Today I was able to get away for a little while, after doing some yardwork and some dishes. I've been dying to really feel what the bike is like on a twisty road. And I haven't been on a "technical" ride with my full leathers on yet. I figure it might be good to break them in and see how they really feel.
The sky had some high cloud cover here and there, but the sunshine was strong, in general. It was good that I had my dark faceshield on the helmet. I loaded up the MP3 player with Bad Company's 10 from 4 and Boston's Don't Look Back. I had contemplated bringing along my camera, but I passed on it- I didn't want to stop, if the riding was good and the rhythm was right. Today, for the first time, I decided to ride with a Breathe Right strip on my nose. I saw Valentio Rossi do it and it seemed like a cool idea. I zipped my jacket and pants together and I was off. I headed out the door around 2:30.
I decided to go up Patterson Pass Road, starting in Livermore, heading toward Tracy. I had been there once before, but last time, I was stuck following a really slow moving pickup truck. I didn't want to be out for very long and I didn't want to go somewhere I wasn't familiar with. It was a good choice. This time, there was no one in front of me and no one in back of me the whole stretch. It was great!
Mr. Moto handled all the bumps and twists with the greatest of ease. There were some things that I need to correct or make a note of for the next outting. First of all, don't tuck the pants so deep into the boots- it makes it harder to bend the knees and it's nearly impossible to pull them out, once the boots are zipped up. Make sure that I ArmourAll the seat before going out next time. With the leather pants and the texture of the saddle, there's way too much friction. It's even hard to slip to one side at a stoplight. Turn up the MP3 player another 10 volume bars, from 26 to 35- okay, 9 bars. Check the front brake lever. It's set to 3, but let's play around with it. Something that was buggin' me was the boots were too grippy on the footpegs and movement seemed impaired- it might've been the pants tugging at the boots. We'll see if it is the same next ride, after I leave the pants out more. And, it would be nice if I lost 10 pounds or 2 inches in the waist. Not only will I look more svelt, the pants will sure be a lot more comfy.
A collection of blurbs stemming from mostly the motorized projects that I do. Some posts mixed in have to do with my experiences in X-ray school. (Some entries are from older blogs that I killed off.) Some of my toys are a Mazdaspeed Miata that I work on and take to the track, a little Harley that I can't stop modding and an old Yamaha RD400 that I've been collecting parts for over the past 15 years. When I'm not wrenching, sometimes I mountain bike, sometimes I snowboard, sometimes I make beer.
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