Do Crows Eat Goose Poop?

Yes, I am asking the question—do crows eat goose poop? This puzzlement is one of the many thoughts that play through my mind as I ride. But there is a specific incident that led me to this particular pondering.

First, let me start by saying today was probably the prettiest August day for riding ever. The whole week has been kept comfortably cool for late summer by winds coming down from Canada. Daily highs have been in the mid-70s with low humidity and plenty of sunshine. Luckily, the weather held into Saturday; it was so comfortably cool for late August that it didn’t matter that we had a late start and didn’t head out for our ride until after 3:00. In fact Bill had joked that had we gotten up to ride at 6:00 AM, we would’ve needed to wear our leather jackets.

So here I was on a late summer day not getting wet underpants because I didn’t sweat at all during the ride. And we weren’t the only ones out riding, though we were the only ones on motorcycles. I spotted more than ten bicyclists out and about including two intrepid youths out with their training wheels. One boy on his bike looked at us as we passed and I waved to him to keep his future dreams of motorcycles alive.

Before we headed out, I spotted a bird of prey. At first I thought it was an osprey, but as it flew closer overhead, I made out the white head and brown underside of a young bald eagle. I smiled at this wonderful sight and was hopeful for more fun wildlife during the ride. Despite the beautiful day, though, I only spotted one sulfur butterfly before our ride and one eastern tiger swallowtail later during the ride. And I saw a turkey vulture circling high in the sky with another large bird; however, this bird’s wing shape was different from the turkey vulture. From my research I believe it may have been a gray vulture, but as he was very high in the sky, I can’t be sure.

The squirrels are a bit more assertive this late into the summer. Two ran out in front of Bill during our ride and both just kept right on going as though they owned the road. One of them had something large and white in its mouth, maybe a pale squash though it seems too early for squash. We did have an unexpected sighting. Someone’s pet dog, I believe a little Lancashire heeler, was out in the road. I looked around and only spotted an open garage. He didn’t try and chase our motorcycles, but he was friendly and began approaching us before we moved away. When we came out of the footless stop, which was totally full of feet as a truck was coming so we had to stop, the little dog was heading up the road.

But we rode on, heading up the fast road. We turned into the square lot for U-turn practice where I spotted the crows. As we rode into the square, I looked around to see what so many crows were feasting on. But all I saw was the Canadian goose poop that covered the parking lot. This observation led me to wonder if crows do eat poop; the best answer I could find was maybe. However, it is the ability to make such detailed observations from the seat of my motorcycle that lets my mind wander into such profound thinking (HA!). I was grossed out knowing the goose poop was getting all over our tires, but there was no way to avoid it.

We circled back to check on the little dog, but he had made his way home by then. I was happy about that. One disadvantage of motorcycles is they aren’t ideal for carrying things or dogs. Bill isn’t too shot with carrying passengers on the pillion, which is why I get a motorcycle of my own to ride. I could still ponder goose poop eating crows and spot butterflies and birds from the back of a motorcycle, but I wouldn’t have any where near the fun I have working the clutch, rolling on the throttle, and working with the balance of the motorcycle as I turn it around. I also think it’s very healthy and helpful for my aging brain—to multitask with working the motorcycle while observing the wonders of nature around me. I can’t wait for more brain work next week.

A Pleasant August Ride

We are halfway through August and signs of autumn are beginning to appear. Soon the meteorologists will be recounting how this was the hottest summer on record. And I won’t believe them. Two weeks into August, past what should have been the dog days of summer, and we’ve been sitting with temperatures in the 80s. For the mid-Atlantic coast, this makes for a balmy summer. It sure made for a comfortable summer ride.

The sky was cloudy as well, though no rain was in the forecast. The cloud cover contributed to the comfortable ride. Still, because it is still summer, Bill led us on a cruising ride with no slow speed drills. I did get to practice my footless stop—another 0 on the speedometer. And I continued working on my engine braking with only one full pull in on the clutch during the whole ride.

As we rode, we passed three groups of Canadian geese, each one progressively larger than the other. The third gaggle was over twenty geese; this many groups is a sure sign of fall migration. Fall of course is spectacular riding weather, and I am definitely looking forward to those cooler days and the colors of autumn. Not that I mind still seeing the crape myrtle blossoms, roses, brown-eyed Susans, and brightly colored vincas still flowering. I was surprised, though, to still see flowers in bloom on the magnolia trees and credit that to both the milder summer and the abundance of rain we’ve had.

I spotted a spicebush swallowtail that’s been hanging around my yard as I sat in the car waiting for Bill. During the ride, a different spicebush swallowtail flew aggressively toward Bill on the Rocket before backing off and fluttering away. I will miss spotting butterflies as we head into the colder seasons. But I am hoping I’ll see some bald eagles as they have been conspicuously absent this summer. When I get to ride my motorcycle, I can find something wonderful in all the seasons to enjoy.

Spicebush swallowtail butterfly--black with blue, gold, and orange markings — Photo by Thomas Elliott on Pexels.com

Caught by the Rain

Hurricane Debby made landfall this week bringing devastation and destruction to a wide swath of the east. The outer bands passed over this area giving us days of rain. Cooler air came along with the storm which was nice. When Saturday came, rain was in the forecast, but we hadn’t paid enough attention to it to avoid the precipitation entirely. As we geared up in the garage, Bill checked his weather app which predicted 70% chance of rain. We headed out to get whatever ride in we could.

We were able to hit the curvy road where we ran into several cars leaving their driveways. Bill even cut into the gravel lot of the historic house to let one of the cars go past us. I realized then that while I am engine braking coming to stop signs, I don’t have it as a habit to help me in sudden slow downs and stops. We passed five Canadian geese and just as I was beginning to feel sad about the odd one, we zoomed past three more. With all the recent rain, the geese had split up to enjoy different puddles.

As we hit the long road into the ritzy neighborhood, I spotted something on my visor that might have been a raindrop. Half a second later, we rode into the downpour. We had to do an on-street U-turn and began to head back to my parents’ garage. Oddly, though, as we entered my parents’ neighborhood, the rain stopped, just a few blocks from the downpour. So we began riding around that neighborhood. I spotted a few butterflies, but under the gray skies, I couldn’t quite make up which species.

We zipped around for a few minutes before passing a car with its windshield wipers in full gear. Two seconds later, we hit the rain again and decided to call it a day. It was an interesting image to see the demarcation in the air between the rain and no rain.

Next week promises sunshine and low 80s for our Saturday ride. It will be a long week as I have to head back to work, so I’m hopeful for a great day of riding ahead.

Raindrops on the pillion seat and taillight of the R Nine T.

Another W.U. Ride

I did not get another day like last Saturday for my ride this week. The weather decided to remind me that it is August and produced a hot and humid day. As I loaded the gear in the car, my sunglasses fogged up from the humidity, and in the direct sunlight, the heat was on. The official temperature was only 92 degrees; even so, I could smell the asphalt as it softened in the heat.

There had been rain forecasted as a possibility for Saturday, but it came and went earlier in the week. I do appreciate the rain we’ve had this summer as it has kept the grass and trees lush and green and the flowers in bloom. The wildlife was sparse, though, resting from the heat. We were well into the ride before I spotted a mockingbird and some robins flitting about. No butterflies were spotted during the ride, but as I began taking my gear off after the ride, a tiger swallowtail made an appearance in the palm trees across the street.

Due to the heat, the ride was focused on movement. I continued to work on engine braking and managed to utilize it all but one time. That one time was when Bill last minute decided to turn. There was a breeze, but it was out of the southwest, so the wind was warm. I could feel sweat trickling down my back and, yes, dampening my underwear. Yet I marveled at how the reinforced Klim riding jacket really isn’t that hot. Bill even wondered at how people can ride wearing shorts as the heat from the engine and gas tank would be right up against bare skin.

I turned my head in the helmet more during this ride, and this motion may have helped keep my forehead from chafing. I had a red mark on my forehead from the helmet lining, but it wasn’t as big as it has been nor was it painful. Of course it could be that I’m developing a “scalp callus” to deal with the chafing (just kidding).

A few times during my ride, I had some missed shifts between second and third gear. Because it was here and not between second and first, I didn’t end up in neutral. Now the R Nine T doesn’t have a gear indicator because it is what is known as a retro motorcycle. But I could feel the lack of throttle response as well as hear something odd in the shift to let me know I wasn’t in gear. I’ve ridden the R Nine T the longest and it is becoming clear to me that I am learning the motorcycle in a way I never did with the 310 or the Ducati. This knowledge is a good thing as I won’t be getting a 1300 GS anytime soon—BMW has just issued a recall.

BMW R Nine T gauge — The only gear the R Nine T gauge indicates Neutral.

Can I Please Have Another Day Like This One?

Thanks to the northeast wind, the clouds that brought us rain most of the week blew away, and we had as perfect a day for riding as one can get in summer. No cloud in the sky and the breeze keeping temperatures in the low 80s made for a lovely ride. The only thing missing was the butterflies.

As we drove over, I spotted a sulfur butterfly and a spicebush swallowtail, so I was hoping the sunshine would bring the butterflies out. But I only spotted one tiger swallowtail up high in the trees (I couldn’t make out if it was an eastern or a Canadian). We had gotten a late start on the ride, so I suppose they were out earlier in the day. I did see dragonflies who are clearly enjoying the bountiful mosquitoes. Bill thinks the golden eagle may have flown over him because he saw a enormous shadow pass overhead, but whatever made the shadow was lost in the trees. I didn’t see it, though at one point in the ride, a bird’s shadow passed over me, but I couldn’t make out the bird as it was flying behind me.

I did better on this ride with my engine braking. I continued to smooth out the application of the brake and the half pull of the clutch to avoid the herky-jerky motion, only experiencing that once during the ride. I did, however, have a few jerks when I applied engine braking to my emergency stops. The day was so nice, I didn’t mind practicing in the hospital lot. I worked on seeing how short a stop I could make using engine braking to help me stop. I was able to shorten my stopping distance by half a parking space and stopped within two spaces.

At the end of our ride, we made one more emergency stop on the road. I watched as Bill did his and made a point to ride further up before trying my stop. I stopped half a bike length behind Bill, so I feel I am making great progress on these stops. And it’s a good thing we do practice emergency stops. As we headed up one road, a Toyota 4 Runner came up to a yield sign. The driver should’ve yielded to the Rocket, but he didn’t, so we both had to do some quick braking. I don’t think car drivers realize just how exposed motorcyclists are. If there is an impact from a collision, we lose just about every time.

But I am wearing loads of safety gear and not riding much above forty mph, and working on safe emergency stops, so even if the car drivers are too aggressive, I should be OK. Bill gave me a new safety feature to work on for my next ride—checking for potential corner cutters as we approach stops. I’m looking forward to that practice even knowing the summer temperatures are heading back up as we head into August.

dragonfly on wooded wall — Photo by Leigh Heasley on Pexels.com

Beating the Rain

It has been an anxious week as the forecast showed rain moving in Thursday and staying through the weekend. My iPhone’s weather for Saturday showed rain chances beginning as early as 9:00 AM. But Bill’s Samsung phone had the rain holding off until noon, so we headed out into thick humidity trying to beat the rain.

The rain we had already seen had broken the heat wave and brought highs in the mid-80s. Nearing the end of July, anything below 90 degrees is a welcome relief. In fact the wind of my ride had a beautiful chill to it, helping to keep me cool for most of it. I was even kept cool with both the Klim and the Alpinestars jackets on.

I tried to protect my forehead by tying a handkerchief around my forehead, but then I couldn’t get my helmet down due to tightness. But because it was not as hot a day as it’s been for our more recent rides, I didn’t get the chafing from the helmet lining. I did get damp enough to plaster my Alpinestars jacket against me as can be seen by the jacket’s tracks on my arm.

The skies were gray with the forthcoming storms, so I didn’t see any butterflies as we rode. I did see a spicebush swallowtail on the drive home from riding, but the lack of sun does seem to keep the butterflies at bay. However, the Canadian geese were out and about, including one crazy fellow who almost took on the Rocket. One flock included two white Roman geese who did not care for the noise of the motorcycles at all.

The near run in with the first goose came about on the curvy road both coming and going. Soon after, we came to a sudden stop as Bill spotted a squirrel on the opposite side of the road who decided to cross the road in front of our motorcycles. Our next wildlife run in was spotting two osprey circling each other up in the sky. I was trying to figure out if it was a battle or a mating dance. No turtles out today probably because there wasn’t much sun. But also no butterflies.

My work on this ride was on breaking a habit. As we approached the first stop, mentally I reminded myself to engine brake, but physically, my muscle memory pulled the clutch in fully. So I had to work consciously on my engine braking and eventually found myself late in the ride smoothly engine braking where I matched the energy of the downshift with my pressure on the rear brake. This match up led to engine braking that didn’t create a herky-jerky motion. I look forward to more practicing.

The one downside of the ride was when Bill led us into the hospital parking lot. It was here that I felt the humidity smack into me and create uncomfortable heat. But if I’m going to ride a motorcycle in the summer, I have to expect some heat. I worked on my emergency stops and restarts trying to use engine braking to help me stop more quickly. But with the heat and humidity, we didn’t stay too long. We had beaten the rain, that’s what mattered. Hopefully, we’ll get a break from the humidity too. Next weekend is forecasted to still be in the 80s. If the humidity lowers too, it will be perfect riding weather.

Perfect or not, I will still be out in it riding.

Author's arm with jacket markings from Alpinestars jacket.

Sunny Sunday Ride

After three days of rain, sometimes quite heavy, we were able to head out on a hot Sunday having waited for the roads to mostly dry out. There were some lingering clouds that provided a little bit of coverage at times, but we rode mostly under bright sunshine in a blue sky.

Last week Bill taught me about using engine braking as I was stopping to help the motorcycle stop more quickly. I mistakenly thought I was doing that as I would down shift as I approached the stops, but all I was doing was downshifting. Bill told me I needed to only partially pull in the clutch as I downshifted and feel the herky-jerky movement of the motorcycle as the shifting pulled down the revs. According to Ari Henning at Revzilla, engine braking is “the process of reducing speed by closing the throttle and allowing engine drag to slow you down.” When the throttle is closed, it cuts off air to the piston. The piston, however, is still trying to suck in air which creates a vacuum that drags on the piston, slowing it down and by extension, the rear wheel.

Because I have been downshifting while approaching stops, it wasn’t too difficult for me to adjust to a partial pull in of the clutch to implement engine braking. And I did come to quicker and easier stops, many times not really needing the front brake. However, I did have a different challenge. Because of my right-hand numbness, I would use the approaches to stops to shake out my arm. Since I am slowing down toward the stop, I could come off the throttle with my right hand and bang it against my thigh to try and shake out the numbness. But with the engine braking and the herky-jerky motion I experienced, I didn’t think it wise to try and hold the bike with just my left hand. So I found a different way to shake out my right arm. As I accelerated on the road, I would pull in the clutch momentarily and pull my hand off the throttle. It was a good alternative and helped me wake up the hand.

It also allowed me to air out my hand on this hot day. Looking around, I spotted a lone turkey vulture lazing about in the sky. I did spot a quick, small brown butterfly but couldn’t get a good enough look to identify it. As we rode up and down the fast road, Bill kept slowing down in the shady spot. On the second pass, I figured out what he was looking at. There was an eastern spiny softshell turtle chilling on the sidewalk, but he was very difficult to see as the spot is covered by thick trees and the sidewalk is black asphalt not concrete. On our final pass, he stuck his head out to watch us zoom by.

I noticed on this ride that, despite the heat and the sweat, I wasn’t too uncomfortable except for my helmet. The heat and the rubbing of the helmet lining against my forehead got to be painful enough I started adjusting my helmet to relieve the pressure. I think next week I’ll wear some kind of head band to create a cushion. Hopefully, next weekend I’ll get the chance to try it out; more rain forecasted through the weekend, so I’ll be crossing my fingers the weather gives us enough of a break we can ride.

eastern spiny softshell turtle photograph by Brian Stevens — I’m more familiar with seeing the eastern spiny softshell turtle sunning itself on a log in the river, not on a shady sidewalk.

Next Time You See a “Cool” Motorcycle Rider, Remember This

Wet underwear. James Dean, Steve McQueen, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider, and Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator—all icons on a motorcycle of coolness. But even these icons were they to ride on a sunny summer day with temperatures in the 90s and humidity in the 80s would find themselves feeling damp all over. Last week I felt the heat plastering my t-shirt to my back. This week’s heat melted the “plaster” and rolled down my back.

But I’m getting used to riding in the mid-Atlantic summertime heat. We did get a little bit of an earlier start—11:00 instead of 1:00. There was an excessive heat warning, but hazy, hot, and humid in July is normal for around here. We again opted out of the Alpinestars jackets, and I kept my Klim zipper as low as possible to allow for air flow. As long as we were moving, the ride was comfortable.

Except as the heat built, the lining of my helmet began to dig into my forehead. I again turned my head side to side to let air flow through the helmet vents, and I wore my sunglasses so I could keep my visor cracked. But I couldn’t get air onto my forehead, and I had a red slash at my hairline when I took my helmet off.

The heat did get to me some. As we cruised up the fast road, I got distracted by the cool breeze. I was thinking how wonderful the air felt and forgot to check out the little church parking lot and overshot the turn. One of the churches has a wide, rectangular parking lot that Bill likes to lead us into to practice figure eights. If there’s a car in the lot, we ride by. But if the lot is free of any vehicles, Bill heads into it. Because my mind was focused on the cool air hitting me, and because Bill had checked up on the road in front of me, I didn’t register his turn signal in time to slow down and make a comfortable turn into the parking lot. I did slow down and think about turning, but I would have been wide and next to the turn in for the parking lot is a cluster of trees.

I also knew the historic house and another church were about twenty yards away, so I would be able to turn around and rejoin Bill. Of course, Bill had no idea what had happened or even, briefly, where I was. One of the few times during a ride I would have liked to be able to communicate with him. I was gone for less than two minutes, so since he was in a parking lot, I figured he’d sit there and wait until I showed up again. But join him I did, and we circled around to hit the fast road again. I was on the lookout for a pull off into the parking lot, but Bill kept us zooming.

We again skipped the slow speed maneuvers since that’s when we really feel the heat. But we did do the on-street U-turns. I was a little too close on the first turn and went to the edge of the road but stayed out of the grass. My second turn had more distance and that went really well.

The wildlife was quiet trying to stay cool. I did see a cabbage white butterfly before we left the garage, and I had believed I would go through the ride without spotting any when one intrepid little guy fluttered across my path. There were a few small birds flitting between trees, and a chorus of birds singing their hearts out in the cul de sac at the end of the long road.

It was after the ride that I realized I had sweated enough to soak my skivvies. It was then I realized the funny juxtaposition of the “cool dude” iconic images of motorcycle riders and the rather damp reality of the rider’s situation on a hot summer’s day. So as you’re out driving around this summer and you spot a motorcycle rider trying to look cool, just remember—wet underwear. I’ll be out next weekend riding in the triple H July weather with my undergarments getting damp but not my riding spirit.

bright sunshine among clouds — Photo by Lukas on Pexels.com

The Heat Is Winning

This Saturday I was smarter. As Bill reached for his Alpinestars jacket, I said, “Uh-uh.” I planned since I saw the 90 degrees not to wear mine, so I needed Bill not to wear his. With just the Klim jacket on and unzipped down to my navel, the breeze hit me well enough to keep me comfortable throughout the ride. The cloudy skies also helped as the sun went in and out and didn’t beat down on us through the whole ride.

It was a tricky ride as there were a lot of weird traffic patterns around. As we headed down the curvy road, we had to check up due to parked cars and lawn trucks on the side of the road. The curvy road is a narrow two-lane road that allows parking on the road; it makes the road a good one to work on awareness.

The crape myrtles have blossomed alongside the brown-eyed Susans, providing bright spots of color among all the green. I even spotted some honeysuckle still in bloom though there wasn’t enough of a breeze for me to catch a whiff of the delicious scent. But I didn’t see too many butterflies—just one cabbage white and someone fluttering over my head. I only saw enough to make out that it was mostly black, but I didn’t see enough markings to make out who it was.

On our first U-turn, I found myself making such a tight turn, I was inside Bill’s turn, so I had to turn the wheel out and go wide to stay out of his way. It was a fun experience and gave me the confidence to nail both my on-street U-turns with nothing but asphalt. The R Nine T balances so well, I felt almost stopped in the turn with no tipping.

Three miles into the ride, I felt my Hanes t-shirt plaster itself with sweat against my back. While the unzipped jacket let the air in the front well enough to keep me comfortable, the Helite airbag turtle vest pressed the back of the jacket against my skin. It wasn’t too bad; with the breeze blowing, I was able to turn my head slightly side to side and feel the wind blow through the vents.

Six miles into the ride I felt my right hand go numb. Since we aren’t spending time on slow speed maneuvers in the heat, I don’t have an opportunity to park the bike and shake my arm out. So what I do is release the throttle as I’m approaching a stop and bang my arm against my side. I wish I could figure out how to avoid the numbness entirely, but I’m unwilling to give up preloading the front brake. I am curious if I were to ride a different motorcycle along the same route, if the preload would numb my hand. I wasn’t very good at preloading the front brake when I was on the Ducati or the 310, but I don’t doubt I would preload on any bike I ride from now on. As I’m writing this, I am wondering if strengthening my forearm muscles would help prevent the numbness. I’ll give it a try this week at the gym and see if next week’s ride is more comfortable.

Heat or Humidity?

Our first official ride of the summer saw us heading out in heat that is more common in late July or August. When we rode around 11, the temperature was already hitting 90 degrees and still climbing. So why didn’t we get up early and ride when the temperature was down in the mid-70s? The answer is humidity. At 6:00 AM the humidity was 95%. Heading out into such humidity is like walking into soup. So which is worse? High humidity but more comfortable temperatures? Or high heat with lower humidity? The debate continues.

Our ride Saturday showed that the heat was uncomfortable. Bill was so hot after just pulling the motorcycles out of the garage, he opted not to wear his Alpinestars jacket under his Klim. I wore mine with the zipper down to my waist, but I wish I hadn’t. As we headed out, I noted big, fluffy cumulus clouds dotting the blue sky; there were many, but they seemed averse to covering the sun.

I had noted at my house that there weren’t many animals about, and that trend continued during our ride. I didn’t see any squirrels and only spotted one brave cabbage white butterfly hovering low over some clover. Late in the ride I did spot an osprey either hunting or enjoying the cooler temperature high up in the air. Down low, there was no relief from the heat. Usually, as we ride, the wind provides some comforting cool air, but not in today’s heat. The wind buffeting me was warm air and offered no relief.

We avoided slow speed maneuvers, but the constant heat during the ride made it seem like all we were doing was slow speed maneuvers. When we parked the bikes and I was taking off my gear, my arm held onto the pattern of the Alpinestars sleeve as the heat had plastered it against my arm. My thought after the ride was that I want to try the high humidity and lower temperature because the high heat just zapped me. Feel free to comment as to which you think is better for riding—heat or humidity.

Of course, as we move deeper into summer, soon the heat and humidity will work together to make any ride swampy and miserable. But even in the heat of summer, I still look cool riding my motorcycle (LOL)!

cabbage white butterfly resting on cherry tree — Cabbage white butterfly napping in the shade of my cherry tree–what a lucky picture to get!