First the good news. I got the 696 back from the dealer last week, and the head mechanic fixed my shifter issue. The bike rides just like it did when I first brought it home. Got it up to about 700 miles today, so it’s time to send it in for a first service. Between 1500 miles on the Nighthawk 250 and the 700 on the 696, this means that I’m now over 2000 miles new.
I went for a ride today to practice some 2 and 4 lane divided highway driving. I picked a pretty uncrowded time of day, and am starting to feel a bit less threatened. Thus, satisfied with myself, I headed home on a nice leisurely back road. For about a mile, I was following a van that braked often, but was going at a reasonable speed, 5 miles over the posted limit. We were stopped at a light, and there was a little room on my right between the curb and me. A car pulled into the empty space and stopped behind the van (with me) and about a foot from my side. The driver, a middle aged woman (this is relevant here), pulled down her window and told me that I drove “like an old lady” and shouldn’t be on the road. She said I didn’t look like I was having fun, which is interesting with full gear and sun visor. I swear, any faster and it would be ticket or vancake. What did she want me to do? Funny thing is that I am wondering what I was doing wrong.
Fast and I’m an outlaw. Reasonable and I’m a wimp? Guess I’ll be a wimp.
.
