Old Bike, New Roads

Another winter ride this week with temps at 34 with a 10+ degree wind chill but, dressed properly, it was easy to enjoy the cold ride. This week I was back on the BMW G310 GS as illness caused us to stay at home. That meant riding around my neighborhood, so I had the fun experience of returning to my first bike while riding new old roads.

My first challenge was to get the motorcycle out of my garage. This entailed removing the lawnmower and my bicycle, backing the motorcycle out, making sure the motorcycle was stable, returning the lawnmower and bicycle to the garage, and closing the garage. That was the easy part. I then had to turn the motorcycle around pushing it forward and back over my lawn as my driveway is just two narrow strips of concrete surrounded by bumpy lawn. It was a bit of a workout, but I managed to get the bike turned toward the road.

After some assistance getting my new Rev’It gauntlets on, I was ready to ride. I duck-walked the bike down to the street having to navigate it between our cars and the neighbors’ cars. I made it to the street and, with a wave to Bill, took off. The first striking difference between my neighborhood roads to that of my parents’ is my roads are much narrower. In the Pembroke neighborhood, two cars can pass each other even with cars parked on either side of the street. In my neighborhood only one car fits on the street where the cars are parked on either side. That just meant I needed greater awareness of oncoming traffic.

My neighborhood is also much smaller in scope, so I had many more stops and much shorter roads to cruise along. I didn’t mind as I had the fun of seeing my neighborhood from the motorcycle. I went cruising about close to home, staying within a quarter of a mile of the house. I drove into the Greek church parking lot to practice U-turns, but there were too many curbs in the lot for me to practice any slaloming. So I took off for more exploring.

Now my neighborhood is intersected by what is a popular through street connecting two main roadways in the city. But it is a nice long street that would allow me to cruise for almost a mile. So I headed out onto the road, but I quickly realized there was too much traffic. As soon as I could, I turned left back into the neighborhood and went exploring. Now I’ve lived in this neighborhood for more than 20 years. Yet it was only today that I discovered how connected the roads were, cutting through to a connector to Wards Corner. It was quite a pleasant discovery, and I had fun driving around back in the neighborhood. I decided that I could brave the busy road if I was heading back toward my house because I could always turn right if the traffic got too busy.

Of course as I was heading back up the busy street, I turned left instead, up this narrow, quiet little road that looped back to the main road. I saw a patch on the side of the road for a little “off-roading,” but I only looked as this was my first ride around the neighborhood.

Now I did have some issues returning to my beginner bike. I stalled the bike twice in traffic; once because I was still in second gear and once because I didn’t twist the throttle enough. There is a big difference in how much throttle the G310 needs over the Scrambler. There is also a big difference in how much easier it is to find neutral on the BMW, so easy in fact I went into neutral when I wanted to go into first at least four times.

I returned to the Greek church’s lot to do some S-turns, and these went well, so well that I felt I could handle the box in the MSF course should I ever take the course again. I tried slaloming around the curbed bits, but their length prevented that from being a challenge. So I headed over to the nearby high school’s parking lot which, for whatever reason, has large orange cones set up. These made a perfect slalom, and I enjoyed weaving through them. And the slalom was a perfect end to my new ride on my old bike. I headed home, dabbed the bike up to the garage, reverse engineered the lawnmower and bicycle to park the motorcycle, realizing as I did so that it was cold outside. I had felt a little cold air on my throat at the beginning of my ride because my neck tube had shifted down when I put my helmet on. But I was having so much fun and concentrating on my new traffic patterns, that I completely forgot the cold temperatures. It took the cold wind blowing as I walked toward the house to remind me. I am an all season rider after all.

Back on the BMW G310 GS for this week’s ride.

Riding Naked in January

Yes, my title is a big tease, but I couldn’t resist. The title came to me as we cruised up a long straightaway on this cold day. For those who don’t know motorcycles, a bike like my Ducati Scrambler is what is known as a naked bike. The term refers to the lack of wind protection provided by fairings and windscreens. But it wasn’t too bad a ride on this 37 degree day; we had full sunshine, no clouds, and little wind except what we generated zipping along on the bikes.

Of course I was well layered. I had on seven layers of shirts including the Alpinestars jacket, two pairs of leggings under my jeans, and added the protection of my beautiful new Schott’s leather jacket to keep me warm and comfortable. The only part of me that got chilled were my hands and this was because my new Rev’It gloves would not go on. They have a piece that cinches the glove around the wrist once it’s on; however, this piece is affixed to the Velcro adjustable strap and it was tightening up as I was struggling to put the gloves on. I finally gave up and wore the classic leather gauntlets that are almost as old as I am. These were fine on my short jaunts through the neighborhood, but on our longer cruise, the wind got to me. When we took our little break on the gravel lot, I held my hands down by my engine to warm them up.

As for my riding practice, things went really well. I worked on smoothing out my shifting and accelerating on the Scrambler, my U-turns, and my stops—both fast and “normal.” And I had a blast. I even managed to find neutral all five times I tried for it, so I am making great progress on learning my new bike. One thing I noticed on the Ducati different from my G310 is the seat. On the BMW I felt “sat” in the seat meaning I was down and not moving without some effort. In contrast on the Ducati, I feel a little more slippage. What I learned from this was that I needed to grip the bike more firmly with my thighs. Because this bike is a Scrambler and made to go off-road, there needs to be more flexibility in the seating position as off-road trails require more adjustments on the motorcycle. It makes me more excited for when we finally do find some dirt roads to ride down.

For now I can enjoy knowing I have entered an even rarer group of people—those who ride motorcycles in all seasons. I’m happy I had such a good ride today; it was hard enough missing one week of riding; I can’t imagine going months before my next ride. Luckily, I don’t have to wait.

“The older I get the more I understand, How important it is to live a life most people don’t understand.”
https://motoringjunction.com/featured/top-32-motorcycle-riding-quotes/

Window Shopping

It’s been almost all about motorcycles this final week of 2021. All except the riding unfortunately; we’ve been under a misty, damp fog since Thursday that built into rain showers New Year’s Eve and early New Year’s day. So my motorcycle fix has to come from all the research we’ve done this week on possible new bikes.

We’ve been looking at potential cruiser bikes for long country road cruising and are considering the BMW R18 Bagger or the BMW K 1600 GTL for Bill. As for me, I’m discerning the differences between the BMW R 1250 RT versus the BMW 1250 GS and deciding which one would suit me better. I have a huge disadvantage in that I have never been on a long cruise at 35-45 mph, so I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for. But I’m leaning toward the GS as it seemingly does both road and off-road equally well.

I have learned this week that I am not as intimidated by the weight of motorcycles as I was at first. I learned a simple but extremely effective technique for lifting a motorcycle off its side stand. That trick is to rotate the front wheel to the right before trying to lift the bike. It is so effective in shifting the weight that when I first tried it with my Scrambler, I had to catch the bike from falling to the right. This technique is so effective, that I used it on the 1250 GS when we visited Adventure BMW, and I used it to straighten up the Triumph Rocket when we stopped by Sunrise Cycles. With the Rocket I brought the wheel to the center which was enough to allow me to easily straighten the almost 650-pound motorcycle! I did not get on the R18 at Adventure, but I will on our next visit.

We were able to see the T120 Triumph Bonneville Gold Line edition at Sunrise Cycles, the local Triumph dealer—as well as Suzuki, Yamaha, and Kawasaki. The hand-painted gold line is beautiful on the British racing green tank, and it gives us some hope that they will get the Triumph Scrambler XE Gold Line in the gorgeous looking Baja California orange color. While we were there, we also looked over the Suzuki Hayabusas they had (3) and the classic Kawasaki Ninjas. And I came to realize that motorcycles don’t seem as large as they first did when I began my riding journey. It could be that I am getting used to riding and being around motorcycles. Or it could be that, after having looked at both the BMW R18 Bagger and Transcontinental behemoths, all other motorcycles seem much dwarfed in comparison. I prefer to believe the former, however, as it reflects much better on me as a rider.

Happy New Year to my Readers! I wish you all good things in 2022.

Getting Into Gear

The day after Christmas and the gift was the weather—bright sunshine and temps in the low 60s. The Canadian geese were out in force, basking in the beautiful day. Santa brought me some cold weather riding gear, but today was not the day to bundle up. I did wear my new Schott’s leather jacket, liner removed, which kept me comfortably warm. But it was warm enough for me to wear my Klim summer gloves because I have Barkbusters now on the Scrambler adding some wind protection.

My dead-end street was full of the parked cars of family members gathering for the Christmas holiday, so that practice was out. I suggested we just head out on our neighborhood cruise, but Bill pointed out I needed to spend time in slow practice getting used to handling my new bike. So the plan was I would stay relatively close to my parents’ house, no crossing over into the other half of the neighborhood, no heading over to the fancy neighborhood, and work on stops, turnarounds inside of courts, and getting comfortable riding the Scrambler. Bill would head out for his own solo cruise on the R NineT and we would meet back up in half an hour.

Off I went, chugging along a bit roughly as I got a feel for the clutch and the shifter. The shifter really seemed to fight me, actually causing some pain on the top of my left foot as I struggled at times to move it. But I recognized this as my need to learn the new bike; I had to get a feel for the acceleration, the clutch, and the shifter. I learned that the taller gears meant that if I waited longer to shift from first to second, the Fasthouse was more obliging on my shifting. And I found having my foot fully under the shifter made shifting more comfortable. I also confirmed that the bike was fine staying in third gear as I cruised a few streets.

My stops went very well, left foot down every time and no stalls on the take off. I later learned in the car as we were driving home that the larger engine on the Ducati means the cylinders once engaged want to stay engaged. So it’s as if the bike doesn’t want to stall. Well, more likely it will benefit me with extra time in the friction zone to get the bike moving and grant me fewer stalls.

Which brings me to the throttle. Motorcycle riders talk about bikes that want to throw you off and that you have to hang on to tightly. That is the sensation I was experiencing as I adjusted to the 73 horsepower; I need to roll on the throttle smoother and gentler than I did with the BMW G310 GS. But I must admit there is a thrill that comes with the adrenaline surge as I feel the bike accelerating and trying to throw me off. However, I developed a better feel for the throttle and was able to accelerate and shift smoothly. I stopped in front of my parents’ house about 10 minutes early for our meet time so I could work on finding neutral. I surprised myself by finding it almost immediately; right away asking myself what did I just do.

I headed out for some more cruising before our meet up. I was hoping we’d meet and head out for the long cruise together. However, it was not to be. As Bill pointed out, everything had been going very well—except I still have a struggle to find neutral–and he didn’t want to push our luck. He offered to hang out and let me keep riding, but I decided to call it a day too as I was feeling really good about all I had accomplished on the Fasthouse.

The Barkbusters added to my 2022 Ducati Desert Sled Scrambler Fasthouse.

New Bike, Same Training

Gray skies hung over us as we made our way to Virginia Beach for my first official ride on the Ducati Scrambler Fasthouse, but that didn’t darken my mood any. I couldn’t wait for my practice, though I was nervous because the crash bars aren’t yet added. Seven months riding and still no drop—knock on wood.

When we got to my parents’ garage, my boyfriend set to the seemingly simple task of adding a battery charger for the Ducati. The motorcycle comes with a battery tender port; however, it does not connect to the SAE connectors, and Revzilla no longer carries the converter. So the tender had to be connected to the battery itself which simply means removing the seat, undoing a few screws, connecting, and tightening everything back down.

Luck was not our friend. First, the seat would not come off. It was snagged at the front and required Bill to use brute strength to get it off. It was snagged on some kind of bracket that was not seated properly down in the cavity. The next error was the battery cord plate was also not seated correctly over the terminal, keeping the cover from resting flat once Bill had wrangled the battery tender leads onto the battery. The last, and worst because it is a very difficult fix, error is the receptor for the retaining screw for the cover was stripped not allowing the screw to tighten. But the bike was rideable which is what matters the most. Though after seeing this shoddy work, we definitely won’t head back to Bayside for any more motorcycles.

Of course, since the Scrambler had sat for a week battery untended, it was difficult to start. Bill solved the problem by plugging the bike into the tender in the garage to start it up, and the engine roared beautifully to life. We left the bike running while he suited up, and we headed over to my practice street.

Once I was suited up, it was my turn to ride. My first challenge was tilting the bike upright off the kickstand on the canted street. Heavier than the 310 by almost 100 pounds wet, I felt every bit of those extra pounds as I struggled to straighten her out. But I managed it and I started off paddling down the road. Paddling means I was using the friction zone of the clutch to ease the bike forward while my feet walked along the ground. But on the Ducati, it is hard to keep the pace slow, and soon my feet were up on the pegs and I was cruising in first gear. I successfully executed my first U-turn to the left, something I was too nervous to do last weekend, rode up the street and repeated my success turning to the right.

I settled in to practice U-turns and shifting from first to second. I noticed quickly that the Ducati gears are higher than the BMW’s meaning that I could go higher speeds in lower gears—and by higher speeds I mean 15 mph. As I was practicing up my street, a bicyclist turned next to me, interfering with my ability to execute my U-turn. So I rode to the stop sign, turned, and went up the street for a bit, getting to third gear before turning back around. Emboldened by the thrill of the slightly higher speed, I went for a circuit over half the neighborhood, loving every bit of the horsepower and torque in the 803cc motorcycle.

Returning to my practice street, I wanted a short break as my hands were getting sore. The trouble is I can’t find neutral; in fact I can’t even move the shifter when I’m stopped and have to use my hand to lift the shifter into neutral. I am frustrated by this, but Bill says it’s actually normal on motorcycles to have this problem. He of course can find neutral after just his second ride, but he tells me I’ll get there. And I don’t doubt I will.

Just as I finished my break, Bill noted some small rain drops on my front fender. Sure enough, the rain was arriving early. I looped through two more sets of U-turns before calling it quits. As we set back for my parents’ house, the rain seemed to taper and I thought maybe I could’ve squeezed out a bit more practice. But after we had the bike garaged, the rain started coming down harder, so I had made the right decision after all. We’ll be back over on Wednesday to install the crash bars, so I don’t have to wait a whole week to play with my new motorcycle.

My Scrambler with the crash bars and Barkbusters installed.

How to Transport a Motorcycle

Rain greeted us Saturday morning, so I didn’t get my last practice ride on the BMW G310 GS. Instead, we headed out to Home Depot to get some supplies; we had a ramp to make. When we bought the BMWs, we transported them home using a U-Haul 15-foot truck. At Adventure BMW, the dealership, they used a metal ramp to walk alongside the bike while running it up the ramp (insurance issues prevent any riding the bike up into the truck). When we got the bikes home, however, we didn’t have any such “sidewalk” ramp, so my 310 was walked out with Bill astride it, and the R NineT was ridden out by my daredevil younger brother.

This new bike was a Ducati bought from Bayside Harley-Davidson and Ducati out in Portsmouth where they really expect you to ride the motorcycle out of the dealership. But we had rented another U-Haul, and Bill had come up with a creative way to make our own “sidewalk” ramp out of half of an extension ladder and some plywood. It worked beautifully, but it took the better part of Saturday to make and did not come without some complications.

Our Sunday was devoted to transferring motorcycles. I picked up the U-Haul and we loaded our “sidewalk.” When we got to Bayside, we found my lovely Ducati Desert Sled Scrambler Fasthouse #683 of 800 in a fancy display with my name on the seat. We found Dorian to finish up the sale’s details, Dorian rode the bike out to our truck, and we proceeded to load.

Now this was Sunday, yet we saw multiple cars cutting in and out of traffic, cutting me off (people, U-Hauls do not accelerate quickly), and in general making the case for our transporting the bike by truck rather than trying to ride it in traffic.

When we arrived at my parents’ house, I quickly went in and brought the G310 GS out; we didn’t want my Mom thinking for a moment that we were going to house three motorcycles in her garage. Next came the hard part—turning the Ducati around so we could walk it off the truck (no daredevil brother today). This required brute strength to drag the bike around and then strength to carefully walk it down the ramp—not letting it get out in front of you nor let it tip too much to one side or the other and fall off the ramp. However, once we got it off the ramp, got the BMW loaded, it was time to start her up. The roar of the bike reminds me of Bill’s R NineT. I quickly grabbed my jacket and helmet, suited up, and hopped on.

Since it was my first time on a brand-new bike, I reverted to my MSF training, kept the bike in neutral and just rocked it back and forth, then walked it. Next I put the bike in first and paddle walked it a little up the street, turned around paddle walking, and walked it back. Now I released the clutch and rolled on the throttle and scooted up the road in first, shifting to second. As I shifted into second, I felt the 73 HP and the power of the 803cc engine—I loved it! I didn’t feel confident about my U-turn, though, so I took a spin around the block, never leaving second gear, and road the bike up into the garage—no stalls. Next week will be the full practice and neighborhood cruise and I absolutely can’t wait! It’s also the week before winter break, and I am honestly more excited about getting to ride my new motorcycle than the upcoming holidays.

My brand new Ducati Desert Sled Fasthouse Edition Motorcycle as showcased at the dealership.

New Bike!

It was all about motorcycles this weekend. On Thursday Bill got a text message from Dorian at Bayside Harley-Davidson and Ducati (mentioned in the Raincheck blog). The Desert Sled Scrambler Fasthouse edition was in if we were still interested. So we planned on heading out to Portsmouth on Sunday and ride on Saturday.

When we went over to my parents’ house Saturday morning, we found my younger brother and brother-in-law hard at work bending the flashing that was to repair the porch roof. Bill, who once worked in construction, keenly watched the process. When I came out of the house, he was to be found in the backyard still observing. He first just helped by holding the ladder as my brother climbed up; it was wobbly on the left side, so Bill started looking around the yard for something to help stabilize the ladder. I went inside for a cup of coffee and a visit with my Mom while Bill helped. When I next checked on him, he was on the roof, trowel in hand, applying the tar.

So I, for the first time, got to move my bike out of the garage and head out solo for my practice. I loved it. Not that I don’t love riding with Bill. But I loved being able to handle the bike, choose my route, and set off on my ride. I headed over to my dead-end street to practice stops and U-turns—no problem. I went over to the park and was lucky to find no one in the parking lot for some gravel practice. I rode around practicing for half an hour, then headed back to the house to check if Bill was ready. He was out front with my Mom and brother-in-law, so I kept cruising.

Heading out again, I did my lane change practice, went by the school and did my bus lane slalom, did S-turns, and then cruised around. I went over to the Ferry Plantation House and rode in their gravel lot. There was a slight chill in the air but I enjoyed it, letting it cool me off. After another half an hour, I headed back to find Bill finally able to gear up for his ride.

We were off for a beautiful ride. Not long into the ride, we were heading up a curved road with a truck coming towards us from the other direction. The truck was in the middle of the road, and it was obvious the driver didn’t see us. So I saw Bill reach out his gloved hand right at the window of the driver and wave to make him aware, however belatedly, that we were there. There were a lot of people out—driving, riding bikes, and walking. We even passed a church having a holiday event. It is one of the pluses of the rides now, in addition to the spectacular fall foliage, getting to see the fun Christmas decorations.

In fact I had thought to write this mostly about the gorgeous colors we see on the different maples—burgundies, bold reads, pastel orange and pink, bright yellows. That was my plan until Sunday came and we headed over to Bayside. We got to enjoy the fall foliage on our drive as we take the no tolls longer route. We arrived at Bayside watching the MSF course in full swing. Dorian was busy chatting up potential customers, and there was an older lady dressed as an elf walking about.

Inside there were the usual sodas and beers on offer, but there was also hot cocoa and cookies. We looked about for the Fasthouse but didn’t see it. So we waited a few minutes for Dorian to become available, and he took us back into the storage area where new bikes are unpacked to see the motorcycle.

The Ducati Desert Sled Fasthouse edition number 683 of 800 is a black motorcycle with red piping. It is an aggressively gorgeous bike, and I liked it way more in person than I had the pictures we had looked at online. Bill asked to see it in the daylight, and Dorian obliged by rolling it outside. I was given permission to sit on the bike which I did with relish. At first I was banging my shins on the foot pegs but with an adjustment back on the seat, I was fine. I was able to flatfoot with no problem even though the seat is slightly higher than my G310 (an inch difference, 32.9 inches versus 33.9). We weren’t able to start up the bike as the battery wasn’t in yet.

We didn’t buy the bike then. We went home and compared the Fasthouse to the original Desert Sled Scrambler which is a pretty blue. But I like the look of the Fasthouse, I like that it looks like a real motorcycle, and I like how tough it looks. So after reviewing some videos on both Scramblers, the decision was made. Bill texted Dorian that he would be in Tuesday to complete the paperwork and next Sunday, we would pick up my second motorcycle! And we got it earlier than the 600 miles on the BMW.

Happy National French Toast Day!

(Written on November 28, 2021, National French Toast Day)

The last day of our lovely extended Thanksgiving holiday weekend was a gorgeous day to ride. Bright sunshine and temps in the mid-50s greeted us. My dead-end street, however, was not available as there were five vehicles parked—three on the Armco and two on the street. So I asked Bill if he was going to stick to last week’s plan where he rides around on his own and I ride my practice route, and he said no, we were going to go on our joint ride right from the start.

Oddly enough, even with a great start up the camber of the road, I felt a little nervous. When I thought about why would I be nervous, I recognized that I was heading out at Bill’s speed not mine. Not that Bill is racing away. It’s just that I was rolling on the throttle to keep up with Bill and not puttering around and working my way more slowly up to my 25 mph.

I also realized that the visor on my helmet is riding lower and into my field of vision. This is because of all my layers—four shirts, the Alpinestars jacket, my hoodie, my Klim jacket, and the Helite vest. They push my helmet up enough to cause the visor to drop lower. I adjusted my helmet several times during our ride, but had I been on my own, I would have stopped the bike and fully adjusted everything which is what I did last week. I’ve decided for future rides to wear a sweatshirt with no hood.

But with my adjustments, my vision was fine and I could enjoy the gorgeous fall foliage, the beautiful blue sky, the gaggles of geese, and the cute Christmas decorations. I was even able to spot a cabbage white butterfly, doing a doubletake to make sure I was seeing a butterfly and not a stray leaf. I was not as lucky as Bill, though, who spotted a bald eagle on our stop at the Lynnhaven House.

I did practice a fast stop. And I was successful in riding up the driveway from a complete stop—no stalls. I even managed to roll on the throttle enough to prevent myself from rolling back. And I found myself not comfortable standing on the pegs as standing up caused my helmet to shift forward again so my visor was partially blocking my view. My riding issues were a couple of jerks when upshifting—unusual for me. All I can think is I was a little too focused on speeding up. Something for me to work on.

The ride ended with another cabbage white butterfly flitting by as we drove out of the neighborhood. We drove home and celebrated this special day by feasting on blueberry French toast!

Photo by ZIu2019s Food&NatureArt on Pexels.com

Revisiting Past Challenges

A very brisk autumn morning greeted us; the sun was bright and the hawk was up and cruising (I actually saw the hawk on my drive over to my riding road). It has gotten too cool for butterflies, though and, if I’m not careful in my layering, it will get too cold for me!

As we arrived at my little dead-end street, I started pulling out the KamelKones to set up an offset slalom. Of course Bill took over and did it for me as I did my warm up ride out to the park and back. There was a Toyota 4 Runner parked against the Armco, so I was a little limited at the dead-end. At first there were 5 cones set out, and it was a struggle to make it through the third one. The last one took me toward the SUV, so I was too shaky on the slalom to ever get through the fifth cone. Eventually, Bill took that cone away, so I only had to navigate the four. I had forgotten how much more physical the riding is when you are trying to move the bike through the slalom.

I struggled for the first 5 run throughs, running over the third cone repeatedly. Because I hadn’t ridden the slalom in months, I was forgetting to use my body to move the bike. Once I remembered to shift my body, I stopped running over the third cone and successfully navigated the slalom. But I was getting tired. It is so much more physical riding when you are twisting the bike back and forth in a tight space. I told myself to enjoy the workout, but I was happy when I told Bill it was time to get his bike and do our cruise.

The difference between the slalom and cruising is that in the slalom, I am in first gear, feathering the clutch, gently twisting the throttle, and keeping my right foot on the rear brake. All of that while moving my body to manipulate the bike; it’s a bit of a workout. On the other hand, when we’re cruising, once I’ve shifted up to fourth gear, I’m just holding on, maintaining the throttle, and steering a bit until time to slow down for a turn or a stop. So is it any wonder why most motorcycle riders cruise?

As I was warming up on the bike and doing my little neighborhood cruise, I quickly realized that my three shirts (including one thermal), Alpinestars body armor jacket, Klim Induction Pro jacket, and Helite turtle vest were not enough to keep me from feeling the wind chill. After my slalom practice, I added my zip up hoodie and was warm enough for our joint cruise albeit feeling a little constricted. My winter riding jacket comes at Christmas, so I have to find ways to layer up for the next four weekends of riding. I wonder if my flannel lined jeans will fit under my motorcycle jeans. Maybe the size 34 was a good idea after all😆

At the very end of practice, I stopped the bike at the bottom of my parents’ driveway which has a fairly steep incline. Bill wanted me to work on feathering the clutch up the incline. I immediately stalled on my first attempt. What I have to do is release the clutch and crank on the throttle all while the bike is trying to roll backwards. It’s a little disconcerting, that backward rolling, but once I relaxed and recognized the need to twist the throttle and release the clutch to counteract the backwards roll, I was able to successfully ride the bike up into the garage. It was a great high on which to end the lovely day’s ride.

Avoiding the Rut

I’m nearing 400 miles on my motorcycle. 400 miles from cruising around neighborhoods. My first service is at 600 miles plus my second bike may come at 600.

Now originally, we had thought the BMW R NineT Urban GS would be my second bike with Bill riding it until I was ready. But the R NineT has a dry clutch whereas my G 310 GS has a wet clutch. The difference between wet and dry for a rider is that the wet clutch allows you a friction zone. This friction zone allows for a slow release of the clutch with a gradual twist of the throttle. With a dry clutch, there is no friction zone, so when you release the clutch, you have to power on the throttle. The difference in the ride is that Bill takes off whereas I slowly launch.

So the more Bill has ridden his bike, the more he believes it is too much for me. Part of the problem is we don’t have a field to practice in. A field would allow me to have a soft drop of the bike should the takeoff cause me to fly off the bike. The more I ride, though, the more curious I am to ride the other motorcycle.

I’m not sure if this means I’m bored on my bike. I think it’s more that I am lacking challenges. Even as I write this, I am aware that I do not want to get overconfident about my riding. Today I was marveling that I have been riding 7 months and still no drop. And I love riding my bike. In terms of my training, though, I don’t know what else my bike can teach me, at least riding on my neighborhood roads. If we ever get to ride off-road, I am sure I will learn a lot. Right now, I ride slowly in the gravel pool lot, feeling the slip of the tires. But I know there is so much more.

I suppose next week I need to take out the camel cones and set up my own off-set slalom. Bill has left me alone to practice, so I guess I should realize that it is up to me to create my own training challenges. I noticed on today’s ride, Bill works his fast stop to end at a fire hydrant whereas I use a parked car as my landmark to start my stops. So I can mix up my stopping drills next week too.

The positives from today’s ride far outweigh my feelings of being in a rut. It was a beautiful, sunny 55 degrees day, and the wind from yesterday had died down considerably. I had great stops and no stalls even with Bill setting me up at the beginning with an up-camber start. I saw a late Atlantis Fritallary butterfly and a hardy cabbage white butterfly enjoying the sunny day. I spotted one of the falcons zooming from one tree to the next. I also got to see the marsh hawk circling over the under-construction house. I even got hit by a falling leaf and laughed. I practiced my U-turns, sudden stops, stops and starts, and lane changes. I was very smooth on my takeoffs from stops, no stalls, and a few odd shifts into neutral. When I mentioned my shifts into neutral to Bill, he suggested it might be something I’m doing with the clutch. I didn’t have any more odd shifts after our little chat, so I’LL have to wait and see.