3 Things that Suck about Piloting a Motorcycle....

Now that I have your attention, I'll share this experience that I had a few days ago. I was on my way home from work and approaching a round about (thing 1). Behind me was a tailgater (thing 2). Ahead of me, approaching the round about from the adjacent park, was a pedestrian jogger (thing 3). These three sucky things were all converging at this point.

I was traveling south. I saw the person jogging well in advance but did not plan to stop at the cross walk because of the tailgater. Being a round about, that makes life on two wheels a bit more tricky. If I commit to the turn, I really have to complete that action or I might dump the bike.  Well, I shouldn't dump it but the tailgater is making me nervous. I'm slowing, however, because it is a round about. The jogger sees me, but her actions indicate that she thinks I'm going to stop for her, probably because I was slowing and also looking at her. (In Boulder, pedestrians are invincible because they workout constantly and let nothing stop them from doing so.)  So, now I have a choice, keep going and run over the jogger or stop and risk being run over myself. Apparently, my instinct is not to run over anyone. I hit the brakes before I start the turn. At the same time I glance in my mirror and see the front end of the car behind me nose dive before stopping. The jogger runs on with a thankful smile that I stopped for her. I swear loudly in my head at the tailgater and wish I was safe at home already.

It's been a long off season and I'm still shaking off the deep sleep of not riding. Lots of things seem a bit more conspicuous now that I'm back on the bike.

This morning, as I was making a left turn from the turning lane into my parking lot, the car sitting in the parking lot exit waiting to make a left turn out of the parking lot apparently decided she was tired of waiting and started to pull out just as I was making my turn. Apparently she didn't see me or something. Or was too busy talking to her BFF that she couldn't pay attention to the traffic on the road. She didn't hit me either.

That's two.

Maybe I'll drive tomorrow. Nah, it's spring break and the roads are pretty empty this week. And the weather is awesome. Maybe I need a long lunch ride to shake out the rust and build up my confidence.

Oil change and new front tire on Wednesday. :-)  And I've recently rolled over 13,000 miles. Yay!

I like this forecast!

Yay!!

Spring-like weather!

Woo hoo!! This week should be a fabulous week for riding! Low 60s for the high temps. Still quite chilly in the morning but I can handle that. Just means I'll actually go to work and be less likely to play hooky. Well, we'll see...

On my way home today I stopped at the pull out where I took the blog photo. I took this shot with my iPhone Gorrilacam app. It has a timer and also a setting for multiple shots. I set it to take three photos using the timer so I could run to my bike and hop on. Came out pretty ok. :-)

After I shot a few photos, I rode some laps in the dirt. It's a fairly large area with some different terrain - ruts, rocks, soft spots, etc. It was pretty fun. I practiced making the bike swerve by shifting my weight while standing on the pegs.

I've got three meetings tomorrow but my one meeting on Wednesday was canceled. Maybe I'll play hooky on Wednesday. :-)

Medicine Ball Moto Workout

I've been doing this fitness boot camp since April of last year. I didn't join for any motorcycling reasons but I've certainly benefited from the workouts when I'm on the bike. Today, while searching for the proper name of a particular exercise, I found this link: http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/ultimate-medicine-ball-workout. I think it would be a fabulous motorcycling workout. And all you need is a medicine ball. You don't even need a lot of room. You could even do it in your living room while watching tv. I like doing exercises with the medicine ball because it also improves my grip strength. I use an 8lb ball at home and either the 8lb or 6lb ball at boot camp depending on the exercise and who my partner is at the time.

Ride safe!

Snowy and Freezing

I haven't been riding all this month! Wow! The weather has been, well, very winter like. What's up with that? I know we shouldn't complain, since it is February, but, I do. Grrrrrrr!  Should be in the 50s this weekend and for the start of next week. Maybe I'll get a ride in then. It's below freezing now but the sun is shinning brightly and the roads are a lot better this afternoon than they were this morning when I tried to drive to work. I actually turned around. I just had this horrible feeling that I wasn't going to make it to work. I was either going to get stuck trying to get up the hill or be run off the road. And neither sounded appealing. My warm house sounded much better. And as my previous supervisor used to tell us - it ain't brain surgery. I'm not saving lives in my working life as an archivist and librarian. So, I called in for unsafe driving conditions. Day 2. Ugh. Last week was similar but much colder. We nearly  had a frozen pipe incident but luckily I was home and caught it in time.

I miss my GS..... I actually went into the garage this morning to say hello to it. It's cold in the garage.

She who hesitates...

2000 Kawasaki KLR 250

• $2,095
• Mileage: 44
• Dark Green
• Stock No. C-0142

11 year old “brand new” Kawasaki KLR! This bike really only has 44 miles on it, that is not a misprint! The KLR’s are dual sports designed to handles both the road and dirt. As you might expect from the mileage, this bike is in great cosmetic condition as well. It has been stored indoors so it does not have any weather damage or signs of aging.
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Currently listed on the Beemers and More web site. I originally saw it on Craig's List but can't find that listing right now.  I wasn't really in the market for another motorcycle but am always looking. :-)  This seems like such a great deal. Hmmmmm.....

Thanks new readers!

And welcome! I started blogging when I got my 450 Honda Rebel. It was an easy way to keep track of my new adventures on my new to me and first motorcycle. The blog was more like a journal or diary for myself. I had a few readers, mostly family or folks from the Rebel Board. But, it wasn't much other than something for myself to enjoy. When I got the GS, I thought it deserved it's own blog and, here we are. The blog is still mostly for myself. It still helps me keep track of my adventures, the places I go, the farkles I buy, the modifications that are made. That seems to be true of most blogs. But, like all things in life, we are more the same than we are different, so these blogs hold appeal for many of us. It's nice to know all of you are interested to some degree in what I have to say. Thanks everyone for tuning in! I enjoy all of your blogs as well and have lurked on all of them. I get lots of ideas from all of you. :-) So, anyhoo, I just wanted to say thanks for reading and thanks for writing!

Ride safe and ride often! Cheers!