Winning the Weather Lottery

Spring officially arrived with Thursday’s vernal equinox and gave us another gorgeous day for riding motorcycles. The northwest winds from Friday shifted to the southwest under sunny skies, giving us temperatures approaching a balmy 70 degrees. In fact I had no chill whatsoever on this ride and was perfectly comfortable.

My comfort extended to my ride as well. Early in the ride, as Bill and I turn off my parents’ block, the road is terribly torn up with the different neighborhood projects. There are cuts in the asphalt, small metal access lids sticking out, and slippery gravel patches all over. As I returned to riding, I’ve had some concern over this stretch of road picturing tire slips or boot slips as we come to a stop. I’ve even thought I might catch the front tire between asphalt chunks, but so far I’ve navigated the rough roads OK. But the damage to the street does make me extra cautious and aware.

I focused on my engine braking, enjoying the chugga-chugga rumble of the down shifts. I also worked on my no-look turns and, since Bill led us into more U-turns, tightening up my turns. I feel my skills are returning back to their pre-break levels. I’ll know I’m fully back when I can do the on-street U-turn and my quick stops and restarts.

Just like last week, there was a cabbage white butterfly fluttering about before our ride. And two miles into the ride, I began seeing even more cabbage whites—eight in all and a little yellow sulphur whom I got an excellent view of as it fluttered beside me for several yards. The only large bird I spotted in the clear blue sky was a great blue heron lazily making its way down to the river. When Bill led us into a cul de sac where we stop and gaze at the view of the river, I spotted a little goldfinch moving about a large pine tree.

I did have my first bug run in. As I headed up the long road, I felt an impact against my throat from what I suspect was a bumblebee. Luckily, I had my neck tube on, so if the bug didn’t make it, I wouldn’t have bug guts on my neck (she made it). I’m not surprised the bees are out; the flowering trees are filling with blossoms. This week during the ride, I spotted several weeping cherry trees blossoming and the beginning blooms on the Yoshino trees.

It’s funny to realize that as a motorcycle rider, I am as excited to see the spring as a kid who’s been waiting to get to play outside. I suppose it is very comparable. Kids ride their bikes, fly kites, run around; I ride my R Nine T, and the fun I’m having makes me feel like a kid again.

Yoshino cherry blossoms beginning to bloom

I Forgot My Terrific Title!

I started off the ride fully geared and fully zipped because it was cool—high 60s. I even added my neck scarf to keep my neck warm, and I needed it. But with the right gear, the ride was pleasant though I can feel the need for my turtleneck coming soon.

As I mounted my motorcycle, I noted the odometer was at 1998.4, so I planned on stopping in 1.4 miles to snap the big 2000 shot. But as we set off cruising on this beautiful day, my mind wandered, and I totally forgot to get the picture! Instead, I was feeling the road beneath my wheels and the wind against my body. I was looking for more change in the foliage spotting some more bursts of red and yellow among the green leaves of the trees.

But for some reason during this ride, my mind wandered to the Tim Allen movie Wild Hogs. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it as a funny glimpse into the yuppy trend of buying Harley-Davidsons and becoming riders. Tim Allen’s little group of four call themselves the Wild Hogs, and they head out for a weekend ride to escape their daily grinds. That’s what my mind was musing on—the healthy escape and spiritual recharge riding motorcycles provide.

I’ve been dealing with some health issues recently, yet I won’t let them keep me off my motorcycle. Luckily, my health hasn’t curtailed my ability to ride, and I’m grateful for that. I can forget about any pain and feel the joy of my body and my bike working together in the ride. So I really leaned in on the counter steers during my turns, but I realized during my U-turn practice that I have not been using my body fully. I haven’t been applying pressure with my foot on the outer peg from the turn, so I haven’t made that a habit of my ride yet. More to work on.

I did spot a cabbage white butterfly during our ride, and there was even a small flock of ducks sitting near the lake where it comes up close to the road. And the Canadian geese gaggles are getting larger. There were tons of squirrels out running in front of us and running off on the grass as they gather their winter stores. Bill had a near run in with a mockingbird flying low and in front of him, but the roar of the Rocket chased him off. All in all I needed this ride to escape the worries of the week, and I look forward to next week’s ride that lets me escape those worries.

As for the title of this piece, early into the ride (probably around mile 2000), I thought of great title. But by the ride’s end, packing up the gear, running errands, and getting home, I no longer had that amazing title in mind. So one negative about riding is it isn’t great for writing down brilliance (ha!).

No Bones About It, I Had a Great Ride

Apparently the theme for this years Halloween is skeletons. In addition to the giant half-skeleton coming out of the ground from last week’s ride, I saw some people having some fun with their bone buddies. As we headed into the cul de sac where we do our on street U-turns, one neighbor had placed a skeleton in a lawn chair and a Green Bay Packers jersey waving. Across the street, a second skeleton in a lawn chair was hanging out and waving back. I liked those Halloween decorations much more than the house that had a giant scary clown blow up in front.

I also noted a lot of spiders and webs strung about lawns. I can enjoy the seasonal décor because I’m riding past everything on a beautiful, sunny day. Even the creepy clown isn’t too scary in the bright sunshine. But there was more to look at than just the Halloween decorations. The most exciting sight was what I believe was my first ever Diana Fritillary butterfly. I spotted her two miles into the ride as she floated across the street. At first I thought it was an odd looking swallowtail, but it was furry looking and smaller, so I think it was the Diana Fritillary.

She wasn’t the only butterfly out. I spotted five cabbage white butterflies during our ride. And I was startled by an Orange Sulfur butterfly that appeared over my left shoulder and nearly flew into my visor before heading out away from me. I find it odd how last week I only saw two butterflies the whole ride, yet this week I spotted seven. The weather for both days was very similar, and we were riding at about the same time of day. At some point I should do some more in-depth research on butterflies and their behaviors because the more I ride, the more curious I am about them.

We encountered two large gaggles of Canadian geese of twenty-plus. Or we encountered one very large gaggle of over forty that had spread out over half the block. And of course, there were squirrels being squirrely. I don’t mind, though, as this gives me quick braking practice. I did dab my foot during the second on street U-turn which led me to think about why I dab. Obviously, there is a feeling of unbalance, but I have experienced that feeling and been able to increase my speed and rebalance the motorcycle. So I wondered after the fact if I could have saved the turn without dabbing. But I think dabbing is more of an instinctual reaction to the unbalanced bike. I would like to work on saving the bike without dabbing, but that’s rather difficult because I would be risking dropping the bike on asphalt. If I still had the field behind the school, I might risk the drop to work on this skill.

I was disappointed that we didn’t head up the curvy road for two reasons. One reason is my enjoyment of riding the curves and counter steering. My second reason was getting the motorcycle to 2000 miles. I’m at 1998, but I will have to wait for next week’s ride to break 2000, and I am looking forward to it!

Diana Fritillary butterfly--black with orange tips on wints

One and a Half Butterfly Ride

It was a beautiful day for riding motorcycles—sunny and highs in the upper 70s, so I set off expecting to see lots of butterflies enjoying the day. But it was more of a squirrely day than a day of butterflies, another sign of autumn.

As we rode, I was on the lookout for butterflies, but the flutterings I spotted were leaves falling. The maples are showing their fall colors, but most of the trees are still in green leaf. I spotted some more mums planted for the season, but mostly what I saw were more Halloween decorations out as we have officially entered October.

We had our first squirrel encounter half a block into the ride. This guy was smart enough to stay near the curb and hop up onto the grass as we rode past. I worked on staying smooth with my engine braking, and I was very successful. We did work on some slow-speed maneuvers including U-turns and fast braking. I kept my ABS shudder to a little bit at the end; I need to work on releasing and the reapplying the brakes as I come to the sudden stop to eliminate the ABS shudder entirely. My practice got put to good use as I had to come to a sudden slow down due to two indecisive squirrels bickering in the middle of the road.

I spotted a cabbage white more than halfway into the ride enjoying the second bloom azaleas. As few as the butterfly sightings were, they were more plentiful than the Canadian geese. I didn’t spot a single goose during our ride which is very unusual. I mention the half butterfly because I did catch a quick glimpse of a tiny summer azure butterfly. These butterflies are tiny, as I spotted one when I got home and was unloading the gear.

As my fall rides continue, I’ll see more and more leaves and less and less butterflies. One of the bittersweet truths of seasonal change—loss and gain. At least our rides will be more comfortably cool, and I’m sure I’ll see even more Halloween decorations go up in the next few weeks.

Half giant skeleton appearing out of ground — Some of the seasonal decor I spotted on my ride.

Just a Pleasant Ride and a Butterfly First

I wasn’t feeling well this Saturday morning so, despite the warm day of mid-80s and sunshine, we delayed our ride until I was feeling more up to it. We opted out of the Alpinestars for the heat, and Bill planned on a short ride since I wasn’t 100%. We set out to cruise the neighborhoods and enjoy the day.

As we headed out, Bill didn’t lead us up to the twisty road which surprised me. But because of the detour away from the twisties, I spotted my first cabbage white butterfly of the ride. And because we had to take a second detour to get away from some slow-moving traffic, that little butterfly flew right across my path. I would see four more cabbage whites during my ride, all enjoying this summer flashback day. I find it interesting that the cabbage whites are the first butterflies I see in the spring and seem to be the last butterflies in the fall.

There are more mums out now and the dual bloom azaleas are in full flower. I even spotted a small cluster of white blossoms defiantly blooming in a row of crape myrtles who already had red and yellow leaves. I also spotted some clematis blooming, so there are plenty of flowers to tempt the butterflies. It was around one of the azaleas that I saw my first ever eastern-tailed blue butterfly. It was a little more black than blue, but the white markings on the wings helped me to identify it.

I enjoyed cruising along, feeling the breeze, and seeing the sights. I did start to feel tired toward the end of the ride, so we did cut the ride shorter. But a short ride is still a ride and so much fun!

Eastern-tailed blue butterfly — Photo by TheWonderOfLife on Pexels.com

Super Special Final Ride of the Summer

Riders know when it’s their day to ride. When the weather is wonderful, just a little warm, and special events like the Oceana Air Show is in town, riders come out in droves. As we headed over to the garage, I saw too many motorcycles to count, mostly cruisers, though there was a Yamaha R1 that went zipping by until traffic caused it to pull up. I joked to Bill that there were two motorcycle gangs—a group of three riders. I keep the gang at a minimum of three so Bill and I won’t be mistaken for a gang (LOL).

The week’s wind and rain had made an autumnal impact on the crape myrtles. Blossoms were sparse and several trees were nearly denuded of their leaves already. I hope the other trees will hold onto their leaves long enough to give us some spectacular fall foliage to enjoy. Still, there were enough flowers still blooming—the second chance azaleas, vincas, and some more mums—to attract a few butterflies. I spotted two cabbage whites as we rode and even saw a monarch go by.

We were about halfway into our ride, and I hadn’t seen any Canadian geese. I was a little too deep into thinking about where the geese might be and had to do a sudden stop as Bill surprised me with a turn. We headed up the on-road U-turn street, and I was successful in staying on the road for both. My second turn is almost always better than my first, and I believe that is because during the first turn, I’m paying attention to where Bill is in his turn and not just focused on mine. By the time I get around for the second U-turn, Bill has already zoomed up the road, so I can totally focus on getting my head completely around and keeping the turn tight. I worked on my swerves as well and need to continue to practice because I realized I wasn’t using my legs on the tank like I should.

When we turned off this road, I finally spotted some geese. At first it was just a pair, but then I saw the rest of the gaggle a few houses up the street. I also spotted more Halloween decorations including a skeleton jazz trio complete with instruments and capes. The rest of my ride went smoothly including my sudden stop practice. Except I did stall the bike at the same stop sign I stalled it at a few months ago. I don’t know why I stalled other than I missed the sweet spot. Bill had gone sailing up the road, so I had the opportunity to roll on the throttle and play catch up.

After our ride, we took advantage of the beautiful day to wash the motorcycles. As we were washing my bike, a cabbage white butterfly flew in low right over top of the motorcycle before sailing away. If she had lingered a bit, I might have been able to snap a photo. But today was my day to miss amazing photos. While we were washing the motorcycles, we could hear some of the jets from the annual Oceana Air Show. Now my parents’ house is miles away from Oceana, but jets being what they are, the distance is nothing. I came out of the garage and spotted the Blue Angels flying by in a four-man formation; it was beautiful and up close and would have been a phenomenal photo. I kept looking and hoping they would fly back around—this time with the cockpits visible, but all we saw the rest of the afternoon were contrails as they performed loop-de-loops for the crowds. The only image I got was a slight contrail, and if you squint and look at the bottom right corner of the photo, you can spot it. I must say that having a Blue Angels flyover on the penultimate summer ride of 2024 is spectacular and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I suppose the lesson here for all of us isn’t that we must all ride motorcycles, but we should all spend some quality time outdoors.

Top of magnolia tree, blue sky, jet contrail — Contrail from a Blue Angel jet as seen above a magnolia tree.

Is the Tank Half Full?

One of the biggest complaints about my 2021 BMW R Nine T Urban GS motorcycle is its lack of a fuel gauge. Nearly all new motorcycles have a fuel gauge, and many will even indicate remaining mileage range. But my R Nine T is a retro motorcycle, and as Bill has told me, his first Harley didn’t have a fuel gauge, most bikes didn’t. My motorcycle has an old-fashioned looking clock for the speedometer, but there is a small LCD screen that shows my mileage, and it lets me access the different ride modes and settings. But it’s small, maybe two inches long and 3/4 of an inch high, so there’s no room for a fuel gauge or remaining range.

Now Bill and I have assumed that a low fuel warning light will come on should I actually get nearly empty the 4.5-gallon gas tank. However, I’ve never gotten low enough to find out because Bill’s Triumph Rocket is a gas guzzler. His motorcycle has a fuel gauge and a range indicator. When the Rocket needs gas, we go ahead and gas up the R Nine T as well, so we’ve never gotten close to emptying that tank.

I mention the fuel gauge because that influenced today’s ride unbeknownst to me. It was another perfect day for riding motorcycles as evidenced by the many bikers we saw on the drive over to the garage. It was comfortably cool enough with partly cloudy skies and a northerly breeze to fully gear up. I was thinking the gray skies would keep me from seeing any butterflies as I sat on the bike waiting for Bill. And just as that thought occurred to me, I spotted a black swallowtail coming around the house across the street. I watched hoping she would fly towards the bikes, but she proceeded to pass in front of the house and go around the other side. Out of curiosity, I kept my gaze on the gate where I first spotted the butterfly and, sure enough, she came back around on a similar trajectory. However, on her second pass, she flew in front of half the house before heading up and over the roof.

I didn’t spot any more butterflies as we headed out, but there were multiple flocks of Canadian geese migrating for the upcoming winter. We rode out onto the curvy road, and I thought about lean angles and how the MotoGP riders lean and place their bodies between the bikes and the road. I sometimes feel myself trying to lean opposite the lean of my motorcycle, but today I let myself lean more in line with the bike. Of course, I’m leaning at 25-mph, not nearly 200-kph, so the forces are quite different. But today I think I understood better why the race riders lean like they do.

We rode along, skipping the on street U-turn road entirely and moving wide in our turnarounds. I notice clematis in bloom again as well as some of those two season azaleas that will bloom in the spring and the fall. I even spotted the first potted bright yellow mums of autumn. The leaves on the trees blowing in the wind look tired, and there were more dead leaves piled in the gutters than I had seen.

As we headed into the square lot, we had to move around the police’s large multi-horse trailer parked in the entry lot. I looked around in hopes of spotting one of the horses, but all I saw was a large bouncy slide over by the third precinct. Hopefully some children got to see the horses.

When we headed up the fast road, which we only did twice, I was easily able to keep up with Bill. That should’ve clued me in as to what was going on, but I was too lost in the enjoyment of a beautiful day’s ride. Another clue was when we didn’t go into the hospital lot for slow speed maneuvers practice. I did start to wonder if Bill was tired or not feeling great as our slightly shortened ride came to an end. It was only after we had dismounted and removed our helmets that I learned his low fuel warning had come on right at the start of the ride. He headed out with a fifteen-mile range and managed to still have two miles of range left when we finished. Meanwhile, my motorcycle probably still has half a tank at least.

We’ll gas up and be ready to enjoy next week’s ride; I am loving these September rides.

Sunday Funday Ride

A rainy Saturday morning postponed our usual ride until Sunday with the weather bringing us a spectacular day for riding—sunny and comfortable with temperatures in the low 70s. Another indication summer is ending, and autumn is arriving.

Because it was Sunday our day to relax, we took a relaxed approach to the ride. No slow speed or tricky maneuvers; just cruising about and enjoying the sights. There was a rather ominous start to our ride. As we mounted the motorcycles to begin, a turkey buzzard was circling close above us. I snapped a picture of the bird which seemed no more than twenty feet above us, but I couldn’t focus the camera too well in my helmet, so the buzzard looks too small in the frame. I’ll just point out that the buzzard was close enough to us that I looked around for what it might be seeking to snack on. Luckily for me, I didn’t spot anything.

The buzzard floating above us as we got started but soon spiraled out of sight. I spied some harvest themed decorations—scarecrow and small pumpkins. One person with a sense of humor had a skeleton set out on his steps waving at passersby. These decorations were spotted early in the ride, and I was hopeful I would see more. But it is too early in September and too far from Halloween for most people to decorate. There are more and more political candidate signs appearing, but those aren’t very much fun.

I was happily surprised to see a number of butterflies out on this Sunday afternoon. I even pondered if butterflies and nature in general “slept in” on Sundays. My first butterfly encounter was with a low-flying black swallowtail that passed by in front of the car windshield as I drove over to the garage. I actually hit my brakes to keep the butterfly off my windshield. I then spotted a yellow Sulphur flying over my parents’ yard as we unloaded the gear.

During the ride, I saw three cabbage white butterflies along the curvy road. I then spotted what I think was an Atlantis fritillary butterfly before spying another black swallowtail. One tiny butterfly flew up by my helmet, and from the coloring I think it might have been a ceraunus blue butterfly, but it went by too fast to see the black spot. I saw a couple more yellow Sulphurs and began wondering if I’d ever in my life seen a pink butterfly. There is a species called the pink-edged Sulphur and a phaon crescent butterfly, but I don’t think I’ve ever spotted one.

I enjoyed my relaxing, butterfly-filled ride. I know I soon won’t see any butterflies until next spring, so I’m glad they seemed to be out in force during this ride. And I look forward to whatever sights I can see next week as I ride.

Turkey buzzard circling above in a blue sky — An ominous sign that contradicts the beauty of my ride.

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!