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Month: May 2005

Mental Hygiene, or the bike as therapist

Mental Hygiene, or the bike as therapist

After work I was feeling frustrated and cranky and a wee bit stressed out. There was a big motorcycle event that I had thought about going to, but the idea of happily chatting with masses of people was about as appealing as being hit on the head repeatedly with a brick, so I’d decided to go home.However, I had a few crucial errands to do, and as I headed towards the last one, Penny started talking to me. She told…

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SpeedyBikeGirls do Squamish

SpeedyBikeGirls do Squamish

Last night, I arranged a group ride to get to know some of the women on the website we hadn’t ridden with yet. And, after telling everyone to be there at 5:30, gassed up and ready to go, I got stuck in traffic getting out of Richmond and was late myself. And it was hot. And I was in full gear, and sweat was running down my legs and pooling in my boots by the time I got there. And…

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To Diablo and back

To Diablo and back

Tackle and I had been looking forward to the May Long Weekend for months. We’d planned a 3 day trip to the Olympic Peninsula and Oregon Coast, and had 3 or 4 other people interested in coming along. But, as it grew nearer, it became apparent that the weather was going to be wet. Very wet. So, at the last minute, and faced with desertion by every other interested person, we decided to cancel and just go for a long…

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Penny’s back and raring to go

Penny’s back and raring to go

Well, after 3 days of riding the R1150R, I’ve decided that Penny doesn’t have to worry just yet. She’s just so much lighter and nimbler and since a lot of my riding is in traffic, it’s nice to have that littleness. And BMW just does not set up their grips for people with small hands – even with the adjustable clutch my hands were sore after dealing with rush hour traffic (though I did come to like the turn signal…

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Riding in the Storm

Riding in the Storm

Riding in the storm Raindrops bounce, rivers on road Pants not waterproof So, I stopped in at Hot Rod’s to chat with her and tackle as they changed tackle’s oil, and also to show off my loaner. Of course, the time I chose to leave coincided directly with a thunderstorm moving from my place to hers. The rain was coming down in sheets, visibility was extremely limited and I would hope that any cultures of miniture people resident in these…

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Boxer may spell trouble for Penny

Boxer may spell trouble for Penny

Oh-oh, I think Penny’s in trouble! It seems I parked too close to Hot Rod’s Gizmo, and the gremlins that inhabit that bike sent out a colonizing party. Penny’s having some very interesting electrical and mechanical issues. The best is the neutral light – it works in reverse (it’s on when the bike is in gear), but only if the side stand is down – if it’s up, it doesn’t come on at all. But that’s not why she’s in…

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Monday Drivers

Monday Drivers

This is the first morning I’ve really questioned my wisdom in riding all the time. I almost got shmucked this morning by a lane changer – thankfully he was a slow lane changer. When I caught up to him at the light and yelled at him, he rolled down the light and was like “I did look – you were in my blind spot – I used to ride – bla bla bla”. Leaving aside his obvious fault in not…

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Vancouver as a small town

Vancouver as a small town

Coming out of London Drugs on Broadway with my purchases. I wasn’t too surprised to see a cruiser rider pull a uey to come and park by me – after all, there was a free spot. I wasn’t expecting to have any other connection with him.However, as it turned out, he’d mostly come to check out my bike, as guys do (come on, she’s nice, but look at me too!), asking questions about the belt drive, single-sided swing arm, single…

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