Memorable ride home

Yesterday I rode to work under the pretext that I'd be able to drop the bike off at a dealership about 25 blocks from my office. They were having a tire install special - buy tires there, they install for free! Such a good deal. Dropped the bike off about 9:15 so that they could get it done by the end of the day. I have an eco pass through my job which means I can ride public transportation for free. So, I hopped on the bus with all my moto gear and got back to work in no time.

About 4:00 I gave them a call to make sure my ride was going to be done. They said between 5 and 5:30 I'd be good to go. (They close at 6.) So, at 5:00, I geared up again - moto pants, big jacket, boots - packed my duffel that rides on my pillion with my work stuff, grabbed my helmet and, for the 2nd time that day, rode the bus ATGATT. :)

I walked in to Colorado Powersports and the bike was ready. I paid for the service, which was so much better than I've had at another dealership. (The other dealership service guys roll their eyes when I tell them I'm on a Rebel.) These guys were great! He pulled the bike around and I met him outside. When I walked out the door - oh my - the view of the mountains was scary. The wind had picked up tremendously! Dirt and debris was blowing around the parking lot and it really looked like snow coming over the mountains.

Fortunately, I was heading home in the opposite direction. But, this front was moving very fast. I didn't even see it when I walked into the shop!

So, there's nothing left to do really. I had to get home. So, I grab my helmet to walk over to the bike. Dang it! I grabbed it by the strap but the snap came undone and I dropped it! Grrrr. Not a great start to my commute. I strapped the duffel on the pillion. I'd asked them to save my old tire because I wanted to take it home for the parts bike. I was regretting that now with the wind. But, I have a bungee net! Everyone should have a bungee net. It is an amazing accessory. (Unfortunately, my camera was in the bag so no pics of that.)

I hop on the bike and high tail it out of Boulder. I live east and south of Boulder. The storm was blowing in from the west. One of my usual south bound routes home is notorious for high winds (even on good days) so I decided to head east as fast as I could. There were blue skies and puffy clouds in the direction I was headed. So, I was hopeful.

Yeah, that hope was dashed pretty quickly.

The wind was blowing so hard I couldn't even hear. I could see dirt and debris all over the place. I kept scrunching up my shoulders to try to avoid getting stuff in my helmet. I drove through a neighborhood to get out of town. That wasn't so bad. But, as soon as I hit some open space, holy smokes, it was bad. I turned east on South Boulder Road. I was able to maintain the speed limit without any trouble but keeping the bike stable was a lot of trouble. I turned south on highway 42 (accidentally) but it swings around to meet the main road that would take my south to home.

Wadsworth/Hwy 287 is a busy main drag and I generally try to avoid it during my normal commute. But it was as far east as I needed to go. I got on about 13 miles north of home. So, heading south, I can see the mountains and the scary gray clouds to my right rear. I can see blue skies up ahead. And I can see dust, dirt, tumbleweeds, and debris blowing across the road mostly from right to left. But, occasionally, from left to right as well. Sheesh! I am hugging the right side of my right lane. Mostly, I'm being pushed into the center part of my lane but the big gusts of wind are pushing me right to the dashed white line. A few times I could see cars or trucks in the process of passing me swing very wide. Maybe they were avoiding me because I couldn't even tell how far to my left I'd end up. Maybe they were also being pushed by the wind to their left. At any rate, I felt quite confident I wasn't going to get run over that way. All of the movement going on with my bike must have made me quite visible. (Of course they probably thought I was some kind of crazy driver!) Because the sky was so gray, I also turned on my highway lights for some added visibility.

There were several times where I thought I should pull over because I really had no control over the bike. But, this wasn't going to pass. There was no waiting it out. (And Lost was on at 8!) I wasn't that far from home so I pushed on.

I was riding at a dramatic angle the whole trip. When the bike caught a gust of wind, it didn't straighten the bike, it merely effortlessly shoved it over while I was still leaning. It was quite crazy but I knew I wasn't going to fall off or tip over as long as I kept moving. Stopping for a light was the most dangerous and scary part for me. I couldn't control the bike so the wind would blow it around while I was trying to put my foot down. The bike is most stable when it is moving of course. So, stopping and starting up again were not good times. Fortunately, the timing was good and I didn't have to do that too much.

I made it home in one piece. Twigs were caught in the old tire strapped to the back of the bike. But, once i got home I was quite over run with adrenaline. I was excited about getting home so well. It seemed like quite the accomplishment and I was quite proud of myself. It took about half an hour or so to wind down. Then I crashed hard! My arms hurt, my neck hurt, my hands hurt, my eyes were dry and tired, my legs were tired, and I couldn't believe I'd gotten through it all.

What a rush it was but I hope I don't have to do that again any time soon. It was a rough way to bring in the commuting season. But, I did it! :-)