The Pale Moonlight

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jonnythan
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#11 Unread post by jonnythan »

Congrats on passing.

Keep up the blog. It's truly excellent. You perfectly captured the essence of my experiences, both pre-bike and through the entire MSF course.
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Apollofrost
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#12 Unread post by Apollofrost »

Congrats!
I'm starting a petition to cull narrowminded dull people - be afraid Peter, be very afraid....
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IcyHound
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#13 Unread post by IcyHound »

I managed to get the falling part and first wreck thing over with quickly enough, but I will touch on that later.

We got to the DMV when it was still empty. The roads are very clear, I assume because it is Easter break for the children or something. We waited for about 15 minutes until we where called for a written test. VA demands that you take a written test even if you have passed MSF. That was fine, 25 questions, we had gone over everything last night. I sat down and things where looking fine.

Until around question six… and then 11… and then a few more. Adrenaline shot through my body and I began to breath faster. What was going on here? I tapped the screen carefully selecting my answer and breathed out a wash of relief as it said ‘correct’. Had I become stupid? No, I just wasn’t ready for the questions, some of them seemed to not make any sense…

But I passed, with the maximum amount wrong. Perhaps I should have seen it as a prelude to later.

I learned that I need to trust the bike and I need to not pay attention to who I am following. I took a corner to fast for my personal comfort (not to fast at all) and panicked and wound up going down. It was a ninety degree turn. The light had turned green and I was trying to make sure I made the green. In a way I forgot that I was on a bike when faced with such a normal traffic situation.

I think my boyfriend was more upset then I was. He thinks I am a better rider then I am. Sure I did well on the course but that doesn’t mean I really have as much confidence as I need, and I don’t. I should have taken the corner slower, but I didn’t and I reacted as if I was driving a car. In all it was very silly but I felt horrible that I had disappointed him, which led to the entire problem of me worrying to much about him and not enough about me.

I jumped back up and we got the bike moved. We kind of snapped at each other a bit but that was more stress then anything else. He forgets that I don’t have prior riding experience. I didn’t want to lead because I didn’t want him to comment on my riding. We sat down and discussed the entire thing and I had to remind him not to comment to me when he feels I am not doing something the way he does. This happens a lot when we are driving. It is not that he thinks I am inept in any way, he just wants things to go how he sees it and we’re not the same person. I don’t think to park in the same spot he would have picked, I may not go around a car he might, or I may change lanes because I happen to want to. I might choose a route he doesn’t or take a different way someplace he thinks is longer or unnecessary. He doesn’t mean to and the last time I discussed it with him about 3 years ago he stopped because he did not even realize he was doing it. I didn’t realize he was doing it to the point that I was subconsciously/consciously fretting over him doing it until this happened.

So we talked for a while, later at lunch. I told him that I needed him NOT to comment when he thought I needed to do more of something because he would. I spend too much time worrying about this and it will affect my already poor confidence. He understood. He had encouraged me to lead and I fought it and that was really the wrong thing to do. So now I am leading until I become more comfortable with what I am doing, this way I don’t pay attention to him. It is a subconscious thing. I’ve been driving cars for a decade now and I have a lot of habits that have to change.

I feel dumb in the end. I know what I did wrong and I didn’t repeat it, but I still feel dumb for that moment of panic. Yet, I know I should not. Tipping over at a velocity is something that you learn. I was doing fine for a bit but the feeling of it is not yet normal or natural. I wonder if I will ever be able to truly do any type of twisted road at any type of speed. I certainly do not yet enjoy turns, but I will continue to work on it. I am not scared but there isn’t any thrill, just an unpleasant sensation as my body tips to the side. It doesn’t bother him as it does me. He enjoys sliding the car on ice and sliding around empty parking lots in the snow. I do my best to avoid any type of situation like that and do admit I have been less then pleasant when he has done such things with me in the car.

I’m not a daredevil, a speed freak, or anything else. For me my pleasure will come when I learn this inside and out. I am now determined to. I’ve become a statistic to my disgust, so now it’s to make sure I don’t repeat it.

I bent the shift lever, popped off my right hand blinker and cracked the upper faring. We couldn’t get the shifter bent again and I worked my way slowly down the road to a shop. We pulled in and I asked if they had something we could try to bend the level back with since I had just wrecked.

I was in a remarkably good mood. They looked at the damage and said, “that’s not so bad, I’ve done worse and my brother, whoa.” So he helped bend the level back ever so slowly. The good news is that it is still bent out slightly and is MUCH easier for me to reach. We thanked them and started to take off and my bike died. WTF… I thought and after 2 attempts I realized the kick stand was down. Whoops.

My b/f uses his center stand, but I just can’t jerk the bike up on mine like he can. Anyway, we got to the county tax office and got our tax decals for the bikes making them 100% legal. Riding in traffic isn’t getting to me. It was the big open wide clear turn that I missed. Yet it was my first real turn after going down the road for about 10 miles. I am taking my corners slowly and looking through them. Pain really can be a good teacher and the few times I felt that internal panic well up I reminded myself to keep going through it. Yet it is still so incredibly hard to look so far ahead. Its unnatural, I feel like the rest of the world is sliding by me and I am not noticing it. It is not that I want to check the scenery it is that I want to be aware of where I am, but I need to be aware of where I am going instead.

This is a learning experience. My bike is bigger and heavier then the bike in class. It is not too much but is enough. I can not wrap my mind around starting on these huge displacement bikes. I respect my bike thoroughly. Its not about ‘respect’ of the bike and ‘wrist’ control its about knowing what the "fudge" you are doing automatically.

As we left town and headed to the next stop for lunch I met with something else new. Wind. It was a lovely day with a nice breeze. A breeze that proceeded to beat on me for the next 20 minutes. I drove a bit under the speed limit and pissed off a *lot* of cars. Oh well for them. How many of us have been stuck behind a car on a narrow road on a lovely day? Well they where stuck behind us because I was leading and the wind was making me dance all over the road.

With a slight sigh of relief I hit the main road and this time we where kind of headed into the wind. It wasn’t that much better. It beat us, buffeted us, smacked us around, made my bike slow down at times. I was still not up in my confidence level but it was a two lane road and the cars could pass on by as I rode at my comfort level. I had learned a lot about 45 minutes ago and most of it was that I had to focus on me and what I was doing.

The funny thing is that town and traffic where not bothering me. Of course I don’t live in a city like New York or Boston. But I could deal with it. Lights where fine, the roads where fine. I even used my signal (sans the broken one I left on the road) and did a lovely job.

We had dinner and headed back home. The path back home led to the other side of my road which is twisted. I was worried for this road can be harrowing in a car, but it barely made me twitch on my bike. I did ride the speed limit. I don’t know if I improved or if it was the road or what. Perhaps I had finally settled into the proper mindset.

But we reached the house. My driveway is gravel and I wound up slipping and putting the bike down in the driveway. No damage this time but again, silly. I rolled my eyes, but I was actually mired in gravel when this happened, I should have moved a bit faster but these are things you learn.

So three hours of riding, 1 drop, 1 wreck, a nicer dinner, and a deeper understanding of what I am doing. I’m not really upset, more pensive. I’m not upset nor fearful. Perhaps getting through the first wreck and stuff has helped. I am stiff, a bit sore and rather tired from everything that has happened.

I look forward to my next ride. It will be tomorrow morning. I also look forward to a greater comfort level so that I can enjoy myself more. And less wind. Less wind would have helped. Being smacked all over the road when one is not even sure they can stay on the road is not that confidence inspiring.

But confidence comes with time. I’m not a cocky person. I ‘respect’ my bike, but this isn’t about anything but learning, making mistakes, and improving.

I’m glad I didn’t start on anything bigger.

And I am not upset that I got a new bike and dinged it up. I am vastly tired of people saying to buy a used bike someone else has beaten on and beat it up. It’s my bike, they are my scars and my learning curve. I will replace the cracked faring in a couple of months. I also got a big nasty dent in my first car making a bad corner. I never did anything else to it so perhaps we have moved past this.

If not, so be it. I will only learn by doing and only live by learning.

Oh yes and as for practice. We are doing what we can but the nearest school is around 20 miles away, as is the nearest park and the nearest store is about 15. I do kind of live in the middle of no where. We did practice some but there are not empty tracks of land and few paved streets to turn onto. Most of the paved streets are covered in a layer of gravel and sand from the snow.

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#14 Unread post by Scoutmedic »

Congrats on passing and also on getting back on the "horse" after your accident. :clapping:

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IcyHound
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No more flights

#15 Unread post by IcyHound »

Today was a better day.

Clear, warm, and very little wind. We set our game plan for a few well maintained back roads. Our goal was to wind up at the fire station my boyfriend volunteers, have lunch, then go to my job, and then home. It worked out, kind of.

The back road we chose was a good one. Lots of curves that where not to tight. I think it would be different in my car but the motorcycle needs much less of the road. There where plenty of signs warning of the turns and I took them easily. I settled in and looked into them, the memory of my short flight through the air from yesterday very clear.

We reached route 50 and cruised down that. I kept up with traffic, having settled more into my bike. From there we decided to go down a local road that would take us near Tim’s fire station. This is where our plan stared to go down a bit. We took that road all right, and somewhere along the way it turned off and we didn’t. We wound up in Herndon and had to make our way back to Loudoun.

This sucked a bit. The road we took to cut across has recently been rerouted. It ended in an abrupt 90% turn that I wasn’t expecting. I almost panicked but managed to stop instead, take a breath and make the corner. This was my only true panic moment this ride and now, after the rest of the ride I think I could have taken that corner.

Right now stoplights are my friend. I adore them. I also drive the speed limit, much to the irritation of the cages around me. Oh well. I have to learn somehow. I made sure to consciously relax my grip and relax my elbows. My wrists are not tired; I’m supporting myself with my legs, tummy and back. I am sore. This is quite a work out. I am sore all over.

We made it to the fire station and stopped for some water. I was winded after getting lost on top of the start of the ride down an unknown street. From there we had lunch at Panara, and I reminded Tim to eat lightly. It would suck to have a full stomach and be over heated.

From there we decided to get gas. We had done about 120 miles at this point. So, off to the gas station. We chose the one near my job that I normally go to. At one of the divided highways we met an edge trap. I went over it straight and then made my turn. Nice and uneventful, yes!

At the gas station a young man wandered over to us and admired the bikes. We talked to him and told him about MSF and such. Encouraged him to sign up for it and see if it’s what he has to do since he doesn’t have to get gear. Told him how starter bikes are really cheap and affordable. He asked us about insurance, since he is 25 and we where honest with him but also said that smaller displacement bikes will be kinder on the pocket. I’m only 27 after all.

That was a lot of fun. There was also a guy that kept eyeing us while trying not to be obvious. My low speed stuff is fine and I made the sharp angles out of the gas station without any problems. I’ve started to trust the bike.

Back home up rt 7 was awesome and we roared along at 70 (indicated) mph. Cars still passed us but whatever. I changed lanes as I needed to and really relaxed into the bike. The only bit of discomfort was the turn to get onto the mountain. The turn lane is short so I slowed down a bit. Someone on a red Katana shot past us and waved. I waved back, having made sure to wave all day as we passed other people.

The last turn was almost eventful. It’s a short lane and then a left in the median. I wound up stopping and then going slowly into that left. Not graceful, not impressive, but I am not comfortable stopping at a turn. My biggest worry of getting across the road was fine. My starting is really getting a lot smoother and I didn’t stall out at all today.

And home. Without falling in the driveway. After all that nice pavement the gravel felt awful.

And now I’m home and sore.

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#16 Unread post by KarateChick »

Icy,

Nice blog, nice bikes, congrats on passing! :D
Ya right, :wink: there are only 2 kinds of bikes: It's a Ninja... look that one's a Harley... oh there's a Ninja... Harley...Ninja...

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jonnythan
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#17 Unread post by jonnythan »

... Where do you guys live?
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnythan/sets/]Flickr.[/url]

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Bike 1 - Mel 2

#18 Unread post by IcyHound »

I am thankful that I have a small amount of common sense.

My desire to ride to work has been overwhelming. The weather has not been in agreement with my desire. As I sat Tuesday, and watched the temps plummet my common sense began to war with my desire. The fight has dragged on for over a day and finally, as I looked out at the clear fridged day I had a bit of an idea.

Why not go out while it is sunny and clear and cold before we go out when its dark and cloudy and cold?

Ohm… what an idea…

So I went to town. I put on a t-shirt, long sleeved shirt, my arm chaps, my liner back into my heavy textile jacket, and that jacket, wrapped up and went out. I quickly learned that I need cold weather gloves. I next learned that hugging my tank to keep my legs nice and warm and improves my riding position. I’ve been trying to hug the tank but I had more incentive, one might day.

My riding has improved. I’m adjusting to the controls and the feel of my bike. I live on a mountain (not a super high one but it counts as one) and the last bit is a very steep down hill to the divided highway. There was a eighteen wheeler and a car in front of me. I had no problem shifting down and drifting in behind them.

My route was simple. I took the main road to the local route and the local route into town. Its about ten miles or so. From there I stopped, had a snack at McDonalds (not my fav place but very few options in town) and took the local route back to the main road and the main road back home.

I am very pleased with myself. I only stalled out once when attempting to leave the McDonalds parking lot at a very slow speed to creep between two cars letting me merge in. I slowed for my turns but did not panic and did not have to come to a compete stop before turning.

I relaxed. I relaxed a lot. No death grip on my bars. Loose arms. The wind kicked and punched but it wasn’t that bad. A few side gusts did slam me a bit. The bike is rock steady. I’m falling I love with it. Its doing everything I want without flinching.

I’m going to get some epoxy compound and try to reseal the plastic when I take the front faring off to install my new blinker. The blinker is on its way as well, it should be here this weekend. It won’t be perfect but it should stop the crack from spreading. Right now its right at the curve of the plastic so not very noticeable until you are close or looking for it.

A rather nice man eating some ice cream at McDonalds talked to me as I was gearing up. He used to ride a Honda 750 something, adored the bike. We chattered for a few minutes and I wished him a good day and was off.

Good stuff. I can feel my happiness meter start to fill

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#19 Unread post by IcyHound »

jonnythan wrote:... Where do you guys live?
Northern VA

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jonnythan
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#20 Unread post by jonnythan »

IcyHound wrote:
jonnythan wrote:... Where do you guys live?
Northern VA
Oh OK. You talked about Rt 7 and then some of the description sounded very familiar (albeit a bit generic) so I thought maybe you guys were in my backyard ;)
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnythan/sets/]Flickr.[/url]

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