Category Archives: Motorcycle Ride

The Temperature Threshold

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This time of year can be frustrating. It has been cold — almost freezing — in the morning when I leave for work, yet pleasantly cool, but not cold, during the day.

As a “civic activist biker”, I advocated strongly for a bill that passed a few years ago which provides free parking for motorcycles at any Metro subway station in our county. Being cheap, and also wanting to continue to take advantage of the bill that I joined with others to fight for, I really want to continue to ride my Harley to the Metro as long as I possibly can.

But every biker has his limits. Yesterday, when the thermometer read 32°F (0°C), I wussed out. That’s an American expression for failing to participate in something due to lack of courage. Yep, I didn’t have the courage yesterday to deal with the cold. Soon enough, I will become accustomed to the cold again, but at this time of year, such temperatures still seem to be a bit of a shock to the system.

This morning, it was a little bit warmer than yesterday. Wow, a whopping 3°F increase, making the morning temp to be 35°F (1°C). I was dithering a lot as to whether to scrape the frost off my truck and crawl into it, and just pay the cost of parking it at the garage, or steeling up my courage to leather up and ride.

Well, I chose the latter. That is, I put on thick, warm socks, my Chippewa Hi-Shine Engineer boots, which are lined and comfortable (and look good with street clothes at the office), my thickest chaps (my old Mr. S Biker Chaps were the selection), and several layers on my body. Undershirt, warm dress shirt, and a vest. On top of that, I zipped up my Taylor’s Leatherwear cop jacket, which has a very warm Thinsulate lining.

I got my full-face Shoei helmet, which blocks cold better than my 3/4 SuperSeer helmet, and adjusted the vents to ensure that the face shield wouldn’t fog. Then I picked out a pair of warm motorcycle gloves.

I do not have heated gear or heated grips as some people I know have. I mean, heck, it’s only two miles to the Metro. How cold is it, really? Guys in Minnesota or Wisconsin are probably laughing like heck at this whole thing — they ride all the time when temperatures are well below freezing (and probably in shorts and sneakers, to boot). But for us in the Mid-Atlantic, these temperatures are about the low limit of our tolerance, or what I call “the temperature threshold.”

I continue to learn that the windscreen on my Road King really performs well in blocking the cold air. Having ridden a Harley for 15 years that did not have one, I was always having to bear the full brunt of wind chill. According to the National Weather Service Wind Chill Index, the temperature today on a bike without a windscreen at the speed that I ride to the Metro would feel like 12°F (-11°C). Brrrrrrrr! But today, it was almost heavenly. I felt the cold, but it wasn’t unbearable. In fact, it was almost unnoticeable.

It’s good to have the right gear for riding in temperatures like this. Heck, with what I learned this morning, I might even challenge temperatures colder than that. As long as there is not any ice or snow on the ground, I imagine perhaps I could be riding all winter. We’ll see.

(Sorry, no photos of this get-up. It’s not possible to operate the camera with thick gloves on!)

First Time for Everything

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Here I am in my (usual) tall cop boots, leather breeches, leather shirt, and leather jacket. My cousin is visiting from California. I lent him a pair of boots (obviously, he’s not accustomed to wearing them), a leather jacket, and gloves. I invited him to join me on a motorcycle ride today.

It was a great ride, though it was a bit “crisp.” The warmest it got was 55°F (13°C), but it was bright and sunny on a cloudless day. The leathers felt great, as did the boots. We enjoyed seeing the deep blue autumn skies, as well as the patchwork of reds, oranges, yellows, greens, and browns of the leaves on the trees. The swirl of fallen leaves parting around us was thrilling to watch as we leaned into curves and on the hills on the four-county trek along Maryland’s byways and back roads.

What I enjoyed most was seeing the smile on my cousin’s face. He had never ridden on a motorcycle before, and I am honored that he placed his faith in me to take him for his first ride.

Famly: what it’s all about. As I often say, I’m showing those I love that I love them.

Here was our view, below.

Leatherin’ Up and Leatherin’ Down

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While autumn is my very favorite season of the year, with the crisp, cool nights and pleasant sunny days, the weather can be quite variable. Last night, we had a series of very strong thunderstorms blow through. Nothing bad happened, but the storms ushered in cooler air.

This morning, I stepped outside to get the newspaper at oh-dark-30 and stood for a few minutes gazing at the astronomical wonders above me. It was an exceptionally clear sky with Orion and other constellations dramatically observable.

I thought, “oh good, I can ride the Harley to Metro today.” I didn’t ride it yesterday because the storms that occurred last night were predicted to happen earlier than they actually did. Better safe than sorry.

I came back inside, prepared lunch for my partner and myself and packed them up. Shortly thereafter, my partner wished me a good day, and we embraced, looked into each others eyes, and as we do every day, we sincerely say to each other, “I love you.” With a quick “ciao ciao, hai un buon giorno!” he was on his way.

I finished up a few things then got ready to go to work. I put my lunch in my briefcase along with the other stuff I have to take to work, and put it in the TourPak on the back of my Harley. I set the alarm and locked up the house. As usual, I did the quick “T-CLOCS” (tires, controls, lights, oil, chassis, sidestand) check of my bike, and everything was in good shape.

I keep my most often-worn biker leathers on a rack in the garage. I pulled out my leather biker chaps, and put them on. Then because it was cool, I put on my Motocross leather jacket. It’s nice and warm yet doesn’t get hot because it has vents I can open if I need to. I put on my helmet, adjusted my eyewear, then donned the gloves.

I mounted my trusty iron horse and backed out of the garage, then shut the door with the remote. I looked up again at the beautiful starry sky and thought about what a nice ride I’ll have on such a great “leather weather” morning. I slowly walked the bike to the end of the driveway, then started it up. I start it far away from the house so rumble-rumble Harley reverbs won’t disturb the neighbors (as much) by echoing off flat surfaces like the garage door.

As I kicked the bike into first gear, it suddenly started to rain. What? Where’d that come from? I looked up, and there wasn’t a cloud that was visible, but sure-as-heck, it was raining — and raining harder by the second! Uggghhh… it’s bad enough to ride to the Metro in the dark, and it’s never any fun to ride in the rain, but thinking about doing both caused me to reconsider my transportation decision this morning. I’m not saying that no one should ride in the rain in the dark, but since I have a safe alternative sitting right there in the driveway (my truck), why take a chance? People around here drive like crazy anyway, especially during morning and evening “rush”. They can’t see motorcycles in broad daylight, much less in the dark while it’s raining.

So with some sadness, I turned the bike around, clicked the remote to open the garage door, and drove the bike back inside. Off came the gloves, the eyewear, the helmet, the jacket, the chaps… and put them all away. Back into the house to get the keys to the truck and put the keys to the Harley away, and grab a light windbreaker instead of the leather gear. Re-secure the house, then into the truck, and off to Metro. I was a bit vindicated in that it was still raining along my route, but it had stopped soon after I got to the Metro station, and it probably won’t rain again all day. Shucks.

Oh well, “better safe than sorry.” I can ride another day. With a fairly new bike, I just really didn’t want to take chances in the dark on roads that are more slick with a light coating of rain than when they are dry or completely wet from a heavy downpour. I dread what’s coming soon — wet leaves. Yuck…. I’m already dodging rutting deer.

Life is short: wear your boots and your leathers — but be safe!

Motorcycle Cop Rodeo

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I enjoyed viewing a motorcycle cop rodeo today. The day was gorgeous; bright, sunny, and comfortable — not hot, not cool.

There were 120 officers who were competing in the event, which was a great turn-out. Cops came from all over the East Coast, but most were from Virginia. I enjoyed speaking with a number of them about a variety of things — mostly about their jobs, but we also talked about their bikes, uniforms, and boots.

I really enjoyed it.

Update, Sept. 26: Since I notice that internet searches for “Cop Rodeo” are landing on this page, I added this link for the pictures that I took (this is a link).

Coolin’ Off, Leatherin’ Up

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When I went outside to get the morning newspaper at oh-dark-thirty, it was 52°F (11°C). Man, that’s quite a drop in the morning air temperature from a few days ago.

I had already put on warmer clothes and tall, black, Chippewa Hi-Shine boots to wear today. Tall boots help keep me warmer, too, but don’t get hot inside the office and are comfortable in which to walk.

As I was getting ready to ride the Harley, I got out the good ‘ol trusty, worn and durable biker chaps and put them on. They felt good; I haven’t worn them while riding the Harley in several months, because I haven’t needed to. I still didn’t need much of a jacket; my lightweight “shirt-jacket” worked just fine. I donned a pair of lightweight gloves, and I was off. Comfy ride this morning in the brisk air.

As I was dismounting my iron horse at the Metro station, a couple of young guys who were walking by said, “nice bike, cool chaps and boots!” … and they meant it. I said thanks, and thought again to myself how fortunate I am to live in a community that accepts us as we are, and doesn’t resort to making childish, ignorant comments. I guess, also, their momma taught them well: if you don’t have something nice to say, then don’t say it; if you do, then do!

I am looking forward to leather-weather returning so I can get back in gear and enjoy the variety of leather gear that I own.

Life is short: wear your leather!

No Holiday from Life

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Just checking in with my loyal blog readers: I’m okay — just incredibly busy now that Labor Day has passed and everything has returned to its usual craziness. Here in the U.S., we had a three-day weekend.

The boss gave all of us an early release from work on Friday. I got home and found three huge boxes of papers, charts, and graphs to review which had been delivered by courier earlier in the day. These materials are related to my community leadership position. Oh great… just what I wanted… (but expected). Lots of reading to slog through sometime this weekend!

The usual dinner with my humongous family wasn’t held on Friday night, so my partner and I ate at home. We found a great and unexpected sale on Maryland blue crabs at the grocery store. Since they had already been steamed, all I had to do was re-heat them. Man, what a feast! (So I had a “double-crab” weekend! See my previous blog post.)

After dinner, while my partner was watching some blather on television, I began to organize all the stuff I need to review. Charts here, graphs there, reports on this project over there… that project over here… and to think, this is what is not available electronically! What I received in printed form was only the tip of the proverbial iceberg! Sheesh!

On Saturday, I began the day at dawn with a warm snuggle that I always enjoy with my partner. I prepared a full breakfast using farm-fresh eggs that a friend gave to me. Scrumptious!

I then took some of my elderly friends grocery shopping, as usual. While I was gone, my partner mowed most of the lawn, and when I got home, I finished mowing the hill and doing some trimming. After that, my partner and I spent most of the day building storage for some of the boots in my collection. We then settled into having a quiet evening at home and an early bedtime.

Sunday, I gave myself a break to enjoy the incredibly beautiful weather as I rode my motorcycle with friends to a crab feast near Annapolis. I had this event planned for months, and I’m glad the weather was so cooperative. That ride was nice. Especially the return ride on back roads. But instead of stopping off at the end of the ride for ice cream with the guys, I just wanted to get home. I missed my man!

When I got home, I found that my partner had not only washed, but waxed my truck. What a guy! I don’t like to do that, and seldom have time. I tell ‘ya, my man is a keeper!

I recounted the stories about the ride during a relaxing soak in the hot tub with my hunk. After, we enjoyed a nice dinner that I grilled out on the deck and then we settled in our basement to … (well, we enjoyed each other with no TV, no computer… a little leather and…).

Throughout the weekend, I was keeping a close eye on the storm affecting the U.S. Gulf Coast, and handling several telephone calls. I was put “on call” in case I had to go respond to help out. But by Monday, it looked like my services would not be needed this time. Whew… I wasn’t really prepared to be gone for weeks and weeks, but would do what I needed to do if called upon.

Monday dawned bright and beautiful. Clear skies, abundant sunshine, and unusual in a lack of humidity. I was itching to go for a ride on my Harley, or just anywhere… but life has a funny way of interfering. Someone or some thing knocked over our mailbox on Sunday night, and it had to be fixed.

After looking at what I already had on hand in my workshop, I only had to get a few corner brackets at the local building supplies retailer for less than US$3. There were so many yuppies there in shorts, sandals, and sipping coffee from non-biodegradable styrofoam cups, yapping at each other on their cell phones within the store. Cripes, that drives me kooky. Oh well, I just got what I needed, paid for it, and made a hasty exit.

With the brackets in hand, as well as materials and tools that I have in my shop, the mailbox was replaced on its stand. Beats laying out more money to hire someone to replace the thing, which most others in my neighborhood would probably do because they don’t have a clue how to fix anything themselves. My partner applied a little paint and it looks as good as new.

I also had to run over to a house that I own to replace a malfunctioning circuit breaker, but again, that didn’t take very long (and beats hiring an electrician! I am so glad I got my electrician’s license years ago!)

One of my biker buddies dropped by for a short visit. Meanwhile, those papers won’t go away. The public hearing on Tuesday night won’t be delayed.

I could not avoid it any longer, but made the best of it. I took all the stuff that I “had” to read and piled it on a little table outside. I put up my hammock, and spent the rest of the afternoon reading… and reading… and reading… and reading. I found my laptop works wirelessly out in the yard, so I was able to review the on-line content related to the paper trail. I now call my computer a “chest-top!” LOL!

Oh well, I’m better prepared and should be in a position to deal with tonight’s event, answer questions, and have developed a list of questions of my own for anticipated speakers. I missed going for a ride on my Harley, but that’s the price I pay for being involved in my community as a civic leader.

Life as a community activist has returned more quickly than I had wanted it to, but that’s how it goes. Life is short: wear your boots! (I had to throw that in!)

Maryland Crab Feast

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There is nothing, I mean nothing, like a steamed Maryland Blue Crab. Sweet and delicate, meaty and tasty, these morsels of the Chesapeake Bay have been a delight of many over the years. And, unfortunately, due to overfishing, pollution, and other problems, there are far fewer crabs available today than there were just last year.

Today I rode with friends to one of my very favorite places to get crabs (or other Bay seafood.) This restaurant is just about 35 miles east and south of us. The restaurant has a pleasant outside deck and is located on the Severn River, near Annapolis, our state capitol.

I was shocked when the server told us that one dozen large #1 male crabs cost US$70 per dozen. OMG! That’s almost $6 each! Yikes! Just a few years ago, my partner and I enjoyed an “all you can eat” crab feast for $30 each at this same restaurant. Now for that same amount of money, you get five crabs. Sheesh. Probably the last time we go out for crabs any time again… as much as I love steamed crabs, this is too much. But today, I splurged. I split a dozen crabs with a buddy. The crabs were great — meaty, firm, fresh, and quite tasty.

It takes a long time to eat one crab, from cracking the claws to squeezing the feelers (small swimming legs) to “opening the hatch” and removing the shell, discarding the gills and intestines, and get the lump meat inside. Dip it in a little butter and Old Bay seasoning, and pop it in your mouth. Yum! Part of the tradition of enjoying a crab feast is to take your time and talk with your friends. And there is a lot of time for that!

Usually one washes down the crabs with beer, but since we were on our motorcycles, we just bought pitchers of soft drinks.

It was another incredibly beautiful day in Maryland. Warm but not hot, sunny, and unusually low humidity. What a great day!

Summer’s End

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That is not me in the photo above, but it expresses how I am feeling. A bit of melancholy as my Harley and I face the sunset of a pleasant summer of 2008. August hasn’t ended yet, but by the looks of the volume of materials to review for upcoming meetings and public hearings and on and on, my summer recess is over!

I remember as a kid that I thought it was cruel and unusual punishment for school to continue through the third week of June in Maryland. It already had been warm since April and the days were longer. Last place I wanted to be was in an school with no air conditioning in the middle of June!

Almost as soon as school ended, Mom and Dad would pack all of us into (two) cars (there were a lot of us kids) and take us to see our country — north, south, east, west, and everywhere in between. We would be on the road for about six to seven weeks, staying in each destination for a few days, see the sights, the State Capitol, caves, mountains, rivers, oceans, and much more. I really loved those summers. Especially the trip where each parent thought the other had my sister (the one who drove me craziest) in the other’s car. They inadvertently left her in the bathroom at a gas station in the middle of Nebraska. Rats! They figured it out and Dad went back to get her.

As an adult, my summer really doesn’t begin until after Independence Day (July 4), as my volunteer life consumes me even longer than school days did. Then I get through my company’s mid-July week-long conference. After that, I’m home free. While I still go to work, things aren’t rushed or crazy. Washington typically “evacuates” during this period. There is much less traffic on the road, fewer passengers riding the subway, and it’s just easier to get around. If I ate out at lunch (which I don’t), I’ve been told it’s much easier to get a table at a restaurant.

I took my ideal vacation last week — a “staycation” where I took a week off work and stayed HOME! While I did a number of things for my family and worked a bit on the house, I also allowed myself some “playtime” and you saw some of the results in blog posts from last week.

Well, it’s all about to come crashing to a halt. E-mail related to my volunteer activities has been flowing in very fast. Papers, reports, maps, charts, graphics… lots of “stuff”… have been flowing to me for review. Most of it is on-line now (saving millions of trees). Nonetheless, if I learned anything from my political mentor, it was to read everything and then read it again. That’s how I get on top of my game. But man oh man oh man, that takes a lot of time.

And on top of that, my partner has been complaining about my boot collection becoming too cumbersome for him to deal with. Drat, he tripped over one pair of boots and now the world will end. So instead of playing, riding my Harley, and relaxing this weekend, he has an agenda for construction of some utility storage for my boots. And he won’t rest and stop harping on it until it’s done.

Well, the “Labor Day” weekend will involve more “labor” than “weekend”. I have carved out a small period of time to go on a motorcycle ride to a crab feast on Sunday. But that’s it. And come next week, watch out! The routine will have returned with a vengeance. Wish me peace!

Improving the Harley’s Comfort

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I have ridden my new Road King over 2,000 miles since I got it at the end of May. During that time, I have found that my back ached after riding, even for fairly short distances, and especially after a long ride. I was having to hunch over and lean forward when I rode with the stock handlebars. My wrists ached also, and my hands went numb due to the position my hands were in on the stock bars. The residual soreness in my back and my wrists lasted for days. Aspirin was becoming my “best friend.”

Working closely with the outstanding Parts Manager at my local Harley dealer, he measured my reach, height, and looked carefully at my body position on the bike. Using those measurements, he found some bars in an after-market catalog that he thought might be better. He placed the order for me. When the bars came in, he had the service department clamp them onto my bike so he could make sure the bars were right for me. They seemed to fit well. But the Service Manager at my Harley dealer said they wouldn’t install the bars because the bars were not made by the Motor Company. (Grumble, grumble… but the service dept. at my Harley dealer is known to be rather poor, anyway.) Moving on, the Parts Manager went with me to a custom motorcycle shop up the street to introduce me to them, and to discuss how to make these bars work with the “fly-by-wire” electronic throttle.

The new bars have a 1″ (2.5cm) higher “rise” and a 3-1/2″ (8.9cm) longer pull-back. I picked up the bike yesterday after the installation was complete, and rode 80 miles. I led a ride today and rode about another 80 miles. Tonight, I have a huge smile on my face because I am not sore in the least bit! I knew the fit could be made better. I now sit up straight with my arms slightly bent. My wrist angle is perfect, too. No soreness or numbness. Terrific!

You also see me in this pic with yet another new helmet. It was made by Seer, which is the helmet worn by CHP officers. It was painted to match the color of my Harley. It is a 3/4 helmet, giving me an open face, but full protection around my head. Worn with protective eyewear, this helmet works great, especially on hot days. It is cooler than a full-face helmet, which I will wear when it is colder.

I’m a happy Booted Harleydude, and much more comfortable on my bike while riding, due to the new bars, new helmet, and am always really comfortable in my Chippewa Firefighter Boots.

Life is short! Wear your boots! (and be comfortable, too!)

Crossing The Bridge

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Day One of my “Staycation” found me fulfilling a promise to someone who I befriended 25 years ago but with whom I had lost touch until she Googled my name and contacted me a few months ago. She and I had become friends at an organization where she worked and where I “cut my volunteer teeth.” We became close, but then as I got busy with a job that took me traveling around the world, and she changed jobs so I didn’t see her at the place where I had been volunteering, we drifted apart.

That’s how things go in life — you meet people, form a bond, have fun, but then as life changes, you promise to keep in touch but, alas, sometimes that doesn’t happen. Of course it’s easier today with email, but still you have to put effort into it.

She lives about 90 miles (145km) East of me, on the other side of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Bridge. This bridge is huge — when the first two-lane bridge opened in 1952, it was the world’s longest steel structure at 4.3 miles (6.9km). It still serves as the only major overwater connection between the two halves of Maryland, my home state, which is divided by the Chesapeake Bay. A second parallel bridge opened in 1973 and has three lanes.

Usually the “old” two-lane bridge has east-bound traffic, and the “new” three-lane bridge has west-bound traffic. Today, however, authorities had closed one lane of the two-lane bridge, so they reversed one lane of the other bridge to go east-bound as well. And that’s the lane that you get routed to if you use an electronic toll device, called “Easypass,” which I have — attached right to the front of my Harley.

It was kinda spooky to be riding my bike in one lane with two lanes of oncoming traffic immediately to my left on this large bridge. The maximum height is 186 feet (57m), which if one has a fear of heights, can be daunting. (Fortunately, as a skydiver, heights don’t really bother me — it’s the landing LOL!). As long as you look forward and where you’re going, you don’t really see that all there is below you is water.

I found my way to my friend’s business. She operates a little café in a small, rural town among corn fields and farms. She fed me lunch, we caught up about our lives, how they have changed, what we’re doing, our past dreams and current realities. I suspect we’ll be in regular communication again, as I will be doing a website for her cafe to give her business an internet presence.

A very pleasant day and a good ride. Nice weather, light traffic, warm sunshine, but most of all, the rekindling of a friendship.

Life is short: Enjoy! Oh — wear your boots! I did. (Though I can’t say the gang of retired cops I bumped into at a gas station in Stevensville were booted. It was very disheartening to see retired cops riding big motorcycles with a full-face helmet, shorts, and sneakers. Uggghhhh… just stupidity. Oh well, I don’t ride with them; it’s their skin they’ll lose when someone hits them. And of all people, they ought to know better!)