Not again! More electrical issues

I have not been riding Kimmie hard or for very far in the last two weeks or so.  I've had a persistent head cold and/or allergy and/or sinus issue that has made me lightheaded at best, miserable at worst.  

The weather has been glorious however so I've tried to take it out when I can.  I know she doesn't like the cold and a few mornings here have been a bit brisk.  It's been dry and by the middle of the day the temperatures are perfect for riding, being neither to hot or to cold.  By the time I would ride home from work the "brisk-ness" had returned but it's nothing a light sweatshirt or my Freeze-out jacket could handle.

Still though, I sided on the caution to protect my health.  

I'm wondering now if I should not of invested in a battery tender or  rode the bike more.  Now I'm searching around trying to figure out how old my battery is (1 year?  2?...3?).  

Sue asked me to run to the store and get a few last minute items, nothing major.  I jumped on Kimmie, she fired right up and I was off, a few moments later arriving at my destination.  We were having seven people over the house for dinner, and I was not going to be late. 

It was not even ten minutes after my arrival.  I jump on the bike.   No power, no turn over, nothing.  I lift the seat and see a little light burning...so she has something in the battery.  I check the connections and they are nice and tight.  

I get an electrical jump off a car and tell Sue the problem, going about 1 hour and forty miles out of my way in an attempt, misguided as it may be, to charge the battery.  

I get home, our guests have arrived.  I eat, I chat, I drink a wonderful wine that highlights the turkey and ham beautify.  I laugh.

That is till I try to start Kimmy.   Nothing, nada, nope.    

Sadly I have to work all day tomorrow being that I drawled the proverbial short stick, but I'm hoping that Saturday I'll be able to get down into the nitty gritty of the problem.    

Summer Doldrums

I woke up this morning about 7:40 AM with the intention to get some yard work done (the never ending job of weeding) and my phone was showing the temperature was 77 F (25 C).  By the time 11 AM rolled around the local temperature was 85 F (29 C).

When you consider the heat index, it feels more like 103 F (39 C).

Or in other words, it's to hot to ride.  Nor does this pattern show any signs of breaking anytime soon.  Florida is not currently in a drought situation, but we are under our normal rainfall pattern by a significant amount.

I hope to get back on the bike this week.  I've written about hot weather riding before, I know how to handle it.  The problem of course is that it's much to easy to ride sans jacket or pants in an effort to stay cool.  Wearing shorts, flip - flops or other things is generally a bad idea.  All you need to do is type in "motorcycle crashes" into YouTube to see some of the horror riding without the right gear provides.  


This last week has been tough, as three day weekends always seem to throw me for a loop.  I want to get back on the bike for one reason and one reason only.


Mileage.

I've a goal to beat last year's mileage.  I did not put much mileage on last year, only about 5,000 miles.  My goal is to beat that mileage this year.  While I'm on a good pace to beat that (currently I have a little over 3,000 miles on Kimmie) I'm not happy with myself.   I understand it's not the mileage one puts on the bike, but the quality of those miles.  This year I've not done many quality miles.  While becoming a "Scooter commuter" (with apologies to David's fine blog) is all well and good.  He's moved beyond that.  Sometimes I wonder if I ever will.

I'll be celebrating five years of motorcycling soon.  I still have not ridden over to the Atlantic coast or down to the Keys.  Or even up to Ocala.  Which is only about 72 Miles (or 116 KM) from me.  A good day trip away.  I have only ridden over to St Pete twice. 

Orlando, home of various scooter clubs and events, is about the same distance away.  Although I've found a home in the Scooter Crew, I would have like to haven taken care of my recent electrical issues myself, learning something on the way.

That, my friends, is the summer doldrums.



 

My head needs replaced.

When I bought Kimmie way back in 2013 I also bought myself a full face HJC helmet.  For the most part that helmet has served me well over time.

It has however caused me some issues over time.   It's prone to fog up in rain or cold, as I suppose any helmet is.  If I keep the visor up for a bit it may pop off the track.  It's getting noisy.  The plastic and the webbing are starting to come off the helmet.  It's been an ongoing issue for me for at least the past year. 

I remember reading somewhere that a lid would only last between three to five years, so it's time for something new, and I am giving serious thought to getting a modular helmet.  I wear glasses and that would make life a little simpler.  Plus if I'm out and about I won't have to take off my gear if I want to have a drink or need to run into a store.

They tend to be pricey however and I am first and foremost a cheap bastard.  Although I also know that the most important thing for me to protect is my head.  I'm also thinking that I want Bluetooth and GPS in the helmet as well.  I'm not a fan of being on the phone while riding, or listening to music (in fact one of the things I love about riding is that their are no distractions) but I do like the idea of having GPS available to me.  Since this is Florida some sort of pinlock to prevent fogging would be nice too.

Of course, now I'm looking at dropping a cool two or three hundred on a lid.  If not more.

It's also time for me to upgrade a bit into a better helmet.  While I'm sure brands like GMAX and HJC are good helmets, I want something that I feel is going to be a little better for me.  I can not afford a Arai or a Shoei lid.

Frankly there has to be something in the middle.  For example, I am really liking the price on the Italian made Caberg Helmets but sadly they seem to not available in America.  Plus being ECE rated they are generally put through more rigorous testing than a DOT approved helmet would be. 

So a modular may be out of the picture if I want the GPS and Bluetooth function.   Or I could add that later on, but I know the way I am and I'll talk myself out of it.   No, if I get those little "additions" I have to get them now or I never will.

The rider I've become

We all make compromises.  I thought about that last night as I took a slightly different way home.

It would take me slightly longer to get home but I would not have to deal with red lights or traffic, neither of which I was in the mood for.  As I made a left turn to put me on that path; a guy wearing flip flops, no helmet, no jacket and no gloves pulled out in front of me safely.

He was on a little scooter.  I'm not sure of the make or model.  His feet hanging off the sides of the bike either for balance or because he was an idiot.  I'm not sure which.

"Dude, put your feet up!" I yelled over at him at one of the few red lights on this route.  He gave me a stupid unknowing grin as I turned right and he went straight.

That same night I was passed by something known in the biking community as a "squid."  I was asked about that term once.  I defined it as a idiot biker.  Someone who when they go down...and they will go down...will leave a long black inky spot on the road.

I'm not saying that I'm the perfect rider.  I've not always gone ATGATT, although I always were my helmet.  I rarely wear my riding boots, although I know I should.  They, sadly, have come in handy the two times I've been involved in accidents.  I've compromised my safety because I'm required to have "casual dress" at work most days.  My boots, although comfortable, are not meant for a business environment.  Loafers or dress shoes it is.

I am normally just wearing a thin layer of gabardine, that is all that separates me from the road.  A compromise between the requirements of my job and my safety.

So when I see the weekend Harley riders out with no helmets and jackets I grumble at them.  When I see that kid and his girl on the rocket with her bare legs exposed I scoff.

I wonder if I have that right.

Hard to believe that was once me.

Still though, I'm not the rider that I used to be.  I've come a long way since I used to pull off the side of the road to let cars pass me by coming home from work early in the morning.

The young man that got on the scooter to save gas money, and who may have been having a small mid life crisis too, has grown up.  Today I pass with confidence.  I'm used to riding highways and busy city streets.  I've ridden in less than ideal situations and down bumpy dirt roads.

Even though the Lovely Susan may not like it, I've grown used to taking a few different ways into and out of work to mix up my ride.  If it were up to her, I would take the same way in and out every day just so she could find me in case of an accident.

I've got to get better at riding though.  I still make errors, sometimes I let my mind engage other thoughts and I am not concentrating as much as I should be on the road ahead.  I have to remind myself to check my mirrors now and again because something could be catching up to me, especially on those long straightaways that Florida is known for.  I need to become a better rider.

Experience builds that of course,and I also know that it just takes a car stopping up short or pulling out in front of me to ruin my day.   After nearly five years of riding and blogging...I realize I still have so much to learn. 

I've told Susan that I'm done if I have one more accident.  I'm serious about that.
 

I'm still not a fan of the little 50 cc scoots that I see in and around town, and I would still argue that a bike with a minimum of 125 CC is needed in the city.   I don't care what it looks right.  Just ride it and ride it well.

What I am sure of is my next bike will most likely be a Honda CTX  If Sue gets her way then we are going to get either a trike or a Spyder RT.  Neither of which I really have any desire for, my choice being the CTX.  However as Sue gets stronger (she is recovering slowly from a variety of ailments) there is a good chance that we may start to tour.  For that, we need something built for comfort and stability.  Either model would require adjustment on my part...but either would work.

Who knows, I never thought I would fall in love with my Kimmie either.

All I know is that I plan on riding safely for a long time to come. 

It's time to ride

I knew going into the month of January that riding would be an uphill battle.   Just the way the calendar fell with meetings, my job, routes that I had to run and other things would make getting out on Kimmie tough.  The cold snap and subsequent bout of winter flu I had did not make the situation any easier.

So here I am pouring over the forecast at weather.com like it's a proverbial treasure map, trying to determine if and when I can do any riding over the next three days.  The temperature was perfect today although there was a high chance of me getting wet going in.  Over the weekend the temperature would be falling but it appeared to be dry.

It was not so much the cold that scares me as the chance of rain.  Sure, I've ridden in rain before and this being Florida, I would again.  With a bit of a hacking cough and memories of my last accident still in my mind riding is less than ideal conditions concerns me.

It's funny how something that happened just over two years ago still plays in my head.  The accident exposed some other problems that I'm not going to go into.  It was nothing life threatening or overall that serious...but it did remind me that I am, in fact, mortal.  That little accident kept me off the bike till May.  Susan's ongoing medical issues have played into that as well.

In 2015 it was a combination of bad timing, bad weather, bad decisions that kept me off of Kinnie.  I was not going to let the new year start off the same come hell or high water.  Plus I wanted to build up to some longer rides planned for later in the year.  I needed to ride.

It's time to ride.

**EDIT**  I didn't get out Friday or Saturday due to previous commitments.  Now the bike is not turning over.   I'm hoping it's related to the current cold snap.

Bundling up because it's Antarctica outside (winter in Florida)

I knew that I would not be able to ride for a week or two at the beginning of the year.  We had routes to run and meetings to attend.

December and January have been thin months for me paywise due to the holidays and me missing some work.  So when the beginning of the week rolled around I was looking forward to jumping on Kimmie and doing my commute.  Only the temperature fell by 23 degrees overnight.  When I left for work it was only 47 F (8 C) and when I left work it was only 42 F (5.5 C).

I know I should not bitch.  After all my hometown was looking at a high of 12 F (-11 C).  I should be used to "fall like" conditions right?  After being in the south for six odd years my blood thinned out.  Days like this are a shock to my system.

So here I am, prepping like it's sub zero outside...freeze out jacket, freeze out gloves and I'm considering putting on my new neon yellow windproof and waterproof Bilt gloves.  I'm also thinking to myself how ridiculous I'm being.

"It's cool outside," I tell myself, " it's not Antarctica freezing."  Yet my soon to be 50 year old bones want me to bundle up.  I think about my fellow Rounders and how they must be having a good laugh about this.  However if I'm going to ride more this year, I'm just going to have to buck up and do it.

So I make it to work and back, the only part of me that got cold was my neck which a balaclava would fix and I have to curse myself for riding in anyway because I can feel a tickle in the back of my throat and it is that time of year.  We do have a Free Country jacket at the house that would protect the neck if I pulled the zipper all the way up, I've not worn it on the bike because it does not have any protective armor in it.  

I've ridden in colder weather than this and I remember pulling over sometimes at two in the morning to pull on a pair of sweat pants to protect my legs.  I didn't have to do that on Monday but it was still a brisk ride in and out of work.

The good news is that for the rest of the week it's supposedly going to warm up and make riding all that more comfortable.  Expect for Thursday where we are expecting (depending on which TV station you trust) a 70 to 100% chance of rain.

So hate mail can be sent to me at:

Why don't I want to ride more?

This past weekend was lovely.  It was warm and sunny with a near zero chance of rain, the humidity; always a killer here in Florida, was manageable.

It's Monday morning as I write this.  The day is going to be warm, a tad humid but again something manageable.  There is a slight chance of rain (15%) around 2 PM but I'll be at work then.  Nice and safe in my office and Kimmie will be tucked into her safe parking spot that is reserved for motorcycles only.  Protected by an old oak tree with leaves as big as my open hand.

Sounds like a perfect day to ride in.

Only I don't want to.

In fact, I've toyed with the idea of selling her.

I started this blog way back on August 23rd, 2011.  I'm come a long way in that five years.  I've put on a lot of miles and have undergone two nasty accidents.  I've almost been hit, I've almost gone down when a animal committed suicide under my tires.  I've avoid a deer so close that I could have reached out and touched it.

I've also seen wonders.  Gone down country roads with a song in my heart.  I've watched sunsets and sun rises through my visor.  I've stretched out my arms on my bike and went "WHOSH" like a little child.  I've felt like a little child.  I've made new friends via riding.

So why don't I want to ride?

I used to put ten, twelve thousand miles on my bike per year.  Due to circumstances the last two years my time in the saddle has been a lot lower than that.   Lack of riding?  Could that be the cause of my apathy?  I know that most of the riding I do is simple commuting, and that doing it by car allows me to enjoy my morning Duncan Donuts and coffee while listening to NPR.  Something that is impossible on my Kimmie.

As we near the end of 2015 I look back and think about all the time lost due to Sue's ongoing medical issues...she is the primary motivator in my life and frankly I'm not sure what I would do without her.  She does and always will come first.

Thankfully things seem to be looking up on that front.  Also for most of 2014 and 2015 I've been chasing mechanical issues as many long time readers know.

So many that I've played with the idea of getting a new bike.  Still though....would I ride if I did?  Besides, now is not the time for a new bike.  Sue's health concerns come first.  Plus, I've about 3 more years to go and I'll be in a much better spot financially (both cars will be paid off in full) and then I can play with the idea of taking on new debt.

In a few minutes I'll be going to work.  I will be riding Kimmie.  I know that the highway is out of the question today as there was a nasty accident that has traffic backed up for miles.  I know that I have to leave a little earlier than usual.  I know that I will crave my Duncan Donuts coffee.  I think, feel, that if I'm going to recapture that magic that I once felt I need to get back on the bike.

I need to ride more again.  I also know that I have a long ride planned for Saturday, so we will see how that goes.

Of course...

So how exactly did I allow this to happen?

Kimmie is slipping out from under me.  I can feel it.  I know now that I entered the turn a little fast and I'm leaning hard to get her to make the turn.  It's raining too, one of Florida's famous and brief pop up showers but it's enough to make the road a little slick.  My rain gear, of course, is at home.

Of course I had to stay late and choose to be adventurous, taking a road that I don't really know full of turns, deer and darkness.

I didn't go down.

I'm upright and in control.   I thanked a God I'm now sure exists.  Somehow...I did everything right.  I slow down to a much more manageable speed, I don't need to go through that again.

Of course, the second I slow down I've some asshole who's insisting on tailgating me.  Of course his bright lights are on.  I'm not in the mood for this crap and when he passes me, on the double yellow, I've a few choice words for him.  

I just want to get home.

I have to remind myself not to have a death grip on the handlebars.  I have to remind myself not to get fixated on any particular target.  All that training from a beginner's motorcycle class long ago starts to fill my head.  For the first time in a long time I'm miserable on the bike.

A family of small deer wander out into the road and I apply the brakes quickly, they look at me with alien eyes and move back into the woods.  I move on.

A few minutes later I come across the remains of a deer in the middle of the road and don't have a choice but to enter the other lane to avoid it.  The car behind me hits the carcass with a crunch and the slamming of brakes.

I just want to get home.  Kimmie can get me home.

I'm the only vehicle on this road now.  It's rural and there seems to be no moon or homes about.  The trees that would look like a leafy tunnel in the day now take on a more sinister view, as the branches becoming skinny arms meant to snatch the loan weary traveler.

Finally I'm near home, back on the streets I know.  I start to relax, and quickly fall into muscle memory as I lean and move around the turns that I have ridden 1001 times before.

Of course, a possum or some other strange nocturnal animal decides to commit suicide by running in front of my bike.  I, of course, hit it.

Somehow I stayed up.   Somehow Kimmie saved me.

Somehow Kimmie gets me home.

I go have a drink...

Back to the basics (feelings)

It's been a few weeks since I've written anything.  Sue is in a odd limbo of half treatment as the doctors decided the best course of treatment for her.

I ride back and forth to work when I can and now that the humidity has broken I find myself riding more.  Just the other day I left for work in the morning shortly after 8:30 and thought to myself that I would soon be breaking out the light sweater to wear under by summer riding jacket.  Then I realized how much my blood had thinned in the last few years.   The temperature was 75 F (23 C).  

In a odd sort of way I've found riding lets me turn off the 1001 or so thoughts that bounce around my head currently.  "What if Sue's treatment does not work?"  "What if the worst does happen?"  These are not the thoughts I thought I would be having at the age of 49.  Riding, at least for a short time, shuts those thoughts down as it becomes just the road and myself.

They creep in....but I force them down.  Part of winning is to stay positive.  We need to stay positive.

"I need to work on my curves." I think as I ride home on day, it's the same road I've ridden a thousand times before but I make a couple of bad turns on it.  Nothing serious, nothing that I can not recover from but more of a nagging suspicion "I'm better than this."

Like anything in life you want to get back to the basics, practice the fundamentals and fine tune the process.  Muscle memory is a great and wonderful thing but if you're remembering the wrong things, if you're doing just the slightest thing wrong on the most basic of levels...it affects everything thereafter.  I'm far from a perfectionist but I know how much going down hurts.

I also know that if I go down again...I'm done.   I'm not done with Kimmy yet.

So it's a lovely Saturday morning, I've got nothing planned for the day.  I gear up the way I always do; my ritual of ATTGATT.  I want a challenge and consider my secret place but then decide on the Green Swamp.   It's been a long time since I've ridden those roads and I'm curious to see if anything has changed.

My only concern is cracking in the front tire, but I shake off that concern.  The tread is good and although I need to replace it eventually, I did not see any air bubble the last time I washed my bike.  I'm also a little concerned about the CVT belt, Kimmie has over 25 thousand on her now and I'm not sure how much more belt life she has left.  But I force those concerns aside and stay positive.

I sit down on the bike...and it doesn't feel right.  I've a nagging suspension, a question in the back on my mind.  Again I check the tires, the brakes and run through the list...yet I can't shake that feeling.

If riding has taught me anything....it's to listen.

I ride the bike out and about town for a bit, taking it easy.   Trying to put that unease into the back of my mind or find a rational feeling for it.   I can't.

So here I am at home going over everything with a fine tooth comb and thinking that maybe I should get that tire replaced after all because of this odd feeling.  So there is no riding, no travel, no adventure for me this day.

Perhaps tomorrow.  

Growing popularity is not a good thing at times.

Nearly everyone I know that rides does so safely.  Helmets, gloves, jackets, boots, etc.  It just seems to go hand in hand.  Of course nearly everyone I know that rides has been doing so for years, and with that experience I'm sure they have gone down, scraped skin and broken a few bones.  You learn some things doing that.   Mostly it hurts and doing it again is stupid.

Scooters are popular here in Tampa, I see them everywhere in the city.  Now that one of the top pop acts in the world - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (whose video "Downtown" appears above) - is singing about the joys of scooter ownership.  I'm sure we are going to see a uptick in the machines around town.   

Which brings me to today's topic.   I had to deal with an accident yesterday.   I was not directly involved but I saw it happen.   I know why it happened.  Luckily the guy riding the Jonway scooter was not hurt nor was his little 50cc banged up badly.  I hate to say it...but in a way I was glad it happened, he was being an asshole.

He was riding in the bike lane avoiding traffic and that was fine.  Traffic was stop and go and at the time and he was zipping past everyone in the bike lane.   Then the bike lane ended.  No look over his shoulder, no turn signal, just over he came.  Traffic stopped, he continued to move forward on his little 50 cc.   I don't think he ever looked backed or used a signal.   Then he went to make a right turn.

The loose gravel on the side of the road bit him and I watched the rear tire slide out from under him in slow motion   He had no helmet, no jacket and was wearing shorts.   Luckily the car behind him stopped or it could have been worse.   Being a trained first responder, I pulled over and insisted on checking him out.  He was banged up and bruised, but otherwise fine.   I was tempted to admonish him for his riding and tell him to at least buy a helmet (which is not required in Florida).

I've seen stunting on the highways.  I've seen people cut in and out of traffic with out doing a shoulder check or use turn signals.  I've seen scooters with out working brake or head lights on them.  

If someone has read my blog for a bit they know how I feel about ATTGATT, how I feel about the little 50cc scooters that seem to be growing more in popularity.  Riding a scooter is a great thing of that there is no doubt.  

Lets be realistic however.  It's a deadly little thing if you don't take care, obey the laws and be smart about things.  It's a battle the rider is never going to win and frankly I've been wondering what I can do to promote safety and common sense.  I can join something like the American Motorcycle Association  but honestly there are stands they take that I disagree with (such as helmet laws - which I feel should be mandatory - and lane splitting).   

I've been guilty of that myself

Law enforcement could do a better job of enforcing the motor cycle and traffic laws that already exist but I know those guys are often overworked and stretched thin enough as it is.  I've toyed with the idea of taking a few more classes myself and  become an instructor. Following in the footsteps of  Princess Scooterpie.  However I ride a scooter, not a motorcycle and although the advanced riders classes would not hurt me in any way, I'm not ready or experienced enough to be a instructor.  Besides the classes only work if you attend the classes.  How many riders are being trained by a neighbor or a friend?

So I'm going to call out those I see behaving badly, give a friendly warning where I can.  I used to wonder why bikers always told horror stories of accidents and such.  I get it now, we are just trying to tell each other "Don't be stupid and do what I did."  

I think that's good stuff to pass on to the new riders.  

Decisions....good and bad

We've been having the typical Florida summer as of late.  Hot mornings followed by even hotter afternoons, then a late afternoon or early evening thunderstorm.  The science teacher in me understands the reasons...as the ground starts to cool we switch to warmer air coming in off the gulf.  That creates unstable conditions which results in rain.   Pretty simple really.

In the past my decision to ride was pretty much determined by the weather.   Fifty percent chance or higher of rain was a crap shoot and my cut off point.  Now with a commute that puts me at the end of rush hour and in heavier traffic...that percentage becomes even more important.  Suddenly forty percent of rain seems more reasonable.  More manageable.

I talk to people all day, I help them make decisions that can affect their family, their lives, their financial outcomes.  I train people to do this.  I work with everyone for 18 to 80.   I love my job at times...I hate my job at times.  Making decisions on risk, reward....opportunity.  So when I personally make a decision - for good or bad - it has a reason and it is not made lightly.

Rain....rain can not be taken lightly.  Especially in traffic.  Especially in a city like Tampa, with poor drainage, flooded roads and one of the highest incidents of uninsured motorists in the country.

A last minute decision in the morning to ride in despite a call for rain during the evening hours.  My decision to ride home tonight was a good one.   I had a little issue merging onto the highway; a road I generally don't like to ride home but with thunder booming in the distance and lightening striking the ground, I was looking for the fastest way away from the gathering doom.  I had my rain gear on, and was sweating my ass off in it.

Of course, not a drop of rain.

Yesterday however was a different tale, I left work under clear skies and took my normal way home.  On the way I had no luck and was caught at nearly every red light.   Then it started.  Light at first, actually almost enjoyable as the temperature dropped and the wind picked up.

That should have been my warning.

Before I knew it I was pulling off to the side of the road, hiding under a bank's drive thru window soaked and pissy.  That was within ten minutes after the storm started.  It continued to pour for roughy twenty minutes...and then I decided to move.  On went the rain gear even through I was soaked.

How far did I go since I left the bank...ten miles, fifeteen?  I was under the awning of a church this time thinking about why I made such a bad decision to ride to work.  I am looking out at a downpour so bad that I was unsure where the road was.  I'm cold.  I'm wet.  I'm unhappy.

Finally it lets up again, it's late and it's taking me forever to get home.  My hour commute that turned into a two hour plus ride.   When I finally do get home its a quick shower to warm up, a shot of whisky just to ensure my nerves were calm and off to bed.

Tomorrow's weather?  More of the same.  A forty percent chance which threatens me when I leave work.  A very good chance considering the pattern over the last week or so.  Maybe I'll take the car.

approaching 25K

So here I am, it's a Monday and I've not been on the bike for a week.  I've been held up by heat, rain and just bad luck and timing.  I'm not happy with myself right now, it's been to easy to make an excuse not to ride.

So I finally get out on the bike and I'm sitting at a light.

I can feel a drop of sweat running down the small of my back.  I can feel my hands sweat in my gloves.

I am cursing at the idiot in front of me who sits on his phone through about 30 seconds of the green light only to peel into the turn and hit the bumper of the car in front of him.  Great.  Wonderful.

Respect the ride and the rider

Grumbling to myself, I pull off the side of the road and check out both drivers pretty quickly.  I'm a trained first responder...and although I'm not required to stop under Florida law, it's the moral thing to do.  Luckily there are no injuries  So a few minutes later I'm on the way again.

I end up taking a slightly different way home from work, lately I've been riding the freeway home and although Kimmie is more than capable of keeping and maintaining the speeds required, a little voice in my head says "no".  If riding has taught me anything, it's to listen to the little voice you hear in your helmet from time to time.

So the long way it is.  I catch every red light, get behind every bus.  I sit in the heat and the humidity and suck on gas fumes; and that the little sweat ball running down my back?  It  is now a stream and the seat I was sitting in was uncomfortable.   It was never a problem on the Kymco till the dealership replaced the damn seat....and I was foolish enough to let them.  I stand at yet another red light, and try to relieve the numb butt for a bit.

All these thoughts are in my head, for I've been invited to go on a group ride this Sunday.  It would be easy for me to bow out of it, avoiding the heat, the numb butt, the long hours of being in the saddle - the ride is on the other coast and would most likely be an all day affair.

Yet....I don't want to.  I want to go.

Its not about the mileage you put on your bike, it's about the ride.  Every year I've put on more and more mileage...every year I gain a little more experience, a little more knowledge about what Kimmie is capable of, and what her rider is capable of.

I don't remember writing down the mileage at the beginning of this year, I'm no where near where I want to be.

On Tuesday I saw that the car ahead of me was going to hit a pretty good sized bird that decided to fly right in front of it.  I understood quickly that the bird was going to come right up over the roof of that car and into my ride path.   A low duck, a quick lean and the bird strikes my bike low but off to the side for no damage.  I roll on down the road.

Experience brought on by mileage.   I have learned to sense when that car is going to pull out and 1001 other little things.  I'm still weary.  Every day I remind myself "Cocky will get me killed."

I think about this as the mileage ticks off....I'm near home now, a cold drink...a soft couch....air conditioning...just turn to the left and go home.

What's five more miles?

The dog days of Summer

It's been hot.

Actually let me correct that.  IT'S BEEN FREAKING HOT!!!  With the heat index up at around 105 degrees (40.6 C) lately riding has not been that comfortable.  To make matters worse we have had at least a 40% chance of rain every night...and it seems that every night it rains on me when I'm leaving work.

Last year I would have ridden in anything below a 50% of rain and in all type of weather, as long as I felt safe to do it.  Now...while now it's just easier for me to jump in the car, crank the AC to winter cold and go to work.  Add in a summer cold and some meetings at work where I've been required to wear a suit two days out of the five the past couple weeks and you (hopefully) understand why I've not been riding.

Kimmie is in the back

I know..."Stop making excuses Robert and get out there and ride!"  This heat however has sucked all the fun out of riding for me, and even the daily commute, which has been traditionally done on the bike, is getting to me.  The parking lot at my job is full of scooters and motorcycles, so if they can do so can I.  I have lead a small and quiet one man campaign to try and get more bikers to commute, so in a way...I'm betraying what I believe in.   But the car is so cool!  I'm almost tempted to return my Rounders patch.

So Kimmie sits.  She runs well when I do take her out, the electrical issues she's been having are (hopefully) resolved.  Although I've played with the idea of replacing her, I still have her...I still enjoy riding her.

This will pass...these doldrums will ease.  Much like the sailors of old I'll wait it out.  In the coming week the temperature and humidity are scheduled to drop and I'll be able to ride in a bit more comfortably.

If all goes well I'll be moving into yet another position at work, my fourth department in ten months - they keep moving me because I'm good at what I do - and I'll be able to ride into work early in the morning...avoiding the worst of the heat.

BUT UNTIL THEN

And it continues....maybe?

At long last Kimmie is back up and running properly. The head gasket was replaced, the oil pressure switch is repaired and a new rectifier has been installed. I pick her up on Friday but due to a full weekend of requirements, commitments and duties was not able to ride her till Monday.

Weekends are normally busy for me, so I made a promise to myself that I would get out more, go to the places that interest me. I have been wanting to travel up to Brookstown for over a month, Ybor (ee-bor) City for about the same amount of time. Weeki Wachee - the city of mermaids is also on that list. Before I did all that though, I needed to go to work. So we fire up Kimmie.

It's a lovely day and I'm riding 301 into Tampa, it's more or less a straightaway through some scrub and swampland.  Nothing really to look at or do other than pay attention to the traffic and be careful when passing or being passed.   I'm about halfway though this route, the one place in all of Florida where I know for sure I don't have cell phone coverage.  I look at the instrument panel.

Yep, that happened.  

Now I have a choice...that could be 1001 things and the light was not on when I started Kimmie.  I know they replaced the rectifier and I thought to myself that the mechanics would have double checked everything before releasing the bike to me right?  RIGHT?

So do we trust Kimmie to get me to work?  Do we turn around and go home?  Do we pull off and call the tow company to take me back?  Do I tap the idiot light and hope it goes off?

I head into work, knowing I can't do anything on the side of the road.  Sure I have a small tool kit in the bike but other than some very basic fixes I've no idea what I can do other than ignore the angry red light for now.  

Kimmie runs fine and takes me to work with no issues.  Somewhere between point A and B the red light goes off.  It does not come on at all on the way home and I take the highway home...thinking that if there is an issue I would rather be somewhere I can get help quickly rather than a empty country road in the middle of the night.  

My mechanic is not open on Monday's.  I leave a message and await a call back.  "It's probably nothing." I tell myself.  

Still though it's a nagging issue in the back of my head, I start Kimmie up in the morning and have no issues.  No lights turn on...I ride to work on Tuesday.

Signs of spring

Parking at work the other day

I have Kimmie back.  I have been riding her for a couple days now all over town.  For now the oil leak issue has been solved and the good mechanics at Affordable Motor Sports (I've offered them a buddy's name that builds websites but they still don't have one) have her purring like a kitten again.

The problem however is that I am going to need a new gasket.  Surprisingly enough it's not going to cost me an arm and/or leg.  The CVT belt is good, the electronics are good and my "cold weather" starting issue seems to be resolved for now.  This cost however (about $500 + including labor) is more that I want to pay but it costs less than a newer bike would in the long run.  The economics of scootering.

However my brief sojourn into looking for a new bike got me wondering.  Eventually I'm going to have to replace her.  Eventually I'm going to start to pay more on maintenance than its worth.  Eventually I'm going to need a new bike.

I can already see I'm looking for more power and I don't see my current job changing anytime in the future.  Of course, I was also expecting to retire from 3M and here I am 6 or 7 months on being a leader in a new department.

Change is not a bad thing, sometime in the future I'm going to need a new bike.

What a difference a day makes.

So let me paint you a picture.

I'm running late since I can't find my security badge to get into work.  I'm also running late because I got interested in learning about the best burger in Tucson (Yea Road Pickle crew I'm blaming you!).  Jumping on Kimmie and speeding off I got stuck behind a box truck doing about 65 miles per hour, which was actually a blessing because someone did not put full in her and the fuel gauge light was glaring at me with one yellow angry eye.

I hate to draft off of a truck.  It's dangerous and stupid and goes against every safety protocol I can think of.  Yet here I am, drafting behind him at 65 mph watching my revs drop into the 5K range, keeping the engine from doing that much work and extending my fuel economy some.  When I finally do pull into the petrol station I'm on fumes again.

Lately I've been using the highest octane I can, hoping that it might solve; at least in part, my starting issues but instead my fuel economy - which is normally around 53 miles per gallon - drop drastically.  Currently I'm only in the mid to high 40 range, which I can contribute some of that drop to the stop and go traffic of city living.

 Somehow I still managed to make it to my job with about 5 minutes to spare...and the day, although long, was a good one.

I got out before the rush hour started in earnest.  I considered taking the highway home but didn't like the idea of dealing with traffic, my normal way home would involve a lot of traffic lights...again not my first choice.

So I took the long way home, which lead onto easy twists and turns and past various farms, shrub lands and across the river  It took me close to 90 minutes to get home, but I was in no hurry.  Daylight savings time put the sun at my back and it was a warm day, so warm that I actually felt a chill entering into a slight valley shaded by trees.

Again I think that I need to just say "fudge it" and keep a small digital camera on me at all times.  Who would believe that I entered a tunnel of trees that actually bent over the roadway?  Or that some poor soul hit a cow which was now laying dead on the side of the road?  It's an odd thought to want to pull over and take a picture of it.  I felt bad for the cow and worse for what ever hit it.

I'm an introvert, living inside my head normally.  So it's nice to drop work off at the door, to let my financial future take care of itself and just get out for a bit.  I needed today and it's hard to turn the bike into the driveway after a ride like that.

Last year and this year have been rough, but things do get better.

and just like that....the riding year ends.

Wrapped up and put away.

It was nothing serious.  No crash. No accident.  No fires, earthquakes or plagues of locusts.

It was something I had sensed for some time.  It started when I put my battery on a tender back on Saturday, August 9, 2014.   My battery died.  There is still enough power to turn it over, to make the lights glow...but not enough to have Kimmie roar to life in a way I've become familiar.

A few nights earlier I rode to work on the highway, something I don't like to do, because I was running late...I was late anyway.  A wreck blocked two lanes of the three lane highway and some idiot prevented me from skittering down the shoulder.  Normally I would not do such a thing or even consider it, but I was running late.

So here I am, sitting in traffic...and I stall.  I start, stall, start, stall.  Eventually I get the bike into an open enough area to maintain a speed about 2000 on the tachometer and it holds steady.  I get to work an hour late.  That night, she starts up and away I go.

A few nights where the temperatures fall into the freezing range is all it takes.  She tries, really tries but the heart, the battery, is just not up to the task anymore.  

Then comes a very bad week or two.  Two hospital visits (one involving the lovely Sue which turned out to be a minor issue).  A bout of the flu.  A temporary change for two weeks of my work location to an area of town that frankly I did not feel safe driving my car in, especially after nearly being hit twice in said car.  

No riding probably till close to the end of the year.  Maybe not till the new year.

Sure it be easy to run out and buy a battery or even have the local mechanics pop it in. I considered it, but frankly it was what I needed to push Sue's Christmas gifts into the realm of free shipping on Amazon.  By the time I receive that battery it will be the Holidays.  Another week...another delay...another few days without having my bike under me.

Not the best way to close out 2014, although generally speaking the year SUCKED.  I will not be sad to see it go.

First there was the crash in early January.  Which, while relatively harmless in it's own right, did bring about a lingering injury that kept me off the bike for months.  It also exposed an underlying non-crash medical issue that required treatment.  It was not life threatening but suddenly I find that I am very, very mortal.

It would not be till May when I finally started riding again on a regular basis.  While glad to be back on my beloved Kimmie I was tentative.  The love I used to have for riding just wasn't there.  Although I would regain that love only a few months later...it took longer than I would have liked.

My job did not help as they had me running back and forth between Tampa and Jacksonville, Florida at least three different times for weeks at a time.  I wasn't happy however as I found others with less experience being promoted above me and other issues.  But I stayed and pushed for a better job and more responsibility.

Little did I know that I would be changing jobs in October anyway when a job offer paying 15% more annually (with bonuses) and the title of Assistant Manager fell into my lap.  I have to admit though.  I have questioned my choice to take that job ever since, as the position is stressful and I'm not sure if the job has a good support structure.  Somehow I never pictured being a cubicle farmer was in my future.

In the last month or so it's just been small things, like having to report to another site for two weeks in an area best reached by car.  After this training my shift changes again, back to a more familiar 1 PM to 10 PM, back to empty streets.

I took this job because I understood I would work days only.  Not nights, but I can not complain, I'm still the low man on the totem pole.

So here's to 2014!  May it be better than the last!

Living inside my helmet - the sequel

I am trying to understand something.

I ride to work nearly every day, I used to ride in what would be considered adverse weather as well (rain and cold).  Lately however, and I blame the hours of my commute now (more 9 to 5ish) I've not been riding in the rain much.

What I'm trying to understand is this.  This past weekend the streets were filled with bikes and bikers.  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday rolls around and guess what.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.

Oh there are a few lone stragglers, a lot of little 50 cc and 125 cc scooters once I hit the city streets proper; which makes some sense as the little scoots are better designed for city living than the wide open spaces that I normally ride.  Still though...why are the streets full of bikes on the weekends but not on the weekday?

Or, to put it more simply, why don't bikers ride more?  

Now I know this post will not apply for those up north or out west where the weather is nasty.  But hopefully it will give you something to think about for the next riding season.

The first thing that pops into my mind is the number of cars on the street.  All bikers have seen people putting on make-up, looking at their phones, making phone calls, fiddling with the radio and not paying attention.  I get that.  Those people are dangerous.

It's something we all have to deal with and I know that running back and forth from 9 - 5 has sharpened my senses.  I've always tried to practice good safe techniques, now I'm noticing that I push those techniques more to the front.   I also understand that yes, my risk increases riding during the "rush hours."  My risk also increases if it's raining during those hours.

I wonder if gear is not part of the problem.  Gear can be expensive, although generally it's a one time expense.  A good helmet, a good safe jacket (preferably hi-vis), boots, gloves, etc.  It can add up and once again, if your going to ride in every day safety gear is a must.  The more I look around and learn about this lifestyle the more I realize that the people that rack up thousands of miles a year are wearing the best gear they can afford.

Gear may not be sexy, but it's going to save your life.  Which is the other problem I think.  It's not sexy to commute.  No one can see your leather, your girl on back, your shiny chrome.  You have to take the time to clean your bike, your equipment, your oil.

I think we have all been brainwashed some.  Easy Rider, Sons of Anarchy, even the comedy Wild Hogs, and a thousand and one magazines and adverts that show an alternate way to live.  A one that is not mundane.  One that we can escape to during the weekend.  Riding to work every day sort of ruins that fantasy.  Commuting is boring.

Storage can sometimes be a issue.  I understand that too, having bought a top box to carry my lunch back and forth in.  This being Florida, my rain gear is always kept on the bike.  There are ways around storage issues.

Parking can be an issue.  I know at my job for example "our" spot was recently compromised to make way for a travel van turning radius.  Now the various bikers are forced to park in various places.  I've requested a single simple spot with a sign.  At least four, five, or six bikes could fit in that spot, depending on how they park.

Until that happens we are parking in front of the building in a "visitor's" spot.  Some days I'm the only bike there.  Other days there are two or three others.  No one has asked me to move yet.  Sometimes you have to fight for your rights.

As I read the various blogs and forums that I frequent the one thing that impresses me again and again is the passion that people have for their bikes and life choices.  Never in a million years did I think I would have the same love for biking that many of the people that I respect and admire do.  Hell, ten years ago if you told me I be riding a bike and writing a motorcycle blog I laugh at you.  Yet, here I am.

Enveloped by fog

Perhaps I should curse out the infamous Trobairitz - who asked me the following in the comments section of my last posting.  "Curious - do you find in your commute that everyone uses their headlights in the twilight hours or fog? I've noticed lately how many people can't be bothered to turn theirs on for safety."

This morning was foggy.  Although lucky for me, half (21 miles) of my morning 40 mile commute is on a two lane road.  It's more or less straight so the bracing air in the morning keeps me more awake than coffee ever could.  Generally speaking traffic is travelling with me this time of day, by the time I hit the two and three lane roads closer to downtown Tampa the fog normally is burned off.  Some try to pass me and I let them with no complaints.  It's not the day to let Kimmie flex her muscles.

Photo Copyright Steve Williams

Cars do come out of the gray on the two lane road, usually with the lights on.  Zephyrhills is a good place to live, but the population is mostly retirees.  So they either have the newer model cars with the automatic lights or are not out at all this time of day.  Unlike my fellow Pennsylvanian Steve Williams I take no joy of riding in fog.  While I will admit to a sense of otherworldly-ness and a wonder at the beauty of nature when it's wrapped in gossamer sheaths...I still prefer the safety of seeing, and of being seen when riding my bike. 

Still though, it's lovely to ride past the open fields of Central Florida looking at trees that seem to exist in a perpetual dream like state...or listen to the low bellow of a cow barely seen.  The sun is on my left, low enough to dance between the trees but not high enough yet to burn off the fog.

Is it any wonder why so many motorcyclists seem to be philosophers, poets, writers or photographers?  How do you capture beauty?  A moment?  How does time slow down at 65 MPH?  

Traffic is a little heavier than normal as I turn towards town and my waiting job.  I shiver a bit as a truck passes me and catches me in the turbulence for a moment.  I tilt my visor up some to clear the mist off my visor and the morning air smells of exhaust...ah, life in the city.  
My ride is an interesting one.  Taking me over the Hillsborough River and past the Lowry Park Zoo and I swear I hear a lion roaring every morning as I ride past.    Around a bend that somehow always seems to surprise me even though I know it's there.  I cross over four rail tracks in total.  

Tampa and it's river.  

By the end of the day I'm mentally wasted.  My new job is challenging, interesting, difficult as I use skills and muscles I've not used in years.  I'm a lot of things to a lot of people now and not just "technical support".

I look forward on getting back on the bike although it's been windy and wet most of the day.  I debate putting on the rain gear, but in the end decide not to.  I'm not on the bike long before the day fades away.  

I look forward to passing the zoo, the river (again glancing over to see boats and docks and lights glimmering off the water), those tracks.  That stupid bend...then before you know it I'm back into the green that I love.  The sun is on the other side now, low enough to dance across the fields where cows continue to bellow and a lone tree stands in resistance to the developer.  By the time I get home Susan has dinner on, we chat about the day.  We settle in with our books, games, TV, the computer or just a talk about what ever in on our minds.

We sit out on the lanai, why Floridians use a Hawaiian word for "porch" I will never know, and drink iced tea.  Tipper and Sparky, our two rescued cats, are at our feet or looking at the birds eating at the feeders.  Night comes early this time of year.  I am content.

I think about the day, the fog and rain.  Being enveloped by bad weather just means that you have to find your way out of it.  You have to be smart, safe, careful and then, you reach your goal.  You have to pay attention to the beauty on the way there.  You have to be thankful for it.