Jan
8th
One Bike, One Road, One Grrrl...
By GrrrlX
As some of you know, I've only been riding since September '09. I
got my first (and only!) bike at that time, and she (yet unnamed)
and I have had some learning experiences.
I went on my first long trip on the bike to a nearby town/suburb of Parker, CO to meet some classmates for a community service project. I got directions, and looked it up on Google maps, then realized my "little jaunt" was going to be about 15 miles. Yikes! But it was a warm (60's) sunny day in Colorado, and I just couldn't resist! So, my first thought was - how am I going to be able to look at directions while I'm riding? I already had turn-by-turn directions written down on a sticky note, so I thought "why not just stick it onto the tank"? I put the sticky note on there are thought about what tape to use...scotch tape? heck no... Masking tape? yick... I know - Blue painter's tape! Wow, I'm going to look soooo hawt with this yellow note stuck onto my tank with blue tape! woohoo!! With that decided, I set off on my nerdy newbie way, with my brand-new armored kevlar jeans and a bright yellow refective vest over my armored jacket. Yes, I was a circus on wheels, but I was a highly visible circus!!
I had a wonderful ride, played with some traffic that didn't behave too badly ( I think they were scared of my vest :P ). I actually got up to 55 mph on a long lovely stretch of road on the way there, and got used to getting the bike into 4th gear :))
I did get lost, but I pulled off into a parking lost, pulled out my phone and put it on speaker, and without taking off my helmet, got directions, hung up and got back on the road.
Found the house, had a little trouble parking on a street without any curbs and no room left in front of the house, but managed angling it in. My bike got admired, and one of my friends that was there (who has been riding for years) gave me some advice about the LED red and amber license plate that I want to put on the bike, then we got to work on our project.
On the way home, I am feeling more confident about at least being able to find my own house again! It's mid afternoon, and the sun is just beautiful! I actually get some "motorcycle waves" exchanged on the road this time, and I'm so excited! I'm recognised as a motorcyclist! (well, it's either that or "look at that newb doofus"!)
On that long lovely stretch of road that goes 55 mph, I all of a sudden learn what a cross-wind feels like. Now, I'm always amazed that no-one talks about how similar motorcyling and bicycling are to each other - from my years and years of battling crosswinds on my bicycles, I automatically lean the bike into the wind and keep on going. Easy as pie, although I did get startled at first - the crosswinds are a bit stronger at 55 mph rather than 15 mph :)
I get home after seeing a little heaver early rush hour traffic - but they were still scared of my vest, and treated me well. :)
For my next adventure, my husband and I go shopping for his motorcycle, and I get to put my winter gear to the test riding it home!
I went on my first long trip on the bike to a nearby town/suburb of Parker, CO to meet some classmates for a community service project. I got directions, and looked it up on Google maps, then realized my "little jaunt" was going to be about 15 miles. Yikes! But it was a warm (60's) sunny day in Colorado, and I just couldn't resist! So, my first thought was - how am I going to be able to look at directions while I'm riding? I already had turn-by-turn directions written down on a sticky note, so I thought "why not just stick it onto the tank"? I put the sticky note on there are thought about what tape to use...scotch tape? heck no... Masking tape? yick... I know - Blue painter's tape! Wow, I'm going to look soooo hawt with this yellow note stuck onto my tank with blue tape! woohoo!! With that decided, I set off on my nerdy newbie way, with my brand-new armored kevlar jeans and a bright yellow refective vest over my armored jacket. Yes, I was a circus on wheels, but I was a highly visible circus!!
I had a wonderful ride, played with some traffic that didn't behave too badly ( I think they were scared of my vest :P ). I actually got up to 55 mph on a long lovely stretch of road on the way there, and got used to getting the bike into 4th gear :))
I did get lost, but I pulled off into a parking lost, pulled out my phone and put it on speaker, and without taking off my helmet, got directions, hung up and got back on the road.
Found the house, had a little trouble parking on a street without any curbs and no room left in front of the house, but managed angling it in. My bike got admired, and one of my friends that was there (who has been riding for years) gave me some advice about the LED red and amber license plate that I want to put on the bike, then we got to work on our project.
On the way home, I am feeling more confident about at least being able to find my own house again! It's mid afternoon, and the sun is just beautiful! I actually get some "motorcycle waves" exchanged on the road this time, and I'm so excited! I'm recognised as a motorcyclist! (well, it's either that or "look at that newb doofus"!)
On that long lovely stretch of road that goes 55 mph, I all of a sudden learn what a cross-wind feels like. Now, I'm always amazed that no-one talks about how similar motorcyling and bicycling are to each other - from my years and years of battling crosswinds on my bicycles, I automatically lean the bike into the wind and keep on going. Easy as pie, although I did get startled at first - the crosswinds are a bit stronger at 55 mph rather than 15 mph :)
I get home after seeing a little heaver early rush hour traffic - but they were still scared of my vest, and treated me well. :)
For my next adventure, my husband and I go shopping for his motorcycle, and I get to put my winter gear to the test riding it home!
Nov
23rd
One Bike, One Road, One Grrrl...
By GrrrlX
Hello all, I'm a thirty-something "chick"
who got into motorcycling the way quite a few of us do these
days: higher gas prices and overall financial belt-tightening.
The fun factor has been a wonderful side benefit!
My husband and I talked about how riding a motorcycle would save us money, and decided to take an MSF course and then start looking at either motorcycles or scooters (at the time, I was leaning heavily
toward the Piaggio MP3 500). Neither my husband nor I had ever
owned, or ridden a motorcycle, although I had been a passenger a
few times growing up, and with a boyfriend or two. We both passed
the course, although with a few curses at the figure-8 maneuver,
and then, thoroughly bitten by the 2-wheeled bug, we set out to
test ride some motorcycles and scooters. I (hubby declined to
test-ride as he didn't own any protective gear yet) test rode a
Honda Shadow 750, Suzuki Boulevard S40, Piaggio BV Tourer 500,
Piaggio MP3 500 and the Yamaha V-Star 650. The Boulevard S40 was a
very light bike, similar to the Honda Rebels we learned on in the
MSF course, so I was comfortable with that bike. I also learned
from the Honda dealer (who was also an MSF instructor) a valuable
tip for stopping: pull in your clutch first to disengage the
engine and then apply your brakes! Every stop I've made since
then has been so much smoother! I was extremely nervous to try
the larger Honda 750, but when I got it going, I realized that
the maneuvering was just the same, even on a heavier bike, so
once that fear passed, I had a blast running it around the
parking lot!
Next stop was the scooter dealership where they let
me take out the scooters on an extended test-ride IN TRAFFIC.
Remember - this is the very first time I've played in traffic,
and not only were these scooters not mine, they were NEW. I tried
the BV 500 first, and had lots of fun with the twist-n-go, then I
hopped on the MP3 500. I had been interested in these ever since
I first saw one on the street, and boy did they live up to the
hype! The ease of a scooter with the lean of a motorcycle around
the corners. I got both these scooters up to about 30 mph, but
it felt like I was going 50 mph with the wind on my
full-face helmet, and yes, even a bug or two. After the
exhilarating rides, it was time to look at the price tags, and
these, being new bikes, were well beyond my budget, especially
adding on the accessories that I wanted. I had known that I
wanted a used bike as my first, especially for the lay-down
factor, but these prices just verified that.
Next was the Yamaha, a 2007 with low miles. I had some trouble getting it going on the incline of the parking lot at the dealership, but once I got it
moving it was a blast - turned on a dime, a very maneuverable
bike! It was also a nicely visible cherry red, which matched my
bright red helmet, and had a bunch of accessories already added
on. Can you tell I was in love?
Every single one of these bikes was a blast to ride, especially the Piaggio MP3! But, economics won out and the Yamaha, with its included windshield, custom seat and saddle bags, was my choice. (check out a photo of my bike on my profile page) This was all the way back in late September, and now I've ridden in some different conditions, and played some more in traffic, which I will write about in further installments of my adventures... Stay Tuned!
who got into motorcycling the way quite a few of us do these
days: higher gas prices and overall financial belt-tightening.
The fun factor has been a wonderful side benefit!
My husband and I talked about how riding a motorcycle would save us money, and decided to take an MSF course and then start looking at either motorcycles or scooters (at the time, I was leaning heavily
toward the Piaggio MP3 500). Neither my husband nor I had ever
owned, or ridden a motorcycle, although I had been a passenger a
few times growing up, and with a boyfriend or two. We both passed
the course, although with a few curses at the figure-8 maneuver,
and then, thoroughly bitten by the 2-wheeled bug, we set out to
test ride some motorcycles and scooters. I (hubby declined to
test-ride as he didn't own any protective gear yet) test rode a
Honda Shadow 750, Suzuki Boulevard S40, Piaggio BV Tourer 500,
Piaggio MP3 500 and the Yamaha V-Star 650. The Boulevard S40 was a
very light bike, similar to the Honda Rebels we learned on in the
MSF course, so I was comfortable with that bike. I also learned
from the Honda dealer (who was also an MSF instructor) a valuable
tip for stopping: pull in your clutch first to disengage the
engine and then apply your brakes! Every stop I've made since
then has been so much smoother! I was extremely nervous to try
the larger Honda 750, but when I got it going, I realized that
the maneuvering was just the same, even on a heavier bike, so
once that fear passed, I had a blast running it around the
parking lot!
Next stop was the scooter dealership where they let
me take out the scooters on an extended test-ride IN TRAFFIC.
Remember - this is the very first time I've played in traffic,
and not only were these scooters not mine, they were NEW. I tried
the BV 500 first, and had lots of fun with the twist-n-go, then I
hopped on the MP3 500. I had been interested in these ever since
I first saw one on the street, and boy did they live up to the
hype! The ease of a scooter with the lean of a motorcycle around
the corners. I got both these scooters up to about 30 mph, but
it felt like I was going 50 mph with the wind on my
full-face helmet, and yes, even a bug or two. After the
exhilarating rides, it was time to look at the price tags, and
these, being new bikes, were well beyond my budget, especially
adding on the accessories that I wanted. I had known that I
wanted a used bike as my first, especially for the lay-down
factor, but these prices just verified that.
Next was the Yamaha, a 2007 with low miles. I had some trouble getting it going on the incline of the parking lot at the dealership, but once I got it
moving it was a blast - turned on a dime, a very maneuverable
bike! It was also a nicely visible cherry red, which matched my
bright red helmet, and had a bunch of accessories already added
on. Can you tell I was in love?
Every single one of these bikes was a blast to ride, especially the Piaggio MP3! But, economics won out and the Yamaha, with its included windshield, custom seat and saddle bags, was my choice. (check out a photo of my bike on my profile page) This was all the way back in late September, and now I've ridden in some different conditions, and played some more in traffic, which I will write about in further installments of my adventures... Stay Tuned!
Oct
17th
Played in traffic yesterday!
By GrrrlX
Hi all -
I have had my Yamaha V-Star 650 Custom for about a month now (passed the MSF course 2 months ago), and have started riding it on come of the busy suburban streets in my neighborhood. I took a ride yesterday for 19 miles round-trip into a more urban area for a business meeting/lunch and did pretty well! I only stalled out twice (once from dead stop, once from not downshifting enough at a slow-down) and that was pretty good for me! The friction zone in the yamaha is miniscule, so it's been a learning curve. :)
I want to ride it every day!
I have had my Yamaha V-Star 650 Custom for about a month now (passed the MSF course 2 months ago), and have started riding it on come of the busy suburban streets in my neighborhood. I took a ride yesterday for 19 miles round-trip into a more urban area for a business meeting/lunch and did pretty well! I only stalled out twice (once from dead stop, once from not downshifting enough at a slow-down) and that was pretty good for me! The friction zone in the yamaha is miniscule, so it's been a learning curve. :)
I want to ride it every day!
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