The Pale Moonlight

[blues2cruise]

Great blog, so far. Has your helmet arrived yet. It does look nice.
You did a great job on the decals, by the way. How did you remove all the red one? Did I miss that part of your blog?

[IcyHound]

The decal removal was easy. I did a lot of reading on some of the sportbike sites and set to work. Brand new they are the easiest to remove. They came up with my fingernail. I sprayed some WD40 onto them and just worked them loose. Then I got a clue and got a hair dryer. Blew that across it a few times on medium and they peel right up. Then the WD40 and my finger nail to get the rest of the residue off. It took a bit to get it all. The only ones I couldn't get was the stripe under the KAWASAKI. Thats under the clear coat. So I just put a decal overtop of it.

My helmet came today. I love it.

[IcyHound]

We left the state for the first time on the bikes.

Our plan was to swing up route 7, take 340 into WV and through to MD, cut down 17 to 287 back into VA and then take some back routes to Tim’s fire station for his company meeting at 1900 hours. All told it was about 90 miles and we did it in around 2 and a half hours with traffic and lights and winding back roads. It’s a very scenic route with long bridges over the Potomac and winding roads through the mountains.

It worked out pretty well. I got my tank bag, new helmet, and riding pants today. My pants are too tight, much to my horror. I must have tried on a different size. So I packed them back up and I’m trying to find kneedraggers return form. I have the link but it comes up to a blank page. Sigh. I’ll keep trying or I’ll call them tomorrow so I can get these shipped back to them.

The SHARK helmet fits fine. I wore it for the ride. I think it fits me a lot better then my HJC does. It is much quieter. My head is a bit sore from the pressure now, but not painfully sore, just stiff new padding sore. The tank bag fits nicely, it isn’t noticeable and it made carrying the GPS easier. I got the Joe Rocket Manta Tank Bag in urban camo. Which reminds me that the button popped off the cuff of my Joe Rocket Lightspeed Jacket. Kinda pissed about that, but I do have a pack of replacement buttons that came with the jacket.

I also stitched the tip zipper of Tim’s Joe Rocket pants to his Nitro jacket. This way he could zip the two together and his back would stop getting chilled. It worked out nicely, I’m very proud of myself. I did it by hand so that I could lock the stitches together. It held up quite well for the ride. Once he gets home I’ll examine it and make sure nothing worked loose or that it doesn’t need more stitches.

The ride itself was pretty good. I accidentally cut Tim off once, and that really ticked him off. I was slowing to try to stop to say I had missed our turn and drifted over to the right as he was coming up behind me.

He yelled at me once when we where making a U turn because I was being timid and waiting for all the cars to pass even thou I had room to make the turn. This is an ongoing thing whenever we drive together for the simple fact that we are two different people that perceive every situation differently and he has no problems telling me when he thinks I should have gone. This happened again in the parking lot of the fire station. I stopped too one side thinking he was going to go past to the general parking area. Instead he had decided to park in an area where I was in his way. I’d never seen anyone park in that particular area so I was rather confused over how I managed to get in the way yet again. It can be frustrating but in general we did pretty well. Riding with someone else is a different experience then riding alone. We do a good job of keeping ourselves staggered which came in handy when I had to brake for a car stopped to turn and he came in hot over the peak of the road and had to brake as well.

My butt was sore for a bit but that stopped quickly. I wound up riding at one point with my crotch all the way up against the tank. It puts me very upright and is kind of relaxing.

[IcyHound]

My riding pants are finally in. Joe Rocket Alter Ego textile pants with a zipable mesh area to vent the butt. Very nice. The first pair was to small, the second fit nicely. I'm not a tiny woman but I'm not huge ether, yet finding gear is a freaking hunt.

I also broke off my choke lever. My attempts to glue it back on failed so I ordered a new lever. Two days off the bike was good for me. I'd not been off in weeks and I was very tired and sore. However I didn't want to ruin the bike force starting it. We looks around and found where the clutch lever connects to the engine. Its not that hard to push it in from the side and get the bike to cough to life.

I don't care for the carbs at all. I think its even dumber that the choke is an almost inch high plastic tab that pokes out of my handlebars.

[blues2cruise]

You did the right thing in waiting to make the u-turn when you felt it was safe for you. You are right when you say we all perceive things differently.

[IcyHound]

I'm sad... heartbroken really.

I *finally* got to see the motor units for my department at a stop light and they didn't wave back at me. They saw me, I saw them, I waved... in fact I waved twice. They looked at each other. Perhaps they wondered WTF is that crazed person on that bike? We where all at the front of our lights. It was a lovely morning, about 70 degrees with a clear sun that reflected off their very very very very very large white motorcycles...

The guy at the other light in the other direction didn't wave on his ZZR :(

I'm suffering today.

Fortunately the other 3 sport bike riders did wave, and 2 cruiser guys as I headed home. I'm starting to recognize people heading into work as I'm heading home.

But the motor units didn't wave...

I may have to call them out on that next time I'm up at admin or go out on the command bus for one of the checkpoints. They will probably realize that I really might be slightly crazed. No one has yet figured out that the bike at the ECC belongs to me. The shock is pretty priceless when they finally do ask, but still...

Mix with the fact that I almost fell off my bike with my new riding pants its been a weird day. I found them horribly uncomfortable at my knee. However they have a connector between lining and pant at the knee. I think unclipping this will help with the binding feeling at the knee that is making me so clumsy. I feel like my legs are sticking out sideways and the waist is digging somewhere up under my ribs. My boyfriend then giggled at exactly show short my torso really is. Yeah... I'm all legs and I know it.

I also managed to kick the b/f in the nuts trying to mount the bike. Yeah... that was bad.

And the other night a beaver meandered very very slowly across the road. I slowed for the deer in the road, slowed more for the dark object beside the deer and finally came to a stop as it worked its way across the road. It really was not impressed by me. I, however was rather impressed as it meandered across and I continued on my way.

[blues2cruise]

I'm sad... heartbroken really.

I'm suffering today.

I can refer you to a couple of good therapists. Ben and Jerry.

[Apollofrost]

Or Dr. Dreyers, he was on sale at the store.

[IcyHound]

The reality of my job slips in like a whisper. At one point we are laid back and chuckling, the night is calm and quiet and thoughts of our mornings wash through the mind. Things like my toothache and looming dental appointment occupy the forefront of my brain. Life is simple, calm, smooth, enjoyed...


And then reality washes down. It brakes across the mental calm and slams the mind into areas that it can not comprehend. In an instant, another's pain becomes your problem, your duty, and your responsibility.

We ended the morning with a suicide. A man mailed his estranged wife and told her that he loved her, had signed the vehicles into their sons name, gave her his landlords information and wished her a good life. He made sure to tell her that she was a wonderful person and then he asked at the end of his email to her, to have the sheriff's office respond to his house.

And we did.

We called, and called, made sure it was the correct house and finally, they forced entry.

Yeah, that wasn't good. Rescue was canceled and CSI and CID was called. Yeah. That means IIWEL. Injuried Incompatible with Life.

And for a while, things like my tooth ache just don't matter anymore.

[Nalian]