nine T.  I visit a bit with my mom, change into my Daytona riding boots, while he does this. 

On this particular morning, I was helping my mom scan some documents and had popped out to let Bill know that I wouldn’t be long.  Bill was sitting on the Rocket having backed it out of the garage in preparation for riding it down into the street, but instead of riding, we waved me over.  The Rocket wouldn’t turn over.  The dashboard lit up as it should though the fuel gauge didn’t move, but when Bill again hit the starter, it gave a whine and nothing.

We haven’t owned the Rocket even a year yet.  It is a beautiful motorcycle, a dream bike in man ways, but it does have technical issues with the key fob.  Many riders report connectivity issues with the key fob, having the bike say it is out of range in the middle of a ride.  Bill has had issues in closeness of the fob for the engine to engage, but it always did engage until today.  We pushed the motorcycle back into the garage, and Bill went out and bought new batteries for the fob.  Still no turnover, so I called the Triumph dealer to speak to a mechanic.  The only practical suggestion to come from the conversation was to check the connections on the battery because they may have “vibrated loose” according to the mechanic.  Bill did so jiggling them as he checked for tightness; they were tight.

It seemed as though our ride was shot, but Bill pressed the ignition switch one more time and was rewarded with the grumble of the engine igniting.  Since the battery cables weren’t really loose, we think he jiggled them enough to let the starter connect.  It is a good thing to know when a motorcycle acts up to check the battery cables.  We keep all of our motorcycles on battery tenders.  These provide a constant charge to the bikes’ batteries, useful because they are not ridden every day like our cars are driven every day.  But even with the tender, the connections on the battery that respond to the starter can vibrate out of place—all part of learning the character of a motorcycle.

Speaking of character, once we got going, I came to the realization that of the three main motorcycles I’ve ridden for some period of time, the R Nine T is by far the easiest to ride.  Once I developed my comfort level with the clutch, I’ve not had many struggles.  There’s been that odd day when I had some missed shifts (and almost crashed), but I see that as character that comes with the bike.  The balance of the motorcycle is phenomenal and has helped develop my confidence in making Uturns.  It has the power to let me easily keep up with Bill on his Rocket, and it looks fantastic.  Looking at the bike, it embodies the essence of what a motorcycle should look like.  In its retro styling, it harkens back to the motorcycles of the 1940s and 1950s, and with the exception of the weird numbness I get in my right hand, the riding position is great.  I still find myself thinking about the R 1250 GS, and I do still believe that is my dream bike.  But being “stuck” with the R Nine T is a pretty good place to be.

Speaking of good places to be, even with the cloying heat, the ride was wonderful.  My shirt was stuck to my back within five minutes of us zooming off.  With our late start due to the start up issues, we went for a quick ride that was mostly cruising.  The cruising allowed the air to circulate enough to keep me mostly comfortable.  I also had decided to try wearing my Klim riding jeans instead of the Rev’It leather pants, and I do think those kept me a wee bit cooler.  I was rewarded on the ride with three different butterflies—the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, one Cabbage White, and a small Black Swallowtail making me even happier that this ride did happen.

I had a get together this weekend with friends I hadn’t seen in quite some time, some since before the pandemic.  With this event, the weather, and feeling a little under the weather, riding our motorcycles will have to wait until next weekend.

            I do have some motorcycle news, however.  We’ve had an offer on the BMW G 310 GS at our price ($4950).  Once the cashier’s check arrives and clears, we may have one of the two motorcycles up for sale sold.  I had to go back on CycleTrader and buy a new ad for the Ducati Scrambler.  Unfortunately, once a listing has been live for 24 hours, they don’t let the seller edit the full listing.  I had listed it as a Ducati Desert Sled Scrambler Fasthouse, and Bill pointed out that someone searching for a Ducati Scrambler has to wade through 10 pages of results before ours showed up.  Once I put it in as the Ducats Scrambler, it came up with only one other motorcycle being sold out in California.  I did get an offer on the Ducati, but it was way under what we’re asking, so I refused it.

            I do hope that we manage to sell both these motorcycles, and I hope we can give more serious consideration to purchasing the BMW R 1250 GS.  At this rate, though, I should be able to test ride the new 1300 model coming out in the Fall.  If I’m lucky, the upgraded engine will be a big hit, reducing the demand for the 1250 and bringing those prices down.  That would really make me happy.

            It was a week of taking care of the BMW motorcycles.  Bill got to do most of the riding as I started my summer job.  I was bummed at not getting to take the 310 in for its annual inspection while Bill took the R Nine T.  Instead, Bill rode the 310 over to the Honda dealership for that inspection, and then the next day, he rode the R Nine T over to the Harley dealership for its inspection.  Both bikes passed, but when we did an oil check on Saturday, we realized the R Nine T needed some oil.

            Because of this oil need, we had to postpone our usual Saturday ride.  For one thing, we had to get the proper oil to add, and we had to get the tool that opens the cylinder head for adding oil.  When one buys a motorcycle, it comes with a small toolkit.  This toolkit usually fits under the seat.  Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the R Nine T toolkit was back at the house in Bill’s tool chest.  So we headed back home to pick up the toolkit and buy some oil.

            Our first stop for the oil was back at the Honda dealership.  During the inspection earlier in the week, Bill visited with the owner of the store.  He was there again Saturday, so we had a nice little stop but no luck on the oil (15W x 50).  However, the Honda shop owner suggested we try Cyclegear.  Now we have shopped at Cyclegear for motorcycle clothing gear, but we would not have thought of them for motorcycle oil.  Thanks to the suggestion, we found the oil we needed—Motorex, an oil manufactured in Switzerland.

            Back we went to my parents’ garage.  One of the suggestions for checking and changing the bike’s oil was to ride it for a couple of miles, let it sit for five minutes, and then check the oil.  This warm up ride was my utilitarian ride.  I geared up and headed out on my own.  Since I knew the curvy road would get me at least a mile of the ride, I headed up it.  What was interesting was I realized I relied more than I thought on Bill selecting our approaches into the curves.  Riding solo gave me the opportunity to work on that skill.

I rode until the odometer moved from 1143 to 1146 to ensure I had covered at least two miles.  Back at the garage, we waited the suggested five minutes, Bill checked the oil level again, and then added the oil.  On the R Nine T, the oil fill “line” is a red circle; the oil should be near the top of the circle without going over.  Well, despite adding only about half a cup of oil, it went over the top of the circle.  Now oil needed to be drained which necessitated finding a large enough allen wrench to open the drain plug.  Luckily Bill didn’t have to go all the way back to our house; he could run over to his Mom’s house and get the needed tool.

            I haven’t mentioned the weather yet, but it was the first day of July, and the day was a typical July day—hot and humid.  The temperature was in the upper 80s, but with the humidity, the heat index put us up in the 90s, and Bill was stuck working in the garage with only a small fan to cool him off.  My Mom needed help on the computer, so I got to hang inside in the air conditioning.  But he got the excess oil drained.

            By now it was four o’clock in the afternoon, very late for us.  I was pleasantly surprised when Bill said let’s ride.  Due to the lateness of the day, the heat and its impact on Bill working away in the hot garage, we went for a zoomy, short ride.  I love how the wind cools me off as we zip along.  One perk of the late afternoon ride was I got to see two pairs of osprey up circling as they hunted.  We sacrificed our slow speed practice which I didn’t mind on the warm day.  And the final perk was my suggestion.  Usually after our ride, we head home and cook a delicious blueberry French toast brunch.  However, I was hot and tired and in no mood to cook, so I figured Bill for sure had to be hotter, more tired, and more not in the mood to cook.  My suggestion was we head over to Kanpai Sushi and get our usual dinner and save the French toast for tomorrow.

            It was a day where we learned a lot about the motorcycle and about our bike resources.  I learned I need to think more purposefully about my ride even when I’m following behind Bill.  And I relearned to always be grateful for every opportunity to ride.       

      Happy Independence Day!  Have a wonderful day celebrating our awesome country’s birthday!