Sep 29, 2009

32500…

took the bike in for the 32,500 mile service this morning. ‘twas a brisk but good ride. nice to be out in the morning, riding in the cool air. something about riding this time of year just seems so refreshing – even if it is in rush-hour traffic.

i was going to wait for my bike to be serviced. upon further thinking i decided to drop it off. mainly for two reasons:

  1. they’ll wash it – and it desperately needs washed. with what little riding i’ve been able to get in this year, i’ve done even less washing!! i figure they’ll get the bulk of the dirt and grime off the bike, leaving detailing to me. works for me.
  2. i get a rental. what else can i say?? a chance to ride another bike.

this time i was hooked up with an ‘09 road king. nice ride. too bad i had work today else i may have been out all day riding. i did manage to have an errand to run at lunch, so i did get to take it out a little.

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Sep 23, 2009

no longer riding…

as a result of the bikesafe nc assessment i talked about in my previous post, i no longer ride my bike…

i now drive my bike.

before i go further, let me talk about the day… the morning started off with an introduction to the bikesafe program. then led into risk taking, risk awareness and risk mitigation. we’re told what we’re going to learn that day isn’t necessarily the right way or the only way to drive, but are tools and techniques to make us safer on the road.

as i recall, sgt. mark brown made the comment that the bikesafe program in london has seen a twenty-five percent drop in motorcycle fatalities as a result of their bikesafe program. i commented that it’s amazing realize that what we learn in an afternoon can decrease our chances of a fatal crash by twenty-five percent.

after the morning classroom session, we given a route to drive. a police officer follows, making assessments of our driving behavior. after the drive, we’re given our assessments.

generally, everyone eats lunch at the highway patrol cafeteria. as sgt. mark brown likes to point out, it’s “fish on fridays!!!” this is a great opportunity to chat more with the officers.

the afternoon starts with an introduction to “the system.”  so much information is presented, i could probably take it again and learn just as much. we’re taught about controlling the bike better, reading the road, strategies to make us safer on the road.

after the discussion, back out to the road for an afternoon assessment. the afternoon assessment takes us out for a longer ride, covering a lot of different driving scenarios – two lane roads, highways, heavily congested areas, etc. the idea is to put into practice what we learned earlier.

looking back on the say, i can easily say this was well worth the time; a must-have for everyone. it’s amazing how small things can make a big difference. i’ve put into practice some of the things i’ve learned and driving is so much more enjoyable. if you have a chance, take it.

below are some take-aways from the day – definitely not an exhaustive list:

  • driving a bike is a matter of attitude. people like mat mladin, valentino rossi, nicky hayden don’t ride their bikes around the track – they drive them. while we might not be out on the road to win a race, we should still have the right attitude when we’re out there. i now choose to drive my bike…
  • drive with a purpose. as sgt. mark brown says, “the purpose of riding is to get from point a to point b without damage to machine or injury to human.” when you think about it, when we make that happen, the drive between is so enjoyable.
  • always, always always have an escape route. always know where you’re going to go if or when you have to bail. this isn’t something you have the luxury of thinking about when the knucklehead behind you locks up their tires.
  • use your mirrors – check all around you all the time. i thought i did a good job of checking my mirrors. not as good as i could have been doing… now i focus on identifying the color, make and model of the car behind me. i’ll also try to identify if it’s a male or female driver and any other identifying factors – just in case said knucklehead decides to occupy the same space i’m currently using.
  • read the road signs. not only the ones posted by dot. it’s amazing how much the terrain can tell you if you know what to look for.

of course there was a lot more that i can’t think of right now… it’ll come back to me when i’m out driving…

in closing, i need to thank sgt. mark brown for his dedication and effort in bringing the bikesafe program to north carolina. if you ever meet him, you’ll quickly know he’s got a passion for motorcycling. he’s a pretty funny guy too.

thanks to all the police officers to help make the program successful. the officers come from different departments. we had state troopers, raleigh police, cary police and apex police. a lot of these officers do this on their day off. and they don’t get paid for this. because they believe in the program and believe it’s the right thing to do. after doing this during the day, some of the guys have to work at night.

a special thanks to trooper adams for sharing his knowledge with me during the day. i can only hope, and have no reason to believe otherwise, the other officers were as good as trooper adams.

if you get a chance, sign up for bikesafe. if the above isn’t enough, think about how cool it is to be blasting down the highway with a trooper behind you – without his lights on!!!

Jul 16, 2009

bikesafe – nc…

BikeSafe - NC

looking forward to tomorrow… going to participate in bikesafe – nc, a program to assess my skills and offer advice on improving… well, probably not so much designed to assess and improve my skills as much as reduce the number of motorcycle fatalities on the highways and make riding safer and more enjoyable.

the program was modeled after the bikesafe – london program. apparently the program in london has been very successful. and the program here in nc is showing the same promise.

as i understand it, there are two classroom sessions followed, each followed by a riding session, with feedback after the riding. i figure motorcycling is a something that should be continually practiced. so this should be an excellent opportunity to learn a more about what i can do to improve.

Jul 12, 2009

easyriders rodeo…

took a ride out to the easyriders rodeo in wilson yesterday… blasting down the highway, enjoying the solitude, thinking about how nice it was to be out riding… even thought about passing up the rodeo just to keep riding. it did cross my mind that if i had the paperwork, i might have turned this into an attempt at the ss1000. probably a good thing i didn’t!!!

i arrived and headed toward the ticket booth. with the variety of bikes in the parking lot, i’m thinking the bike show should have been outside!! DSC_3272 DSC_3273 DSC_3275 DSC_3277 DSC_3279 DSC_3280 DSC_3353 DSC_3351 DSC_3281 DSC_3282

i finally make my way inside and head over to the bike show to kill some time before the rodeo events start… while i appreciate all the effort that goes into customizing a bike, i definitely prefer the old bikes and rat bikes over custom, raked out and chromed bikes. DSC_3284 DSC_3287 DSC_3288 DSC_3290 DSC_3292 DSC_3304 DSC_3305 DSC_3346

this ‘63 triumph was probably my favorite – wish i had some extra cash laying around!!!DSC_3349DSC_3350

rodeo events…DSC_3301 DSC_3299 DSC_3300DSC_3308 DSC_3310

they even had a powderpuff round…

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and definitely the most interesting part of the day… i’m walking around the track get to the bleachers on the other side. as i pass a guy on his bike with a chick on the back, he asks if i take pictures. i answer yes, thinking to myself, that’s why i’m carrying this camera around. he asks if i’ll take a picture of his girl. of course!!! as i back up to get them in the picture, he adds, “because she’s always wanted to get into a magazine.” hmmmm… so i take a couple pictures and make some idle chit-chat asking if he’s entering the rodeo.

as i start to walk away, he grabs my arm and asks, “which magazine is she going to be in?” uh, ohhhh… i come clean, tell him that i wish i was good enough to take pictures for a mag, but usually post them on my blog. he seemed to think that was still cool. i told him what to search for, so hopefully he’ll find it. i can’t really blame him if he doesn’t. i couldn’t even remember his name after i got around the end of the track. i’ll call him rebel.

anyway, here are the pics i promised. rebel, if you actually find this, leave me a comment. would love to hear from you…

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until next year… when maybe i can talk my wife into camping…