Ride, White, and Blue

We had a lovely day for a ride having made the effort to get up and out of the house a little earlier. This early start was to take advantage of the cooler temps before the day hit its high of 93. The 85 degrees was preferable, especially since there was a strong wind to keep a cooling breeze blowing.

Today’s lesson was to work on using my mirrors at stops. On a motorcycle this extra awareness of what’s coming up behind is necessary as I may have to get out of the way. A fender bender for a car is annoying; getting hit from behind on a motorcycle can be tragic.

I had started practicing checking my mirrors at stops when I’m in the car. But I found it was not as easy on the motorcycle. Stops take a lot of mental gymnastics on a motorcycle. As we all know, when we arrive at the stop, we check both ways for cross traffic to safely cross or turn onto the roadway. On a motorcycle I am also focused on how I am stopping, getting my left foot down, making sure the motorcycle doesn’t fall, switching from the rear brake to the front brake, and checking my mirrors for unaware drivers from behind. I have the additional mental check of paying attention to which direction Bill is going and when he takes off and keeping up. So I was well into the ride before I remembered I was supposed to be checking my mirrors as I stopped. Part of my delayed thinking was that I had some hair blow into my left eye and needed to find a stop to get it out. Bill, being in the lead, takes off, and we don’t have a communications system in the helmets. I rode along patiently until we got to the court at the end of the long road. There I stopped and brushed the remaining hairs out of my left eye.

This being the 4^th of July weekend, we rode past many houses flying Old Glory. I also saw a cute stars and stripes pinwheel, and we passed one large white house with red, white, and blue bunting under two upstairs windows—very impressive. It was fun and refreshing to see so many people getting into this holiday’s spirit.

The heat did get to me a bit. As we were doing S-turns in the second church lot, my mind drifted a bit to wishing I was cruising in a long straight line for the cooling breeze. But I quickly refocused on my riding and shrugged off the sweat.

The dragonflies were back, not in as large a number as a few weeks ago, but I enjoyed watching several fly beside me as I rode. No butterflies in sight. I had hoped our earlier start would allow me a glimpse of a few but no luck. My luck was back on the R Nine T as I was able to start it up, find first gear, and take right off. This week I did shift into second and back into first as I cruised along in the shade of the woodland trees. My next challenge for the R Nine T is to stop the bike and restart as I cruise the little field.

As we left the school grounds and arrived at the stop sign, my wish was to see Bill’s left indicator come on not his right. And I got my wish, extending our ride. We cruised the arch twice as there were patches of gravel in the roadway due to construction we could ride across. All in all, a lovely Independence Day weekend ride; I can’t wait for the next one. Happy Fourth of July!

Together Again

After the crazy week we had getting two of our motorcycles inspected, our Saturday came together perfectly, letting us both get back on the road. A pleasant June day with lots of bright sunshine set us up with perfect riding weather, and we set off quickly, Bill now also sporting a Helite Turtle Airbag vest.

We adapted our route out of the neighborhood as there was clearly a swim meet still in progress. The roads were a little busy today and we had a few run ins, but that was toward the end of our ride. We rode to the end of Witchduck and spun a few turns in the court before heading into the neighborhood. The scent of the magnolias was heavy on the air though I didn’t see too many butterflies about enjoying them. I worked on keeping close to Bill’s bike and noted just how different his R Nine T accelerates versus Scrambler. My turns were nearly in tandem, but I still had to accelerate quickly to close the gap that formed between us. That’s what 36 extra horsepower will do for acceleration. But I got to enjoy the cooling breeze as I zipped along to play catch up.

We spent extra time making our circles and S-turns in the courts. I didn’t mind as Bill was making up for two lost weeks. Our race up the fast road was cut short by a man backing his truck up right into our path. Luckily, we saw him in enough time to safely stop but, as Bill pointed out later, that is an example of how drivers on the road ignore motorcycles.

When we hit our parking lot where we practice standing up and dropping to a stop, we pulled over and parked. Bill had to adjust the tether for the vest as it didn’t allow him to stand up. I sat holding his helmet and trying to cool off my thighs during the adjustment. And I appreciated when we stood up as that brought my toasted thighs away from the engine heat.

After a few minutes of this practice, we headed into our lot to practice straightening up and stopping from a curve and our quick stops. This went well, but by this point, I was thinking about my turn on the R Nine T which quickly arrived.

The R Nine T was not as nice to me today as it was three weeks ago. At first, I couldn’t shift into first. Next, I stalled the bike as I tried to find the friction zone. Now I should’ve kept the bike in first on the restart, but out of habit, I had shifted again into neutral. I had a devil of a time finding first and made a huge mistake. I thought the issue might be with the shift-lever, so I brought my whole boot and full leg weight down and was quickly scolded. Bill pointed out that the shift lever is not designed to take full body weight and the key was in the clutch. I worked on slowly letting out the clutch until the bike shifted into first. I then ended up over-revving on the throttle as I again sought the friction zone. With a lot of dabbing, I was able to get the bike moving. Happily, once I found the friction zone, I was able to stay in it.

Today I got to do a bit more in my R Nine T ride. Instead of just doing slow S-turns, I was able to cruise down the field to the baseball diamond. Bill had asked me to not shift, so I stayed in first, and enjoyed the woods beside me and the feel of the bike. I especially enjoyed the boxer engine which very notably does not roast my thighs. Before I can take the motorcycle out on the road, Bill wants to get more road biased tires. But this delay is good as it will allow me more time to get comfortable with the dry clutch, finding the friction zone, and shifting to first.

On our way back to the garage, we had two run ins with inconsiderate drivers. One driver was in a minivan and turned across our path as though we weren’t there. The other driver was in a small SUV and had swung into our lane to move around a parked pickup truck. She made no adjustment to share the road as we came closer to passing. We just slowed to near stops and let these clueless drivers pass. Just more evidence as to why we don’t want to be out in full on traffic.

As for my nature watching, I did get to see one Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, a rabbit, and a blue heron hunting in the low tidal water. I’m pretty sure another butterfly flew over my head, but all I saw of him was his shadow. I’m hoping as we move further into summer, we start our rides earlier as an earlier start will give us more nature to enjoy as we all try to avoid the hotter parts of the day.

The Great State Inspection Adventure

Now that I’m on summer vacation, we decided to take the bikes in for their annual state inspections. Both BMWs were past due and both were in two different cities. So our first adventure was to take the R Nine T to Southside Harley-Davidson for its inspection.

Our adventure was slightly derailed (pun intended) by a freight train stopped on the tracks. I turned around and went the circuitous route that avoided the tracks. This was smart as we could see the train was still not moving after 10 minutes.

But once we went over that hurdle, it was smooth sailing to get to the garage and get the bike. We arrived at Southside early enough to be second in line. Supposedly inspections started at 12:30, but it wasn’t until 1:15 that a couple of guys wandered out and took a look at the motorcycle. We kept cool by wandering inside the dealership and checking out the Harleys. I was hoping to see the new Nightster, but they don’t have one yet. We did get to see the 2022 Street Glide ST that Bill was interested in.

That was the simple adventure. Today I was taking the 310 over to Honda of Norfolk for an inspection. As I neared the dealership, the gates came down announcing another freight train’s arrival. I was second in line, so I had a good view down the tracks of the train. I watched for the end of the train, but as I waited, I realized the train was slowing to a stop. I turned around and headed home to try again later.

After about half an hour, I headed out again. As I rode up the main road, I caught a glimpse of orange in the distance and I knew this wasn’t flowers. Sure enough, the train was still at a standstill on the tracks. Back again home to wait even longer. Now the adventuresome part of returning home is prepping the bike to head back out for the next attempt. My driveway is two strips of concrete with a grassy hump in the middle. And I don’t have enough space to do a U-turn in front of the garage. So I end up needing to rock the bike back to increase my turn radius. Unfortunately, this is an uphill battle and even on a 375-pound bike, hard to do. I managed the first turnaround, but Bill was kind enough to take over the second one.

Nearly two hours after my first attempt to take the 310 in for inspection, the third try was successful. As I crossed the train-free tracks, I realized the turn was sooner than expected, so I was coming in a little too fast onto a large patch of gravel—a prime slippage surface. Luckily, I was able to steer wide as I slowed and was just fine. The inspection itself lasted 15 minutes with a 5-minute wait, so the true battle was getting past the train to get to the inspector. As I was leaving the dealership and waiting to turn onto the main road, a city police officer drove by, and I was very glad I had the shiny new up-to-date inspection sticker on display.

Now we are both set for Saturday’s ride, and I added a few more miles onto the 310 to get it closer to 600.

https://images.app.goo.gl/9Y8TEZ3oHgEqZStR7

Solo Cruise Part Deux

It was a day made for cruising. The 100-degree Friday gave way, via a violent thunderstorm bringing in a cold front, to a gorgeous 79-degree sunny day with a northerly breeze. The breeze blew the scent of magnolia blossoms into my helmet, and I spent most of the ride with a silly grin on my face.

Unfortunately, circumstances did not work in our favor to allow Bill to get the R Nine T inspected in time for today’s beautiful ride. So I headed out on my own. The road work had finished over by the first historic house, and I enjoyed a spin in the gravel lot. Then I headed over to the school parking lot to do some slalom practice using the bus parking lines.

Into the ritzy neighborhood, past the gaggle of geese starting to cross the road, I noticed the spectacular hydrangea blooms. The flowers ranged from white, to pink, to fuchsia, to sky blue, to deep purple. Mixed in with the hydrangeas were bright orange day lilies, white magnolia blossoms, and even early crepe myrtle blooms. We’ve been lucky to have lots of rain and the flora clearly appreciate it. At one point I rode up to a low hanging magnolia branch to sniff the flower, something easy to do on a motorcycle. But it led to me almost dropping the bike.

One point Bill has emphasized to me about stopping on roadways is the unevenness of the roads and the need for care. My branch led me to the side of the court where the street dipped down toward the gutter. I was lucky. Because I was focusing on the flower, it would’ve been easy to forget myself and let the bike fall. But I fought the weight and managed to keep the motorcycle upright by pulling my left leg in closer toward the bike. I also managed to startle a Banded Hairstreak butterfly that fluttered out of another flower and crossed in front of me.

I continued my ride and continued to enjoy the hydrangeas, noting an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail also enjoying the blooms. I had the opportunity to practice the head movement to help steer in a wide turn; it worked like a charm and I found a few more places to practice it. I also worked on my rear brake stops and foot placement and did a much better job transitioning my hand onto the front brake. My standing stops also went smoothly as did my straightening out of a turn stops.

It was difficult to bring my ride to an end. Had Bill been riding with me, we would’ve ridden for another hour at least. But I took pity on him having to just sit around and wait and headed back. I did a fabulous job of parking the bike next to the lonely R Nine T. Next week for sure we’ll ride together and, I’m hoping, I’ll get another turn on the BMW.

Solo Ride

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eastern Box Turtle crossing the viewing court.

Finally! (Sort of)

I finally got to ride the BMW R Nine T Urban GS—sort of. But since that came at the end of the ride, I’ll explain in a bit.

As I sat on my Ducati waiting for Bill to mount the R Nine T, my Mom’s neighbor walked by. She immediately was drawn to the R Nine T, appreciating the beauty of the motorcycle. She asked if it was my brother’s bike and said she used to ride the pillion on her old boyfriend’s motorcycle when she lived in Canada. After walking around admiring the R Nine T, she politely asked me what I was perched on, but it was clear the BMW motorcycle was the big draw.

A lovely 80-degree day with lots of sunshine for our ride greeted us this Saturday. Gearing up was quite warm, but once the ride started, I felt almost chilly from the cool breeze washing over me. We rode again straight down the long road, letting the cool air waft over us and enjoying the lovely day. Yardmen were loading up their riding mower with lovely rose bushes at the end of the road as they continued their month-long landscaping project.

The magnolia blooms scented the air as we headed on our usual neighborhood ride, checking in on the progress on the two houses under construction. We stopped the bikes in one court as Bill noticed some plastic barriers up leading down to the water and posited a boat ramp may soon be under construction. As we checked out the water which was conspicuously missing all waterfowl this week (usually we see some ducks and an egret), a duskywing butterfly fluttered right between us right at eye level. It fluttered too fast for me to get a clearer look to know which kind of duskywing it was; I did see the grayish/brown body and new this was a new butterfly.

Our ride continued with lazy loops in the churches’ parking lots and on the gravel lot. My tires slipped again on the gravel, so I have begun to wonder if the softer ground makes the tires slip more. The R Nine T has 50/50 tires, meaning 50% for on road and 50% for off road, so it has a better grip.

As we rode, there wasn’t much traffic. But whenever we were at a stop sign, we had to wait for several cars to pass. At one stop we waited as 7 cars went by, very unusual. But I didn’t mind as I could practice my stops and my looks. It was at once such stop that spied a spicebush swallowtail dancing along in the air.

One MSF skill we’ve added back to our practice is the swerve. On some of the streets, there’s some leftover yard debris on the side of the road—sticks, leaf piles, pinecones. We ride straight at the debris and then apply pressure to the left handlebar to swerve the bike around the obstacle. This is great practice for swerving to the left, but it doesn’t give us the chance to swerve to the right. So when we were in the large church parking lot, I aimed at the parking space stripes to swerve right.

This week we did remember to practice riding while standing and then stopping suddenly. I need to work on my right foot position so I can start braking with the rear brake while still standing. Otherwise, it went really well.

We also continued our straightening up out of the curve and stopping practice and the straight-line quick stops. I had one bauble where I put my right foot down on one of my quick stops. I need to work on a quicker reaction time so I can use my head shift to help me use the correct foot. More work for next week.

Now we did not start the ride by letting me putter on the R Nine T on the grass because as we drove into the neighborhood, we saw cars in front of and to the side of the school. These weren’t the cricket players, so we felt constrained in using the field. Our thinking was we’d do our neighborhood cruising and swing by the school to see if the cars were gone at the end of the ride. No such luck. I feared my R Nine T ride was going to again be postponed. But as Bill signaled his turn, I began to hope we were heading to the back of the school field. Sure enough, at my dead-end practice street, we turned left and rode up past the Armco onto the grass.

Now the R Nine T has what is called a dry clutch. This means the clutch is similar to that on a manual transmission automobile. My Ducati Scrambler and BMW G310 GS both have multi-plate wet clutches. In terms of riding, this means my two bikes have a more forgiving friction zone. But that was what Bill wanted me to practice—getting a feel for the dry clutch and friction zone. So I began my ride dabbing my feet and stalled almost immediately. I restarted, got moving very slowly, hit a depression in the ground and stalled the bike again trying to give it enough with just the clutch to get out. I realized I needed to add a bit of throttle but carefully as Bill always talks about how the bike just wants to go.

After the second restart, I found the sweet spot in the dry clutch’s friction zone, put my feet up on the pegs, and began my slow circle cruise around the young magnolias. I loved riding the R Nine T and was really tempted to roll on the throttle and ride up the field. But I was the good student and did as my instructor asked. Plus, with people in the school, we didn’t want to overstay our welcome. And that just gives me something to look forward to with next week’s ride.

Me puttering on the gorgeous BMW R Nine T Urban GS.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Several days of rain gave way to a gorgeous, sunny, warm but not hot Saturday morning. A glorious day for a ride. The sun was so bright in the sky, we put off washing the bikes until a partly cloudy day. This was my third week successfully backing the bike out of the garage and remembering to put the kickstand down.

We headed out into a quiet neighborhood, not much traffic and not too many people up and about yet. It is a holiday weekend, so people may have been enjoying the opportunity to sleep in. Even the dragonflies must’ve been sleeping in as I only saw a few early on in the ride. Right off the bat, though, a cabbage white butterfly sent us on our way.

We headed into the ritzy neighborhood and road straight down the long road just to feel the bikes under us and the cool breeze. A few turns in the court and we again did a different route through the neighborhood. One of the skills I was supposed to work on was trail braking which is where I gradually apply brakes while entering a curve then gradually releasing the brake as I come out of the curve. Now in the MSF course, I was told to brake before the curve but not be on the brake in the curve and accelerate out. The reason for this is due to newbie riders most likely applying too much brake into the curve and thus falling. But motorcycle racers trail brake to benefit from forcing more of the rubber from the front tire to maintain contact with the road. I tried at our slow 25 mph speed to trail brake, but I’m not sure if I was successful or not. I didn’t fail, but I don’t know that I increased the tire surface contact with the road.

I did have success with my stopping using the rear brake only and stepping out my left foot. I did so well I only used the front brake on one stop. That was for stops while out on the road. We added quick braking while riding at 15-20 mph. One braking skill we forgot was to brake while standing. Add that to next week’s ride.

Our route was so backwards, I thought we weren’t going to ride in the gravel lot because we turned right out of the church lot instead of left. But we looped around and hit the gravel. The recent rain may have churned up the gravel; I felt both my wheels slip sideways under me. It gives me a visceral thrill as I feel that slip and makes me look forward to more off-road riding in the future.

We extended the ride about half an hour longer and I noted that my hands are holding up better. My right hand didn’t get tired until we were nearing the end of the ride and doing our straighten-up-and-stop-out-of-curves practice. The dragonflies were more prevalent in the latter portion of our ride, and I saw 6 cabbage whites in all during the ride. And I actually managed to catch enough of a glimpse of an American Copper butterfly. They may enjoy the blooming hydrangeas or the day lilies that have begun to open.

The best part of our ride came as we were circling around to head home. As we approached the stop sign at my old practice road, two families of Canadian geese were traversing the road. When our bikes roared up to the stop sign, the goslings reared back and tried to head back in the direction from which they came. But the adults were determined to shepherd the families to a new food source and fussed at the babies to keep going. We cut off our motors to help calm the goslings down and enjoyed watching the parade. It was a lovely image with which to end our ride and kept us both smiling all the way home.

Roasting

We made our earliest start ever, getting over to ride by 10:00 AM. Why? Because the forecast was for a high of 97. As it was, the temps were already in the mid-80s with a heat index flirting with 90. This was more like a ride in August than May; however, we still geared up and headed out.

It was community yard sale weekend in my parents’ neighborhood, so we rode straight over to the ritzy neighborhood to avoid the extra traffic the yard sales brought. Of course, I noted that several homes in the ritzy neighborhood were piggybacking on the community sale to host their own yard sales. But traffic wasn’t too bad despite being busier, except the truck U-turner turning around his truck full of bikes while looking at his phone and the minivan lady with her phone in one hand and a map in the other. Scary, but we were aware and avoided them.

As we headed out on our ride, we headed into a bevy of dragonflies. Clearly the hot weather agrees with them or their eggs hatch in May because they were everywhere throughout our ride. One little guy was zooming right into my path but deftly lifted and swerved to avoid both the motorcycle and me. I saw a beautiful blue one and marveled how fantastic it is to be on a motorcycle and be able to see the dragonflies so clearly as to distinguish their colors.

The cabbage white butterflies were out, too, but not in as large a number. I managed to see 8 throughout the ride, but I also got to see a black swallowtail which gave me an extra smile. Almost everyone was staying in the shade even during this earlier warmth of the day. A great egret was stalking its breakfast in the river, two Canadian geese were canoodling in the grass, and some ducks were waddling across the street.

The air was full of the scent of honeysuckle and Ligustrum. There was a cooling breeze out of the west, but it was a day when I preferred the straight rides letting the wind chill cool us off. Whenever we entered a court to work on our slow circles, I could feel the exhaust heat against my right inner thigh. When we were working on straightening up out of circles, I felt as though my leg was roasting on a spit. I found myself thinking longingly of the BMW 1250 GS with its boxer twin engine (just like the R Nine T). With the cylinders down in front of my feet and an exhaust pipe down and back by the rear tire, it won’t be as toasty roasty as the Desert Sled.

Due to the heat, I opted not to take the R Nine T into the field. I didn’t want Bill having to stand around all geared up in the sun and heat. I regretted that decision a little bit as the heat emanated up my body from the exhaust. After our ride, I was sweatier than Bill! I am praying for no rain next Friday so the field will be dry. Part of moving up to the 1250 GS is being able to handle the boxer engine, so I need some experience with the R Nine T to develop my competence and comfort.

And if you were wondering whether we still gear up in the heat, the answer is yes. I still put on the Alpinestars jacket under the Klim which is under the Helite vest. I noticed that with the Barkbusters hand guards, my hands in their summer gloves don’t get the full effect of the wind. I found myself holding up my left hand to let the wind run through all my venting holes.

As for skills practice, we worked on straightening up out of curves, both doing much better than last week. We also added something else to our stopping practice. This week on Youtube, Bill found Boots and Jeans, and Boots was going over how to stop his large Honda Goldwing. Now remember from last week, I use the front brake to slow the bike, but for the full stop, I only use the rear brake so that if the bike is not completely straight and it starts to wobble, I can straighten it out. Boots showed us how, as he releases the front brake, he sticks his left leg out straight and, as the bike comes to a stop, lets his heel touch down first and then the rest of the foot. This foot technique helps prevent the jump that can be experienced from stopping the bike and setting the foot flat down. As I practiced it, I noted it was an interesting sensation and did make me feel more stable in my stops.

I did more slowing circles and then letting the clutch out to help straighten the bike. And I was very conscientious about making sure the kickstand was down the two times the bike was parked. Another successful week finding neutral, too. Other than roasted thigh, it was a fantastic ride. I can’t wait for next weekend when the temps will be a much more delightful 77 degrees. I wonder who I’ll see more of—the dragonflies or the butterflies? And will I finally get to ride the R Nine T?

Return to Riding

Gray skies and wet roads greeted us Saturday morning. So we jumped in the car and took a road trip to Richmond to visit Moto Richmond, a dealership that carries Triumph, KTM, and Moto Guzzi. It was a rainy drive with a brief downpour that caused stoppage on the interstate. But with only one wrong turn, we made it to the dealership. One reason we went was to allow Bill to compare the Triumph Rocket III R and GT models directly, so he could decide which model he prefers (the GT). We also were able to see the carnival red color which the 2023 Rocket will come out in; this color was on the gold line Bobber and is a beautiful shade of red. We also got to see the Scrambler XE in the Baja Orange again, but this time it was next to the Cobalt Blue Jet Black, so we could discern which color we preferred (the blue).

Another reason we went was to see the Triumph Tiger 1200 Rally Pro which, unfortunately for us, had been sold that week. They had the Rally in the 900 version, so I could compare the feel of that motorcycle to the BMW GS 1250. The Triumph is a bit top heavy. I was also able to sit on the KTM 1200 Adventure for a further comparison, and I felt that bike was far too heavy for me to control. So I left feeling more confident in my choice of the GS.

The drive home was drier as the showers passed through. We took this as a hopeful sign we would be able to ride on Sunday. And we were.

Sunday was on the warm side for our ride, but it was sunny and dry and the driveway was fixed. I told Bill I felt giddy about our impending ride as we drove over to get the bikes. I would not, however, be able to try out the R Nine T as the field was still too wet. We hadn’t gone more than a block in our ride before I saw my first cabbage white butterfly. Half a block later, I saw the second. In all I saw 16 cabbage whites on our ride and saw 4 more on the drive back home. Clearly, these little butterflies enjoy the warmer weather.

They must also like roses and honeysuckle and these were in full bloom. I saw several clematis blooming still, a few late dogwoods, and even a pink peony. Only a pair of Canada geese were out, though we saw a drake as we stopped to take in a view of the lake. Lots of people and dogs were out today, probably making up for the rainy days we’ve had over the past week.

As for my riding skills, I was able to work on letting out the clutch as I felt the bike tipping while doing slow circles. Another skill I worked on is coming to a stop using only the rear brake. This is an essential skill because if I am using the front brake and the bike is not dead on straight, the bike can tip over. By using the rear brake, I can quickly adjust the direction of the bike if it is tipping or let out the clutch to keep the bike moving which will help straighten up the motorcycle.

We also worked on straightening up and coming to a stop from a curve, something we hadn’t really worked on since the MSF class. The best parts of the ride were when we rode with some speed to create a cool breeze; the Ducati engine is a lot warmer than the BMW 310. Overall, I had a great ride, easily found neutral every time, then I almost dropped the bike at the end of the ride. As I shifted into neutral and cut the bike off, I noted the fuel light was on; I began to lean the bike to the left to dismount when I realized I didn’t have the kickstand down. The worst part is that to the left was the R Nine T, so had I dropped the bike, it would’ve landed on Bill’s with me sandwiched in the middle. Since my one drop of the Ducati was from getting off the bike without ensuring the kickstand was down, I clearly have an issue. Bill suggested I recite an “end of the ride” checklist to help me fix this problem.

Other than this serious gaffe, the butterflies joined me and Bill for a fantastic ride. The week looks a lot drier, so let’s hope I get the chance to ride the R Nine T in the field next weekend.

Ready for our ride; the Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled (background) and the BMW R NineT (foreground).

Window Shopping

Another beautiful Saturday with temps around 70, yet no ride. The bikes are currently trapped inside my parents’ garage as a large rectangular slab of concrete is currently dug up in the front leaving a two-foot-deep trench. So when no riding is possible, we head off to look at motorcycles.

Our first stop was Adventure BMW to see what was in the showroom. Unfortunately, in their case, the website is up-to-date, so there were only a few new bikes and no R 1250 GSs in stock. Bill was happy, though, The R18 bagger was there for him to play with. I sat on the R 1250, the street version of the adventure bike and didn’t notice much to the weight. We talked with Rick, the sales manager, and he brought out the fob so we could look at the TFT dash and open up the baggage compartments on the R18. For fun we also sat on the S1000 R, a track bike for sure, a younger person’s motorcycle with a seat as hard as a 2×4.

From Adventure we stopped by my parents’ house to wish my Mom a happy Mother’s Day, then headed over to Sunrise Cycles to see if any new Triumph Rockets had arrived. We were disappointed to see none had. But we were finally able to see the Gold Line Triumph Scrambler XE in the Baja California orange. We had admired this bike online for some time and were very curious to see it in person. Had we liked it more in person it might have made a stand against the BMW 1250 GS. But, while a pretty motorcycle, the orange is not as striking in person.

So the next step for me is to ride the R NineT so I can get a feel for both the boxer engine and a more powerful engine in preparation for my the 1250 GS. Meanwhile, I missed zooming along on the Ducati Scrambler. Here’s hoping the driveway gets finished and the weather is nice for next weekend.

“You do not need a therapist if you own a motorcycle, any kind of motorcycle!”
Dan Aykroyd (found on: https://wildtriumph.com/motorcycle-quotes-sayings/)