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10 Things That I Learned Today
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1) Elwood, Munch, Eon and everyone else were right. That once I got onto streets where I wasn’t focused on safely navigating gravel choked streets, it was easier to focus on the riding skills themselves
2) That in a curve when you turn your head, it naturally comes back to center as you turn. The hard part is making the initial decision to turn your head.
3) You always think of PLP as being slow exercises, and while yes, they are slower than cruising down a highway, they are a whole lot easier to do if you aren’t trying to challenge your best slow race time at the same time.
4) Again, Elwood was right, that on a bigger bike like the S40, learning how to use the friction zone is key to being comfortable with basic maneuvers.
5) By starting to brake a little later for stops and not coasting to a stop, I don’t wobble as much at the end, so I can consistently put my left foot down and then my right foot, like you’re supposed to.
6) Traffic at 9am on a Saturday Morning is about a third as heavy as it is at 7pm on a weekday evening. But by 9:30, it is worse than 7pm on a weekday evening on the major arteries (a function of Labor Day?).
7) My engine has two sounds that overlay one another. The first is the rumble that everyone thinks of, but the second sounds almost like a person cutting wood with a handsaw.
It is easier to drop your hand to wave than to lift it. (No wonder everyone always seems to do it that way.)
9) If you are going to bungee something to the pillion of an S40, you need either the old fashioned metal hooks that can be deformed, or you need oversized hooks. (Mostly, I just need to get some saddle bags.)
10) Look for paper towels before you start filling up the gas tank, not after you’ve already dripped on it.I hope everyone is having great riding weather for Labor Day weekend! Sleep off the beer before riding and keep the rubber to the road.
Sometimes, discretion is the better part of valour.
I spent most of last week off the bike (not entirely by my own choice), and while I envied every rider that went by, it was for the best.I hope that your tournament went well.
I figured out today that if I start the turn a little earlier than I had been from the left hand side of my lane, I can stay on my side of the road coming out of the turn not have the feeling like I am too fast on the gravel. Unfortunately, it is basically a blind turn, so I don’t want to be in the habit of just going wide.
Now, my driveway (other than the speed) is the same as what you are talking about, and I just break to almost a stop, make the turn gently and stay in the friction zone all the way down with a little rear brake. I have yet to screw that one up.
I’m thinking about dragging the weedwhacker to the top of my drive and doing some damage. Both directions are blind due to the vegatation. It never really bothers me in my car, but every now and then someone comes around the curve just a little too fast for comfort. I’ve figured out that I can see an extra 20ft or so if I pull to the very edge of the drive, angled to the left already to pull out. I love living in the sticks, but there are definitely a few challenges.
It is easier to drop your hand to wave than to lift it. (No wonder everyone always seems to do it that way.)
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