The Dry Commute

 

 

Just like years past, this year I’ve decided to commute to work on my motorcycle every day this summer. No exceptions! Actually, I plan on selling my car in the near future, so I really won’t have much of a choice. This does force me to have some rain gear always packed and can cause some extra planning when I need to carry things that are difficult on a motorcycle (i.e. tools, extra work clothes, donuts), but for the most part this is an extremely easy way to always enjoy my commute.

 

The strange thing about this year is I haven’t had to wear my rain suit yet. It has rained while I was home and at work, but never on my ride. The funny thing is that in the past I’d always check the forecast before my commute and if there was rain, I’d take my car. At least half the time I would’ve stayed dry if I had ridden. A wasted opportunity!

 

I don’t even think you need to be as extreme as me to enjoy more rides to work. I think having a rule that you’ll ride as long as it’s not raining when you leave your home is good. You will need to have rain gear, unless you don’t mind getting wet on the way home, but you’ll definitely get more quality riding for your commutes than you would paying attention to the forecast.

 

“No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.” - Winston Churchill



Family Fun

 

 

If you’re intelligent about it, spending time with your kids doesn’t need to be a zero sum experience, meaning that you both can have a lot of fun. Now, I know that you’re supposed to cherish all time with your kids, but let’s face it, watching Disney movies gets old! I find that my son and I both have a great time when we ride on his XR 70. He is still too small to ride it on his own, but he is still small enough that we can ride it together fairly comfortably. I have a blast because, even though it’s small, I’m riding a motorcycle. I know he’s having a great time because he talks for the entire time we’re riding.

 

We ride on the trail we have on our property. I discussed making this trail in a previous post. A great thing about riding with him in the woods is that he is beginning to become less anxious about it. At first, he’d repeatedly ask about bears, deer, or other animals in a very nervous tone. Now he almost seems to look forward to seeing an animal if it may cross our path. I’m not trying to say that he should be wanting to run through the forest by himself, but having just a healthy respect for the possible danger is much better than all out fear.

 

Another awesome effect of us riding is that he spends much less time playing video games. My wife and I enforce daily time limits on gaming and it ends up being a battle every time we say it’s time to stop playing. I’m happy to say that just mentioning the dirt bike will get him to shut off the video game and run to grab his helmet. So, if you’re a parent who loves motorcycles, get your kids involved. I promise it’ll be great for your entire family.

 

“You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.” - Desmond Tutu



Moto Maturity

In the past, I’d ride aggressively right away in the spring. I’d be so anxious to ride after a long winter that I’d ignore the fact that I was out of practice and that I was unsure of road conditions. You’d catch me trying to drag my knee on every corner. Although I never crashed because of this, I did have some close calls. I’ve slid on loose gravel and sand, swerved around dirt piles, and braked in the middle of a turn to avoid obstructions.

 

This year seems different. I recently rode my favorite route that is full of beautiful twists and turns. I found myself taking it easy instead of going all out. It wasn’t something that I consciously decided to do, but as I approached corners I’d tell myself to hold back in case of any danger that may lie ahead. I still had a blast and probably enjoyed myself just as much as I would’ve riding aggressively. I’m absolutely going to ride this route plenty of times this year and now I know which corners still have dirt or gravel on them.

 

I guess it’s a sign of maturity which I’m bound to get with age. However, on the last corner of the ride, I decided to say, “The hell with it.” I approached this corner with some extra speed and leaned very hard through it. I didn’t drag my knee, but I leaned far enough that the toe of my boot dragged. This startled me, but I still rode through. My wife, who was on the back, berated me a little for this. Oh well, I’m not all THAT mature yet.

 

“Maturity is a high price to pay for growing up.” Tom Stoppard

Ice Cold Battery

The weather has been getting warmer. I have been working a lot and bouncing around on shifts (night shift lately), so I have not had much time to ride. We hit 80 degrees for the first time the other day, so I decided to ride into work. It is hard for me to ride to work because of everything I need to take with me, especially night shift because I need to take all my coffee and food. Being as warm as it was, I decided that I won’t need much for cold weather gear.

As the night went on, I noticed the temp dropping rapidly. I considered going back to the shop to to put my bike inside (I have a 1989 Harley Davidson FXR). The battery is 12 years old and it is a matter of stupid pride that it’s still in the bike. It works just fine as long as it’s not too cold. Well, I never made it back. When the 6 am quitting time came it was 38 degrees. Who would have guessed? The bike didn’t start.

I dug around in the mechanics shop and found a booster, and since all I needed was a little more juice, it started pretty quickly. Once I got moving, I realized that it was 38 degrees and that is a little cold to be riding without proper gear. I rode 15 miles with my hand as a face mask,  having a deer and a turkey run out in front of me along the way.

In my prior life (and most of my adult life) I was a mechanic. A Harley-Davidson mechanic at that. I always preached to customers the importance of a good battery, but I was so proud of my 12 year old battery. If a customer would have told me this, I would have thought they were a moron. Who’s the moron now? I now have a battery on order. I will try to plan ahead a little better and maybe even wear a helmet for those late rides zigzagging around the wildlife. And yes mom, I know I should wear one all the time.

"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid." - Benjamin Franklin

The Work You Want to Do

This past weekend was perfect spring weather. It was sunny and above 70 degrees. Great riding weather. Did I ride? Nope. The other thing that comes with beautiful spring weather is yard work. The leaves need to be raked, bare patches on the lawn need to be filled, and the trees need pruning. This is what I was doing on Saturday. Hey, at least I was outdoors!

 

When I got to the tree pruning part, I was using my chainsaw to cut dead branches from a couple of trees. While I was doing this, I glanced at the wooded area behind our house (we own a bit of property). I decided to take a look at what it would take to clear a trail for my son’s dirt bike. Two hours later, I was still in the woods cutting fallen trees and clearing brush. I really wanted that trail.

 

In my defense, my wife was just complaining how much the dirt bike was tearing up our yard, so I needed to make a trail so that would no longer happen. Needless to say, I didn’t finish the yard work I needed to do. Oh well! At least I was accomplishing something! I have heard that you do the work that you want to do before the work you need to do.

 

“A day can really slip by when you're deliberately avoiding what you're supposed to do.” - Bill Watterson

Electric Boogaloo

Image from https://ridecake.com

 

I’ve discussed electric motorcycles multiple times in this blog, but I really haven’t thought about them that much lately. Then, I ran across a few articles about electric dirt bikes. I know that Zero Motorcycles have been making them for a while, but I haven’t heard or read about any others. Now, Yamaha created an electric trials bike concept and a company called Cake is developing an electric bike that is kind of a hybrid motocross / mountain bike. I think that the dirt is where electric motorcycles can shine in the near future.

 

My biggest concern with electric street motorcycles is the lack of range between charges. With the current technology, 100 miles is definitely pushing it. If you were on any lengthy ride, needing to stop every 80-100 miles to recharge (charging can take more than an hour) would get annoying. I think that riding range won't be as much an issue with a dirt bike. Spending 90 minutes riding hard in the dirt between charges is more than enough. With my kids getting into off road riding, I will be in the market for a dirt bike in the near future, so an electric one could be an option.

 

My fear would be getting stranded in the woods with an electric bike that ran out of charge. However, this has happened to me on dirt bikes I’ve owned in the past, so it can definitely happen with an internal combustion engine as well. I think with some planning ahead, someone could avoid getting stranded barring some sort of breakdown. In my opinion, off road should be the market electric motorcycle manufacturers target.

 

“I really do encourage other manufacturers to bring electric cars to market. It's a good thing, and they need to bring it to market and keep iterating and improving and make better and better electric cars, and that's what going to result in humanity achieving a sustainable transport future. I wish it was growing faster than it is.” - Elon Musk

Wednesday Evening Rides

 

 

Two weeks ago I hoped that a mid-April ride might happen. The weather says otherwise. Another winter storm is in the forecast for this weekend. Snow accumulation predictions vary, but we will definitely get snow. In years past, I’d be pulling out my hair in frustration and looking at real estate and jobs in the south. Oddly enough, I’m not that stressed about it this year. Actually, I’m pretty sure I’m too busy to worry about it. I’m absolutely slammed at work and between that and family obligations, I barely have time to write this blog let alone worry about a snowstorm. I think that it’s a good thing to be busy, especially this time of year. My fear is that I’ll also be this busy when riding season actually does come and I’ll have a repeat of last year, which I rode WAY less than I’d like.

 

With that being said, I’m going to prioritize riding this year. In years past, I’ve gone on weekly rides on Wednesday evenings. I think I’m going to be sure that happens again this year. My mom usually stops by every Thursday evening to spend time with my kids. I think I’m going to politely ask her if she can switch to a Wednesday visit. Thursday is far too busy for my family to be able to ride.

 

I think I might even start posting rides on the KLK Facebook page to let local riders know. Actually, a local group of riders have a Wednesday meet up throughout the riding season, so maybe we’ll periodically stop and say hello to those guys (and ladies). Hopefully, getting others involved will keep me from getting “too busy” to ride. I’m actually getting excited even writing about it.

 

Shit! Now I actually am pissed about this snowstorm!!

 

“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” - Socrates