The Pale Moonlight

[IcyHound]

I had a warm comfortable ride to work. It was not freezing. With my balaclava to keep my chin and throat warm it was blissful. I took the boyfriends bike. I’m waiting for the backing of my turn signal. I had hoped it would be in today, but hopefully tomorrow now.

So I rode bumblebee, Tim’s solar yellow ninja. It rides just like mine, amazing since they are the same bike, huh? Everything is still riding smoothly and it felt wonderful after a week. I find the first few moments of anxiety vanish once I get out of the driveway.

I did wind up sitting at a light for several minutes. I wound up going down the road, u-turning and going back down the road. When I got to work I talked to one of the officers working overtime in the ECC with us. We discussed running reds and he said as long as it is safe to proceed and my light is not acknowledging me, its fine. He looked pretty worried however and told me to be super super super cautious if I decide to do this so a jackass doesn’t appear an take me out. The nice part about having the officers actually like you as a friend and respect and enjoy you as their dispatcher. I forget that most people don't have the pleasant time with police officers that I do.

I told him the only time I would consider it was when I didn’t have a u-turn option. There are only a few lights like that. During the day I can wait for a car to trip the light. At night, with no one around, sometimes they don’t trip. That’s the only time I’d think about it.

I had to get gas in the middle of the night. Morning traffic is too crazy for me to argue with when I am getting off shift. I took the route through town where the lights switch to flash about midnight. I also got one of my co-workers a sandwich and happily bunjied it to the back of the bike.

[IcyHound]

We had our second motorcycle chase while I was there since I have been at my job.

The first chase was a unit that came up on a blacked out motorcycle. He lit it up and they took off through some alleyways and yards and he was unable to find it. Nothing really exciting.

The one today a bike shot past the unit at 75 in a 35. The unit lit him up and he took off. The unit marked in pursuit and off they went, zipping through the roads in the area. They made it onto one of the major roadways and opened it up. He almost lost the units a few times, but he couldn’t get enough pull to get away from the cruiser.

Someone asks “who has stop sticks?” In the center we all shrieked “You can’t stop stick a bike!” and the Sgt marks up “NO STOPSTICKS”. I do love my units but sometimes they don’t think. We are about 6 minutes in. He is trying to lose the unit. At first the unit marked out that he didn't have tags. This upped everything because the bike might be stolen at this point.

We where using crosses jurisdictional channels and making calls because he took off out of our area and we followed. I’m on the phone with the other agency and they go “Description?” and I respond “Motorcycle flying down the road followed by lit up cruisers.” They hit another major highway and he opened it up. I think he realized he didn't have the speed to lose the units, or maybe he realized that a major roadway like that was going to be a perfect area for other units to nab him. So he went down for a bit and took off on a local road. The unit couldn’t get his tag. I’m pretty sure he had an eliminator. They twisted and turned; he slowed down a lot for turns and opened back up on straights with out guy sticking to him.

Finally the Sgt called it off. Everyone was a bit growly but they let it go. The other jurisdiction was looking out for him and we got a call about 5 minutes after we terminated that they had come across a wrecked bike a bit further down the road. The unit could still see this guy when he stopped. Its ironic, that he ran and then wrecked after the chase had ended. The bike was spread in pieces all over the road and the rider no where to be found.

Everyone was like "how could he get up?" I was like "He probably low sided, slid, and thanks to adrenaline he bounced up and took off. His bike slid in front of him and shattered against some curbs and other road obstacles." Its going to be a long walk for him. I hope he doesn't go to a hospital since they will notify us of any motorcyclist or people coming in with extreme road rash.

From that we got the tag and owner info. The problem with leaving your properly registered vehicle is that it points to you. I won’t get into the investigation details, they are still pending. The bike was an early nineties super sport.


Beyond that I got to wave at 6 bikes on the way home this morning. That was awesome. The weird thing is that it felt like I was riding in and out of bands of warm and cool air.

[IcyHound]

I am the poster child for a dysfunctional new motorist.

I got the pieces for the inside of my turn signal. I was excited. I also ordered two things I didn’t need. Felt a bit dumb but they can go in the drawer. So I put it all together, added a decal to the rear fairing and put the front back on.

That took like an hour. Getting everything aligned and screwed in took forever. The light has four mounts and four long bolts that fought and fought and fought with me. The position was awkward and I was tired.

However, in the end I won. I got everything mounted, supported, rescrewed, tightened, tested and set. I was excited. I washed the bike and decided to go and have dinner. I hadn’t eaten yet and the day was lovely. Bikes kept rumbling past my driveway. I live on a very popular twisty scenic road.

So I got myself together, and off I went. Or so I thought. I had moved my back around the driveway (its gravel) by walking it until I was pointed down the driveway. I kept trying to start and it kept dying. So after the 4th attempt I looked down to make sure I was hitting the shifter and realized my kickstand was down.

My bike felt weird to me. I don’t know why. It feels different then my boyfriends, but they are the same thing. Go figure. So I get to the end of the driveway and I need to turn left. Left is becoming my enemy. I wait for the cars to clear and arch left. However I go to wide, go off the edge of the road, into the gravel back onto the edge and onto the road. My foot hits down hard and bounces back up and I’m off.

Or so I thought. Then my bike starts surging all weird. I’m like why me.. why why why… so I stopped and made sure nothing odd happened. My fuel was on, my kickstand was up. I figure that I was just having throttle control issues because I was so spazed.

However, once I got moving I managed to clean everything up. In fact, it was a nice smooth ride with plenty of waves and lovely weather until I reached the town I was headed to for lunch. I was just checking my mirrors, trying to tweak them to perfection and my right one came off in my hand.

Well "fudge". Here I am at a traffic light with my mirror in my hand. The bolts where gone. Gdamn it I tightened them. Well laying down and weeping in the road is not an option. I managed to fumble my jacket open and shove the mirror into it. I didn’t want to lose it, but I managed to lose the mounting bracket that backs it when I grabbed it. Gdamn it.

Off to Lowes I detoured. The mirror and I went in the screw/nut/bolt section and we found some that fit perfectly. Only they where tight. Well tight is good since I just "procreating" lost mine on the road somewhere since I’m a dumb "O Ring". Yay. So I popped off my seat, pulled out my now very well used toolkit out and put the new bolts on. I checked all of the other ones. For some reason only my right hand mirror had this problem.

I did get a compliment on my bike as I sat there working these bolts on. Nice guy. I felt a bit dumb but whatever. Wrench, wrench, wrench. M-fing bolts are not going to come out again. Wrench… wrench… wrench…

Thank god for dinner. I was starving and wondering if I could make anymore mistakes. I’m having a rather dramatic motorcyclist career so far. I have just broken 500 miles and I feel like a train wreck. I did see another baby ninja at Lowes. It was the same yellow at my boyfriends bike so I was startled for a minute. The manager did keep stopping by my table to check on me and talk to me about bikes. Her hubby rides a CBR. People really do talk to me a lot.

The b/f says it’s because of my being a female motorcyclist. I keep expecting people to come and laugh at my incompetence. I have to take the bike in for its 600 miles next week or the week after (I’m going to visit Nalian for most of next week) and I keep expecting them to just collapse in hysterics over my efforts. Mostly I feel dumb as I make mistake after mistake and have problem after problem. Normally I’m really good at stuff. The entire mirror fiasco was just a major W-T-F. And Nalian wanted me to try her Ninja 650 out. Hah. I’m lucky I don’t self destruct getting out of the driveway (almost did today…)

I decided to get gas in town. There where some boys from the local collage in some gaudy civics. As I pumped some sport bikes came around. I kind of got excited to actually see some of them. I kind of waved but they ignored me. That’s when I realized most of them didn’t have more then a helmet on. They reved their engines and drive around the gas station and up and down the roads. More and more bikes appeared. Some parked, some drove up and down the roads in and out of the gas station. I think I found the local bike night meet spot for the collage boys. Not really my thing. Plus I didn’t want to offend the super sports with my little ninja.

So my little ninja and I departed. It was just easier that way. I managed to get lost finding the main road since I took a different route in. Once I got where I wanted to go I met up with a naked something. I think it was a 599 but its tank was stripped to metal, and it was a bit dinged and worn. Its rider had a jacket and helmet but cargo pants and weird flat walking shoes.

But I kind of rode with him. I never tried to pass him. He didn’t look at me at the lights so I left it alone. I just stayed behind him a bit. At one light he was stopped and when I got there it changed so I was still moving. He made sure to take off quickly. Maybe he would have been offended if I had passed him. I dunno, I wasn’t trying.

It was 8:45 when I made it home. I was a bit surprised. I got the dogs tended and got to work. Bad news is that I’m really tired from it all. Ahh well, its proving to be a busy night in the county starting off with another pursuit, but this one a pickup.

[Wrider]

Well, sounds like an ummm, interesting day! Glad you made it through ok... Oh, and about offending the supersports; keep in mind that given equal riders and a set of twisties, your bike will dust them any day! So next time one of them acts like he's better than you because he rides a supersport, dust him in the next corner... And yeah, I used to do that all the time on my Volusia, a freakin cruiser...
Wrider

[IcyHound]

I took some photos of my bike with its new decal sceme so one can see the abuse it has been through by my hands personalizing the poor thing.

The first photo is the day the bike came home. The rest are my mauling of it.



And now...

[Koss]

Oh, with that cargo net on, it looks cool! Now you put the thought in my head and I shall go search for a bright lime green one

[IcyHound]

The black cargo net just doesn't accent it like the blue :P

[IcyHound]

Some review comments I wrote to totalmotorcycle

Thank you for your reviews. As a new rider I have used your site in my selection of gear and I want to say thanks.

Oxter TCS Sport boots - Let me first say that I am a lady rider who wears this boot. I also have a wide food which made me look at Oxter as it seemed to be a bit wider then others. I went down in these on one of my first rides. I high sided and slid about 10 feet from my bike after I landed. I slid on my left side, my right boot was unaffected. I first landed on my knee and then my foot slammed down on the toe (from examining my gear and my boyfriends account of the situation). My left foot hit on the inside of the toe. It obviously dragged there as the leather is worn away some. However it is not worn all the way through. It is scratched up the closer on the inside of the shoe. This did not give in anyway and my pants where still securely tucked into the boots. The structure of the boot is fine and I still wear them every ride.

Joe Rocket Phoenix Jacket –

When I went down, I went down in my Phoenix Jacket. My hand hit first at the palm (my glove is a bit scuffed) and then I slid on my left arm. The armor absorbed the entire impact and slide. My jacket has two frayed areas in the mesh, but it held up and did not disintegrate. I still wear the jacket and the damage is almost unnoticeable. The wrist snaps stayed securely closed and the armor did not flex out of the way. The arm snaps stayed secure (I have it snapped as far as it will go, I wear the men’s jacket). I had no bruising or soreness to my arm or elbow and I didn’t even realize I had hit in the area until I looked at the jacket later. This is also a wonderful mesh jacket and ventilates very well. The windproof liner is very windproof. I wound up wearing it with liner on a warm day that turned cold during the night and made the twenty minute ride home in 36 degree weather. It was very cold and uncomfortable but the high throat closure and the windproof liner helped me make it home. The liner is a bit larger then the jacket and the jacket can feel a bit strange with the liner in it, however there is plenty of room to flex and unlike the ladies phoenix jacket (which I also have) it has enough room across the bust.

[IcyHound]

I am riding up to Boston later this year. I’m not sure what route I will take. I may avoid 95, but then I may do the bulk of the ride at night and take 95, I’m not yet sure. All I know is that this trip up here has been great. I have to ride it when I next visit. I’ll be ordering some saddlebags soon.

I saw my first helmetless riders when we where in NH. I found that I didn’t realize they didn’t have helmets on because I assumed they did have helmets on. I’m still puzzled by the entire thing. I know people ride without helmets but I realized until I saw it that I didn’t really realize that people rode without helmets. However, I’m still puzzled by every person without gear. One day I’ll get past that I assume.

I got to go and meet a Sprint ST in person. It’s the bike I am considering for when I decide to take the next step (no that’s not anytime soon I have a lot to do and learn on my bike). I absolutely loved it. I can’t flat foot it but I’m well planted on the balls of my feet. No tip toes. In riding boots it may be better, I only had tennis on at the shop. It was a 06 and quite comfortable. The 07 has a higher handlebar and higher windshield. I wanted to snuggle the bike, but it will be waiting for me when I am ready. No rush.

I got some blue reflectors for my tag at a bike shop. Its one of those small things I’ve wanted but couldn’t find locally. I also found a more feminine helmet and ordered its proper size online. If the shop had had the proper size I’d have purchased it on the spot. I absolutely love it and will feel a bit more ladylike. It is also a lighter color.

I also broke down and purchased a tank bag. Mix this with finally being able to try on a pair of over pants I’ve put quite a large order into kneedraggers (newenough did not carry the helmet).

We did some back roads today looking for routes to take the bikes. I do miss my bike but I enjoy spending time with my friends. Nalian is going to Nova Scotia during the summer, so we fitted her saddle bags to her Ninja 650. I also got to practice with Veda's Ninja 250 for popping it up on the rear stand. Maybe I’ll be a bit more comfortable with this in the future for my own. Having spotters helped. I thought I was incapable because my boyfriend pops his on the center stand while he is sitting on it. My attempts at this have left me almost falling over so I stopped. Up here Nalian and Veda looked at me like I was crazy and suggested I do it off of the bike. That is much easier and more doable.

All in all it has been a great trip. I go home tomorrow. I need to grab some shot glasses for my co-workers before I head out. I said I’d bring them something back.

[IcyHound]

I need new pegs.

I am starting to hate mine.

It was an unintentional thing, this hatred. I thought my pegs where a big bigger then other bikes I had seen, but it wasn’t until I went to Boston and saw that both Nalian (Ninja 650) and Veda (Ninja 250) had normal slender pegs that it started to overwhelm me.

Why does the Ninja 500 have big thick block pegs? I can’t move my foot around them. On top of it, when my bike was in for servicing they fixed my shifter. It was slightly bent out from my wreck and positioned perfectly for me to shift. Now its back where it belongs and I’m missing shifts and shifting with my toe instead of my shifter pad (I now have a bruised toe). I’m debating rebending it, but first I am going to give in and get new pegs.

Nalian did a search for me and the first hit even comments on the oversized pegs on the 500s. Argh. How is something so small so irritating? Right now I have to lift my foot off and move it down and forward and swing my leg and therefore foot back onto the peg to shift. I can’t slid it around because the peg is a square board with sharp angles that don’t agree with proper foot positioning.

Of course my first thought is ‘bah I can deal’ but I’m starting to obsess over it. I’m going to wind up ordering new pegs next week, I can already see this.