Yay!

Rode to work yesterday and today! Supposed to snow tomorrow or Friday.

Grrrr... grumpy me

So, the story in the previous post just got worse and worse and began my downward spiral into grumpiness.

The good news is there is absolutely nothing wrong with the bike. The bad news is my memory is worse than I thought and ain't getting any better. After determining that my gas tank was actually empty, I thought, ok, I was just distracted by the extra miles and forgot to fill up on the way back home. But then, I found a receipt proving that I did fill up that day. So, we wondered what could it be. I posted on the Rebel board looking for advice which was promptly given. (I am so glad I have them!) Obviously my gas tank was empty so what could have happened? What indeed.....

What happened was, I rode more after filling up. And I forgot all about it. I filled up, proved by the receipt, on 1/19. I'd forgotten about my ride to Boulder to play hooky from work to watch the inauguration on the 20th. I rode quite a bit that day. But, it must have slipped my mind. Anyway, bike problem solved.

Lately I've been quite grumpy after driving my cage to work everyday. I find myself swearing at other drivers (which is normal really) but it puts me in a not so happy mood after arriving at my destination (work or home). Sigh. I need some warm weather so I can get some good vibes and good miles on the moto! It has been warm and sunny but really windy too. Really windy. Too windy to ride. For me anyway. Grrr. Maybe Sunday I can get a good ride in.

Carb Ice? Bad gas? Filter issue? (edit with update)

Took the bike out and headed to work this morning. I got about 4 or 5 miles away from home and the bike died. Ugh. That's how I felt too. It was acting as if it were out of gas even though I know I have a full tank. It was very weird. The bike started up as usual without any trouble on the third try. Had the choke on the usual amount of time for me which is when it starts to rev really high. The warm up begins when I walk out to the bike. I start it up and let it run with the choke all the way open. While it warms up, I put my duffel bag on the back, my earplugs in, my helmet on, my glasses on, my jacket on, and my glove liners and gloves on. During the gearing up, I usually have to close the choke but it continues to run and warm up. Then I close the garage and hop on, put it in gear and slowly roll down the driveway. This morning, as I was leaving the driveway, it bucked a bit as if it was losing power or running out of gas. But, as soon as I hit the street and rolled on the throttle it was all good. I double checked the petcock to make sure it was on and it was. I figured it was just cold, even though it had never done that before and it really wasn't cold because I'd warmed it up. The temperature this morning was in the 40s. I could see my breath but it wasn't at all unbearable. Just a regular cold morning. I've ridden in colder although not this season.

So, then about 4 or 5 miles later, the bike really loses power and I think, that's weird. I had the throttle open but it wasn't going anywhere and wasn't even sounding like it was trying. But the bike was still running so I thought maybe it would pass. (I don't know what I mean by that!) But, then I'm going to slow for traffic and figure I need to pull over. As I pulled in the clutch to pull over, it died right away. Just like I'd run out of gas. Crap! That's what I thought. I am out of traffic more or less, in the fairly wide bike lane. It isn't as wide as a shoulder but there is little traffic here and I'm clearly visible so I get off and take off my helmet to think about it. Nothing is leaking. Nothing fell off. The lights are on so the battery is ok. Checked the petcock again and it is still on. Shake the bike - full tank. I tried to start it and it made the out of gas noise. So, I call hubby. While I'm talking to him, telling him what's going on and where I am, I decide to switch to reserve and try to start it. He kept saying it sounded like I wasn't getting gas too. Flip to reserve, hit the button, and it starts up. It idles just fine. Weird. But, hubby says I shouldn't drive it to work so I head home and get the car.

Later he finds this article about carb icing. That sounds like it to me. Weird. The conditions didn't seem any different or cold or anything to cause ice but what do I know. The garage is pretty cold and we've had huge swings in the temperature. Maybe there was condensation on the bike. Could very well be. I hope that is what happened because that means nothing is wrong with the bike. It didn't feel or sound like anything was different or wrong aside from, you know, the dying part. :-) One thing I noticed, when I started it up and getting back on it to head back home, there was a whistling noise. That was different. I'll have to remember to tell hubby about that bit.

So, I didn't get a good ride in today after all. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice and even warmer!

Edit:
So, nothing is wrong with the bike. I need to take some ginko. Even though I thought I'd filled up my tank at the end of the last ride. Apparently, I did not. So, I'll be riding tomorrow and going straight to the gas station. I should google which is closest. D'oh!

2009 Riding Goals, cont.

One idea for a trip hubby and I are batting around is to visit his folks who live near Albuquerque. That is an 8 hour drive so if we took a full week off to take our time getting there, have time to visit and also have time to ride, that would be really fun. His father rides a Harley Fatboy. That would be really fun to ride with him and even more fun if his sister and brother in law went with us. I should send them an email to put the bug in their ear.

This morning I thought a trip to Telluride, CO could be fun too. It is really pretty there and a good destination town.

2009 Riding Goals

I like creating goals for myself. It gives me something to plan for and look forward to and also helps keep those plans fresh in my mind if I think of them often enough or write them down. The memory just ain't what it used to be. Now that it is nearly February, I'm starting to think of what goals I want to set for myself this season. Last year was a mountain pass, which was unsuccessful. So, that is still on the list. I want to do the same ride we attempted last year through Rocky Mountain National Park. This time we should attempt it earlier in the season and earlier in the day. And we can make the loop from Estes Park, over Trail Ridge Road (one pass) to Grand Lake, down to Granby, over Berthoud Pass (#2) on Hwy 40, to Hwy 6 back home. After the attempt into Rocky last time, hubby mentioned this plan might be better so we don't backtrack and can cover more ground. I like it.

Other goals? I'm still working on them. Probably something to do with the parts bike. I should start that process before the season starts up again. Perhaps after football season is officially over on Sunday. :-) We bought a small lift table so I'd at least like to get one of the engines out of one of the frames so I can start working on it. I think we decided to go with the 86 parts bike first because we don't know if that engine runs and it already has the carbs and most other parts already off of it. That bike is titled too so it will be the runner eventually.

I'd also like to do an overnight longish trip this season. Not sure where or when yet. I'll have to work on that idea a bit. Maybe camping, maybe not. I'm open to suggestions.

Inconspicuous rider

On the way home tonight, I was behind this guy on, I think, a dirt bike who was nearly invisible. So, I took some video of him. Coincidentally, I was listening to the Long Way Down soundtrack and I don't know how to turn off the audio on my camera so, there is some nicely timed music in the background.



I have never seen video of myself on the bike at night but folks have told me I am very reflecty and clearly seen. I've got an extra brake light, light colored reflective clothing, white helmet, and lots of reflective stickers on my helmet, saddle bags, and the bike. Some day I'll have hubby film me so I can see myself.

Motorcycle Parking pass

So, I bought a 3 month parking pass for my car since it is January and because the two snowiest months in Colorado are March and February. I thought it might be a good idea to just cough up the cash (or plastic) and not have to worry about parking off campus for the next few months. (I should be riding the bus, but whatever.) Anyway, of course, secretly my plan was to jinx the weather and have some good riding days. It worked! I rode the past two days (when temps were in the 70s) and even on the MLK holiday with hubby. (Yay!) It is supposed to snow by Friday and go back to normal temps in the 40s. So because I rode to work, I had to park on campus so I ended up buying a motorcycle parking pass earlier than planned. It expires in August. It isn't any cheaper to buy more months, the monthly price is the same. But the thing that rubs me the wrong way is now I have shelled out lots of cash (or plastic) to park two different vehicles. With the car, I have the option to buy a day pass or week pass or by the month or however many multiple months I want. With the moto it is not as varied. My options are basically three months or 6 months or the whole year. That's it. I can't ride every now and then because I can't park without a sticker. Now, if I was paying to park my car through the whole year, and they were making automatic deductions from my bank account for it, I could get a free moto parking pass. But, that doesn't help me. I don't drive often enough during moto season to feel inclined to spend the $40 per month. Especially when the moto is only $14 per month (although I think it goes up a dollar or so every July).

But, now I've got the moto pass so I can take advantage of the warm days as they come. And I should really just ride the bus on other days anyway. I'm just too lazy to do it.