I was back out of the leather and wearing the Klim summer jacket for this week’s ride.  It was a Saturday made for riding motorcycles with temperatures hovering around 70 degrees and bright sunshine.  There was wind, quite a bit as we had a violent storm pass through overnight Thursday.  But the roads were dry and the wind didn’t make it too chilly, though I did wear a thermal shirt under my jacket to stay warm.

            What I noticed during this ride was how important it is to learn the motorcycle.  When I get in my car, I might think about features like the window controls or heated seats and I develop a feel for the steering wheel, the acceleration, and the brakes.  But I don’t have to develop a feel for if I’m balanced in the seat, and I don’t consciously develop my grip on the steering wheel.  Perhaps if I drove a more high-performance car or drove as though I was starring in the next Fast and Furious film, I might develop a finer attunement with my car.  And even though I don’t take my R Nine T to a track to zip along as though I was in MotoGP, in order to ride successfully and safely, I do need to be attuned to the handling of the motorcycle far more than with my car.

            As we headed out on this day meant for motorcycles, I actually was preoccupied with thoughts about house and yard work.  I had spotted what I think was a Monarch butterfly as I was loading the gear in the car, so I should have been focused on possible butterfly sightings.  What brought me out of my chores reverie wasn’t the cabbage whites I saw flitting here and there nor the gorgeous azaleas at peak bloom.  No, I left the thoughts on bathroom scouring and weeding behind when I realized that I had been turning, stopping, leaning into curves, trail braking, and counter steering without any conscious thought to do any of it.  I was riding my motorcycle naturally, comfortably, and confidently.

            Well, not entirely comfortably.  My right arm did get tingly and need some shaking out.  But as far as steering and maneuvering went, I was mostly comfortable.  I did go wide on the first on street turn because I didn’t turn my head far enough around.  But now when I do make a mistake, I am much better at identifying what I did wrong and make the correction.  My quick stop-starts went really well.  Near the end of our ride, Bill led us into my old practice street, the one I had to use when the school didn’t want us using the parking lot.  I flashbacked to how nerve wracking it was to do my U-turns between the curbs on the little 310 even as I easily navigated the turn on the larger R Nine T.  As Bill explained after our ride, he could really tell how much his skill has developed on the Rocket by completing the U-turn on the practice street.  That led me to realize how important our practices are for learning the handling of the motorcycles.  I have nearly put 1,000 miles on the R Nine T, not much by most people’s standards, but much more than I ever rode on either the BMW G310GS or the Ducati Scrambler.  So it is no wonder that I feel more attuned to the R Nine T, and I look forward to more fine tuning next weekend!