First Ride of 2024

Saturday morning found us up and out early in an effort to beat the rain. All week the forecast was for a rainy Saturday, but we had a few hours in the morning to squeeze in our ride before the showers started. So we headed over at first light and were on the roads before 8:00 AM.

Well there was a little delay thanks to me. Because of the early hour, I decided to wear my Rev’It Factor 4 winter riding pants. These caused me some issues trying to get the pant leg down over my Daytona boots. The cuffing issues came after the Daytona boots’ zippers fought me. But I was finally dressed, geared up, and ready to ride once I got my helmet on. And yes, the helmet fought me too.

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I received a beautiful new Arai Isle of Man Tourist Trophy helmet. It is a full-face helmet, meaning the helmet is one piece with a liftable visor. The closure is a strap that must be fed between two rings then back through the right ring to secure the helmet (see picture). I worked the helmet down over my balaclava and went to secure it, but I just could not get the two rings to separate. After a few minutes of struggle, the thought occurred to me that perhaps I didn’t actually have both rings. Sure enough, I felt around and discovered that the left ring had wedged up in the padding of the left cheek. Correcting that, I was quickly able to feed the strap through and back, secure the helmet, and start my ride.

We only rode half a block before stopping for a squirrel who stopped in the road in front of Bill’s Rocket while pondering its best course of action. Eventually, it decided to head to the near-side field off the road, and we were able to continue our ride.

I was a little surprised when Bill turned away from the curvy road. With the early hour, we were seeing far more people out walking their dogs than cars on the road. He led us on long stretches of straight roads even circling back around to lead us up the 35-mph road twice. I found this choice interesting as on our first pass by, we startled two large turkey buzzards snacking on the side of the road. On our second ride by, the buzzard nearer the road flew up next to Bill, and I saw the large, nearly 6-foot wingspan next to the large Rocket. I asked Bill about the closeness after the ride, and he said it was about 5 feet away, but from behind it looked closer.

I realized we weren’t going to do U-turns and slow speed maneuvers due to our early morning grogginess. So I was completely surprised when Bill headed up to the light at the intersection of our neighborhood road and took us into a new neighborhood. I say new but it was only new for my riding it on a motorcycle; I had driven the roads many times before. After the initial surprise, I was further surprised when Bill took us left then right instead of left and left. Had we gone with the two lefts, we would have made a short square back into my parents’ neighborhood. But by going left/right, we headed up a main road (35-mph) through two more lights, up another main neighborhood road, before heading back to the intersection and returning to our usual route.

Technically, this was my first ride in main traffic. However, since it was such an early hour on a Saturday, there wasn’t much traffic to ride through. But I am hoping that this ride my open up more roads for future rides.

I did have a “whoa” moment as we headed back to the garage. As we turned left onto a street that is crisscrossed with uneven asphalt strips from recent road construction, my rear tire slipped a little, enough for me to feel the whole motorcycle slide sideways. However, I didn’t panic and grab the brakes but instead rolled off the throttle. The traction control kicked in and kept the motorcycle from slipping sideways and falling, and I was able to ease the bike upright as I completed the turn. It was an interesting sensation that occurred in the blink of an eye, but I was happy with my cool-headed reaction. I’ll have to watch that stretch of the road on future rides though it was probably a random large bit of gravel that got in under the tire.

Early Saturday morning rides agree with me though with January here, I expect the cold weather will prevent too many more of them for the near future.

Chin strap of motorcycle helmet showing strap through the two rings.

Christmas Eve Ride

Due to some goofiness with the usually reliable R Nine T, we had to delay our weekend ride until Christmas Eve. We tried Saturday to head out. Bill’s Rocket fired right up with no issues. The R Nine T, though, wouldn’t start.

At the end of last week’s ride, I had inadvertently knocked the right turn signal loose in its setting. Ironically, as well-built as most of the BMW motorcycle is, the turn signals are rather flimsily attached. In the past Bill has knocked the turn indicator loose himself, but with the right tools, it can be reattached. So while I visited with my mom, Bill was in the garage working on the turn indicator. When I came out to check on him, it wasn’t going well. The screw part was easily dealt with as the correct socket was engaged. However, the backing nut was protected by extraneous plastic bits that made locking it in place was proving extremely difficult. Eventually, Bill got the nut encased in one of my dad’s old small wrenches, and the indicator was reattached.

At this point it went downhill. Bill shifted the motorcycle around in the garage and went to start it to get it down to the street. The bike spit out a high-pitched “rawr, rawr,” and went dead. After pushing the motorcycle back into the garage, I climbed on the seat and straightened the chassis so Bill could check the oil; it appeared to be low. We couldn’t just add some oil, however, as the special tool that is needed to remove the boxer cylinder head to get to the oil intake was back at my house.

With a night to think on it, we returned the next day with some gas because Bill thought the weird engine sound was possibly caused by some bad residual gas in the tank. Luckily, filling up the tank got the motorcycle started and it ran beautifully throughout my ride. The ride did get off to a rough start. Passing onto the next block at the beginning of our ride, a black Merecedes SUV which I thought was just parked facing the wrong direction on the road, drove out into the street just as Bill was riding past on the Triumph. The driver saw Bill and stopped (luckily the Rocket is nearly the size of a small car). Silly me, I assumed the driver would take that near miss as a lesson and take a second to check for passing traffic before trying to drive off again. He didn’t, so I came to a stop on the side of the road and waited for the Mercedes to clear off down the street. The driver may have been drunk judging from the state of inebriation on his friend who was standing on the side of the road laughing as though hitting a motorcyclist was a game.

It was a rude way to begin what was otherwise a lovely ride. As we stopped at a stop sign after riding up the curvy road, Bill pointed at me and then pointed to his right. At first I thought he was signaling to me to watch for pedestrians on this pleasant day out for a pre-holiday walk. But at the next stop sign, he came to a stop over toward the left, and I realized that he wanted me stopping on the inside of him should there be any cut off turns into our lane. Realizing how we managed the communication got me to thinking about helmet audio systems. There are communication systems that would allow Bill and I to talk to each other while we ride. My mind then wandered to people who have their helmets connected to their phones. While I ride, my phone goes into a driving mode so there is no audible signal of a call or message nor is there a vibration (not that I would feel that through the layers of protective gear nor over the vibration of the bike). But I don’t even want to listen to music while I ride. Maybe if my ride lasted more than an hour or so, or I was trying to ride six or more hours on a trip, music would be a desired distraction. But while I’m riding for my hour or so, I want to hear the rumbles and roars of the motorcycle shifting, accelerating, and decelerating. One of my all-time favorite sounds was the Leo Vince exhaust we had on the Ducati Scrambler. So I found myself recognizing the enjoyment I have in hearing the sounds of my ride.

The trees are wintry in their bare branches with some dry, brown leaves clinging in places. I only saw crows flitting about and squirrels rushing around. But I did enjoy even more of the Christmas decorations; by Christmas Eve pretty much all the decorations are out and inflated even during the daytime.

One thing I worked on during my ride was turning my head all the way during U-turns. Bill had suggested it after watching my practice in the gravel lot last week. I learned that I have been cheating on my head turns and stopping them short. This realization became obvious to me after I had to dab my foot four times during U-turns. A “dab” is when the rider puts a foot down to protect the motorcycle from a fall. I haven’t had to dab in a long time as the R Nine T is such a well-balanced bike. I will be spending the week thinking about what it is about the head turn is causing me to feel unbalanced. And I will spend the week excitedly waiting for my chance to practice and ride again.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Christmas inflatables including a polar bear wearing a Santa hat and waving; Santa and two pigs in an airplane; a tall Santa; a Grinch; a Santa in row boat. — Christmas inflatables seen during my ride.

What’s the Deal with Triumphs?

A beautiful Saturday afternoon greeted us for our ride with sunny skies and warmish temperatures (mid-50s). As I visited with my mom, Bill rode the bikes down to the street as he always does. I haven’t gotten a motorcycle out of the garage since I dropped the Ducati Scrambler in the driveway. I think this is a little unfair as I realized what I did wrong (not in gear) on that drop, but Bill really loves the R Nine T, so I understand his overprotectiveness.

Anyway, Bill had both motorcycles down on the street. We put on our gear—I was wearing my Schott’s leather jacket without the liner; Bill was sticking with the Klim. I finished dressing first and headed down to my bike. I noticed Bill heading out without his Helite airbag vest and gestured to him so he would turn back and put it on before he came all the way down the driveway. I started my bike enjoying the back and forth shake of the boxer engine and waited to hear the rumble of the Rocket. It didn’t come.

Now to get the motorcycles down to the bottom of the driveway, Bill starts them up and shifts into first gear to use the power of the engines to help move the bikes. So the Rocket had started up in the garage, no problem. Yet just as we were ready to start our ride, the Triumph wouldn’t turn over. Having experienced no starts on the Rocket, Bill patiently took out the key fob to check the battery. Dead.

Two and a half months ago, the key fob received a brand-new battery. The fob gets used once a week, and with the rainy weekends and the tire puncture, not used every weekend. The fob has been used maybe 7-8 times. Why, then, is the battery already dead? The fob for my car has gotten two batteries over three years and that fob sees daily use. So what is the deal, Triumph? Why does the Rocket fob burn through batteries? It is a keyless ignition; is the fob constantly searching for the bike? Or is our fob poorly wired?

Whatever the reason, the frustration of having to dismount, disrobe (the gear), dig out a battery, pry the old battery out, and hope the new battery will work. Luckily for our ride, it did. But it sure allowed frustration to build and nearly ruined our ride. However, once we got underway, the joy of riding drove away the frustration.

A lot more Christmas decorations were out including several Grinches, a walrus, and a polar bear delivering a Christmas tree. My ride went really well. The curvy road was fun; I focused on balancing my speed and my lean. The no look turns are improving, and my U-turns were really tight even on the gravel.

The squirrels were out and making up for missing last week. We had five encounters. I saw a turkey buzzard circling just before we headed out. And I saw either the same one or another later into the ride. Other than the turkey buzzards, I saw some large crows enjoying the day, but despite the warm day, it is looking more and more like winter.

As beautiful as the day was and as enjoyable as the ride was, it didn’t end well. As I dismounted the R Nine T, rather hastily as I really needed to use the bathroom, I inadvertently kicked the right turn signal on the back. As well built as the BMWs are, the two turn signals are rather flimsily attached. It doesn’t take much to knock them out of their seating. Bill did it once, and now I’ve done it too. It’s not as bad as the Rocket key fob, but it did let the ride end on a sour note. Overall, however, the light is a minor repair and, doing some work on the motorcycles is part of the fun of riding.

December in Virginia

The weather finally took pity on us and gave us a spectacular December day for riding. While earlier in the week, temperatures had dipped down into the 30s, this Saturday gave us a high right at 70 degrees with clear, sunny skies. Typical for Virginia to have below freezing and a springlike day within the same week. I was happy the spring day came when I could ride.

We headed out wearing our summer Klim jackets. I wore a long sleeve t-shirt over my Alpinestars jacket because there was a breeze. Even though Bill had to help me pull the shirt down over the back protector, he was surprised at the end of the ride to realize I had worn the shirt. But it was just enough to keep me comfortable throughout the ride.

As we hit the curvy road, I worked on my counter steering, watching as the R Nine T moved in response. We passed a lot of people out walking and enjoying the beautiful day. I wondered at several of them who were walking in the street. My parents’ neighborhood has wide streets and sidewalks on both sides of the street. There are sections in the adjoining neighborhoods where sidewalks are not an option, but most of the area has sidewalks. I’ve been a runner, so I understand about asphalt versus cement on joints. But the pace of walkers, especially these walkers, and the cushioning afforded in modern walking shoes, negates a need for walking in the street. It just presents one more obstacle to be aware of.

I figured out early in the ride that Bill was in cruise mode which made me happy. Since we missed our ride last weekend, I just wanted to keep moving. As we turned left out of stops, I was amazed to realize how easy my no-look left turns were going. In three out of four, I was able to keep the bike turned to the left as I looked to the right.

I did get to work in the gravel lot some. The parking lot had sections buried under leaves and pine needles so I avoided those sections as I couldn’t be sure it was dry underneath. But there was enough dry sections to let me have fun making some figure eights and working on tight turns. After a few minutes, though, I rejoined Bill for our cruise. As we rode around I saw families out raking leaves and bags and bags of leaves piled up on the curb. The leaves were more brown than colored and even more branches were bare. I did see some roses hanging in there, but I didn’t see much wildlife out and about on this surprisingly warm day.

Looking ahead to next Saturday, we may be lucky enough for a mostly sunny but cooler day. I sure hope so. It’s been a tough week without the ride therapy and, as we approach every closer to Christmas, the kids get crazier, and I have even more need for my ride.

Bare tree branches under a blue sky. — A typical sight for December–bare tree branches.

Yellow African daisies. — African daisies blooming in December.

Air-Cooled Engine vs. Summer

I own a 2021 Ducati Desert X Scrambler Fasthaus edition. This particular motorcycle has an air-cooled engine. When temperatures average in the high 80s to low 90s daily, the air that’s supposedly cooling my engine isn’t all that cool. On this Saturday we had pleasant low 80s for our ride, a real treat at the end of July, but it still wasn’t enough to keep my thighs cool.

As we set off on our ride, I actually was chilled by the wind blowing against me through my partially zipped gear. I took that as an encouraging sign that I wouldn’t get as overheated on this ride as I did last week. We cruised along our twisties and I was wishing for another sight of the bald eagle—no luck. I had an odd sense as we rode our slow circles in the first court. The whole ride my circles felt off for some reason that I still don’t understand. I could do them, but I felt like I was working at them harder.

I did get to see a falcon zipping along the tops of the pine trees as we headed over to the fancy neighborhood. And I was happy when we cruised straight down the long road to the end. The end is a small court, and I again had that off sensation as we circled about. I almost felt as though I was riding too slowly, but I did not have the fear of dropping the bike. I wonder if I am getting a better feel for the speed of the motorcycle and that is why our slow circles felt slow.

We continued our ride amongst the crepe myrtles, brown-eyed susans, and begonias. The dragonflies flitted about, and I was very lucky to spot a Monarch butterfly dancing close to the tarmac. We rode through a gaggle of Canadian geese crossing the church parking lot. As we practiced our standing stops, a Japanese beetle found itself on a collision course with me and veered off at the last second.

All through our ride, I would have been completely cool and comfortable if it weren’t for the air-cooled engine. When I see riders in shorts, I think they must be riding water or oil cooled engines because they would have burn marks on their thighs from the heat. I find myself pushing my knees outward to try and get cool air flow over my hot legs. Every week it becomes clearer to me that the air-cooled Ducati is a cold weather bike.

Because we had strong storms the night before, I had resigned myself to no ride on the R Nine T. So it was a pleasant surprise when Bill headed over to the field. I asked about the ride on still wet grass, and he suggested I just circle the two trees nearby. It was another mixed week. The start was great, and the circles on the bike felt good; I was more worried about the spongy ground. I was determined to get the feel for the dry clutch, not having had much luck with my research. I thought if I let the clutch out most of the way and then rolled on the throttle, I would have it. But I kept stalling. As I worked at it, I thought maybe my problem was as I let out the clutch and rolled on the throttle and started moving, I pulled the clutch back in. Doing this would cut power to the rear wheel and, you guessed it, cause stalling. Bill suggested my difficulty may also have been due to the wetter terrain. In any case I’m due for a good ride next week, and I have a plan to work with for that dry clutch.

Now the BMW R Nine T is an air/oil-cooled engine. Plus, the cylinder heads are down low, so there’s no thigh roasting when I get the chance to ride it. I need to improve on that dry clutch; maybe there’ll be an R Nine T for me down the road.

Ducati Desert X Scrambler Fasthaus engine — The Ducat’s air-cooled engine.

Racing the Rain

At 6:00 AM the roads were wet and it seemed our ride wouldn’t happen. But three hours later, the roads were drying off and the sun was peeking here and there through the large storm clouds. We decided to race the rain and work our ride in before the storm arrived.

The temperatures were in the mid 80s but, with the gathering storm, the humidity was way up making for a sticky ride. Some of the neighborhood construction had been completed, so we headed off into a small neighborhood that we hadn’t ridden in for over a month. The road was newly paved and nice and twisty. One of the skills I was working on this week was counter steering or, as Jerry Palladino of Ride Like a Pro calls it, pushing.

With counter steering the concept is more confusing than the action. Counter steering is how a rider leans the bike into curves on the road. In a car the driver turns the steering wheel along the path of the curve. On a motorcycle the rider counter steers the bike into a lean because turning the handlebars at speed would cause the bike to fall (and, most likely, the rider too). The reason it is called counter steering is because as I push forward on either the left or right side of the handlebars, the front wheel seems to steer (just slightly) to the opposite side. This counter steer guides the motorcycle into a lean to follow the curve of the road. As I said, the application is easier than the concept because counter steering and leaning the bike, to a non-rider, might seem likely to lead to a crash. But in reality, the counter steering allows the rider to follow the curves of the road and is quite enjoyable.

So I had success and fun with that skill practice. Another skill we were working on this week is turning from a stop. In the case of turning right or left from a complete stop, the rider should turn the handlebars. By turning the handlebars first and then heading into the turn, I can maximize the available roadway for the turn and avoid going into the opposite lane (right turns especially). The challenge here is once the motorcycle starts moving, the front wheel tries to straighten out. I was better able to keep the handlebars turned when going to the right and found myself straightening the handlebars on left turns. It wasn’t until the second to last left turn that I was able to keep the handlebars turned.

This week I again had trouble remembering to watch my mirrors when stopping. Not until we were halfway through the ride did I begin to incorporate the mirror checks. I did better at checking them as I approached the stop rather than as I stopped, but I need to development my stop awareness at the get go. Then all of my stopping skills will be going well.

I had a few moments riding the Ducati where the heat nearly overwhelmed me. I think the bike’s heat coupled with the humidity makes for a challenging ride. This unpleasant warmth made our slow circles and S-turn practices a challenge. I found myself almost target fixating in the gravel lot and narrowly avoided the wooden beams laid down to form the parking lot. But I managed to squeak by and opened up my visor fully to allow more cool air inside.

Not too many animals about as they were probably already sheltering from the impending storm. I did have a dragonfly zoom into my path flying straight at me before lifting himself up and over my helmet.

When we went to our stand up and stop practice lot, we felt the first drops of rain. I could hear the rain hitting my helmet and saw the drops on the gas tank. It was an early warning as the skies did not open up, but we proceeded to the school field so I could practice on the R Nine T some. I seem to be in an on/off pattern with the R Nine T. Last week went smoothly, so this week I stalled constantly. And this week was when I added coming to a stop and restarting. I did not have one successful restart from the stop. On the bright side, next week’s practice should be another on week.

We returned the motorcycles to my parents’ garage and headed home. The storm began just as we pulled into the driveway, so the motorcycles let us outride the rain. Next Saturday is showing clear skies, so let’s hope it stays that way.

Storm clouds — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

A Day Worth Waiting For

Finally! Despite rain late into last night, the roads dried off, the sun came out, and we had a day to ride. It’s been three weeks since I rode and a month for Bill, so we were extra happy that the weather forecast was right and the day was nice. There was some wind keeping it cold, but with the bright sunshine everywhere, it felt warmer.

And we weren’t the only ones out enjoying the prettier weather. We passed a small group of Canadian geese (6) driving into the neighborhood. And once I was out on the Scrambler, I passed another smaller group of 4. It felt great to be back on the motorcycle, though it was a bit like my first-time riding. I realized that my last ride was on my G310 and on different roads, so I was relearning the feel of my Ducati and relearning my practice routes.

The roads were fairly quiet which made my practice easier. The gravel parking lot at the neighborhood park was free of cars, allowing me to loop through it several times. I even rode my little dirt track, though carefully as there was a lot of mud from last night’s rain. My focus was on the feel of the bike, shifting the gears in my thick Rev’It winter gloves and keeping my left foot up. So I only did a few U-turns and only one fast stop as the gloves are stiff. I’m hoping that with some more winter rides, the gloves will wear in and loosen up some.

I slalomed through the bus lanes at the elementary school, riding by the house often as I expected Bill to be waiting so he could ride too. After about 20 minutes, there he was, geared up and ready to go. So we went and picked up the R NineT and headed out on our neighborhood cruise. Since we hadn’t ridden these roads in a month, we found some road work in the neighborhood—more gravel. I was watching the road and watching Bill as I always do when I caught sight of the bald eagle soaring above us. So not only was I thrilled to be back riding my motorcycle, but I had the added excitement of seeing the bald eagle coasting through the bright blue sky. As I watched the beautiful eagle, I realized that my sensation riding the motorcycle is as close as I will get to an eagle soaring aloft in the sky. I rode with a smile plastered on my face.

The smile turned to a laugh when we cruised by the first group of geese. Several of them were crossing the road, so we had slowed to a crawl as the stragglers made it across. As they cleared the road and we rode by, the big goose in charge chased after the stragglers, honking a reprimand for their slow progress.

The birds continued to entertain us on our ride. We passed more geese playing in a puddle. A mockingbird flew right in front of Bill. And, as we paused for our chat on the gravel lot, we watched four turkey vultures flitting about in the tall pine trees. I had some issues shifting from second to third during the ride. I would pull in the clutch and lift the shifter, only to look down and see I was still in second. I believe that is part of getting used to the gloves and the feel of the clutch. I was able to easily find neutral two out of three tries, which was a pleasant surprise as I was sure, after not riding the Scrambler for a month, I would lose the progress I had made in finding neutral.

Next weekend is looking to be a warmer ride, so I will get more practice in shifting and finding neutral and, hopefully, another chance to see the bald eagle in flight.

Me in my warm riding gear with the stiff Rev’It gloves; I love my Schott’s leather jacket.

Now an Official Motorcycle Bad A**

Let’s face it. The ubiquitous image of a motorcycle rider is a large, multi-tattooed, leather clad bad ass. Even if you take away the size and body ink aspects, you’ve got the leather-jacketed image of James Dean on a motorcycle in Rebel Without a Cause as the epitome of both coolness and juvenile delinquent, and the motorcycle is a huge part of that image. And as of Saturday, I have joined the ranks of MC BAs!

I didn’t plan to become a BA. We got up on a pleasantly cool Saturday—again the week had been in the 90s, but we were blessed with a Saturday that would be in the low 80s, so our morning ride was a pleasant 75 degrees. I spotted the monarch butterfly even before I took off on the bike, again a seeming good omen for a great day of riding.

I did my warm up laps around the parking lot, working a little on swerves and on my U-turns. I was struggling on my right side today, a little frustrating after last week, but I know I’m a rank beginner and will have negative progress periods as well as leaps forward. Bill set up cones for the off-set slalom, and I ran through it twice then came to a stop. A white truck had pulled into the parking lot. I have a rule for myself to pull over and stop when another vehicle is in motion anywhere in my practice lot. I was stopped over near the school dumpsters. Bill was across the lot sitting in his chair in the shade. The white truck did not turn off and park but drove straight up to Bill. I saw a public schools sign on the side of the truck and had a sinking feeling. The gentleman got out of the truck, a clear VBPS badge swinging from his neck.

I was too far away to hear any of the conversation, but I knew what it was. He was there to tell us we could not use the parking lot for practice. Someone had made a complaint.

Let me take this moment to remind you that I ride a BMW G310 GS, a 313 cc motorcycle. Bill even asked the gentleman if, standing there conversing, he could hear my bike idling as I waited in limbo across the lot. And the gentleman answered honestly, “No.” But he was just the messenger. So I rode one more time through the off-set slalom, and we relocated to the dead end street in front of Bill’s house. Not before a general bitch session first about obnoxious neighbor busybodies, and then a switch to petty bureaucratic brown nosers in the school district trying to earn brownie points by telling the administrator they saw hooligans riding motorcycles in the school parking lot on Saturday.

Whoever made the complaint, we were compliant and relocated. As we were leaving the parking lot, Bill on the bike, me in the car, I saw the swallowtail at the edge of the parking lot, as though saying farewell which was a little bittersweet for me as I don’t know if I will be back in the parking lot practicing.

Some background on this parking lot. This school is the neighborhood elementary school. I was enrolled in Catholic school, so I did not attend this school, but both my little brother and sister attended several years later. I did use this parking lot to practice driving skills before getting my license, including the painful shifting with the clutch (my poor parents!). Adjacent to the school is a huge field with a baseball diamond, basketball courts, and playground equipment. At the back is a small woodland, all of which I played on for years as I child and which my boyfriend still uses when riding his bicycle and running (the field and woodland). Every Sunday a group of men play cricket in the field. Any given day of the week you can see kids playing on the playground and teens and young adults shooting hoops. And I am not the only neighborhood child who learned basic driving skills in that parking lot.

All of this background is just so you know how absolutely absurd the complaint is. This is also bad press Virginia Beach Public Schools. Part of what makes a neighborhood school is the sense of ownership the residents of the neighborhood feel toward that school. Now some might say I no longer live in the neighborhood—which I don’t—but my parents and two of my brothers own houses in the neighborhood, and my boyfriend’s house is right there next to the school. And we have never seen anyone else trying to come into the parking lot to use it for driving practice during our riding time.

Anyway, I am trying to make lemonade out of this gigantic lemon, so I’m using the complaint against as my official entry into motorcycle badassery. It’s a stretch I know, but I LOVE riding my motorcycle, and I don’t want a negative experience to impact that. So I am turning it into a positive. Sorry Mom, but your greatest fear about the motorcycle has come true—I am a delinquent (I left juvenile behind decades ago).

Back to what I love, the riding. On the little dead-end street, I worked on stopping; I’m trying to find my braking threshold and I am in the beginning stages of that. Because it is a short dead-end street, I had to make U-turns at both ends to run my stopping drills. I was amazed to discover how nervous I was making U-turns with the curbs on either side of the street! I was also nervous because I felt Bill had set the stopping cone a little too close to the parked cars at the end of the street. Plus, there were cars parked on both sides of the street, adding more obstacles. And there was a road that intersected the street I was on with people turning right to get out of the neighborhood, so I had to up my awareness. All of this provided me excellent training, so the day was not a total wash.

But the excitement wasn’t over. We thought we lost one of the keys to the R NineT, and it created some stressful moments. I eventually found the key, after riding twice through the neighborhood to see if it had fallen out on the road, when I went to search the trunk of the car. It was wedged between the back end of the car and the hatch! I’m not sure where we will be riding on Saturday, but wherever we are, the weather gods are smiling on us again and giving us a beautiful morning—the high for the day is forecast to be 79!

“Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass: it’s about learning how to ride in the rain!”- Anonymous
https://motoringjunction.com/featured/top-32-motorcycle-riding-quotes/

Butterflies and Bikes

Do you ever watch the flight of a butterfly? How it seems to bounce along in the air in seeming randomness? Yet it flits between flowers and moves purposefully along the blossoms as it feeds. I have always enjoyed watching a butterfly bounce along especially from the car as the winds buffet it about. On my motorcycle the flight of the butterfly is magnified because on a motorcycle, you are out in the air with the butterfly. A part of me imagines a collision with the helmet, but the larger part of me enjoys the feeling of freedom I’m sharing with the butterfly, out moving in the wind.

A monarch butterfly breezed past me on my very first ride on my G310 GS. Today it was a swallowtail butterfly. I love seeing the butterflies flitting about as I circle around my parking lot. They’ve made such an impression on me, that I thought of naming this Butterflies and Bikes. They are a fitting symbol for how I picture my riding—a carefree adventure out in nature.

I’m not there yet, but today I felt a confidence on the bike greater than any I had felt before. I breezed through my “box turns” and my “S turns,” not once feeling a near loss of control of the bike. It was rather warm out especially with me wearing my jeans and Klim jacket, so I was cruising up to third gear and hitting 20 mph to stay cool. My boyfriend set out the slalom for me and I had near perfect runs sitting and standing. So we upped the ante and did the offset slalom.

This week we’ve been watching videos of the BMW GS trophy qualifying rounds, amazed at the challenges the bikers face and get through. Their balance and control of the bike is amazing. And watching them turn on the offset slaloms inspired me to give it a try this week. I started off OK turning through the first 3 cones well. But my downfall was the last 3 cones; I couldn’t set up my entry well. So I drove by them and circled back around to try again.

About my fifth attempt, I realized that I was not using my body in the turns and that I was using too much front brake. I told myself to relax, focus on using my body, and let the friction zone help. I made it through all 6 cones, set up again, did it again, and went for the third time which was the charm and I was successful. Bill even commented on how I shouldn’t use the front brake, just the clutch and rear brake.

What I especially enjoyed realizing was that even as I fought the bike to get through the offset, I did not have any fear of falling. As I moved through the offset, I was moving freely, just as the butterfly moves freely in the wind.

I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?
Zhuangzi
“Zhuangzi Quotes.” BrainyQuote, Xplore, https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/zhuangzi_393083.

All Geared Out

July 4^th weekend and we had a day that started in the 60s! For those of you who know coastal Virginia summers, July is known for hazy, hot, and humid, not beautiful, spring-like weather. But thanks to a lovely cold front, we had a gorgeous day for riding. Which was a good thing as it was my first ride wearing our new Klim gear.

I say “our” gear as opposed to mine as we weren’t sure of the sizing, so my boyfriend ordered for himself with me being the back up if the sizes ran small. He got the Klim K Fifty 1 jeans, the Klim Induction gloves, the Gaerne SG12 Enduro boots, and the Klim Induction Pro jacket. He liked the jeans, gloves, and boots which all fit well. And the jacket was nice but a little snug. So I tried on the jacket which just happens to match my bike (the jacket is the Cool Gray color). Because of the cool front, there was some wind creating my coolest ride yet. I actually needed the jacket for some warmth. The air was so cool I rode with my helmet visor down for the first time as well.

As far as the ride itself, it was a little on the short side as we needed to get the bike back and parked by 11:00. I worked on cruising, slaloming, quick stopping, straightening up from a curve, and stopping in a curve. We used the KamelKones again for some slow speed slaloming most of which I stayed in second gear for. One new thing I worked on was a tip I heard in one of Fortnine’s videos we watched this week. The tip was when stopping, in order to help ensure the left leg goes down first, tilt your head to the left.

I worked with this strategy on several sections of the parking lot that slope down to the right and where I have found myself at best putting both feet down simultaneously, but more often setting my right foot down first. I was successful 5 out of 6 tries, and the one unsuccessful try was both feet going down. It amazes me how a seemingly innocuous movement of the head can help with correct body position. But that is one of the fascinating aspects of training on a motorcycle—learning how subtle body movements influence your movement, control, and balance on the motorcycle. It makes me appreciate what a skill riding a motorcycle is, and it helps me understand why my boyfriend is so insistent on my practicing. Today, I realized how much more comfortable I am on my bike, how tight turning is a skill to continue improving, not the nightmare of the MSF test that I thought could fail me. So I realize I need to be careful of hubris, of feeling overly confident on the bike. I have not fallen yet, and I hope I don’t until I’m off-roading (and even then, I really don’t want to fall; I just accept it as an inevitability).

But even knowing there’s an inevitable fall in my future does nothing to diminish the exuberant joy riding brings me. And as I gather more safety equipment for riding, my concern in that looming fall becomes more and more about possible damage to the bike and less and less about possible damage to me.