Hubby and I managed a short ride on Saturday and the weather was great! It was a nice calm day and the high made it to 74 degrees. Wow! We only did a short one though because we had plans already to do other things. So, we did the usual route, out to Golden and back. It was quite fortunate that we did get out on Saturday because we woke up on Sunday to white out conditions. Yep, record setting highs on Saturday, snow and blowing snow advisories on Sunday. It sucked. It was not great at all. I don't like the sideways snow.
I haven't decided when to buy a parking pass for work. The price won't change during the month but seeing how March is the snowiest month of the year for us, I'm wondering if I should just wait and buy one April 1st. Sigh. That will make for a very long month indeed. But, I can always run over and buy one the day before a nice day is scheduled. I think I'll wait and do that.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Feeling a bit nostalgic...
Since I'm not currently riding, I thought I'd post some past experiences.
So, I was feeling a little nostalgic and came upon this photo of my first motorcycling experience. I mentioned at the start of my blog that the reason I am interested in motorcycling is because of my Peace Corps experience in Senegal. This photo is of a friend and fellow PCV and I who rode together quite a lot. The blue Suzuki is mine but I inherited her moto after she completed her service. On this day, we went out to this river just as an excuse to ride and take some photos. Kine is in the midst of jumping onto the railing as the timer went off to take our photo. There were some horrible biting flies along this river so we didn't stay very long and rode out pretty quickly.
The racks were made by metal workers in the village. We used strips of inner tubes to tie down our loads on the racks. Peace Corps didn't tell us but we later figured out that the bikes had registration that allowed us to cross the border and ride legally in the Gambia.
The bikes were Suzuki TS125's and handled very well in the sand and on the road. Of course, I had nothing to compare them too. I really liked them. They weren't too terribly tall for me. I was a Peace Corps Volunteer so we learned to adapt to what we had. I could stop in a rut in the sand to get on and off the bike if I had too. Mostly it was ok and I really didn't have to do that very often.
I once traded a watermelon and some cash for some maintenance on the bike. I actually had a watermelon with me to trade! That's funny now that I think about it.
So, I was feeling a little nostalgic and came upon this photo of my first motorcycling experience. I mentioned at the start of my blog that the reason I am interested in motorcycling is because of my Peace Corps experience in Senegal. This photo is of a friend and fellow PCV and I who rode together quite a lot. The blue Suzuki is mine but I inherited her moto after she completed her service. On this day, we went out to this river just as an excuse to ride and take some photos. Kine is in the midst of jumping onto the railing as the timer went off to take our photo. There were some horrible biting flies along this river so we didn't stay very long and rode out pretty quickly.
The racks were made by metal workers in the village. We used strips of inner tubes to tie down our loads on the racks. Peace Corps didn't tell us but we later figured out that the bikes had registration that allowed us to cross the border and ride legally in the Gambia.
The bikes were Suzuki TS125's and handled very well in the sand and on the road. Of course, I had nothing to compare them too. I really liked them. They weren't too terribly tall for me. I was a Peace Corps Volunteer so we learned to adapt to what we had. I could stop in a rut in the sand to get on and off the bike if I had too. Mostly it was ok and I really didn't have to do that very often.
I once traded a watermelon and some cash for some maintenance on the bike. I actually had a watermelon with me to trade! That's funny now that I think about it.
Friday, February 8, 2008
New Wrenching Bike!
Well, I'd been looking for a wrenching bike - something that was close to my 450 that I could practice taking apart and putting back together. I found on Craig's List another CMX450 in a state of disassembly that ran not long ago but developed electrical trouble. Got a very good deal on it and was pleased to bring it home last week. Yay! Of course I have big plans for it but reality will dictate the outcome. Reality also dictates that this will have to wait until after we buy a house and move into some thing with more garage space. Or at least space we can manipulate and integrate the motorcycles into before the garage fills up.
Perhaps this bike will become my custom Saints bike with a black and gold paint job with fleur de lis on either side of the tank. Perhaps it will become an investment that I can resell to contribute to the Honda Magna dream fund. We shall see. I've ordered some parts catalogs to dog ear and mark up. I can at least figure out what the parts might cost for this dream bike. It is always fun to window shop. :-)
I've also discovered a moto maintenance class close to home. I'm going to sign up for that in March. Yay! The class is taught by Jasmine at Bluecreek Art Works. I'm really looking forward to it. When I first learned to ride in the Peace Corps, our six day training class was the MSF BCR class the first three days and the second three days was moto maintenance. I've lost those skills and would like to get them back. This class requires you to bring your own bike so you can actually work on it. Yay! Hubby says I should bring the basketcase bike. Ha!
Perhaps this bike will become my custom Saints bike with a black and gold paint job with fleur de lis on either side of the tank. Perhaps it will become an investment that I can resell to contribute to the Honda Magna dream fund. We shall see. I've ordered some parts catalogs to dog ear and mark up. I can at least figure out what the parts might cost for this dream bike. It is always fun to window shop. :-)
I've also discovered a moto maintenance class close to home. I'm going to sign up for that in March. Yay! The class is taught by Jasmine at Bluecreek Art Works. I'm really looking forward to it. When I first learned to ride in the Peace Corps, our six day training class was the MSF BCR class the first three days and the second three days was moto maintenance. I've lost those skills and would like to get them back. This class requires you to bring your own bike so you can actually work on it. Yay! Hubby says I should bring the basketcase bike. Ha!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
January ride
The first ride of the new year finally! The weather was too nice to ignore. Hubby and I, after our weekend Starbucks routine, got on the bikes for a short jaunt around town. Rode to Golden and then up to Boulder and then home (after filling up). It was about 60 miles or more. I forgot to keep track I was so excited to be out. Yay! Didn't have any trouble with the bikes even though they've been sitting for months.
Hubby got to try out his new Cortech jeans and new jacket. I wore my new HJC CL-Max modular helmet.
Yay! I needed that. :-)
Hubby got to try out his new Cortech jeans and new jacket. I wore my new HJC CL-Max modular helmet.
Yay! I needed that. :-)
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Riding to work vs. not riding to work
I'm having withdrawals. I feel this great need to ride the bike but the weather and time won't cooperate. Hubby and I have thought about it every weekend but never do. There is still enough ice in the driveway to dissuade us. And each evening we say, "We should have ridden." Oh well. We are a cautious people. And it is still quite chilly. The last two weekends there were plenty of bikes on the road to make us wish we were one of them. (Well, two of them.) Today the high was forecast to be in the 50s with a polar front arriving tonight. I seriously thought about it. Now I'm glad I didn't because it is quite cloudy and windy and I doubt it is 50 degrees. Of course, it was going to be in the low 40s during the times I'd actually be riding anyway.
I've noticed though that I'm quite grumpy at work these days. Everyone blames it on the lack of sunshine in the winter months but I know it is because I'm driving the car and the bike is sitting in the garage.
Another thing, I have been eating more crap food at work than I do when I ride. It is so easy to drive the car to the drive thru for lunch. And because I feel less alert when I arrive it takes a while to get my game face on at work. So, I eat more snacks to try to get myself awake. I drink more Cokes, too. Ugh. This ain't good. I sit all day long and eat crap food and drink Cokes. We all see where this is going.
I need to make some changes & riding the bus to work is the easy answer. I just have to get myself motivated to get up earlier and get the game face on for the looong bus ride.
Only two months until spring. This month is almost over, February is longer this year but that's ok, then March, Colorado's snowiest month. Then April! Yay!
(Sigh.)
I've noticed though that I'm quite grumpy at work these days. Everyone blames it on the lack of sunshine in the winter months but I know it is because I'm driving the car and the bike is sitting in the garage.
Another thing, I have been eating more crap food at work than I do when I ride. It is so easy to drive the car to the drive thru for lunch. And because I feel less alert when I arrive it takes a while to get my game face on at work. So, I eat more snacks to try to get myself awake. I drink more Cokes, too. Ugh. This ain't good. I sit all day long and eat crap food and drink Cokes. We all see where this is going.
I need to make some changes & riding the bus to work is the easy answer. I just have to get myself motivated to get up earlier and get the game face on for the looong bus ride.
Only two months until spring. This month is almost over, February is longer this year but that's ok, then March, Colorado's snowiest month. Then April! Yay!
(Sigh.)
What's up with my title bar and photo????
I don't know what is going on with my title bar on the blog. It keeps shrinking and changing and I'm not sure why or how to fix it. It is really starting to bother me. I'm not going to mess with it any more. I've already tried to change it a few times. The photo used to be centered but now it isn't. Aargh!
.... I took the photo out for now.
.... I took the photo out for now.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Reflections on the past riding season and a summary
I suppose it is appropriate to reflect back on the year, now that the new year is here. :-)
This was officially my first full riding season, since I bought the bike at the end of July 2006. I missed out on some riding because of various events (6 weeks of recovery for surgery, wedding planning, etc.). I think I got a good bit of experience though. I felt very comfortable on the bike, riding every day to work. Our longest trip was the one we took to Estes Park via parts of the peak to peak highway. That was lots of fun. I hope we can do more of that kind of riding. Colorado is such a great place to be; we should take more advantage of our home state.
I also managed to add some accessories this season, making the bike more mine. That was cool. I've got a to do list for more of that but I'm also thinking about a new bike so I'm not sure how much I'll focus on the Rebel accessories right now. That and we are looking to buy a house so these extra expenses might have to wait.
The bike gave me no trouble. We haven't done any winter maintenance yet so I'm a bit worried about that. We may fire them up today and add some Seafoam to the tanks with fresh gas. Should probably change the oil but we'll see.
I started last season with the Additional Rider Course offered by MSF. I wanted to brush up on the things I'd learned in the BRC so this fit ok. I didn't learn anything new but it was good practice to reinforce the things I'd learned. Next year I think I'll do the Experienced Rider Course. I like starting off the season by getting the bugs out before riding again. I do better in a formal course rather than practicing on my own. But we'll see. May also come down to cost and time.
In the new riding season I'd like to ride over a mountain pass. That's my goal for 2008. :-) I should also focus more on preventive maintenance this year. I'm hoping to continue putting many miles on the bike.
It was a good year. Got many more miles than last year but that was to be expected since I did get to commute more often.
Maintenance done:
new battery in July
new chain and sprockets
oil changes
new CDI box last year (from Jack's)
Accessories:
Spotlight bar
relocated the front turn signals to the spotlight bar
saddle bags
Spitfire windshield
larger fairing shield (jury is still out on that one)
Stopper license plate additional brake light
Total miles: 3,896 (May - December)
Happy New Year!
This was officially my first full riding season, since I bought the bike at the end of July 2006. I missed out on some riding because of various events (6 weeks of recovery for surgery, wedding planning, etc.). I think I got a good bit of experience though. I felt very comfortable on the bike, riding every day to work. Our longest trip was the one we took to Estes Park via parts of the peak to peak highway. That was lots of fun. I hope we can do more of that kind of riding. Colorado is such a great place to be; we should take more advantage of our home state.
I also managed to add some accessories this season, making the bike more mine. That was cool. I've got a to do list for more of that but I'm also thinking about a new bike so I'm not sure how much I'll focus on the Rebel accessories right now. That and we are looking to buy a house so these extra expenses might have to wait.
The bike gave me no trouble. We haven't done any winter maintenance yet so I'm a bit worried about that. We may fire them up today and add some Seafoam to the tanks with fresh gas. Should probably change the oil but we'll see.
I started last season with the Additional Rider Course offered by MSF. I wanted to brush up on the things I'd learned in the BRC so this fit ok. I didn't learn anything new but it was good practice to reinforce the things I'd learned. Next year I think I'll do the Experienced Rider Course. I like starting off the season by getting the bugs out before riding again. I do better in a formal course rather than practicing on my own. But we'll see. May also come down to cost and time.
In the new riding season I'd like to ride over a mountain pass. That's my goal for 2008. :-) I should also focus more on preventive maintenance this year. I'm hoping to continue putting many miles on the bike.
It was a good year. Got many more miles than last year but that was to be expected since I did get to commute more often.
Maintenance done:
new battery in July
new chain and sprockets
oil changes
new CDI box last year (from Jack's)
Accessories:
Spotlight bar
relocated the front turn signals to the spotlight bar
saddle bags
Spitfire windshield
larger fairing shield (jury is still out on that one)
Stopper license plate additional brake light
Total miles: 3,896 (May - December)
Happy New Year!
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