Sun… er… Saturday group ride
Today we had an out of town visitor who was up from Miami. So in his honor, we had a little group ride and lunch today.
Since he was staying in Fernandina, we did the ever-popular north run via Heckscher. It was a phenomenal day — one of those days that reminds us just why we live in Florida. Sunny, clear, 74 degrees…. Just an amazing day. And were it not for a truck towing a large boat in front of us for a great deal of the ride (cruising along at a whopping 37 mph), it would’ve been an even more fun ride! But slow traffic aside, we had a great time.
Lunch at The Surf was, as always, great, and the view is hard to beat. Following lunch, we stopped in to visit a friend at Nassau Powersports and then headed home.
Miles Ridden: 85
Doc’s 5th Annual New Year’s Day Ride
So to ring in the new year, it was time for the 5th annual Doc’s New Year’s Day Ride.
This is a huge group ride, posted on at least 3 local riding forums, and draws quite a large and diverse crowd. We converged on Larry’s Giant Subs around 11:00 a.m., and with a motley crew of about 50 bikes (and a handful of passengers), we headed north.
Our route took us north into Fernandina and then into Yulee. I’ve been nursing a pinched nerve or something in my neck however, and at this stopping point, we split off and headed home.
It was a great group — for so many people and such varied riding styles, it was really sane and fun. But pain ruled, so we had to cut the day short.
Miles Ridden: 93
Making up for lost time….
Ahhhhhhh…. so nice to get some good quality seat time in today, after a few weeks of no riding.
As mentioned yesterday, today was a big group ride… 20 of us to be exact. Sunny skies, 80 degrees, a soft breeze, and 1000cc’s between my legs. Yeah, not a bad way to spend the day.
We met at the appointed spot, and to my surprise, most everyone who said they were coming out today actually DID (so often people wuss out at the last minute, having slept in or whatever). The enthusiasm in the air was palpable.
We headed south on 13 (a typical route), and then to 207 into Palatka (again, a route we travel often — the scenery along the St. John’s River is just amazing, dappled sunlight shining on the pavement before us). Following a stop for lunch in Palatka, we headed south and west into Hastings and beyond (in truth, I don’t know exactly where we were). It was this leg of the trip where we really got to get out and enjoy the ride… sweeping turns, dips and hills, thick forest dotted with open farmland, and very little traffic between us and the horizon. Simply perfect.
We paused once more in Hastings for a bottled water and some fuel, then headed out some more 2-lane deserted roads before reconvening at a friend’s house (to meet their new puppy). A spirited ride home found us tired, but grinning from ear to ear.
I got to test-ride the new Tech Spec tank grips for the first time today. For the first few miles, I found them a bit odd, and I felt I needed to make a more concerted effort to move my feet/legs in order to shift and brake. But once I got used to this, I realized I felt so much more connected to the bike (literally) in cornering and stopping – just gently gripping the tank with my knees, and I felt very stable and in control. Definitely a wise investment.
The odometer reading for today is in question – our ride leader indicates he showed 222 miles; my reading showed about 196 (so I’ll just go with that).
Miles Ridden: 196
Middleburg Christmas Parade 2008
Last night, Scarlet made her parade debut. Beatiful as she is, no, she was not the parade queen. Not even a princess. However, we did ride with a local ABATE chapter in the 2008 Middleburg Christmas Parade. The group rode in the parade in order to encourage awareness of motorcycles on the road, and since ABATE has traditionally been a very cruiser-oriented group, they’re trying to encourage more sportbike riders to join as well (hence our appearance — with some friends — in the parade).
For me, this whole parade was just a blast. I’ve never lived in a small town like Middleburg that actually reroutes traffic to have a little hometown celebration of this nature. There were several local schools with cheerleaders and drill teams, Shriners, Church organizations, horses, dogs, classic cars and more. Most of the “floats” were actually car/motorcycle trailers decorated almost like life-size dioramas, with lights, tinsel, trees and music. There were Nativity scenes, Snoopy’s doghouse, Santa and elves, outhouses… and lots of blinky lights!
The parade route was only a mile long, but the families (particularly children!) came out in droves. The kids were by far the most fun part of the whole experience. It seems most kids, regardless of age or gender, love motorcycles. And they love them even more when you rev it up for them on command. They’d squeal and clap when we revved it up for them (and then inevitably, a few would ask us to pop a wheelie for them, which we just couldn’t do under the circumstances).
While there were a few other women riding passenger in the group, Brenda and I were the only female riders, which many of the kids seemed to notice. At one point, two women standing with a group of little girls noticed, shouting “It’s a girl! LOOK! They’re GIRLS!” and then proceeded to scream and cheer, like we were some sort of celebrity or something!! Admittedly, that was kind of cool, because you hope that the underlying message they were trying to send to their little girls was “See, you can do that too!”
Following the parade, we reconvened with the rest of the group, then headed out to grab some dinner. It was exceptionally cold and windy, and no amount of layers seemed to keep the cold out, but it was still a great experience, one we hope to participate in again next year.
Miles Ridden: 102
Toys for Tots Ride
Well it was a chilly morning, but I ventured out this morning to participate in a ride for Toys for Tots, sponsored by a local dealership (North Jax Motorsports). This was a combined effort of three dealerships (under the same parent company) doing three rides from three locations, culminating in a meet at the Conch House in St. Augustine.
It was a balmy (hah) and breezy 42 degrees when I left home, and by the time I reached the meeting spot (a mere 15 miles from home), I was already frozen to the core. Upom arrival, I was a little disappointed to see only 3 or 4 bikes, however before we left, we had about 17 in total.
The ride route was a familiar, yet favorite of mine, snaking down US17, across the Shands Bridge to 13, continuing south along the river and into St. Augustine. All told, it was just over 90 miles, and while cold, it was gorgeous.
The ride was, for the most part, without incident. We did have one rider (an older gentleman on a cruiser, whom we later found out, has only been riding for about a month). He apparently had no clue what staggered formation was, or how to ride in a group, which made his maneuvers unpredictable, to say the least. Still, once we realized he was somewhat of a less-than-skilled rider, we simply gave him a wide berth, and kept a relaxed pace.
Once at the Conch House, I was thrilled to see well over a hundred bikes, and even happier to see how many sportbikes were in attendance (since charity rides of this nature are typically attended more heavily by cruiser riders).
Lunch was delicious, conversation with friends was, as always, fun, and it just made for a nice, relaxing day. The ride home was quick (and cold), just a straight shot up US1.
Kudos to the sportbike community for making such a great turnout for this event.
Miles Ridden: 144
A bit moist….
After a rather frigid week, I was jonesin to ride to work yesterday (besides, being Friday, I could get away with wearing jeans all day, and didn’t have to bother with bringing a change of clothes to work!).
It was in the upper 40′s, so I decided to test ride my new Turtle Fur neck tube thingie. It’s not really a balaclava, as it doesn’t cover the head, but rather it’s a tube (made of super soft, fuzzy, fleecy material) you slip over your head to cover your neck; it blocks the wind from going into the collar of your jacket, and can also be pulled up and over the chin to keep cold air out of your helmet.
Well, truth be told, the Turtle Fur ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. While it is super warm, and did block wind, it’s bulky, and when you combine the helmet, my hair in a braid, the top of the armour in my jacket, and THEN the bunched up Turtle Fur, it made for a rather uncomfortable ride to work. I dunno… I like it, but it may need some ‘mods’ to be useful for me.
Aside from that, the ride in to work was lovely… clear, sunny, and beautiful. The Ospreys have been out in full force all week — there were at least 4 (all appeared to have tasty morsels clasped in their talons) sitting atop the light posts on my way in.
The afternoon ride home, however, didn’t prove to be as lovely. It had been drizzling all day, so my bike was soaked when I got out to leave (few things are as unpleasant as straddling a cold, wet vinyl seat — except the resultant wet JEANS). The rain got a bit harder on the way home (still just a light rain, but enough to be a bit annoying), and then I hit bumper to bumper traffic for the last 2 miles home. Still, I’ve ridden in worse weather before, and I’m sure I will again.
Miles Ridden: 25
Night Swimming….
(…because Night Riding just sounded too corny).
As I’ve mentioned before, since getting the R1, I’ve rediscovered the joy of night riding. Last night we did another short little jaunt, once again down US1 and 210 into Nocatee and Ponte Vedra, stopping in Jacksonville Beach for dinner. It was just four of us, which makes for a nice relaxed and stress-free ride.
I’m finding that I’m getting more comfortable with the bike. I’m starting to second-guess myself a bit less in the turns, and trying to improve my lean angle and speed through them. It’s 50-50, really…. half the time, I kinda get nervous and slow way down, and the other half of the time I just GO for it, and come out grinning, squealing “OH, that was fun! Can we do it again?” As long as I can increase the squeal to chickening-out ratio, I’ll be alright. I still feel like a completely newbie rider though… *sigh*
Miles Ridden: 62
Getting back into the groove
After yesterday’s ride, and second guessing myself in some of the turns (especially right-handers), I told my husband I really wanted to get out and do some riding just with him, or just a couple of friends. I need to spend some time in the seat, pushing myself a bit harder, without having to worry about who’s behind me or what else is going on in a large group. I noticed that when it’s just he and I riding, or just us and one other rider, I’m FINE, and my confidence is much higher. With another beautiful day forecasted, we called a friend to meet up with us, and head out on a familiar ride route that snakes along the river, and has some very nice sweeping turns.
We headed out, going south on US 1 into St. Augustine, and then inland toward an area called Molasses Junction. Years ago, it was a very popular ride route, as there are some nice sweepers, as well as LONG straightaways wtih almost no traffic, where you can really open it up and get some speed up. However, in the last few years, there’s been both road construction and land development, which have put a bit of a damper on the fun factor. Still, it’s a nice ride, so we went for it.
I discussed some of my concerns, and areas where I felt I needed to improve, with both my husband and our friend, who gave me some pointers on body positioning. Though I really had to concentrate hard to put these into practice, I found that when I did, my cornering got much better, and I didn’t feel as apprehensive about it. It’s still going to take a lot more practice (especially with an impending trip to Deal’s Gap coming up in the springtime), but I feel like I made some progress. I definitely want to ride that route again more often, as it has a lot of both right- and left-handers so I can get some good practice with both.
Miles Ridden: 120
A funny thing happened on our group ride today: A cautionary tale
So we had a nice group ride planned today. Posted it (as usual) on the local board. Went to the appointed meet spot, where a few people were already waiting. Noticed a new face/bike in the crowd… asked around, no one knew him. Seemed… .well… a bit sketchy, but (I think it was the Italian Pimp Shoes, and the ticky-tacky paint job, but I digress).
I asked him how he learned about the ride. He said he was at Cycle Gear, and someone mentioned to him there was a group of people meeting for a ride, and told him when/where to go. Hmm, okay… well, we’ll give him a chance. We’re cautious, but not total snobs.
We have a pre-ride meeting, go over hand signals, staggered riding formation, etc… (we had a couple other new faces with us today, some friends of friends kinda thing). We capped off the pre-ride meeting with “In short, just don’t ride like an asshole, ok?”
We head out, on a big 4 lane divided parkway, and just in the first couple of miles, Mr. Pimp Shoes is… well.. riding like an asshole. A MAJOR asshole. Just completely unsafe, and no regard for anyone else around him. I’m way back in the herd (near a friend) and we’re both shaking our heads goin’ “Uh uh….” I’ve already got it in my head I’m going to tell this guy to head out, that he can’t ride with us (something we’ve never, ever done before on a group ride). But then lo and behold, we come to an intersection, and he darts out of the group, cuts off some traffic and leaves. YAYYYYYYYYY!!! (we literally clapped in excitement).
We head up the highway a bit, then stop to meet up with another group of friends for the ride. As we’re standing there, telling our friends about this asshat that we ‘lost,’ here he comes, zipping into the gas station. Oh no, no fucking way. We discuss it briefly, and decide we’re just going to tell him I’m sorry, you can’t ride with us.
I volunteer to be the asshole (it’s a role I play quite well), and I go tell him just that — Hey, we’ve decided as a group that you can’t ride with us, you’re unsafe, and you’re a danger to the whole group. He starts to say something about his two other friends (both in Italian Pimp Shoes as well) that have come to meet him, but I stopped him and just said “There’s no buts… you’re not riding with us. Thank you.” And I walked away.
I kinda felt like a major bitch, for about 2 minutes, until he and his friends SCREAMED outta the gas station (Asshat #1 literally coming within inches of hitting a car head on), revving up their bikes, and making a scene as they left. It was almost like a little temper tantrum on two wheels.
About 10 minutes later, we head out and get on the road. We’re on a 2 lane road, surrounded largely by water, with some gentle sweeping curves, but nothing super sharp or technical. We’re in a straightaway, and we see two bikes parked in the grass on the right hand side… and the shoulder is littered with pieces of red plastic. Hmm.. .then on the left we see the three guys walking along the opposite shoulder, and Asshat #1′s bike parked (front end completely a mess) in the grass. No other vehicles were around, but the rider was up and walking around, seemingly unhurt.
Around the next bend, we get stopped for a drawbridge, so we all park. Everyone was kinda shaking their heads, laughing at the irony of it (thinking this guy probably went spouting off to his friends “These guys say I’m unsafe… they won’t let me ride with them. Dude, I’m not unsafe!!”… and then this happens). One friend came and gave me a high five and said “Hey, thanks for saving my life.”
All I can say is, I’m glad we made the decision to not allow him to ride with us, because with the size of group we had today, the end result could have been much worse if he continued to ride like an asshole, and caused other riders to go down as well.
Post-Tryptophane Ride
With my husband coaching at the range about two weekends per month, and then the weekends he’s off typically being packed with errands and things we need to do (including relaxation and sleeping in), we decided to take advantage of it, and get as much riding in as possible. And we sceduled a group ride with the local riding forum for today.
The forecast was a bit iffy when we left home — some 60% chance of rain, and some fairly strong winds, but the sun was shining, so we bit the bullet and headed out. Lucky for us, the forecasters were wrong, and the weather held out.
We had about 18 riders, a few of whom were new to riding with us (there’ll be a follow up post on this later on). Two of the newer riders stuck with us for the ride, and proved to be a great addition to the group. We rode up A1A into Fernandina, stopped for lunch, and then rode to visit a friend at work in Yulee (at a motorcycle dealership). From there, part of the group continued riding into Callahan, but we had some things to do at home, so we cut the ride short.
While we didn’t get as many miles in as we’d have liked to, it was just one of those days where everything (well, most everything) went right. The weather was beautiful, the group of riders was fun, and conversation over lunch was hysterically funny. Just all in all, a great day with a great group of people.
Scarlet and I are also getting better acquainted. I made the comment to my husband the other day, however, that I feel like a brand new rider starting out all over again. The bike is so different, and so much more capable than my previous bike, that I’m constantly having to push myself to challenge myself further. It’s simultaenously exciting and frustrating (as I find myself second guessing myself at times, like in turns), but I’m enjoying every moment of it.
Miles Ridden: 93
