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jstark47 wrote:

blues2cruise wrote:This was my second encounter with off road by mistake….I have to admit I enjoyed it. It has me thinking I should trade my cruiser in for a dual sport or adventure bike.

Uh huh. They are fun.

Plus, remember what I said about cruiser riding position and back pain? Adventure tourers are really just big standards with a 1/2 or 1/4 fairing, and extra suspension travel. On an adv bike you sit in the straight-up standard riding position which allows your core and back to support themselves, and the bike's extra suspension travel helps soak up bumps.

I do remember....the problem while riding is mostly my right knee...because I do sit up quite straight, but maybe less of a reach for the grips might help.......after a while my knee starts to hurt..luckily with the floorboards, I can move my foot back a bit.

I have to go do some research...ie...test rides....to see what might be appropriate for me.

blues2cruise wrote:

jstark47 wrote:

blues2cruise wrote:This was my second encounter with off road by mistake….I have to admit I enjoyed it. It has me thinking I should trade my cruiser in for a dual sport or adventure bike.

Uh huh. They are fun.

Plus, remember what I said about cruiser riding position and back pain? Adventure tourers are really just big standards with a 1/2 or 1/4 fairing, and extra suspension travel. On an adv bike you sit in the straight-up standard riding position which allows your core and back to support themselves, and the bike's extra suspension travel helps soak up bumps.

I do remember....the problem while riding is mostly my right knee...because I do sit up quite straight, but maybe less of a reach for the grips might help.......after a while my knee starts to hurt..luckily with the floorboards, I can move my foot back a bit.

I have to go do some research...ie...test rides....to see what might be appropriate for me.

Blues- I'm 6'1". I don't deal well with having my knees folded up for extended periods. To me, the V-strom is a very "roomy" bike that I can ride for extended distances without too much joint pain. It might even be possible to mount highway pegs - I have crash bars - never really thought about it. I'll check after work (bike's at home today). I think most of the adventure tourers are like this.

It was finally good enough on the weekend to go for a ride. Against my better judgement...because the organizer assured me...that the ride wouldn't be so flipping fast...

Alas..it started out reasonable...but the pace picked up as we went along.

Can I ride that fast? Yes, I can.
Do I want to? No, I don't. Mainly because of the possibilty of speeding tickets.

Once we got to our destination, I parted ways with the group and went home while they carried on for coffee. I had a nice ride home.

While I was out with the group, I had seen a pretty field of dandelions. Being in part of the group I could not stop for pictures...and when I was on my home, it was raining.

So...I went back the next day. That happened to be where the chickens were.... I had not seen the farm with the chickens the day before....so imagine my delight to find out that the farm with the chickens was right across the road from the field of dandelions. Of course no blog entry would be complete without the motorcycle in it.
Once we were finished enjoying the "countryside"...we carried on our way to Pitt lake.

Here is my man and his Yamaha Super Tenere. It's a good thing I ride lead...I know how to control my throttle.
The day had started out cloudy and cool, but by early afternoon the sun came out. After we left the area we stopped in at Baron's for early supper and then we parted ways and went home. We both had to go get things ready for work on Monday.

Lol that's the same reason I always ride behind whoever I'm riding with... 9/10s of the time I'm comfortable with higher speeds than they are.

drbar says the same thing....aside from not liking being in the lead...he has said he would ride too fast if he were in front.

My Bellingham misadventure Saturday May 4 2012

I decided it was time for another first in my personal development. Little by little I am less afraid of new adventures.
I crossed the border by myself yesterday. I have only ever gone riding to the USA with other people. There is a sense of security being with other people.

Oh, but first let me tell you how my day started.
On Friday night I went online to find the names and addresses of motorcycle shops in Bellingham. Their websites made me thing they had a big selection of Nolan modular helmets. I wanted to try on some Nolan helmets to see how they fit. (The shops around here don’t have any). I got my motorcycle gear, my USA money, my passport; my travel insurance and my camera gear together and put it all by the door in readiness for the morning. I had planned to get up early so that I could cross the border before the line ups got too long. Also....the morning light is good for photography....
I set the alarm and went to bed.
First, I must backtrack...
My friend Doc and I often go to movies on a Friday night or go riding together on a weekend day.
During the day on Friday, I sent Doc a text message....I got no reply. I sent another text message later and still got no reply. After work, I left him a voice message and still got no call back.
This was highly unusual. He likes to be connected and has a smart phone and an I-Pad and a laptop and a desk top. He gets emails and messages wherever he goes and always, always texts or calls back.
After I got home, I sent Doc an email from my computer. (I don’t have a smart phone or an I-Pad because I can’t afford all the gadgets, but mostly because I don’t feel the need to be connected every minute of my waking hours. I can wait until I get home and turn on the computer to see if there are emails. I do like the texting feature of cell phones though. Sometimes all is needed is a quick question and a simple response.)
I did not get a reply to my email so I went on to a website that we mutually frequent and sent a Private message there.
There reason behind the messaging on Friday was:
#1: to see if he wanted to go to movie on Friday night.
#2: to see if he wanted to go for a ride on Saturday.

When I awoke on Saturday morning I still had received no reply from Doc. I once again called him cell phone and left a voice message. I then called his new Magic Jack landline number and left a message.
At this point I was beginning to worry. I was beginning to picture him lying on the floor of his house, unable to get to a phone.
It was 7:15 am. I phoned his sister. I apologized for waking her up, but she was ok about it when I told her why I was calling. She told she had also sent him a text message Friday evening but got no reply.

I picked her up in my car and we drove over the bridge to go to Doc’s house. On my way to get her, she phoned me. (I have blue tooth in my car so answering the phone is hands free). She told me she went online and saw that Doc had made a post in Face book 8 minutes ago....from his mobile phone....
I said since we were already up, we should go to his place anyway to tell him he is an "O Ring" for making us worry. She laughed at that.
We were about 2 minutes away from Doc’s place when my phone rang. It was Doc. He had gone out of town for the weekend into Washington State with his friend. We both gave him heck for not letting us know or at least replying to any of our messages. We told him we would smack him when he got back. He had a laugh at that.
He had turned off his cell phone before he got to the border because roaming charges are so expensive.
He thanked me for caring and said we would chat when he got back. Since his sister and I were already up and about, we went for breakfast before I took her home.
After I got home, I got into my motorcycle gear and rode toward the border. The line up was so long I made a turn to go into a sleepy little neighbourhood for a cruise around. It looks out onto the ocean or mudflats depending on the tides and over across the bay to Blaine.
After I had my fill of bucolic...I turned around headed back. The border line up was not very long, so I decided to go across the line. (Bellingham is only about ½ hour past the border)
It took about ½ hour to cross the border and then it was a nice easy ride to Bellingham. When one goes across the border , one must present a passport and answer a few basic questions...like how much money are you carrying and how long will you be there and the purpose of your visit. People who have full face helmets are also required to take off their helmets. The border guards need to see your face. (This is one of the reasons I want to get a modular helmet....right now I have to take off my gloves, take off my glasses and then remove the helmet. With a modular, I could simply lift the front of the helmet.)
So.....I went on my merry way. My first stop was a disappointment. They only had 2 Nolan helmets....neither one the correct size. They had no other modular helmets.
My second stop was no better. They had a couple of different modular helmets, but they were heavy and the wrong size anyway.
The person in the second place told me to try a place near Bellis Fair...but I had no idea of the streets he was mentioning so I just nodded, said thank you and left. I went for a ride towards the Bellis Fair and cruised around the area for a while. I was on Baker view making my way to the border when I saw a Fred Meyer’s. I went in for a coffee and a snack.
Once refreshed and went to I-5 to head north to the border. I was almost at the immigration booth when I discovered that I did not have my pouch that contained my USA cash and my passport. I felt ill.
When it was my turn at the booth I explained that I did not have my passport and that I think I left it at Fred Meyer’s where I had stopped in for coffee. I said I would have to go back. She took my driver’s license for ID and asked if I had a cell phone. I said I do and she suggested I phone them. I told her I did not know the number, She suggested I go park and go inside and that the people inside would help me get the number. She said I should phone them to be sure it was there to save a ride back down if they did not have it.
I pulled over to the inspection guard who was very nice to me. I was feeling quite rattled by then. I went inside; they found me the number and explained what to do if they did not have the passport. I moved over and said I would call them...He told me no cell phones were allowed in the building...I went back outside to my bike and the inspection guard pointed to where I could go park and take my time.
I called Fred Meyer’s ...press one for this, press two for that...finally press eight to speak to a customer service person. They had nothing in the lost and found, so I asked her to put me through to the coffee shop...The young woman there had remembered me and yes, she had my pouch....a flood of relief washed over me....I gave her my name and said as soon as I got back through the border I would be there.
I got back into the line up to head back down to the USA. It was about another ½ hour to get through the line up....the next big question though....like the Canadian border guard had said....”If they let you through”....there was a chance they would not let me through without a passport.
When I got to the booth, he asked me for my ID......I handed him my driver’s license and told him my story. I wouldn’t say he was sympathetic, but he was not without compassion...he wanted to know how I forgot my passport....I explained about the black pouch and stopping for coffee....I told him the Canadian border guards had got the number for and that I had phoned the store and that they had it there. He told me I was very, very lucky to be getting it back. He told me identity theft is a big problem. He told if it had got into wrong hands it could be sold overseas on the black market...He handed back my driver’s license and gave me the okay to go back into the USA. He would have known I was already down there anyway....they had my license plate number from the morning...he would have known that I had already been back to Canada....
Either that or was my wide eyed panicked face.....
I t was about a 20 minute ride back to Fred Meyer’s. The young woman had my pouch....I tried to give a USA $20 bill to say thanks, but she would not take it. She said she was not allowed and would get fired if she took it. So, I put my money back in the pouch and thanked her profusely.
On my first trip back, I had not bothered to fuel the bike. I had enough fuel to get home and enough time to get home before needing a washroom. However...due to the delays....by the time I left the store again, I needed a washroom for me and fuel for the bike.
I rode the 20 minutes back to the border, waited for the ½ hour to get through the line...had to tell my story again.....and then was on my way home.
On my way home I went through radar....a lot of people were getting pulled over....I did not speed all day.....I actually went through the radar 3 times in that area....because I had stopped off at the Serpentine Fen to look at the views....then I had to backtrack to get to where I could turn around to go the direction I wanted. As I cruised past the officer holding radar gun, his head turned to look at me. He probably couldn’t believe that a motorcyclist was actually under the speed limit....the limit there is 70kmh...I was going about 65kmh, but a lot of people go through there about 90kmh.
I finally made my way home about 8PM. Not only did I go through the border alone for the first time, but I did not fall apart too much when I realized I did not have my passport.

I also still had a bit of energy left after my full day out. I have been trying to build stamina to go on longer rides. I am getting there.
Now...if only I could get to a point where I did not feel so wrecked the next morning. I’m working on it.

Exciting day. Lol. Glad they didn't hassle you too much about the passport. I cross the boarder 2 times a month (there and back x2) and am always worried I'll loose my passport or misplace it.

Ain't it grand. Lol.

I rode my motorcycle to work today.

Now that may not sound very news worthy..but for me it is a big leap out of my doldrums.

I was in a riding slump...

For a while I did not feel much like riding. I think it may have been because the last year has been so busy and challenging in so many ways.

My legal case finally got settled, I sold my condo, moved into a rental temporarily, bought another place and moved again...countless physio and massage appointments, going to the gym, still working full time, being tired and in pain all the time...the relentless rain, sleepless nights because of pain....I just could not find the motivation or get into the right head space to ride.

The last few weeks I managed to get out on a few short rides with other people. I also took a refresher class one day. (I can finally do figure eights) That helped a lot...but I still could not bring myself to ride to work. Last week I was in my gear and ready to go..but something in my brain stopped me...I took off the gear and put on a regular jacket and shoes and drove to work. I even took the bus to work one day last week. It's easy to get to work on the bus, but a chore to get home.

After my misadventure in Bellingham ride, I felt re-charged. Even as I was getting ready to go on the ride on Saturday morning, I was still trying to find an excuse not to go. I finally gave myself a mental kick in the butt and went. I think it helped me to find some confidence again. I think I lost it a while ago and it has just taken this long to get it back.

Even though I was stiff and sore on Sunday morning and it took a while to get loosened up, I felt mentally renewed.
Sunday night I put my gear by the door...like usual...only this time in the morning I actually carried through with riding to work.

It felt good.

It always does BLUES

Ever vigilant

3 for 3

Stupid is as stupid does

Any one of those could be the title for a blog entry.

I have ridden my motorcycle to work three times this week.
Monday morning as I was waiting at a red light, a community crime prevention cruiser made a left to come around the corner in front of me.... WHILE YAKKING ON A CELL PHONE

Tuesday morning as I was waiting to make my left turn...front wheel in the intersection...traffic has gone by..but oh wait...there is a bicyclist...so I wait for him to go by..the light has now turned amber...and as I put the bike in motion, one last car approached the crosswalk from the other direction....I pulled my clutch in...it looked like she was slowing for the red light...I started to go again..but oh so slowly....and wouldn't you know it.. she ran the red light ....I guess I must be so used to drivers doing stupid things that I was actually anticipating her going through on the red.

I ended up having to go through the red light because I was already half way into the intersection.

Wednesday morning...

I was travelling east on Fraser Highway and prepared to take the right exit onto Pacific Highway. The right exit is a long sweeping curve....and when the light is green it's a great turn..no need to slow down becuase it is such a long wide open sweeping curve... Most drivers stay in the straight through lane....

So...today...I approached the right tune lane...all other vehicles go in the straight through lane...the light is green for me....I downshift only one gear..because I want power to go from 50kmh on Fraser to 80 kmh on Pacific....Well......

I am through the curve and speeding up....and about to move from the merge lane into the driving lane....(Keep in mind that I had a green light and there was no traffic coming)

Suddenly... A Cream coloured Cadillac that had been at the front of the line to go straight through....made right turn from the straight through lane onto Pacific Highway...I immediately slowed a bit to make sure he wasn't coming over into my lane....
I don't know what speed he was doing...but holy cow....I got up to 80kmh...the speed limit...and never caught up to him...he was going that fast.

I think people must be still half asleep when they are going to work in the mornings.