Feeling the Ride

As I was loading my riding gear into the car, I felt drops of moisture. Walking back into the house, I spotted tiny drops of rain on the brick steps. Inside after a minute, I heard the rain hitting the rough albeit for only a few seconds. But any rain can threaten the ride, and my spirits sank.

We headed over anyway to see what the weather was like and to run some errands. Entering my parents’ neighborhood, there was evidence of rain on the hoods and windshields of parked cars, but the sun was bright in the sky and the roads were dry—the ride was on!

The temperature was in the mid-50s, so I wasn’t sure what gear was best to wear. I went with my lightweight Klim jacket with flannel and thermal shirts underneath, and that combination was enough to keep my core warm. But I made a mistake with the pants; I chose the Rev’It leathers instead of the Factor 4 winter pants and, even with tights underneath, my thighs were cold throughout the ride. The boxer engine provided enough of a faring to keep my lower legs warm, and the heated grips along with my mid-weight gloves kept my hands warm. However, I didn’t mind the chill. My thinking was that part of riding a motorcycle is embracing the weather directly. Sure, I can add some things for more comfort, but the riding experience includes experiencing the weather.

My ride was smoother than last week’s because I didn’t have the worry about stalling the R Nine T; I had gained that confidence. The trees are beginning to show buds as spring officially approaches. I even spotted a flowering plum tree and a sugar magnolia beginning to bloom. In a few more weeks, the cherry blossoms will be out followed by the dogwoods and azaleas. The wildlife included more turkey buzzards and Canadian geese.

I did have a mis-shift, not getting out of second, and it made me briefly rue the lack of a gear indicator on the R Nine T. Then my mind wandered to the lack of a fuel gauge and how that lack (in addition to the price) makes this model of motorcycle impractical for young men. Young men are probably the largest motorcycle buying demographic, but they are young men, so they aren’t going to be the most practical about riding. I was imagining taking off on the R Nine T for a long ride and running out of gas because of a lack of awareness as to how far one has ridden already on the tank of gas. Very impractical, but a very fun bike.

Of course I don’t have to worry about running out of gas. With Bill on the Triumph Rocket, he’s always running low on gas well before me. And the Rocket has a fuel gauge to give him plenty of warning, so we can always be prepared for our rides.

flowering plum tree — Photo by Gu Bra on Pexels.com

Riding Nirvana

Happy Easter! We have been blessed with beautiful weather for this weekend, and this gift of sunshine and warm temperatures made for a blissful ride. It’s funny to think how just last week, I was riding in almost full winter gear but yesterday’s ride let me dress as though for a summer ride.

We had gone just over a block when I spotted my first cabbage white butterfly. I hoped I would also see the bald eagle again in the gorgeous blue sky, but I didn’t have that kind of luck. As I rode up the curvy road, I enjoyed the feel of the counter steering. The cherry trees were past their peak bloom, but I spotted the dogwoods just beginning to open up. More azaleas were blooming, and more tulips were out.

The ride was lovely, perfect temps except for a little warmth creeping in when I worked in the gravel lot on my turns. I completed my tightest turns ever including another one in the blocked off parking spaces. Usually while I practice in the gravel, Bill watches me from a neighboring parking lot, but on this ride he headed off to work on his own slow speed turns. Later he told me it was too warm for him to just sit on the big Rocket engine in the sun. I was glad because I feel a little guilty that he just sits and watches me.

Bill wasn’t feeling great, so we had planned a shorter ride, but it didn’t feel shortened. We didn’t go up a few back roads, but we were out where I caught a quick glimpse of what I believe was the first Canadian Tiger Swallowtail of the season. It was fluttering up high in a tree and, by the time we turned around and passed the spot again, it had fluttered off. But it was exciting to see another species of butterfly because more will be on the way.

We did go in the hospital lot where I worked on my sudden stops and starts. I think they are getting better, but I would still like to restart more quickly. I saw an interesting site while I was practicing. In the church parking lot across the street from where I was practicing, I saw a beekeeper! I haven’t seen a lot of beekeepers in my lifetime especially all geared up, and this gentleman was holding his helmet not wearing it. But I now want to see if I can spot beehives behind the church.

As we headed back to the garage, I also saw something I hadn’t seen for some time—a family was out in the field by the school flying a kite. That is almost as perfect an outdoor activity as riding a motorcycle but, having done both, I’ll pick riding every time.

PS—When I was walking down to the car to leave, I looked up to see four ospreys soaring above—riding nirvana!

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Rain, Wind, and Riding

The forecasted rain arrived Friday evening and stayed past noon on Saturday. I was bummed even though I was sure we’d be able to ride on Sunday. So in order to mitigate the wait time from Saturday to Sunday, I decided to go check out the 2024 BMW R1300 GS. As luck would have it, by the time we headed over to the BMW dealership, the roads had mostly dried out. But I had set my sights on seeing the new motorcycle, so we headed over.

When we arrived at Adventure, they had over 15 motorcycles outside on display including the 1300 in the GS Trophy edition. This edition is in a red, white, and royal blue color pattern that looked good on Youtube, but for me the colors didn’t quite fit on the motorcycle that well. Because they had a large inventory of bikes, I was able to sit on the 1300 and then sit on a 1250 to compare. On both bikes I was on my toes, but when we went inside, I was able to sit on a Triple Black edition that featured the adjustable seat height. I was happy to see I could flat foot the bike and have a bend in my knees, close to my position on the R Nine T. The adjustable seat height is a feature that automatically lowers the motorcycle’s suspension as the rider slows down to stop. Harley-Davidson introduced this feature with their adventure bike, the Pan America, and it is a very smart feature that, should it gain increasing popularity, will make motorcycling open to more riders.

When I expressed disappointment at not seeing the 1300 in the Aurelius green metallic, Rick, the sales manager, told us he had one in the back and led us back there to see it. I’m glad he did because between the Trophy colors and the green, I much prefer the green. The lines on the tank are smoother and Bill likes that the frame is black not white.

Because of the recent rain, and because Rick was helping us not Clayton, there was no offer of a test ride. I would like to go back and test ride the green one, but I have to come to grips with reality. The green bike, known as the Option 719, is an upspec motorcycle with a ton of features and would cost, before dealer fees and taxes, $28, 545, so over $30,000 once the additional fees are added. It is amazing how much the motorcycle has increased in price. The 1250 GS would have run around $23,000 with added features. I may have to wait for some used 1300s to show up on CycleTrader to make it a reasonable dream.

Of course I really can’t complain. I have the beautiful R Nine T to ride, and ride I did on another windy Sunday. I remembered to check the wind chill, so I was dressed appropriately in my full leather jacket with the liner, warmest shirt, and Rev’It Factor 4 pants with the liner. Because of the chill, I wasn’t expecting to see any butterflies never mind as many as I saw last week. But I was surprised; there was one cabbage white fluttering around before we left, and I did spot one brave little guy as we rode.

As we turned around on at the end of the curvy road, I was watching a pair of Canadian geese in someone’s yard when my eye was caught by movement in the sky. High aloft the bald eagle was cruising on the strong winds. I stopped to watch, but Bill, who hadn’t seen the eagle, had ridden ahead. It was one of the few times I’ve wished we had a communication system.

Leaving the curvy road, I continued looking up in hopes of seeing the eagle again, but half a mile away and he was gone. Shortly after, though, Bill and I spied two osprey fighting over a fish in the sky. I was happy Bill got in on these raptors, and I began to have a hope of maybe seeing the golden eagle again. I didn’t, but I did see lots of crows.

I also saw more azaleas beginning to bloom and more tulips flowering. The cherry trees had reached full bloom but, due to the heavy rain and strong winds, their blossoms were not as full as they could have been. But the cherry blossoms in their transience remind me of my rides; the rides are wonderful while they last, but they are over all too soon. Of course, like the cherry blossoms, they return.