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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Tackle and I spotted a weekend that neither of had commitments on and planned a 2.5 day trip to the Olympic Peninsula. Perhaps planned is too strong a word. We picked out an end point and got some general ideas together, but we didn’t do things like arrange hotels or figure out mileage or anything like that. We invited Hot Rod and Tab to come along, making it quite the diverse collection of bikes – me on Penny, Tackle on…
We headed out tonight for a quick little jaunt around Richmond – a nice easy little ride along River Road to Westminster Highway, to Number 6 Road, to Steveston Highway, to Number 5, to the dykes, to Steveston, where we stopped for hot beverages, sitting outside so we wouldn’t get all warmed up. We then headed down Number 1 to River Road, but then had to head through a dirt parking lot outside the casino because the road was closed…
So, last week my horn stopped working, something I discovered when somone decided that my lane was better than his and that I didn’t really need my portion of it (I had to resort to sign language!). I’d also had some problems with Penny stalling out repeatedly while warm. So I took her into the shop on Saturday to get these things fixed. While I was waiting around, I decided to wander over to the other motorcycle store across the…
The SpeedyBikeGirls got together after work for a quick jaunt up to Squamish for dinner at a pub (it’s funny how this becomes a normal idea on a bike). Despite getting, um, misdirected a couple times in the search for gas, it was a great ride. The construction area was a little rough, but it didn’t slow up traffic too badly. It was the first time that several of the girls had been up to Squamish. It was a little…
The SpeedyBikeGirls took advantage of the good weather on Good Friday for a group excursion down to WA. We rode down through Sumas, got stuck in the Easter long weekend border traffic, and then hit the relatively open and winding roads from the border down to Sedro Wooley. These roads wend gently through valleys, and along rivers and railroads, skirting farms and pastures, with the forest never far away. The ladies lunched in Burlington, in a Mexican restaurant (a first…
I’m so loving riding. Of course, sometimes it takes me a lot longer to get home, especially when I decide to circumnavigate Richmond (municipality where I work – it neighbours Vancouver) on my way home. I can’t help it – River Road keeps calling me – it’s so tranquil and soul calming. Last night I hade to run an errand out that way, and I came home west along it as the sun was setting, turning the water pink and…