Rebel Sightings

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T10:32:00.000-08:00

Although my Christmas list contained several items, I really only wanted two. I wanted one of the Sims3 expansion packs and a new set of ears. I bought a bunch of ears a while ago and stuck them all to the inside of my entertainment cabinet and I have gone through the entire set.

And Santa brought me both!

Christmas Eve found me on the way to my brother's house in the next town over. My extended family was meeting there, and the Rebel makes it easier on parking space.

I was rewarded on the way over with cold but decent weather and seeing three motorcyclists out for a ride.

There is a buzz going on one of the email lists that I subscribe to. The list is about Rebel Riders, and the buzz is about the demise of the Rebel.

Someone pointed out that the new Rebel is not on Honda's webpage and it was suggested that Honda is discontinuing the Rebel.

Well, the discussion is still ongoing, but the general consensus is that it is simply an off year and rumors of the Rebel's demise are greatly exaggerated.

One of the most vivid images from the discussion included a remark about part number gaps through the years and that sometimes motorcycles arrive at the dealer with "some assembly required."

Perhaps that is why my Rebel is so small. We forgot a piece somewhere!

Ta!

Balisada

Deceptive Weather

2010-12-19T12:17:00.000-08:00

All I saw this morning when I looked out the door was a bunch of blue in between white clouds. I shut the door and later grabbed my jacket and helmet and left the house to go to church.

When I got to my motorcycle, I was greeted with ice on the seat.

Yes, ice. Well, frost actually.

I promptly started to break it off when I noticed the neighbors car also had ice/frost on the windshield.

Ok, God. I get the message. Auntie Balisada will not ride a motorcycle in this really cold and wet weather.

Pity, it looked like a nice day for a ride.

On the plus side, I did ride yesterday to the next town over. I honked at some sheet who were hugging the fence and was rewarded by a mass exodus of sheep from the fence area. I really should stop doing that. Someday a sheep might hurt themselves and I would be responsible.

Ta!

Balisada

Easy Solutions

2010-11-21T09:52:00.000-08:00

I took some time off of trying to fix my motorcycle, opting instead to look at it through the window. It's broken and damaged state driving home my inadequacies as a mechanic. Despite my gloom, I was rewarded by a thought that turned out to be the solution.

I had known that after adjusting the chain the brakes need to be adjusted. The two systems are interconnected in a way that I am simply not aware of unless I do a complete teardown of a motorcycle (which actually sounds like a good idea).

So I went outside and adjusted my rear brake and rewarded with a working motorcycle!

Yay me!

The chain still needs to be adjusted, but it is a working motorcycle, and the chain is not as loose as it once was.

So I have once again been riding everywhere on it, but with the weather getting colder, I have to be careful.

I had already added the inner liner to my jacket a few weeks ago, and just last week dug out the really good gloves for the really cold weather.

Despite my precautions, I was surprised to discover that I was freezing on the way home from Media Team practice one evening last week.

Several days later I was surprised to find that the vent liners in my arms were open.

Ok.

That would explain why I was sooo cold.

I have a tendency to unzip the vents in my arms when I first put in the liner in my jacket. This is because the warmth of the liner is not needed all the time, but when it is needed, I can't stop and put in the liner. So the vents in the arms unzipped and the cold and warmth balance out, except that I had forgotten they were unzipped.

Ok. Got to work that.

Still looking for the camera cable, so no pictures yet.

Ta!

Balisada

Oh Its Easy!

2010-10-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here in church listening to the rain on the church wall. I drove today because I didn't want the hassle of getting wet while at church. The nice thing about riding a motorcycle to church is that everyone remembers you, especially when it rains. Today, everyone wants to make sure that I didn't ride my motorcycle in the rain this morning.

I have only been commuting to work this past summer due to stress at work and these past few weeks have only been riding to church (except for today) because LBCC and I have parted ways.

Let me say that I am very glad to have parted ways and the upper administration at LBCC are a bunch of useless self-entitled boobs.

I am thinking however, that I may take a class or two at LBCC regarding small engines.

Yes, Auntie Balisada wants to know more about her motorcycle.

Let me tell you about how I screwed up chapter one.

I needed to adjust my chain and had read Chapter One in the maintenance manual.

You know "Chapter One"? The chapter that has all the frequent and periodic maintenance tasks that should be performed on a motorcycle?

You know the chapter that everyone should be able to perform?

Yeah, I screwed that one up.

I needed to adjust my chain and somehow, even though I followed the directions, the rear tire was to tight to move and the chain still to loose.

Yeah, there is a reason that Auntie Balisada takes her motorcycle to the dealership to work on, and this would be it.

I would pose the quandary to a motorcycle group online that I have been following almost since I got my motorcycle in 2005, but they are in the process of imploding.

The group leader is retiring and has required that the replacement continue to put on meets yearly. The problem with that is that the people who meet are on the east coast and the one or two replacements are kind of out West and Tennessee is too far for them to ride for a meet. It is my hope that the leader will stop being a jerk and realize that the purpose of the group is a "meetings of the minds" kind of thing, and not just real life meetups. The purpose statement of the group does not say anything about real life meetups.

So now it is Monday morning and I have spent off and on all Sunday looking for the cord for my camera so I could upload some pictures and I can't find it. Aren't I having a great week?

Ta!
Balisada

Motorcycle Parking

2010-05-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

The college that I work at has two distinct areas for motorcycles to park in. They are free to park in spaces (which annoys a lot a car drivers, I found out), but they also have two specific areas to park in.
I normally park in the northern motorcycle parking because there is a fence around it, blocking cars, and because it's farther inside the college, and it's closer.

The southern motorcycle parking is really just a bunch of parking spaces that have been redesignated for motorcycles.

The last time we had it painted, the guy must have used water colors because the paint really didn't last long, and complaints started coming in about cars once again parking in motorcycle parking.

A few weeks ago, while on my way to work, I made my daily stop for coffee at Safeway. Along the way, I noticed that the call center had made a slight change to two spaces.

They had placed two concrete parking bumpers at the end of the spaces, preventing cars from using the spaces. Upon closer inspection, I found that the two spaces had yellow concrete parking bumpers on the perimeter, making a parking area just for motorcycles.

Cool.

After that I was telling folks at work about it, and since it was found that the parking bumpers were affordable, the college will be putting in the bumpers in the southern motorcycle area.

Cool.

I think that both motorcyclists and motorists will be better off if there is a more visible designator for the area.

A sign and bad parking lot painting just wasn't cutting it.

Ta!

Balisada

P.S.

I didn't have a picture of the motorcycle parking at the call center and each post needs a picture so I included a picture that I took last week.

We had several middle school choirs on campus for a competition, making for quite a lot of little faces on a campus that normally had ages 18+.

I snapped this picture of pizza boxes that one school had stacked neatly by the trash.

That is a lot of pizza boxes.

Ta!

Rainy Musings

2010-04-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

So I got my motorcycle back a week or two ago from the shop.

I had put it on a trailer and took it home, but apparently, along the way, I must have run over something, because the tire went flat in my driveway.

So last Thursday found me on my motorcycle even though the weather was less than stellar.

Since we were between terms, I had taken advantage of the practically empty parking lots and parked in a space close to my office.

As I left for the day, it was raining lightly and I wondered how lonely my motorcycle had been all by itself. The less than stellar weather meant that there would probably be no other motorcyclists on the road but me.

Apparently, my Rebel found a friend anyways:

Ta!

Balisada

Justifying My Insanity

2010-01-20T15:12:00.000-08:00

Several months ago (October I believe), I started this but as is often the case, I didn't publish it.

Irondad has written a thoughtful post about why we motorcyclists ride motorcycles, especially in dreary weather conditions.

What is it about riding?

I found that interesting, because I was wondering the same thing last week.

I can honestly say that I will miss my motorcycle more than ever on the days that I am forced to leave it behind due to weather.

Yes, I do ride quite a lot in the winter. Since it's just cold and wet but not icy, I feel justified in what others would consider to be an act of insanity.

But that got me to thinking, how do I justify my insanity?

My response?

Balisada said...

I don't justify my insanity.

I embrace it.

I proudly put tiger ears and a tail on my helmet and 24 packs of toilet paper on the Rebel, knowing full well that I will probably end up on YouTube as fodder for jokes.

I will ride in the pouring rain with just a RevIt Jacket, blue jeans, and tiger-eared-adorned-helmet, fully aware that my feet are swimming in their own pool of water and I literally leave a trail of water dripping off my soaked jeans when I walk inside. I know that drivers shake their heads when they see me riding in the rain and wonder what would compel someone to ride a motorcycle in such miserable weather.

Why?

Because no where does it say that life was intended to be taken seriously.

Because if someone were to offer to give me my dream vehicle, I would honestly get to say:

"Sorry, I already bought it. I rode it to work today."

Ta!
Balisada

10:51 AM

So I am embracing my insanity.

Proudly, in fact.

Ta!

Balisada

Early Classes

2010-01-14T10:32:00.000-08:00

So I am going about my day today. It's winter, so I am riding when I can, but the weather makes it interesting.

Imagine my surprise when an email arrives in my inbox regarding the TEAM Oregon motorcycle classes and their schedule for the next couple of months.

LBCC hosts motorcycle classes for TEAM Oregon. It's a hoot. I love watching the classes on the weekend. They go in circles in the parking lot, and it always brings me back to my own training on this same training range actually.

Anyway, classes are starting up at the end of the month.

Wow.

It seems like just last month the last class of the season was held.

Oh wait, it was just last month that the last class was held!

That makes for a long training year and is a lot of brand-spankin-new motorcyclists!

Ta!

Balisada

Civil War

2009-12-03T21:46:00.001-08:00

To the victors go the Roses!

Go Ducks!

Ta!

Balisada

Summer Recaps

2009-10-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

So my socks were sort of squishy tonight.

I must have gotten a lot of odd looks on the way home in the pouring down rain.

So, a few months ago, I was looking through the Oregon Revised Statutes. For all who are not in the know, that is what Oregon calls it's laws.

I forget specifically what I was looking for but I stumbled upon this:

811.385 Depriving motorcycle or moped of full lane;

penalty

(1) A person commits the offense of depriving a motorcycle or moped of a full lane if the person operates a motor vehicle upon a roadway laned for traffic in a manner that prevents a moped operator or motorcyclist from full use of a lane.

(2) This section does not apply to operators of motorcycles or mopeds whose use of lanes is controlled by ORS 814.240 (Motorcycle or moped unlawful passing) and 814.250 (Moped or motorcycle operating more than two abreast).

(3) The offense described in this section, depriving a motorcycle or moped of a full lane, is a Class B traffic violation. [1983 c.338 §685]

That means I get my whole lane sweet pea.

So, I haven't been doing much this summer. Just been commuting.

A couple of days ago I put the liner in my jacket and switched to my winter gloves. It made for an interesting ride to church because I grabbed the two gloves on top and left the house, locking the door behind me. It turns out that I had grabbed one summer glove and one winter glove. Fortunately, one was left and the other right, so I was able to ride anyway.

Over the summer I did do a few things.

I went to the Albany Bike Night.

And I also went to the Corvallis Bike Night.

There is something cool about seeing a row of helmets somewhere, ya know?

And I pushed the limits of what can be carried on the back of a Rebel.

All in all it was a good summer.

Ta!

Balisada

Tag, Your'e Not It

2009-08-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

So I went to the Pow-Wow in Siletz this weekend.

I was going to park in the Bullpen and ride the short bus (giggle, giggle) to the grounds because it was easier, but I decided instead to park in the grass behind the camping area. This meant that it was a short walk to my motorcycle, and I was not dependent on buses of any kind.

I have found that generally, parking attendants are not prepared for motorcycles. He pointed me to a general area, and since it was fine by me, I complied, but he changed his mind and had me park a different direction slightly over more out of the way.

It turns out that the change was good because when I returned to my motorcycle, my single space had become "motorcycle parking".

After getting home, I was more tired than usual. I had been buffeted more than usual by the coastal winds and it tired me out.

Subject change.

I have been playing "Photo Tag" with some other motorcyclists in the area.

The point is simple. Someone takes a picture of their motorcycle somewhere and posts it.

The first one to post a picture of their motorcycle in the same spot is "it".

That person now has 24 hours to post a new photo of their motorcycle somewhere else and it begins again.

The latest picture as of this morning showed Timberlinn Park. I took a picture of the computer screen and after work rode off to tag it.

It was a good thing that I took a picture of the screen because the angle is different.

After getting home, I was surprised to discover that someone had beat me to it by an hour.

Oh well.

Better luck next time.

Ta!

Balisada

Naked Helmets

2009-08-05T22:20:00.001-07:00

So, I had prepped a post about the photo-tag that I tagged, but I didn't post it, and right now my helmet is much more interesting.

Yesterday, as I was taking off my helmet in the parking lot at work, several vehicles sped rapidly out of the parking lot. As I put my helmet down to get my camera out, the tail fell off of my helmet.

Usually, when the ears and/or tail fall off the helmet, they fall off suction cup and all, and oddly enough they fall off when I put the helmet down, or some other stationary and opportune moment. You would think that they would fall off at 55 mph, but it's usually somewhere I can simply pick them up again and stick them back on.

This time, however, the tail had come apart from the suction cup. I think that this tail broke because I noticed that it had a tendency to swoop in a circle (the different tails that I have had seem to swoop and flutter differently), and I think that it twisted enough to break the thread holding the tail to the suction cup.

This is what a helmet looks like with no tail:

And this is what a helmet looks like with nothing at all (WARNING!! NAKED HELMET BELOW!)

On a different note, I had the opportunity to take a picture of my motorcycle from a different angle. Mine would be the good looking one. ;)

Ta!

Balisada

Freeway Speeds

2009-07-20T20:59:00.001-07:00

Last Friday found me on the freeway going South.

Yes, the Rebel will go freeway speeds. (Isn't it neat how they let motorcycles that small on the freeway?)

So, I was on my way to Eugene to visit my sister and attend a Party-Lite party. That is where we ladies get together and take in lovely candle fragrances and chat about the things that ladies talk about.

I had gotten the time wrong and needed to take the freeway to be on time.

Yes, I could have taken 99 and gone through Junction City, but since the candles that are passed around rarely get past me, I was not about to deprive myself of any missed opportunities.

So I opted for the freeway.

I had not been on the freeway for a while and welcomed the opportunity.

I don't know about freeways elsewhere in the US, but in Oregon, they are really not a problem. Traffic is usually pretty mellow.

Folks who are not motorcycle oriented tend to worry more when they find out that I take my 250 on the freeway.

I don't know how to explain to them that the freeway is actually safer than surface streets in towns.

Here's why:

No cross traffic. All traffic is going only forward.
No stopping and rate of travel is consistent.
Not as many distractions. In a town, there are pedestrians, lights, Taco Bell, going-out-of-business-sign-guys, Starbucks, ect.

So I found myself on the freeway on my way to a plethora of candle scents.

I won't tell my dad that I got my motorcycle up to 80 mph, in the fast lane even. He worries.

After returning a few waves from passers by (people tend to wave at the ears), I ended up in Eugene safe and sound.

I must have had a bit of the freeway still in the system, because yesterday found me on the way to Green Peter Reservoir, and where I usually find myself going just below the speed limit, I found that I was tending to exceed it.

Except for the one time that I looked away.

I think that the car in front of me was in the process of stopping when I looked away, because when I looked back a moment later, it was almost stopped (sweet pea, 4 lanes of traffic and no light, the pedestrian can cross when it's clear).

I wasn't following very closely, since I had spent the miles in between Lebanon and Sweet Home practicing following for more than 2 seconds.

But I was a little curious to know if I would stop in time.

I was delighted to discover that without squealing tires and not very much pressure on either brake, I stopped in plenty of time. All those quick stops paid off.

I don't think I will be telling Dad that either.

The last time I was up at the Green Peter Dam, I actually parked my motorcycle in the road and took pictures. The only traffic was me.

This time it was actually quite busy. I was surprised.

I took one crappy picture of my motorcycle, and returned.

I was delighted to discover that my subconscious was not obsessed with speed anymore because I had no problem whatsoever keeping to the speed limit.

I think that next Sunday, I am heading to the coast for some clam chowder.

Ta!

Balisada

Need Not Apply, Sort Of

2009-07-05T11:59:00.001-07:00

I don't know what it is about exclusive clubs that annoys the living daylights out of me.

Usually, I have no interest in the club at hand, but the fact that the club states that I cannot attend annoys the ever-loving-daylights out of me.

So, I am getting my netbook ready for notes at church today and I realize that the announcement is about motorcycles.

Men's prayer breakfast and motorcycle ride immediately following.

Fine.

I didn't want to be in your dumb club anyway.

Just remember that I still have more miles than you this year, and I did it on a starter bike.

And I am a woman.

Ta!

Balisada

Ride to Work Day 2009

2009-06-15T21:30:00.000-07:00

I found out that Ride to Work day has moved.

The point is still to ride to work on your motorcycle, but it has moved from July to June. The website states some good reasons for moving the day, like cooler temps and better news coverage (something about Sunday being a slow news day).

Ride to Work day is really why I got my motorcycle to begin with.

I was working temporarily at a larger company and had wandered down on my lunch break to the parking lot where the company had asked all who ride motorcycles to park in a specific area so that all the employees could see just how many motorcycles were ridden to work each day.

It was there that I discovered that there were in fact, motorcycle's that were short enough for short people like me.

After that, I got my own motorcycle and have never gotten off of it since.

Ta!

Balisada

Getting Out

2009-06-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

I'm wet.

Earlier today, an email arrived stating that a thread that I was following at Pacific Northwest Riders (http://www.pnwriders.com/) had been updated.

A quick look told me that tonight was Corvallis Bike Night.

It was something that I had always seen in the forums, and almost went a couple of times, but never could really make it.

I tend to play a lot of computer games. Lately it's been a lot of World of Warcraft and Sims3, but I wanted to have a conversation with someone who was:

A: Not related to me.

B: Over the age of 16.

I stopped by home and picked up my netbook (in case no one showed up I could go to church in Brownsville) and wandered over to the gathering.

I am really uncomfortable around people I don't know, so I am delighted to say that I had a great time.

Just getting into Corvallis, a motorcyclist turned onto a street the same way that I was going and intuitively I knew that we were going to the same place.

It was actually a good thing I crossed his path because we didn't stop at the pizza parlor that I thought we were going to stop at.

On the way home, it rained.

Not just sprinkles, or showers.

Rain.

I could feel the water rapidly seeping into my shoes even before I was out of Corvallis.

I don't think that my pants were able to absorb any more water.

And I loved every minute of it.

Ta!

Balisada

Keen Observations

2009-05-31T22:09:00.000-07:00

I cleaned my coat this weekend.

In retrospect, I see that it really needed it. I don't do this very often because it is always a big production to clean and dry my jacket.

The dogs toy bin was emptied out and filled with water, and the jacket, minus the armour, was put in to soak. This time around I added my high-vis vest and my helmet liner to soak.

I stirred them around a few times in a rather futile attempt to mimic a washing machine and left the bin in the sun.

The heat of the day had set in when I returned later to hang them out to dry.

At the end of the day, when I brought them in, I learned something very interesting.

Items left drying in the sun, take an exponentially shorter amount of time to dry if they are left to dry in sunny hot weather.

Okey-dokey. Have to remember that one.

All of you suzie-homemaker-types, stop rolling your eyeballs at me. Auntie Balisada is "microwave compatible". I like my microwave ovens and my washing machine. Yeah, the washing machine grumbles because I kind of packed everything in, but whatever.

Where usually, my jacket is hanging in the bathtub all night (hmm, now that I think about it, this whole drying in the heat thing is probably why my sister was a bit confused when I wanted to dry my jacket in the bathtub the first time I washed it), this time it was dry before I went to bed.

Cool.

Well, getting ready for church this morning I kind of forgot about cleaning my jacket and was actually rather late because I was putting the armour in the little slots.

. . . and emptying the water from the pockets.

Yeah, I forgot that the pockets are rather water tight, so to speak, so that when water collects, it really collects, and drips out of the pockets when the jacket is turned every which way.

I am so observant too. I actually spent some time trying to figure out where the spot of water on the carpet came from. Looked at the ceiling. No, my ceiling did not suddenly develop a hole. No cups or bowls of water anywhere. The CIA is not going to snatch me up anytime soon because they need my quick thinking skills! It is a good thing I practice all the right motorcycle skills I need on the road!

A quarter of a roll of paper towels later, my pockets were dry and I was on my way to church.

Late but on my way.

I am not surprised that I didn't see the moped in my way in, because I was rather late.

But I saw it on my way out. Actually, I saw it in my mirror as I was getting ready start my motorcycle. Almost missed it on the way in and out.

And I worry about cars being observant enough to see me. Sheesh. I think that the pot may be calling the kettle black so to speak.

It was not until later that I recalled a conversation I had at church with someone. It is common knowledge at church that I ride all the time, even in rather 'interesting' weather. The day had finally come where it was nice weather and a lot of folks remarked to me how nice the weather was for riding.

One person, in mentioning the nice weather, stated that he should go home and get his moped.

Yes, Auntie Balisada, woman of quick intellect and sharp observations, has only just realized this might be his moped an hour or two after seeing it.

Now if I could just remember who I was talking to.

Ta!

Balisada

Spring Beginnings

2009-05-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free."

So says the words at the base of the Statue of Liberty.

It almost seems like a Harley Davidson commercial. All I need is an artful photo of a Harley Fatboy in front of the Statue of Liberty and I am good to go.

It sounds corny, but really it sums up my Sunday.

I was delighted to discover that I was finally not the only motorcycle in the parking lot at church. I recognized the dual-sport, but there was another that I didn't immediately recognize. The owner chose to leave their helmet on their motorcycle, so I didn't get a chance to at least wave to the owner.

These past few months my mind has been troubled.

So when the weather was glorious after church, it didn't take much prompting to find me on the way to the coast for clam chowder.

Just a quick stop at work to pick up my cell phone, since I had left it there the day before, and I was on my way.

All motorcycles that I saw on the way told me that a lot of other folks were "yearning to breathe free" as well. It has been a long time since I have seen so many motorcycles.

There were not so many at the coast, probably due to the fact that it was rather nippy and foggy there, but the clam chowder at Mo's West was actually rather good.

So, it was a refreshed and happy Balisada that returned from lunch at the coast.

I paid more for lunch than I did in gas.

I really like my motorcycle.

Ta!

Balisada

Not Exactly

2009-05-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

Wow.

So I watch the news every morning before I go to work.

I watch just enough to find out what the weather is going to be like for my dog and to find out if there are going to be thundershowers or hail. I will not ride in that kind of weather, so I try to pay attention.

This morning, to be honest I heard the man talk, but didn't take in the words.

All that I remembered is that there was something about rain.

Sweet pea, this is Oregon.

We get rain.

Lots and lots of it.

Like Eskimos have several different words for ice, we even have words for the different types of rain.

Honestly, I ignored him. It was one of those days where I was going to ride no matter what.

Well, this afternoon it rained.

Yes, actually rained.

Not a mist.

Not a drizzle.

Not a shower.

Actual rain, that actually made me rather wet.

My socks were not exactly squishy, but I was most certainly rather wet all over.

And you know what?

Still quite happy.

People who drive, often just don't get why we motorcyclists are still out in the rain, happily riding along.

If I ever figure it out myself, I will be sure to let them know.

Ta!

Balisada

Glorious!

2009-04-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

The somewhat rainy weather today was made gloomier with the memory of the glorious sunny day that I had last Sunday.

I had gotten my motorcycle from it's 20,000 mile checkup and intended to start working on the next millage milestone.

I had decided on an easier trip for my first trip of the year and took hwy 99 to Eugene.

On the way, I was saddened to see a horse laying down in apparent injury. I slowed, but since the owners were not home, and not knowing anything about horses, there was nothing I could do.

I found out later that the horse was fine. Someone who knows horses said that on that same day he saw several horses taking in the sun in exactly the same fashion that the one that I saw.

Since no trip to Eugene was complete without lunch and a cinnamon roll. I took in lunch and stopped off at the mall to get a cinnamon roll.

It was on the way back that I had an interaction with someone who just doesn't get it.

I was in the left turn lane turning left, and he was in the opposing lane turning right.

So essentially we were both turning onto the same 4-lane road from opposing directions.

Except that I took offense at sharing the road and he didn't seem to mind if he almost got hit by a vehicle much larger than him.

I bet a semi-truck driver that had tried the same thing with him would have received a much ruder gesture than just pointing to the two lanes, and some choice words to reinforce the point.

But somehow it's always my fault, even if I did have the right-a-way.

But as a motorcyclist, I cannot afford to assume that he was going to merge into the right lane. You know what happens when you assume.

You make an ass out of U and that other guy.

Ta!

Balisada

20,000 Miles

2009-03-30T18:24:00.000-07:00

So last week was Spring Break.

You would think that the College where I work would be empty, but actually it was a beehive of activity.

The contractors were busy pouring concrete on one side of my office, and busy building a building on the other side of me. In the parking lot a tractor safety class was being held. In another parking lot, facilities was using a scissors-lift to check the parking lot lights. Sometime in the middle of the week, the Diesel shop needed a couple of large machines picked up and another dropped off.

That's a lot of activity for someplace that is not even really open.

But today was day one of Spring Term 2009, and I was thoughtful regarding a post in another blog that I read.

He was talking about special parking for low emissions vehicles and how motorcycles usually fit into that category.

Generally, motorcycles fit into the "cheap, economical and (depending on your point of view) environmental friendly" category.

So, I was thinking about this as I left work today, and was delighted to discover that I was only 4 miles away from 20,000 miles. After frittering away three and a half miles, I took a before picture:

Then I took an after picture:

20,000 miles.

That is a lot of miles on a motorcycle that is really considered to be a "starter bike" in the motorcycle world.

A couple of years ago, someone started a discussion on a Honda Rebel Newsgroup that I belong to regarding the economics of motorcycles.

It was inevitable that the more numbers minded members would work out the numbers of owning a motorcycle.

Generally, it works out like this:

MSRP for a 2009 Honda Rebel: $3399
Arai Quantum II Helmet: $525 (or a less expensive brand, for about $100)
Insurance Premuim Per Year: $230
Basic Rider Training: $150
Riders Skills Practice: $90
Advanced Rider Training: $150
Revit Jacket: $450
Winter Gloves: $90
Summer Gloves: $70
Willie and Max Saddlebags: $250
Floorboards from Jacks Rebel Warehouse: $139
Yearly Maintenance: est. $200
Gas: $4.33 per fill up (I'm sorry, how much were you guys in the minivans spending on a fill up during that last gas price hike?)

So while some costs are only spent once (motorcycle, training courses, ect), some are spent more often (yearly, every few years, or every week) and it was decided by the person who did the numbers that really, motorcycles are only economical if you were going to buy a second vehicle anyway. Then really, you would spend less.

But, the poster also pointed out, rather astutely I might add:

YOU DO HAVE THAT WONDERFUL MOTORCYCLE FEELING, which is the biggest and best advantage, and one cannot really put a dollar value on this!

That wonderful motorcycle feeling.

I originally got a motorcycle in 2005 because I was not interested in spending $4.50 a gallon for gas and was really only intent on using it to commute to work and back in the summer.

My sister said once that when I got on my motorcycle, I never really got off.

And she is right.

I discovered that wonderful motorcycle feeling and found that even though it costs me a bit more to run the motorcycle than it does to run my pickup, I prefer the motorcycle because of the "wonderful motorcycle feeling".

And part of that "wonderful motorcycle feeling" is what I paid to fill it up today:

Ta!

Balisada

Need Not Apply - Take 2

2009-03-17T14:00:00.001-07:00

I realize that this is rather petty, but I am not going to let this go.

Another quick article in the local paper today caught my attention.

Apparently the ignorant tight ass society is trying again to make a go of making a club.

New motorcycle club to meet Friday

Anyone interested in starting a new road brother chapter motorcycle club can meet at 5 p.m. Friday at Chasers Bar on Second Avenue in downtown Albany.

Members must have an American-made motorcycle 880cc or bigger.

For more information, call Westside at (503) 851-7529.

Apparently, the cc requirement is down from 883, to 880, and they are meeting again, so I am forced to wonder if enough people showed up.

But I still don't want to be in your dumb group.

Ta!

Balisada

Need Not Apply

2009-03-11T16:16:00.000-07:00

I perked up at reading the headline:

Riders invited to start new motorcycle club

So I clicked on the article, and found it to be rather short:

Motorcyclists interested in starting a club for riders of American-made bikes with engines that are at least 883cc’s are invited to a meeting at 5 p.m. Friday at Humpty’s Dump, 916 Old Salem Road N.E. For more information, contact Westside at (503) 851-7529.

Fine.

I didn't want to be in your dumb group anyway.

Ta!

Balisada

S-s-smokin'

2009-03-02T11:10:00.000-08:00

So it's been raining off and on for the last several weeks.

The week before the weather was iffy, but it didn't rain.

As I was turning into the church driveway, I saw two motorcycles down the road. I hoped that they would turn in to church, but statistically, I knew that they wouldn't.

Imagine my surprise when I found that they did indeed turn into church, and we all parked together in two spaces.

I have been seeing more motorcycles in the parking lot lately. Last Sunday it was two cruisers, a month or two ago it was a dual-sport. Sadly, the only motorcycle that I see regularly is the Harley Davidson Springer Classic, and that is during the summer months and not very often. I only saw the dual-sport once, and yesterday I forgot to check the sanctuary for the two cruiser riders I saw the week before.

I forgot to check because, yesterday on the way to church I got caught in the weather.

The weather was okay the week before, and it wasn't raining when I walked out the door, so I didn't think twice about starting out. Except for Summer, the weather in Oregon is always grumpy.

In Oregon, if you don't ride in the rain, then you don't have a very long riding season.

Coming out of Starbucks on the way to church, I felt a few raindrops. I was hoping that what I currently felt would be the end, but it turns out that what I felt was the 'scouting party' for the actual rain.

It wasn't really pouring, but since I don't wear any protective legwear, my jeans were rather wet, due mostly to the spray from the road. Good thing I didn't have to ride any concrete roads on the way to church!

For the first time ever, I wore my helmet up to the awning in front of the church door. I don't mind rain, it's just that the ends of my hair were already wet from the rain, and I was not interested in getting the rest of it soaked too.

We had some missionaries at church speak briefly about their mission.

It turns out that they are going to Papua, New Guinea, where it's very mountainous and not very many roads. Travel between remote areas is done by small planes. He was a pilot and his job (for I believe Wycliffe, probably spelled wrong) was to fly supplies and other things around.

He related the following story:

It takes about 20 years for the Bible to be translated into the native language of a people.

One translator, who had just finished a translation, had developed a relationship with one of the native folks where he was stationed.

The native guy was a smoker who rolled his own.

Before leaving, the translator gave the native guy a copy of the newly translated Bible, knowing that the guy would use it for his cigarettes.

All that he asked of the guy was that before smoking it, to read it first.

Several years later the translator was at a Christian Conference, where he saw the native guy he gave the Bible to, was attending, and struck up a conversation.

They guy said:

"I smoked Matthew."

"I smoked Mark."

"I smoked Luke."

"But when I got to John 3:16, I decided that I couldn't smoke the Bible anymore."

Ta!

Balisada

Parking Rants

2009-02-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

So I was reading a post an another blog that I follow.

You can read it here if you want.

She was talking about motorcyclists tendency to shoehorn themselves into any space, regardless of the fact that the motorcycle next to them cannot now get out or is too close for comfort.

I started to reply, but when my reply was actually three times as long as her post, I decided to post my edition of the "me too brigade" here:

Park away from my motorcycle.

Just because my motorcycle takes up less space than whatever it is that motivates you forward, does not mean that you can take up your space and part of mine. Can you hear me those of you in the extra-large pickups that take up the ENTIRE parking space?

Yes, I know that you are worried that people who own $40,000 vehicles still fling their doors open without regard to the vehicle next to them, and you want more of a cushion, but they make a space just for that problem.

It's called the back of the parking lot.

Use it.

Yes, I am perfectly happy sharing a full sized space with another motorcyclist, but be aware, that if I get to the space first, I park in the center of the space, just toward the back, so that cars can SEE ME (sorry, but it's all about me sweet pea). If you want to fit in toward the front of the space, be my guest. You can try off to the side, but remember, we both/all need room.

This brings me to my next point.

Just because you can fit into a space, doesn't mean that you should fit into a space.

This is not a contest to see how many people can fit into a phone booth, or motorcycles into a space. Please bear in mind that when I prep to get on my motorcycle, I will often do a complete circuit around it for various reasons. Give me some space.

Also bear in mind that I am a short fat woman.

Not only do I use more soap in the shower, but I need more space around my motorcycle, and I am not willing to traverse an obstacle course just to do a circuit around my motorcycle.

Which brings me to my last point.

I know that my Rebel really is the cheapest motorcycle that Honda makes, and you are thinking that it's no big deal if you tip it over or knock the mirror out of adjustment, but if you want to know, I am actually quite attached to my motorcycle. It’s a hoot to ride. If it gets tipped over, it's going to peeve me off.

If you knock the mirrors out of alignment, not only will I be peeved off, I will wonder if someone tipped over my motorcycle and put it back upright and walked away.

Yes, I know that I look my motorcycle over every morning when I go somewhere on it, but if it has been knocked over by a car, then it needs a more detailed look-over.

Damage is often more than cosmetic. The brake line could have worked loose from the housing on the handlebars or the shifter pedal could have cracked. Ever take a step expecting a step to be there, but it wasn't?

Try it on a motorcycle at 65 miles per hour.

And don’t give me that line of crap about how I chose such a dangerous hobby.

Okay, we seemed to have wandered offtopic, so moving along.

What if you could have any vehicle you wanted parked in your driveway, money no object?

What is your dream vehicle?

Yeah, I already bought mine. I rode it to work today.

And it would really annoy me if it had any dents, dings or scratches.

Ta!

Balisada

Taking Chances

2009-01-28T18:29:00.000-08:00

So I took a chance last Sunday.

Everyone who is related to me, stop rolling your eyeballs, it wasn't that kind of chance.

The weather on Sunday was iffy.

I looked out of the front door at the weather, and it was raining enough so that I would be rather wet when I arrived at church, so I drove.

Since my first stop is Starbucks, I found that it had stopped raining when I came out with my coffee. I decided to take a chance and change to my motorcycle. Home is on the way to church anyway.

Well, it didn't exactly rain, but there was enough 'sort of rain' and enough spray on the road that my pants were a bit wet when I arrived.

Well, I was taking a chance anyway.

But on another note, I have been thinking about a Darwin Award that I read.

It can be found here.

The story:

Wascally Wabbit
2008 Darwin Award Nominee
Unconfirmed by Darwin

Snowmobiles and alcohol are a dangerous mix. Then came the rabbit.

After a day spent partying and racing snowmobiles in the wilderness, a group of snowmobilers were headed back to their cabin, when up popped a jackrabbit! They gave chase. Several collisions were narrowly averted, and so all the snowmobiles backed off... except one.

This snowmobiler kept his eye on the quarry and rapidly closed in. The rabbit darted aside to save itself. The snowmobiler closed in again. The rabbit ran toward the road, where there was less snow. Trying to ram his rabbit before it crossed the road, the man accelerated to Mach 1.

But the rabbit had other ideas. It darted into the culvert beneath the road. Witnesses stated that the snowmobiler never even braked. There was a metallic crunch as the accelerating vehicle rammed into the culvert, followed by a blast that shattered the snowmobile into a thousand bits.

This brand of snowmobile had a fuel tank mounted in front. The culvert admitted the tip of the snowmobile, then cut into the cowling, spilling fuel over the hot engine. The body of the snowmobiler was blown twenty feet back into the field.

The rabbit's whereabouts was unknown.

One of the things that I remember from Basic Rider Training is "Target Fixation".

I remember because it was a rather fascinating concept - you go where you look (so look through the turn)

It has been explained to be many times by motorcycle training professionals that motorcyclists need to ride their own ride.

The dude on the snowmobile was not riding his own ride, and was fixated on the rabbit, not the path of travel.

Yeah, I know that the rabbit was not on a path anyway, so there was no real path, but the temptation when riding is always rather strong to just follow the person in front of you.

This story kind of makes you think twice about that.

Ta!

Balisada

My Socks Aren't Squishy

2009-01-08T09:04:00.000-08:00

Someday, I am going to remember to post things I "save for later".

This was written on Jan 8th.

Have fun!

~~~~

So I rode to work today.

I have had a cough that I think was actually pretty serious at the time.

The time being the middle of November.

But I couldn't quite shake the cough, and have not been riding in order to regain my health. I think that the reason that I couldn't shake the cough is because it was quite serious. I felt fine, I just had this cough.

I don't even want to speculate on what I am probably getting over. I just want to enjoy the satisfaction that comes with riding a motorcycle to work, in rather grumpy weather. (It's kind of this, "I conquered it" thing.)

If it rains anymore, I think that I will have to start building an ark and gathering animals, two by two. It has rained that much.

It's actually starting to flood in Washington State, and in the Valley, where I live, we are probably going to be spared flooding, due to the fact that it doesn't actually rain, it just lightly rains.

So anyway, I rode to work today.

I looked at the black clouds, the light rain coming down, and the trees blowing, and decided to pack an extra set of pants and socks because I was going to be pretty wet when I arrived at work. Happy, but wet.

So now, here I sit.

Pretty dry, in fact.

It wasn't as wet as I thought.

Except for an irrational fear that all the air was going to suddenly escape from my tires, the trip to work was pretty uneventful.

Which is the kind of motorcycle trip I like.

Now I just have to make sure that my dad doesn't find out that I rode to work.

He still worries.

Ta!

Balisada

A Coughing Fit

2009-01-02T22:32:00.000-08:00

So, I haven't been riding lately.

The warmer than usual autumn weather prompted me to not dress as warmly, and now I have a cough that I can't get rid of. I really don't want to aggravate it by being out in the cold, so I have been driving to work.

I must say that I like how my time spent actually getting my vehicle ready to go in the morning is shorter.

I went from 10 minutes to 60 seconds.

On my motorcycle:

1. Walk outside to deck, place helmet, coffee cup and gloves on corner of deck.
2. Pet dog.
3. Walk to motorcycle shed and unlock.
4. Put motorcycle in neutral and back down ramp and into driveway. Try and get enough momentum on the ramp to take you into the turn so that you are perpendicular to the road, while still in the driveway. If not enough momentum is gained, then the motorcycle will have to be pushed back by hand and that sucks, so get those feet a-going.
5. Start motorcycle.
6. Walk to the deck and retrieve the gear.
7. Put gear on motorcycle.
8. Check motorcycle over for road-worthyness.
9. Stop checking motorcycle and throw the frisbee for the dog. It will get rid of him for at least 10 seconds. 15 if you are lucky and he has problems picking it up.
10. Repeat step 9 until shed door closed, motorcycle checked, gear on and coffee cup stowed.
11. Ride to Safeway and get coffee.

In my pickup:

1. Walk outside to deck and driveway, petting dog along the way. Don't worry about the frisbee because he won't have enough time to go get it while you are on your way to the truck.
2. Get into truck.
3. Start truck.
4. Drive to Safeway and get coffee.

I must admit that I like the ease that my pickup was. Just get in it and go.

So our nicer-than-normal autumn weather suddenly turned winter-like in the first weeks of December. You know, snow and everything. That kind of weather usually waits until the new year to present itself, but this year it must have been tired of waiting.

But this morning was the first day that looked like rain, snow and other nasty weather might avoid, so I decided to ride my motorcycle to church.

After about a month and a half of driving (wow, gas bills are high when you do that) I was looking forward to riding my motorcycle.

I must admit, it felt like I was meeting an old friend after a long absence.

I saw three other motorcycles today while out and about.

I think that my first wave was rather over-enthusiastic.

Oh well.

Ta!

Balisada

Foggy Bottoms

2008-11-24T20:40:00.000-08:00

So several weeks ago, the uniform guy wandered into my office at work peddling his new catalog and one of the items was a high vis vest. Apparently there is a new rule that says something about safety vests needing to be 'screaming yellow.'

One of the vests caught my eye, and after using it for a few weeks, I have to say that I am still happy.

It gets pretty foggy in the Willamette Valley in the mornings, so I am glad for the vest.

An unexpected side effect is that folks tend to think that I am a safety person.

Except the lady at the market who thought that I was a bus driver.

I was in a hurry and on the phone, so I couldn't politely inquire as to what would make her think that I drove a bus for a living. It wasn't until too late I realized that the high vis vest must be required for bus drivers too.

I can live with that.

As long as it gets me seen.

If I see the lady in the store again, I will apologize for not explaining (she was rather nice).

Ta!

Balisada

A paid for motorcycle sounds different

2008-11-15T21:35:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was perusing my bank statement, and was surprised to discover that I only owed $20 on my Rebel.

I could have paid it off long ago, but I wanted the good payments to be on my credit.

So I wandered down to the bank to pay it off.

They looked in their computer and said that it had already been paid off and the title sent to me.

After looking through my mail back home, a letter I had taken for junk mail, was in fact, my title.

Yay!

I went promptly down the DMV to get my title in my name only.

In my enthusiastic haste, I had forgotten to bring some money so I used their cash machine to retrieve some.

I had put my helmet on the seat next to me and left it while I used the ATM. For $500 bucks, it gets it's own seat.

Except that when I returned, someone and her teenager had taken my seat, so that my helmet was now sitting next to a teenager who probably had no concept of a $500 helmet that is only good for one hit.

I am sorry to say that I wasn't all that nice when I scooped up my helmet and chose a new seat. You would think that they would assume that the seat next to the helmet was taken. I know it's petty, but it still bugs me.

So I have only just received my title from the DMV.

My motorcycle is now mine, mine mine.

And I think that it makes a funny noise, now that it is paid for.

Perhaps that's the strings of bondage being cut.

Ta!

Balisada

Long Distance Motorcycling

2008-10-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

Someone pointed out to me another blog. In it, a fellow Rebel owner is taking a long distance trip on his Rebel. Read about it here.

5,836 miles in 21 days to be exact.

This last Friday, I had dinner at Evergreen Aviation Museum with some members of Easy Company. Talk with my neighbor turned to my motorcycle. She was advocating an upgrade to a larger motorcycle.

It's amazing how folks don't realize what a durable little bike the Rebel is.

It is often said of the Rebel, that you will give out before the Rebel will.

The dude who went from Las Vegas, Nevada to North Carolina found out that the Rebel is indeed a tough little bike.

I seem to recall reading about someone's trip to Alaska, on the Rebel.

I don't really go long distances, but it's nice to know that if I wanted to, my Rebel could make the trip.

Ta!

Balisada

Fall Term - Week 1

2008-10-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

So it's Friday on the first week of fall term.

Fall Term is the busiest term of all. Enrollment is always highest in the fall, and staff is getting back from the summer break.

And they all need something.

So the week has been really busy.

Summer term enrollment is lowest because the college offers only a few classes that term, and with most staff gone, the parking lots are practically empty.

Which makes for good parking, so I usually park in with the cars because it's closer to my office.

But last week, I decided to park with the motorcycles in the corral, back of the college (remember, that I park on the "cool side of the corral".

On Monday, first day of classes, there were two others parked when I got in. I decided that it was worth it to take a picture:

The other two, by the way, belong to staff members.

Just after I snapped that, three other motorcycles rolled in, so I had to take another:

On the way home, I saw a single light behind me. I was in the left lane and the moped passed me on the right.

Like me, the rider was wearing a yellow and grey jacket and when he passed me, I turned and waved.

He seized the moment to yank at his shoulder. The "Revit" logo on his shoulder. Just like mine.

Dude is wearing a $450 jacket on a scooter.

Hardcore, man.

Hardcore.

Ta!

Balisada

Roofing Staples and New Trailers

2008-09-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

Gee whiz, I seem to be a forgetful person. I wrote this and then promptly forgot it. It should have been published after the Spruce Goose.

So, several weeks ago, I rode my motorcycle to work, and then went out and about for lunch.

I was rewarded with a roofing staple in my rear tire.

Yeah.

A roofing staple.

My tire was as flat as Brittany Spears' career.

I made an appointment to get it fixed and was delighted to discover that the shop could fit me in the following Saturday. Yay! I just had to wait a week.

Now all I had to do was spend that week looking for a trailer for my motorcycle.

I stopped into South Pacific Auto because I saw a lot of trailers.

The guy I spoke to showed me this trailer and said that he had people looking at it all week, and just that day he had a guy and his wife looking at it.

Okay.

Why don't I just let this 'guy and his wife' have first dibbs. He wanted nine hundred bucks and I wasn't that interested in buying a trailer that was really too big from someone that really seemed to be untrustworthy.

In the end, I ended up in Halsey paying nine hundred bucks for a bit smaller of a trailer (but I know that it's not too big and I think the other one was too big), and I liked the guy a lot more.

It's a tilt trailer, and if I get a spare tire to put on the front, the center of gravity will be changed enough to make it stay flat when I ride my motorcycle up and flatten out the trailer.

Best of all, it's red. Red to match my pickup.

Ta!

Balisada

Cupcakes don't transport well on a motorcycle

2008-09-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

If you want to know, cupcakes don't transport well on a motorcycle.

I know from personal experience.

The first time, I fastened them to the pillion and away I went. When I got to work, they were all jumbled up and the frosting was all over the little "cupcake holes".

The next time, I decided to ride very carefully.

The cupcakes were still face up this time, but the frosting had vibrated to the side of almost all of the cupcakes, so that most of the frosting was on the plastic carrier and not a whole lot on the cupcake.

I mention that because I wanted to bring something sweet to work last week and I really wanted it to be cupcakes.

But given my past history with cupcakes, I decided on donut holes.

I have finally gotten my Rebel in from the 16,000 mile service.

I have not been riding much because I have this fear that I will be dripping parts behind me when I ride a long distance.

I don't know why I keep thinking that, it's totally irrational.

So I got my Rebel back from the 16,000 mile service, that I got at uhhh, 18,000 miles. I need to lube the chain more. Some day the chain will fall off at the wrong time because I did not lube it like I was supposed to.

I seized the opportunity to rediscover the joys of taking the long way home.

I then discovered the joys of a long trip by going to a family reunion.

I needed to bring something to eat, and I really wanted to bring cupcakes.

Yeah, we all know how that will end up.

At the end of a short 3 mile trip to work, they are, a bit ruffled.

At the end of a 45 minute trip to they could very well be quite a bit unhappy.

So I settled on chips.

I also got my GPS out for the trip.

I also connected up my new phone to the GPS (bluetooth). It's kind of cool. Hook up the earphone and mouthpiece, and you can make a phone call without taking out the cellphone.

Not that I would.

I really don't like talking on the phone to begin with, and I sure am not going to do it on a motorcycle.

But the setup will also tell me who is calling.

That's nice. Now I can tell if I have to stop or not.

I just have to hook up the GPS to the battery. Should be easy, I just don't want a stray wire hanging out in space.

So, anyways, I wandered on down to Eugene to a family reunion.

GPS got me there, and it's a good thing it did, because my mom was going to give me directions, and she got lost with her sister.

I also beat her there by about an hour.

I must have arrived when everyone else did, because I followed two cars in to the parking lot, but didn't recognize anyone. I called my mom and while on the phone, someone arrived that I actually recognized.

Does everyone have that problem with family reunions?

When I parked, I noticed that they didn't size the parking lot right and there was a space of about three feet on the edge.

Just the right size for a motorcycle.

Fabulous!

They have motorcycle parking:

See, just enough space for a motorcycle.

Ta!

Balisada

Yes, the Spruce Goose Really is THAT Big

2008-08-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

NOTE: This was written on Aug 6, 2008 at about 10:30pm. I sent an inquiry to Evergreen Air Museum and they did not respond, so I am posting this a bit late. ~Ta!

One of my goals this summer was to wander over to Evergreen Air and Space Museum and look at all the airplanes.

Last Saturday, I did finally.

I finally got going at about noon. It was a little later than I would have liked, but I was in no real hurry.

I had gotten it into my mind, that McMinnville was on the East side of Salem, so after plugging Evergreen into the GPS, I started out toward Lebanon and turned off at Crabtree.

Since I can't hear it anyway, regardless of how much I turn the volume up, I have turned the sound off my GPS and had not connected the headset (the gizmo complained about that too, it was liked being nagged by a parent or something)

I had neglected to change the setting from 'fastest' to 'avoid freeways', and it was telling me every mile or two that I needed to take a u-turn. The little whozit persistently pointed out that my next turn was a u-turn at the next road and go on the freeway.

It was about half way between Crabtree and Scio that the GPS either realized that I was never going to make that u-turn or it decided that the fastest way to Evergreen was another way.

When I got into Scio, I would have normally turned right and went through Lyons, but I went straight and ended up going through Stayton instead.

In between Scio and Stayton, I pulled off to let some other cars pass.

Since I tend to ride the speed limit or just a hair below, I try to do my best to not block traffic, but this was the first time that I had actually pulled over.

I looked around as I was waiting for another batch of cars that would have surely caught up with me had I not pulled over. It occurred to me that I was in the middle of farming country and this was a dandy place for a picture.

So I took a picture:

It was a short while after Stayton that it occurred to me that McMinnville was in fact on the other side of the freeway.

Oops.

I navigated Salem pretty well. GPS is good for something.

I was rather proud of the fact that when I got on the road to Dallas I was finally in the left lane for once and didn't go the wrong way in the fork.

Except this time I actually needed to be in the right lane of the fork in the road.

Oops.

I turned off and backtracked and it really wasn't a big thing because GPS told me that the side road I was on would let me turn left on my road and I would be back on track.

Except the city of Salem had made a change in that part of the road and you could no longer turn left.

Oops.

It was a good thing that I was really not in any hurry.

So I finally made my GPS happy and made a circle around the blocks of downtown Salem and once again found the fork to Dallas. This time I was on the right side.

The road that I found myself on was actually rather nice. It was very scenic.

Let me tell you about Evergreen.

When you ride up, you come in straight in towards the building that houses the airplanes, and you can see the Spruce Goose there in the window.

I paid my entrance fee and wandered in, trying to take in all the airplanes at once.

The first thing I noticed was some old helicopters that looked rather small. The looked so much bigger in M*A*S*H. Then I noticed a helicopter that looked a lot like the one from the show Airwolf (oh, did I just date myself?).

It was then that my astute nature clicked in and it occurred to me that the Spruce Goose had disappeared.

Yeah, I know, how does one loose an airplane as big as the Spruce Goose, but as I looked around I saw many fine aircraft, but didn't see Howard Hughes giant creation.

I then realized that the wall in front of me about 100 feet away and the ceiling above me was not a wall and ceiling.

It was in fact, the infamous plane built by Howard Hughes.

Wow.

I know that in our current society of giant H2 hummers that totally dominate the driving lane, and 767 Jumbo Jets that can carry a small army, have diminished our view of large, but WOW.

Given the scope of all the other planes in that era, the Spruce Goose towers over them all.

Quite literally.

Also, next to the helicopters, was an older styled motorcycle complete with sidecar.

After the motorcycle, they had a mustang. The plane and the car. Cool.

They had a B17 bomber.

And in almost every picture I took the Spruce Goose is there in some fashion, because of the sheer size of it.

My favorite was actually the replica of the Wright Brothers flyer. It really looked to me like a Rebel with wings.

The Wright Brothers were bold, because it looked to be rather . . . sparse.

If you get a chance to go, take it. It is a fun trip.

The way back was much less interesting since I took the freeway and got off at Jefferson.

Ta!

Balisada

My Motorcycles Home

2008-08-06T21:53:00.000-07:00

I took my six hundred bucks that the government gave me and bought a kit for a shed.

Since I have been parking my motorcycle outside since my older sister moved in temporarily, I wanted the shed put up for my motorcycle.

The shed was a pain in the butt to build, but I am glad that I have it.

My cousin Brian helped a lot, and he stated that really it wasn't all that hard, it was just hot, and that made everything harder to do.

As a result it took several weeks to build. (Note that there were actually several days and often a week or two between these pictures.)

I want to start by showing off a perfectly leveled floor:

After the floors, the front and back were put together and attached to the floor. I then nailed the studs together and then nailed them to the shed:

After that, we nailed on the walls and put up the rafters that I had nailed together earlier. Lastly we hung the door. The walls were actually the easiest to do.

All that is left is to paint it some color that interests me.

Here is a closeup of my Rebel living in it's new home:

I should point out that technically, the shed is not done, since the roof still needs to be nailed on.

I have a tarp on it now and will put it on when the weather cools. I am really not interested in working in the heat right now.

Later I will show off my pics from my trip to Evergreen Air and Space Museum.

Ta!

Balisada

Drive Thru's

2008-07-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

So yesterday Dutch Bros was donating all proceeds to Relay for Life.

Since it was a good cause, I grabbed my Starbucks cup and stopped by on the motorcycle.

I am reluctant to go through drive thru's in general, but I was willing to make a go of it for Relay for Life.

When you go through a fast food drive through, generally, space is an issue unless you have a tank bag to stow your loot into. Otherwise you have to get off the motorcycle to stow it.

In this case, I had to wait behind a car and took the opportunity to take my glove off and get my money and my cup out. I did have to get off to retrieve my cup.

When it was my turn, I was able to present both to the barista. She was careful to tighten the lid and I was able to put the cup in my saddlebag without getting off. Kind of reached behind me.

It worked out okay, but I don't think that I will be making it a habit.

Ta!

Balisada

Motorcycles and Mayhem

2008-07-19T21:50:00.000-07:00

So last Saturday I decided that it was cooler at the coast and set off on the motorcycle.

I don't check the air in my tires as often as I should, and it was a good thing that I checked them before the trip because they were rather low.

On the way out of town, I filled them up.

Filling up the front tire is always easy. Just stick in the little nozzle and you are good to go.

The back one used to be a pain in the buttocks until I hit on the solution. I was trying to fasten the nozzle at the opening between the spokes. If I brought the nozzle through the upper part of the spokes it fit. Duh.

So filled with air, I was ready to set out. (is there a blonde joke in there somewhere? I am not even blonde.)

I set out and the trip to the coast was rather uneventful.

I did do much better on the curves. I picked my lines much better than the last time.

The Valley was hot and the wind that was blowing was hot.

It wasn't until Burnt Woods that I felt my first gust of cold air and it felt quite nice.

It was my intention to get some clam chowder, but I knew that Mo's in Newport was going to be packed, and didn't want to repeat my trip to Mo's West two times in a row.

So I decided to stretch out my trip and eat at the Casino.

It turns out that I should have eaten an Mo's West.

When I got to the Casino, I noticed a custom chopper next to a trailer in the RV parking but did not pursue the thought further. I should have because when I rounded the bend, I was presented with a billion motorcycles.

So Chinook Winds was having some kind have motorcycle rally and the parking spaces were taken up by booths of some kind and music.

Yay.

Now I get to park further back.

Rally's are really not my thing.

A get together of fellow Rebel owners are okay, but I have just enough social anxiety to be uncomfortable in large groups of people.

But there were a lot of nice motorcycles there.

On the way home I stopped at the gas station right next to Chinook Winds.

They were having problems with their pumps.

Not interested in waiting to find out that I wasn't going to get gas, I went to the next gas station on my side of the road.

It's quite a ways.

After filling up, I had an almost uneventful trip home.

At Blodget there is a convenience store and a road splitting off right in front of the store.

The store was on my right and there was a white van in the parking lot moving to get on the road.

There was a car in the split off road (what ever road it was) waiting to get on the highway I was on.

The van commanded my attention because it was moving.

When I had my permit, my Dad told me that everyone else on the road was only there to hit my vehicle, or to hit something that would hit me.

He said that was their job, otherwise they would be at home watching TV.

So according to that rule, the van was bound to hit me because it was moving.

Fortunately for me, most people are not good at their job, because I had slowed down (because she was moving) and she saw me at the last minute. So I swerved to the left a bit.

I am willing to bet that the lady in the van was startled.

Cars that pull out in front of you are a challenge because you don't know which way to swerve.

If they keep going in front of you, you can swerve to the right and pass behind them. If they stop you can swerve to the left and pass in front them.

It's like that Crusader at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. "You have chosen . . . poorly."

Choose poorly and you end up a statistic. Kind of makes a motorcyclist pay attention.

Ta!

Balisada

How many Balisada's does it take to change a lightbulb?

2008-07-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

None.

Balisada doesn't change lightbulbs on her motorcycle. She takes it to the dealer and says "change my headlight." They smile and say "Sure."

But there is a wait in the summer so I had to change my own headlight.

In doing so, I have discovered that there is really no instructions on the internet, on how to do so.

I did run across this dude from Arizona's page, and he says that there is really nothing on the internet (yeah, I figured that out too) so he posted his instructions. I really do appreciate that he did so because I needed them. Here are his instructions.

So, first a disclaimer:

This posting on how I changed the headlight for a 2006 HONDA REBEL, is for entertainment purposes only. You need to seek the services of a qualified mechanic, and Auntie Balisada is not responsible for any injuries to you, your vehicle or the universe in general because you took this post as an actual guide on how to change a lightbulb.

Next an FYI:

Before you get started, locate the headlight. Should be easy.

Now, put down the screwdriver or wrench and find the two holes in the bottom part. These should be the ones that have little screws nestled inside them.

Now that you have found them:

DO NOT TOUCH THESE!

These are the screws that adjust the aim of the headlight, and have nothing whatsoever to do with replacing a headlight, so it behooves you to not mess around with them.

To remove the outer ring, there are bolts that stick out from the assembly (at least on mine).

First the instructions called for removing the cover of the black box just above and behind the headlight. I did that with a screwdriver.

Next, I was supposed to unhook three wires (I think one was blue and the other was green), but there were a lot of wires and I didn't know which ones, so I didn't.

Then I found the bolts on the bottom sides of the headlight. I found them at the 5 o'clock and 7 o'clock positions. I removed them with an 8mm socket, and put them on my saddlebag in the order that they were in on the assembly.

Next, I spent a lot of time trying to get the outer ring off. My book that I had purchased addressed the older Rebels, but not the newer ones, and there had apparently been a change in headlights. After a phone call to the dealership, I did what they said.

"Stand in front of the headlight and grab the bottom. Pull it up toward you and then pull straight up." Or did they say straight toward me? Oops. My bad. It will suck to be me when I have to do this again. They probably said toward me, since it's a lip sort of thing that comes up and over.

After some pain and suffering, it came off.

This is why I had pain and suffering. See the little lip on the ring? Yeah, it grabs the assembly and you have to lift up enough to unlatch it, but not up so much that you break the assembly. Which means that I probably pulled toward myself.

My next problem was in removing the wire from the lamp. I had a dickens of a time and eventually got it, but it sucked.

I then removed the rubber cover and found that a wire was keeping the bulb in place. If I removed the wire, I could take out the old bulb and put the new one in.

Then I put the whole thing back together in reverse order and was presented with a working headlight.

Off:

On:

Off:

On:

Off:

On:

Off:

On:

Well, I am now off to the coast.

Ta!

Balisada

Swerving in North Albany

2008-07-06T19:14:00.000-07:00

So Saturday was promising to be a respite from the hot weather that we had been having.

My Aunt was having a bbq and I had decided to ride to Salem, in lieu of riding with family.

My trip was rather uneventful, and I skirted the outskirts of Albany and then rode through Jefferson and out to Salem. When I got to Sunnyside, I got on the freeway and took the Detroit Lakes exit to Lancaster and then to my Aunts House.

I would like to take this opportunity to point out that after what I believe is the Kubler drive exit, there is a speed limit sign that I clearly remember saying:

"Speed 60"

Okay, perhaps it said:

"Speed 55"

Regardless of what the sign said, traffic was CLEARLY SPEEDING because I know that the speed limit was below the usual 65.

I read an article that talked about the most common excuses that police hear when giving speeding tickets.

I don't care how many cc's your motorcycle is lugging around, you will be using one of the excuses on the list.

"I was just trying to keep up with traffic."

I wonder if a trooper will give a 250cc Rebel a ticket for speeding or shake his head in amazement? Perhaps if I beep and wave merrily as I pass.

The trip back was a rather uneventful trip down the entire freeway.

Both the trip up and the trip back were uneventful.

I think that God was giving my eyebrows a break from their workout last Sunday.

Last Sunday was a rather beautiful day and I decided to get some chinese for lunch.

I had decided to go through North Albany and then wander to Corvallis for lunch.

I ended up going past the golf course on Springhill drive and turned right on Independence Highway. I had picked up a pickup behind me (punny, ain't I?) and was a bit surprised that the pickup didn't use one of the straight stretches to pass me.

Just after the Independence Highway turn, there is an 'S' turn.

View Larger Map

That's where my eyebrows got their workout.

I would like to point out right now that my mistake was treating the 'S' turn like one turn and it's not. An 'S' turn is two turns. In my case it was a left and then a right.

Two turns. Each needs to be treated as it's own turn. Ideally, you end the first turn by setting up for the second.

When I began the turn, I was looking through the turn and already looking head to the end of what I perceived to be the end of the turn.

I had noted the three bicyclists and the car.

The bicyclists were in the exact middle of the 'S'. The car was just behind them.

In scanning back through the turn, I again turned my attention to the bicyclists and car.

I would like to point out that the CIA is not going to snatch me up due to my superior intellect.

I point this out because I actually spent a second or two trying to figure out what happened to my road.

Taking up the left 1/3 of the road is the bicyclists.

Taking up the next part of the road is the car (off the center and several feet in my lane). It has thoughtfully left a LOT of room for the bicyclists.

And then there is me, stupidly trying to figure out where my road went off to (Excuse me, has anyone seen my road? I thought I left it right here, but someone must have moved it).

Essentially, what I saw, directly ahead of me was a car.

Fortunately, I was in no real hurry during the ride and had also slowed down to take the turn. I was probably going a max of 20 miles per hour.

When my brain finally caught up with reality, my eyebrows got what cartoons probably call a 'wild take'. That's where the eyebrows pop up about a foot above the head, and that is what mine did.

And then I did the only thing that could be done.

I swerved.

I would like to point out that I spend a lot of time swerving.

No, not around cars trying to run me off the road.

The pavement reflectors at LBCC are actually a hoot if there is no traffic and I am getting quite good at them. At ART class, we swerved at 30, 35 mph and I know that I could have done faster. (I wouldn't try this. Security will probably write you a citation, and I don't do it very often. Just when I know they are elsewhere on campus and there is no traffic on the campus road.)

The only issue that I had was I wasn't sure if the car was done infringing on my lane. Apparently he was and my swerve was flawless.

Especially since I didn't panic once. Not a bit.

After I peeled my eyebrows off the top of my helmet, I turned left at the next left (Suver Road) and then left again at the next major highway that runs right into Corvallis (99W).

The pickup that I had picked up chose to pass me after turning on Suver Road. Probably decided that he didn't want to follow someone who apparently attracted so much attention.

Ta!

Balisada

Dialated Pupils

2008-06-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

So I listened to my messages on Monday evening and was surprised to discover that the eye doctor called to remind me about my eye appointment the next day.

This was interesting, because I had to take my cat in to the vet for his "special" surgery (that would be to get him neutered) on that same day.

As much as I would like to put his travel carrier on the back of my motorcycle and have him ride pillion, I decided that:

A: it would be unsafe, even if I was able to fasten the carrier completely.

B: it would be a spectacle that would surely end up on youTube. Short fat woman with ears and tail on helmet and cat carrier complete with shrieking cat. Yeah, that's ending up on youTube.

So I drove to work, stopping to drop off my cat at the vets. After lunch, I drove home, picked up my motorcycle and rode to Salem to the eye appointment. Then I rode home, picked up my pickup and drove to the vet and picked up my cat.

That's a lot switching. If gas wasn't so expensive, I would be inclined to just drive, but really the Rebel is the smarter (and funner) choice.

At the doctors, they dilated my pupils.

Personally, I think that the eye doctor gets a bonus for every time they dilate someone eyes.

It turns out that if they leave you in the waiting room long enough, then the really bright light they shine in your eyes is just as bright, but isn't in your eyes as much.

Usually, it's difficult to get my eyes to cooperate, but they were behind this time and I waited in the waiting room for longer than usual, so my eyes had more time to adjust. (If inquiring minds want to know, my eyes are getting better, he says that the swelling is going down. Which is nice because I was unaware that I had swelling.)

So the light outside was a brighter than I would have liked, but I wandered down the street a bit to Taco Bell. My pupils recovered while eating my taco salad.

After Taco Bell, I wandered across the street to Fred Meyer and purchased some sunglasses. They helped a lot better with the pupils. Next time I wander up, I will be sure to bring them along.

After riding a few days with the sunglasses, I find that I like them and will continue with them. Best of all, they were only $15 on sale (cue ZZ Top, Cheap Sunglasses).

I should take a picture of myself with the sunglasses on.

Oh, I should also mention that they did a test for what I think was glaucoma. That would be the test where they shoot a bit of air into your eyeball and your other eyeball says ain't happin'en and you have to hold it open with both hands.

Only my eye doctor has the latest and greatest of equipment.

This one is over before you even really know you started. It tests pressure a different way and mine is like 16 and 17 or it may be 17 and 18.

So, if you still get the 'poof test'. Tell your eye doctor that there is a newer and more reliable test out there.

So enough about eye doctors and more about motorcycles.

I haven't been riding mine.

I spent the longest day of the year in my house cleaning.

The freeway trip on the way home from the eye doctor was also uninteresting. Which is good.

Two people that I know are seeking their motorcycle endorsement. There is someone that I met a few times at work, who I found out was getting her endorsement. I met her as she was going into the classroom portion of the class. She was really excited. But then she always seems to be excited so it's hard to be sure.

Then there is the lady at Safeway. She has just gotten hers and is looking forward to riding in the quiet residential area that she lives in.

I hope them both the best.

So, here it is many days later and the picture that I took of my glasses really didn't turnout, and I am tired of looking at this post in my drafts folder, so here it is pictureless.

Ta!

Balisada

Finals Week 2008

2008-06-13T13:18:00.000-07:00

I like finals week.

It's a nice blend of slow and busy with a dash of stress thrown in for good measure. My favorite finals week is Spring term.

Summer is nice and lazy, and the frantic chaos that is Fall term is invigorating, but Spring term brings it's own set of issues that fascinate me.

Like lost cars. People only seem to lose their cars in the parking lot in Spring term. Not that one has been lost this week (we had that a few weeks ago).

So I started this on Wednesday and here it is Friday and I only have 3 paragraphs. It's not like I have been inundated with work to do. It must be a spring thing.

On Monday, I parked in the 'corral' and took a picture of all the bikes that were parked when I got there.

If you look, you can see that there are quite a few bikes there at 8am. Usually, there are only 1 or 2. Finals week means that schedules are a bit different, so I was fortunate to get my usual parking space (that would be me with the Safeway bag hanging off the handlebars).

You can barely see my helmet hidden behind the railing. You can also see that most of the motorcycles are on the 'cool' side of the corral. :)

On Wednesday, I parked in front of the college in a regular parking space. Since the parking lot is almost empty, I feel that my motorcycle is safe from whatever.

Today, Friday, my motorcycle is parked there again, but the college is uncharacteristically busy. Folks are taking tests for classes on a non-traditional schedule, and the dental clinic above us is open.

I keep telling my boss that I am going to park inside the building this summer. I tell him that I am entitled, and if I pay a rental fee, then the normal parking rules should not apply. Funny thing is, my Rebel is small enough that it could actually fit through the doors without taking out the middle bar (I could even press the handicapped button), and it could sit quietly in the hall next to my office without any fuss.

Too bad I can't. It would be nice to look up and see my motorcycle.

Ta!

Balisada

After 20 Years

2008-06-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

A post at Rebel250.com piqued my interest. Click here for post if you are interested.

Someone read a mid year speech by the Honda CEO and posted the interesting parts.

Here they are:

"Honda plans to install PGM-FI [Honda's motorcycle fuel injection technology] on most of its motorcycles worldwide by the end of 2010. "

"Honda plans to install ABS in all 250cc or larger class models worldwide, except off-road models, by the end of 2010."

"In advanced nations, Honda will introduce its innovative environmental and safety technologies including a Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) system for motorcycles which significantly improves fuel efficiency"

Essentially, it means that the Rebel will be getting a facelift.

The Rebel was introduced in 1985 by Honda. Except for a few cosmetic changes, it is the same motorcycle 20 years later.

How is that for staying power?

And now it's going to change. The new Rebels will be getting fuel injection, Anti lock brakes, and a few other extras (someone in the thread mentioned liquid cooling and improved charging components will be needed to support the new additions).

As I ponder the additions, I think that a lot is being added to a rather small motorcycle.

Now, if Honda still had the 450 Rebel hanging around, they could simply kabosh the 250 and put the extras on the 450, since it seems to be more able to handle them.

Of course, I am not a mechanic. Perhaps the Rebel can handle it.

Whatever the result, change is in the wind for Hondas, and a small part of me is jealous.

Ta!

Balisada

Sunday Update

2008-06-01T18:21:00.000-07:00

Really quick update to the post this morning (that would be the previous post).

I adjusted the freeplay and discovered that it is absurdly easy.

The Harley wasn't there, but I there was a dude with a Harley shirt.

Ta!

Balisada

Leaving a trail

2008-05-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

I have been riding my motorcycle to work the last few days.

This is noteworthy because I adjusted my chain again.

Myself.

I don't mind working on my pickup because if parts start falling off, it's no big deal, you are still safe inside (but I have it on good authority that the parts falling of a vehicle will, in fact, make sparks as they bounce along the road).

I am reluctant to work on my motorcycle because I am somehow convinced that I will make a mistake of some kind and that could be a problem when you only have two wheels.

Happily, parts have not fallen off of my motorcycle, but my rear brake did seem a bit more firm than it did before. After some checking, I see that I need to adjust the freeplay. My bad.

When I ride to church on Sundays, I am always the only motorcycle in the parking lot.

So, imagine my surprise when I discover that another motorcycle has wandered to church:

As I post this on a Sunday morning, I do wonder if it will be there today. Last week I looked around for anyone who might own the Harley, but didn't see any likely suspects.

Oh well, I guess I will just have to wait and see.

Ta!

Balisada

Another First

2008-05-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

So I thought that after 15,000 miles, I had done all the firsts.

I remember my first bug.

I had ridden to the next town over for a class. The ladies in the class were quite surprised. Almost shocked actually, that I had purchased a bike. They politely looked as I proudly pointed to my helmet and exclaimed:

"See! My first bug!"

I remember the first time someone pulled out in front of me. She was turning left by the way. Go figure.

A few days a go, I found my first pile of bird poop.

Yay.

See, here it is:

So anyway, I had the second part of ART. That's Advanced Rider Training.

I have discovered that my lines suck.

Big surprise there.

They improved toward the end of the day, but I really think that I just memorized the course.

There were tons of motorcycles there because the riding part of my class was postponed, so we joined another class. While they were in class, we were out on the range.

So I need to improve my lines (because I memorized the course, the go cart range where we were had thoughtfully put a striped area at the apex of every turn, so you just had make sure that your turn apexed at that part).

I also need to look through the turns more. They said that I wobbled in the turns because I was moving my head around. I need to work on my peripheral vision.

During the break, I was astonished to discover that several motorcycles had chosen their helmet color to match their bike.

I realize that motorcycles are a personal thing, but I never realized how safety minded I was. Well, at least they were full faced helmets. I would be willing to bet that their jackets probably matched too. I also realized that my tendency to take my helmet with me was not actually common. Many motorcyclists leave their helmets with their motorcycles.

So anyway, here is a pic of my Rebel hanging with the 'big boys".

Yeah, I know there is only one other motorcycle in the picture, but I got there early and the other class was not going to start until an hour after we did.

Ta!

Balisada

My New Chain

2008-05-05T19:42:00.000-07:00

Jeez ooooh pete.

You would think that I died or something, since it has been so long since I posted.

So a few weeks ago, I took my new chain to the Advanced Rider Training class in Canby, Oregon. (I brought my motorcycle along too. For kicks.)

I packed a lunch.

I put the liner back into my jacket and wondered if I would have a chance to take it out when I got too hot.

I set my GPS and left early in case I ran into traffic.

Half way to Salem I was reminded once again that my gloves are not, despite what the salesman told me, cold weather gloves, and was very grateful that I had put the liner in my jacket.

So I stopped in Salem at a Walmart Supercenter to warm my hands. As I wandered around I noticed that it only seemed to have food and was setup exactly like the Winco in Corvallis.

Then it hit me.

This is not Walmart. This is Winco.

Duh.

I am so smart.

So I got on my way and found my way quite easily to the go cart track where we would be practicing.

I was the first student to arrive:

Eventually, 8 other students wandered in and class started. It was the classroom in the morning and the range in the afternoon.

After lunch, the instructor looked at the track, rode it a few times and decided to try the afternoon class.

While he explained and the other instructor demonstrated the first exercise, it rained.

Since the track had a thin layer of rubber on it from the go carts, this was not good and class would have to be postponed.

On my way home, I almost stopped in Salem, and it turns out that I should have because I forgot that the freeway is concrete, and it poured. That meant that the spray did not disperse, but instead comes back up, so I had water coming at me from two directions.

But, eventually I got home, because here I am now.

Last weekend (okay, not last weekend but the one before, gee whiz, time flies) was the first entirely nice day after a flurry of cold. rainy weather. It was the kind of day that demanded that the motorcycle go somewhere.

As I prepped the Rebel, it occurred to me that a bowl of clam chowder at the beach sounded nice.

After filling with gas, I headed through Corvallis toward Newport.

I was glad that it wasn't too cold, because after my class (where I got soooo wet in Salem) I had taken the liner out of my jacket and was not really in the mood to once again get cold.

Traffic was light the whole way, so I was free to go just below the speed limit.

Which I did.

That's why I like cruisers. Where sport bikes seem to be in a hurry, cruisers enjoy the scenery.

Which was littered with dead animals.

Really. Lots of them. It must be a spring thing.

I turned right in Newport and headed North toward the Devils Punchbowl. Right at the same spot as the Devil's Punchbowl is Mo's West, and that's where I got my clam chowder.

See, here is my motorcycle at Mo's West:

So, now the weather is starting to be nicer, and I am looking forward to more trips to places in my area.

Yay!

Ta!

Balisada

A Fixed Chain Rambling

2008-04-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

So I have my motorcycle back.

Today was inservice at LBCC so except for some stuff in the morning, the afternoon was mine.

I started out my day by attending a group meeting with my immediate co-workers about an action packed topic - Loss Prevention. On the way there I rather grumpily reflected on how nice a morning it was and it would be super if I rode a motorcycle.

I then attended an assembly of all my co-workers for longevity awards. Yay.

It was on my way to lunch (free with my immediate co-workers) that I got the call I was waiting for.

My motorcycle was ready.

Yay!

I had been thinking the night before that perhaps my motorcycle would not be ready for Monday. I have signed up (and paid for) Advanced Rider Training, and my class was on Monday.

This was unfortunate because my motorcycle was broken. I was really, really, really stressed the day I dropped it off. The shop was scheduling three weeks out, and that would mean that I would miss my class. Fortunately, the shop agreed to look at it and see if the chain was a quick fix.

But I had forgotten my keys when dropping off my motorcycle.

The next day, they said that they didn't have any master links in stock and would have to order one. It never occurred to me that the ordering of the part would put me past my scheduled training date, and I was reluctant to call the shop since they had graciously squeezed me in.

So I was rather happy when they called and said that my motorcycle was ready.

They even washed it.

Cool.

This is what a chain looks like:

Now I was faced with the prospect of getting over to Corvallis to pick it up. Everyone I know was busy.

Fortunately my sister offered to take me over. While she was there she oogled the scooters. She totally needs a scooter.

Ta!

Balisada

My Bag of Luck

2008-04-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

"You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck."

I think that I have been using my bag of luck lately, and it's all due to my own stupidity.

I have been stressed lately. Lots of stuff piling up on my desk at work and a report that I am working on is overdue.

I should have known that I was overstressed when I was convinced that my dogs food storage bin was empty (even now I am convinced that it was empty), so I bought some more food and found that it was about 1/3 full. Don't know where the food came from, but obviously, I bought some food for him after the last time I fed him. (I put lots of food in an 'endless feeder', so I only feed him about once a week.)

That incident has been on my mind, and I have been considering taking more time off of work, but haven't progressed beyond that.

On the way to church this morning, I was passing the high school track and this rather unpleasant sound comes from my motorcycle and it loses power.

I verify that it's in gear and still no joy.

So I coast to the side of the road and took stock of my situation.

It was a quick check. I was stuck with a motorcycle that had a broken transmission. So, I called my dad.

"Check to see if it's in gear." Yeah, I did that already. I told him that it was in first gear and still rolled freely.

"Check to see if you have a chain." Of course I had a chain. What kind of question was that? But I dutifully checked to see if I had a chain.

My chain was missing.

So my transmission was not broken, but my chain was.

I pulled up to the next crossroad and waited for my dad.

This is what a Rebel looks like with no chain:

See, the chain is right here:

We got a trailer and brought my motorcycle home.

It's now sitting in my garage with no chain, and I have only myself to blame.

I read a book written by a pilot who flew helicopters in Vietnam. He was talking about the preflight checklist and accidents. He had gotten into an accident and said the inquiry usually determined that the cause of accidents was "failure to properly preflight the aircraft".

That would sort of be me.

If I had lubed and checked my chain regularly, I would be sitting in church right now instead of at my computer with a broken motorcycle.

I had just spent 86 miles running around the countryside with a dead cell phone and my motorcycle breaks 2 miles away from home in town.

Rats.

My bag of luck is emptying.

Ta!

Balisada

Trials and Tribulations

2008-04-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

So the weather today was rather nice.

I slept in this morning and watched some TV before setting out to change my oil.

Changing the oil turned out to me more of a task than I had thought. It turns out that when I had it in the shop last, they tightened up the nut a bit tight.

I burned my arm twice before I got the nut loose.

But I did get it loose, and I did get it tightened again.

I also put fresh oil in it.

It was when I went to start it up that I realized that I had left the key on for about an hour and a half and now I had a dead battery.

I hooked the battery up to the Battery Tender and took the liner out of my jacket while I waited. While I waited, I wondered if I would get too cold during my ride.

An hour later, I had the battery charged enough to start and then I discovered that I couldn't keep it started. It kept dying.

I decided that it would wear off and put my gear on and started out. Apparently I thought that the problem would just "go away".

It kept dying.

Dejectedly, I turned into a parking lot and reflected on the fact that my cell phone was dead and that my motorcycle was not working because the problem did not "go away".

Then it hit me.

Someday, I will truly, honestly and deeply remember the purpose of the petcock before I decided that my motorcycle is broken.

After turning the fuel to reserve I went merrily on my way to the gas station.

20 min later, I finally got my gas.

There was only three cars there when I pulled in and it was while before I even saw anyone.

Just after I saw the guy, a pickup pulled in behind me.

Finally the guy comes and says that there is only one of him.

I think that the problem is not that there is one of him, but that the 'one' employee is mismanaging his time.

So he punches some buttons and hands me the nozzle and then goes to help the guy in the truck behind me.

Now that I finally have service, I have no gas pumping into my empty gas tank.

I point this out to the attendant and he leaves the guy (they were just talking anyway, gas can pump itself) and pushes some more buttons and gas finally comes out.

When my tank was full, I put my gascap back on, and waited.

And waited.

And waited while the guy behind me left.

I waited some more.

Then the attendant finally came up and asked if I wanted a receipt. (I refrain from stating a rather sarcastic "No, I just thought I would hang out at your gas station for a while because it's a happening place").

Finally I get to actually go.

Half the day is now past, but I can finally go somewhere.

I decided to wander out past Crabtree and then through Lyons.

It was a nice ride and I lost count of how many motorcycles that I passed.

There is a nice store in Lyons that I stopped at to get some water.

After Lyons I went to Salem. The pace was a bit faster, but the road was still not well traveled so I wasn't forced to go faster than I wanted.

In Salem, I passed the State Penn and stopped at the downtown mall for some Cinnamon Rolls.

I was waiting for a stoplight and I reflected on how hot I was, and remembered that earlier I was actually concerned that I would be too cold.

On the way back from Salem, I went up Commercial, took the Sunnyside Exit and then turned on Enchanted Way. I turned left at the end of that road and went through Jefferson to Scravel Hill road. Scravel Hill took me straight on to Hwy 20 and I took it all the way home.

All said and done, I spent about 86 miles of fun. Here is a link to my ride.

But the guy at the gas station still makes me mad.

Bear-ly Cold Weather

2008-04-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

So winter's grasp on the weather is slowly fading and I have been sorely tempted to take out the liner in my jacket. I have resisted because I took it out last year to early and spent a lot of time getting too cold on my motorcycle.

There have been times, however, that I have been hot.

So I unzipped the vents in my arms. It seemed wrong somehow, since the liner was still in my jacket, but it sure made it a bit cooler.

And then a couple of days later it rained and I couldn't figure out how come my arms were wet.

Oh. Yeah. The vents.

So now they are zipped up.

I went on a ride the other day. It was a little jaunt around Albany. I love these farming roads!

So I started out at the College and then went over to Seven Mile Lane and turned off on Frye Road.

Before I turned off on Frye Road I stopped at a "pasture entrance ramp" and fastened down my saddlebags. The small part of me that wants to just not worry about everything wants to leave them unfastened. But they flap around too much.

Shortly after turning off on Frye Road, I saw a bear in the road. Not a real breathing bear, but a stuffed bear. It was gringy with road grime, but was still a new bear.

I was reluctant to fasten Mr Bear to the back of my motorcycle and gave him a short ride to the next driveway and left him propped against a fence post.

After Mr Bear, I turned left on Grand Prairie and followed it to Spicer Drive. I followed Spicer drive for a while and another motorcyclist came up rather fast and passed me after giving me a jaunty wave.

If you want to know, Spicer Drive turns into Tennessee School Drive at Highway 20.

Further more, if you follow it around, it does this little loop thing and ends back up on Highway 20.

It was while I was on the little loop thing, that I was suddenly overcome with the desire to change my oil.

I don't know what the deal was, but for some reason, I was overcome with a deep, resolute and unyeilding need to change my oil.

I was convinced that my oil was old and not protecting my engine and that it was going to leave a trail of parts behind my motorcycle. That's not a fun prospect. My sister knows from personal experience.

So I wandered on home, fully aware that I would not actually be able to change my oil because the engine would have to cool, and it was going to rain. Don't ask me why I didn't just change my oil in the garage. Heaven forbid that I should use the garage for what it was designed for.

So here is a map of my travels that day:

View Larger Map

Ta!

Balisada

Winters Last Gasp

2008-03-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

So I have been riding a bit sparsely lately. Just to work and back really.

I have been tired lately, and although the sun has been out, or at least it has not been raining, I have not really been riding. It turns out that when the sun goes down, it takes what little warmth there is with it.

I did ride to work this morning, as usual.

The weather man on tv, said something about snow levels, and showed his little computer models of little green blobs, (surprisingly his maps of jet streams and cold fronts was missing). He failed to state anything more interesting than "rain at times" for the valley, so I tuned him out.

I think that I should have paid attention to his little green blobs. I seem to recall him saying something about it being cold today, and darn if it wasn't nippy out today.

I must be mentally ready for the warm weather, because I do have a warm face whoozit that keeps my cheeks and chin warm, but it never occurred to me to use it. I have been considering taking the liner out of my jacket lately, but compromised (if you compromise with yourself do you win or lose?) and simply unzipped the air vents in the arms of my jacket.

It was a good thing that I did leave my liner in because it was was indeed cold out this morning.

But I said that already.

So last week, I did actually go for a rather short ride around the outskirts of town. I took some farming roads to see where they went and discovered that they went to hwy 34. Here is a map of my trip.

Just after turning off on Goltra Road, and passing some train tracks, I saw three turkeys in someone's field. I honked my anemic little horn, and they didn't even turn and look.

Great. I don't even get respect from wild turkeys. I hope you end up as the guest of honor at Thanksgiving.

I like those spiderweb of farm roads that we have in the valley. It makes for interesting riding in the warmer months. It's great for new riders because traffic is often light on those roads and their many twists and turns, as they wind around the properties makes for good practice.

So last week it was finals week at the Community College where I work.

When I returned to my motorcycle to go home, I discovered that all the motorcycles were parked on the "cool" side of the corral. (It's going to be a while before that gets old).

There were only three of them, and as I looked it occurred to me that (follow my reasoning, here):

1. My side of the corral is the "cool" side of the corral.
2. Therefore, since the presence of my motorcycle makes it the cool side of the corral, the other motorcycles must be groupies!

Okay, stop rolling your eyeballs. I was fighting a cold that day that was actually brought on by my stubbornly riding in cold and wet weather (I got soooo wet on the way home last Wednesday).

Here is the picture of my groupies:

So, if there was one Harley (yeah, I know that the one is a Yamaha, work with me here) on each side, then they would be body guards. ;)

Ta!

Balisada

It's Going to be a While Before This Gets Old

2008-03-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

So it's getting to be the end of the term.

There are three Honda Rebels that park in the motorcycle parking where I work and occasionally I meet one. A few weeks ago I posted a picture of when all three were at the same place at the same time.

Last week, I again went to my motorcycle and found that all three were again there and, in the same place:

They are even in the same order!

It's going to be a while before this gets old.

Actually, this is probably the last time that all three will be together at the same time, given that the term is ending and next term the schedules will not be the same.

So, it's been warmer and I have been wanting to wander further than the usual trip home, and twice I have started out somewhere only to have the sun set.

I keep forgetting that at this time of the year, when the sun sets, it takes the warmth with it, and my gloves are really not that warm.

I don't think much will happen this Saturday either because I think that it's supposed to rain.

I know that I have really been riding all winter, but I do have my limits.

We will have to see what happens.

Ta!

Balisada

Modified Trips and Lines that Blow

2008-02-26T10:10:00.000-08:00

So I went to Siletz this last Saturday. Here is my route.

My aunt has written a children's book and has donated a copy to the library in Siletz. Apparently, on the library's birthday, she also did a book signing.

The plan was to attend the 15 minute book signing and then wander over to the coast and get some clam chowder. I figured that I would know where to eat when I saw it.

You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men.

So I went through Corvallis, and then Philomath and finally Siletz. Philomath was doing some improvements on main street for a while and it looks like they have finished the project, so the streets are nice and flat. No potholes yet.

A short time after Philomath three motorcyclists merged onto the highway in front of me. They were a group of some kind because they each had a small yellow flag with a blue logo on it. The area that they came out of had a little store, so they must have stopped there for a short break.

So I gave them some space, but traffic slowed, and I kept moving up on them.

I am always mindful of another riders space behind them, because I know that some riders do not like to ride with people that they don't know.

I also know that new riders will sometimes try to join a group. So it was not my intention to join them, and I hope that they realized that.

Their ride took them to the town of Toledo and they turned off there.

Overall, it was a nice trip to Siletz. No really interesting things happened. Of course the speed was slower than normal, so it was easier to enjoy the scenery and the day.

The 15 minutes I had planned to spend in the library turned into an hour and a half, and was then followed by pizza at the local pizza place with a few of my relatives (I have a million and lots had shown up).

I had to leave the party early in order to make sure that I was not going to traveling the mountains in the dark.

It was on the way back I came to a rather difficult discovery.

My lines suck.

Meybee they blow.

Perhaps they bite.

In April I will be attending an ART class. That's Advance Rider Training. You get to take it when you get 12,000 miles experience.

I can just see the instructor in ART class telling me that my lines are bad:

"Hey, you on the red-headed-stepchild-of-a-motorcycle! Your lines are bad. Are you just riding randomly in the lane, or are you actually planning and scanning the road ahead?"

Perhaps the instructor will be more like what you see in boot camp:

"HEY MAGGOT! WHERE ARE YOUR LINES!"

"YOU WERE ISSUED LINES IN BASIC RIDER TRAINING! WHERE ARE THEY NOW? HAVE YOU BEEN TAKING CARE OF YOUR LINES? HAVE YOU BEEN USING YOUR LINES?"

These are my lines.
There are many like them,
but these lines are mine.

My lines without me are useless.
Without my lines, I am a cross on the side of the road.

So I guess I will be finding lots of twisty roads to practice my lines.

Ta!

Balisada

A black sheep and the "cool" side of the corral

2008-02-19T20:17:00.000-08:00

So last Saturday found me on my motorcycle.

It was a nice day and I just had to be on my motorcycle, so I picked a direction.

The direction that I picked was north.

So I went the back way on Scravel Hill to Jefferson and then north to Salem. (FYI, if you go this way, remember when you come up to the freeway, take the Enchanted Way road just before the freeway. Then you are not speeding along a freeway. When you do meet up with the freeway, there is this odd little sort of exit/merge thing that will allow to to get to Commercial Ave in Salem without actually getting onto the freeway. You cannot go south this way, however without actually getting on the freeway for a short mile.)

If you keep on Commercial and then turn left on the bridge to Dallas, you can turn off at Rickreal, and then go Corvallis.

It's a nice ride. There was a lot of motorcycle traffic before Salem, due to the fact that the roads were really not very well traveled.

After Salem, there was a lot of traffic and no motorcycle traffic.

The speed limit on the road from Salem to Corvallis was 55, but traffic really goes 65+. Probably why there was no motorcycle traffic.

The first time I was on the road, I was going from Corvallis to Salem, and was on my way to my 600 mile checkup for my motorcycle.

I had only 600 miles total experience with a motorcycle and really didn't want to be on the freeway just yet.

It turns out that I probably should have been on the freeway, because that road that day scared the crap out of me.

So anyhow, here is a map of my travels that day. There was a stop off in Corvallis for lunch at King Tin. Click here for the map.

Okay. Now, listen to this.

I get to work just before 8 to an usually an empty motorcycle parking area. It's a cool area that is enclosed with a railing, that makes it a kind of corral for motorcycles. It's also a bit further into the college than regular parking so motorcyclists get to park up closer than the others.

If I am running late then often there will be a motorcycle or two when I get there and I always park in the same place (I like predictable). The others will often be parked in the same places too, but we are scattered randomly around the corral.

When I return to my motorcycle at the end of the day, more than once, all the motorcycles are parked on the other side of the corral.

What am I, a red-headed stepchild?

Is my motorcycle the geek of the motorcycle world?

Look for yourself:

All the motorcycles are clearly on the OTHER side of the corral!

And then it hit me.

My side of the corral is the cool side of the corral.

See look for yourself, and drink in the coolness of the Rebel:

On the "cool" side of the corral, it goes Rebel, Rebel, Vulcan, Rebel.

The other side of the corral, had a Shadow and a sportbike (Sorry, not up on my sportbikes, so I don't know what kind it was.)

It's good to be me.

Ta!

Balisada

Lost and Found and Lost for Good

2008-02-08T19:17:00.001-08:00

So the weather on Wednesday morning was not raining, but supposed to rain later in the day.

Good enough for me.

During work it rained:

The rainfall was rather light, so I planned to ride to church later that evening, and when the time came to go, I had dried out.

But I found that it had started raining a bit harder. Since it was going to be too much time and trouble to put the Rebel away, and that was going to make me late, so I rode.

It turns out that I should have drove anyway.

I was rather soaked. My wet pants even dripped into my socks, making my shoes squish when I walked.

By the time I got home, I was one giant puddle.

I think I caught a cold. I am still stuffed up a bit.

To top it all off, when I got to church, I found that one of my ears had come off.

This is what a helmet looks like with only one ear:

Happily, I found my ear on the deck on my way into the house (that would be silver lining in my puddle).

Here it is:

I can see that this new helmet is going to be hard on the ears. The graphics on the helmet create just enough of a difference between graphics that, combined with ordinary road dirt, is going to be tough on the ears (the seal with the suction cup).

I think that I am going to have to purchase a bunch more.

So Saturday, I watched the Space Shuttle dock with the International Space Station.

It was the kind of day that only motorcyclists appreciate.

The first nice day toward the end of winter. While the Space Shuttle docked on TV, I could see the blue sky peek out from behind the clouds.

The roads were dry, and finally, it was not cold.

I pulled the Rebel out of the garage and picked a direction after stopping for air and gas.

Unfortunately, just outside of town, I found that the reflection in my speedometer was shy an ear, and backtracking the path did not find my ear on the side of the road.

So I had to return home and get a new set.

Fortunately, I had tied the replacement ears and tail together with thread, because the suction cup on the new tail was slightly flawed and it kept coming off.

So headed out of town towards Brownsville, and then toward Coburg. Going through Coburg (slowly, because I hear that the local Police are pretty quick with the ticket book), and ended up in Eugene. Lunch was at IHOP:

On the way home I took the freeway. I like the freeway. Not as many distractions for the driver, so it's really not as dangerous as surface streets. It's just faster.

I got up to 75 miles per hour on the Rebel.

The semi truck in front of me moved to pass someone, and the semi truck in front of him went to pass the same person.

I decided that whatever prompted them to pass, was prompting me to pass too and I passed, what turned out to be a truck pulling a trailer.

When they returned to the right lane, I found a long line of semis effectively blocking my way.

So, I rolled on the throttle and passed a loooooooooong line of semis. There were probably 20 of them, and they were all in the right lane blocking me from merging over, and the traffic behind me was not letting me go my usual 65.

Eventually, there was a break in the trucks and I merged back into the right lane and let what turned out to be one car by.

One car.

I busted my butt for one car.

Oh well.

A link on Google Maps of my route. Click Here.

Ta!

Balisada

Distracted Driving and Multitasking

2008-01-31T10:21:00.000-08:00

I know that I am supposed to be droning on about where I went on my motorcycle, and what I did when I got there, but the weather has been rather unco-operative lately. Although I almost rode today, I was dissuaded by the thought of my mom or dad finding out (stop rolling your eyeballs ;) - It's simply not worth the hassle of them calling me and complaining.)

I read a couple of articles about similar topics.

The first was about multitasking.

URL:
http://www.informationweek.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=205921005

The folks at OSU have done a study and found that really, you can only do so much at once.

Really.

They found that 4 is really the most that you can do at once. If you do more than that, you are doing a lousy job.

Which brings me to my next article that I found from Bikes in the Fast Lane.

It's a collection of motorcycles that have lots of doo-dads on and around the handlebars.

URL:
http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/busy-motorcycle-cockpit-too-much-data.htm

Motorcyclists are quick to complain that drivers always seem be distracted, but as technology becomes more affordable, are motorcyclists starting down the same distracted path?

We joke about the reasons that a Goldwing rider does not wave back (#2 Was simultaneously adjusting the air suspension, seat height, programmable CD player, seat temperature and satellite navigation system.) But as the toys get more sophisticated, that statement may someday be true.

So, since people can really only think of 4 things at once, and "gadget bloat" is increasing, how many toys do you really want on your motorcycle?

I read a book called "Chickenhawk". It's about a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. He mentioned in the book that they don't actually look at all the dials at once, they are trained to look at them in patterns. Perhaps those with all the gadgets don't look at them all once.

Okay. Whatever works.

As long as you don't crash into me.

So each post should have one picture, and below is a picture of my rebels friend. I parked it in an empty lot, and returned to discover that my Rebel had found a friend.

Ta!

Balisada

Motorcycle Thoughts and a Short Trip

2008-01-19T01:02:00.001-08:00

So I read this post from "The Great Motorcycle Pizza Tour" titled: "Ten Ways Motorcycling Improves Your Life"

It's a rather interesting list of things that motorcycles do to improve your life. He mentions that:

The unfortunate cage-bound citizens around us, however, don't understand. They see the risk, but not the rewards.

You got that right. How many people on the road have the privilege of traveling in or on their preferred mode of transportation?

You don't see minivan owners pausing for a moment to connect for just an instant with another minivan owner by waving. Although I am told that Mustang owners do wave at each other.

Pieces of his list:

1 -

Fun. Motorcycling is the second most fun activity one could engage in. The third most fun is eating pizza, and the first most fun I'll leave up to your imagination, because my mom reads this blog.

I got my motorcycle because I was tired of paying three dollars a gallon for gas and needed something cheaper to get me to work.

I didn't know that motorcycles would be soooo much fun.

2 -

Calm. Road rage? No thanks, I've got my motorcycle. Sure, I've had to stop at 20 red lights, been cut off twice and my ear itches something fierce. It's ok, because, unlike my poor, trapped brethren in their cages, I'm still having a great time.

I find that I prefer to travel places on a motorcycle, rather than on four wheels. On four wheels, the point was the destination. On two wheels, the destination was only half the fun. Getting there was the other half.

6 -

New friends everywhere. If you've got a motorcycle, you've got new friends. All you have to do is be willing to talk to them. For all I rag on Harley dorks, I've met more great guys on Harleys than jerks. And the great thing about the jerks is that most of them are just too cool to talk to you.

This was an unexpected thing that I found happening to me every once in a while.

I would be standing in line minding my own business, waiting patiently for the line to move so I could get my morning double-shot-no-whip-non-fat-real-caramel-white-mocha, when the person next to me would strike up a conversation about how they used to ride motorcycles but had to stop, or they would mention that their son rides motorcycles. It's like everywhere I go, there is someone that I can converse to about something, and not have to sit in the corner by myself. Cool.

Except for the one guy I met at Starbucks who got all mad at me because I had the nerve to put tiger ears and a tail on a five hundred dollar helmet. I bet whatever it is that he rides or drives, he does so only for the image and not the fun. Pity.

10 -

A bike makes your butt look fast. Seriously, just like a monkey makes everything funnier, everyone's butt looks better on a motorcycle. You know it's true.

I have been thinking on and off about a larger motorcycle. I will have to keep this in mind and take someone else with me - "Does this bike make my butt look fast?".

So I was pondering this list on the way to church this morning.

I was running a bit late because I spent to long on the internet trying to figure out what the weather was going to be like. Ordinarily, I would simply look out the window, but today I was going to a different church in the next town over to listen to a series that promised to be interesting.

The weather I finally ended up finding stated "30% chance of rain - something something something." I actually stopped reading after that because 30% chance rain was good enough for me.

So I was just leaving town, and the car in front of me headed out onto the freeway.

I paused for a moment, and then followed.

The roads were sort of dry and there couldn't be all that much traffic.

It turns out that the freeway was indeed mostly dry, (Okay, fairly dry) but not devoid of traffic. There was a fair amount of cars and trucks.

I also saw another motorcycle across the median in the oncoming lane. I waved and received a corresponding wave.

I have always wondered about waving to motorcyclists on the other side of the freeway. If they don't wave, was it because they didn't see you, or did they just ignore you?

While on the freeway I pondered the list. I was indeed having fun.

Yes, I was cold.

Yes, I was damp.

But I was rather happy.

On the way home, I took a longer way home, not on a freeway, with a detour through yet another town (so it went: Albany, Jefferson, Albany, Corvallis, Albany).

I would like to point out that it was cold because my gloves are not a warm as I would like.

I stopped at the store and bought a few things that I needed.

I also bought some things that I didn't really need. Fortunately, I fit it all on the Rebel with a bungee web that I had bought (I received some balloons at work for my birthday, and needed a way to get them home. No way, no how am I going to transport the balloons by simply tieing them on the end of the Rebel. Short fat woman on a motorcycle with tiger ears and tail on the helmet and balloons on the back - YouTube fodder if I ever saw it).

Here is a picture of my Rebel and my purchases:

At least it's not loaded up like those ones you see in Asia.

Ta!

Balisada

Cold Weather and Delayed Postings

2008-01-01T21:27:00.000-08:00

I started this post intending to post right away, but was stopped by some busyness that came up. It's a week later, and the busyness is only just slowing down. So it's kind of a timeline, of sorts.

~~~

So it's winter and riding has really been the pitts.

Cold weather has made riding difficult because it has been wet and cold, so the roads are not really good for motorcycles. I travel to work rather early.

Well, I call it early.

I have to be there at 8am, so the roads are not always the best at that hour. A bit later in the day, they are better for riding, but by then I am at work.

I recently ran across an article from someone who talks about waving to other riders. He then mentions "Nothing separates the true bikers from the wannabes like 30-degree temperatures."

He says that for the past week he has passed nothing on 2 wheels over a scooter.

That's hardcore.

You have to admire those folks on scooters. I wave at them, but they usually don't wave back. I don't think that they intentionally ignore me, I think that they are so into their ride, buzzing along (probably trying not to get run over), that they don't see me waving.

Here is the link to the article:

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20071228/NEWS/712280595/-1/RSS

~~~

So it is a bit later (Jan 8th), and Andy (Good Day Oregon weatherman) promised clouds today and rain this evening. Since it was not all that cold, I rode to work.

Yes, I know that all around the valley, weather is making for interesting travel. But the roads were clear and the weather was really not cold enough to freeze the roads (or it cleared before I went to work).

There was only one motorcycle in motorcycle parking this morning.

Mine.

I can't help but assume that my poor Rebel will be lonely all day:

I should have parked in the exact center of the motorcycle parking, to illustrate my Rebel's loneliness.

On my way to the lunchroom, I stopped by the motorcycle parking and discovered a total of 5 motorcycles in the motorcycle parking.

Good thing I didn't park in the center.

So it would appear that I am not the only "nutty motorcyclist" in the area (as folks in cars would say). At least my Rebel has another motorcycle to talk to.

Ta!

Balisada

Cruddy Weather and Getting Out of the Driveway

2007-12-07T10:43:00.000-08:00

So I haven't been able to ride my motorcycle for a few days. Partly by choice, and partly due to several different events converging.

Bad weather made me park the motorcycle for a day or two. Then the yard was re-arranged to accommodate the dog.

That is just what I want to do, make sure that my dog has more space by taking up my driveway.

Now all I have to get out of the driveway with my motorcycle is a small gate and a question if the Rebel will even fit through.

Mom says that it's winter and I don't need to be riding anyway.

Fortunately, I have an inch on each side of the handlebars, so I am good to go.

So this is the motorcycle parking this morning at work (that's me on the right):

One other brave soul riding to work.

Well, to be honest, it is Friday on a finals week at a Community College so there is about as much action as a church on Friday evening, and there has been some pretty bad weather in the Pacific Northwest lately, so folks are reluctant to ride.

The bad weather was mostly around the northern Oregon coast and parts of Washington. Parts of the coast actually had 129 mile an hour winds.

That's hurricane force winds, folks.

So now they are all "digging out" from all that water, and places are still flooded. The valley, where I live did not escape the rain, so we have a lot of water running around, but it is right where it belongs and not running over.

So I rode.

Well, it's all relative I suppose. People will assume different amounts of risk depending on their skills and experience.

Ta!

Balisada

Smaller Bikes and Moving Up

2007-11-28T09:56:00.000-08:00

I ride a Honda Rebel. It's a 250cc, but it gets great gas mileage and it's lightweight and agile.

The problem is that most folks think that motorcycles are large, noisy Harley Davidson's.

They sometimes want to know:

Don't you get blown around on the freeway? (Not really. I do have problems with headwinds and passing, since the Rebel is not really a powerful bike.)

Aren't you afraid on that smaller bike, being around the larger vehicles? (Only when the other vehicle is yakkng on the cell phone, reading, yelling at kids, or whatever else while they drive.)

When are you going to get a real motorcycle? (If you buy me one, I just might ride it once or twice.)

What fascinates me is that often those remarks are from folks who are not actually riding motorcycles at the time.

I wonder if they ride motorcycles at all. I have run into a few of those kind. They don't ride a motorcycle, but if they did it would be this really big, overpriced, underpowered, poorly built Harley.

Okay. Thanks for the scoop.

Don't get me wrong. Harley Davidson's can be nice looking bikes. It's just that they are not as well built as Honda's, and the Sportster looks like absolute crap and if I cannot pickup my motorcycle before people start laughing to much at me, then it's too big of a motorcycle.

I had someone remark that my motorcycle looked like a "little Harley". I found the remark fascinating because a Honda Rebel forum that I wander into had a discussion about folks insulting the Rebel. Someone stated that they got a complement and was told that it looked like a "little Harley". I suppose that it does look like a Harley, and I know that generally it's meant as a compliment.

In a later thread, someone posted a link to an article on the American Motorcyclist Association. The article is about riding smaller bikes.

Here is the link:
http://www.ama-cycle.org/news/2002/RidingSmall.asp

Rather fascinating article.

Essentially, someone else is stating the exact reasons why I don't move up to a bigger motorcycle: the smaller ones are more nimble and tend to be a funner ride.

Ta!

Greetings and Salutations

2007-11-21T15:42:00.001-08:00

Hello.

If you are reading this, then you must be really bored.

I mean really, most sincerely bored.

Welcome to my meanderings. Here you will find ramblings about my motorcycle. Where I go, what I did when I got there, and what I saw. I am not a great writer, not terribly interesting, and I will not post about motorcycle safety (I leave that to the professionals.) If you are still interested. Read on.

So what kind of motorcycle do I ride?

I have a black 2006 Rebel and I ride it everywhere.

I used to have a screaming yellow helmet. Now it's graphics - "Voltage". Let me tell the story.

I was taking pictures of my motorcycle on a hill, and moved my motorcycle to a better position (meaning I was trying to get away from the graffiti of a mans most favorite muscle), and kicked my helmet.

I watched it roll in slow motion as I moved in even slower motion to get it. It stopped ever so briefly, so I stopped.

But then gravity kicked in, and it rolled down the mountainside.

If it just rolled down dirt, I would be sorely tempted to use it anyway, but it didn't. It rolled down rocks. Large fist sized rocks. And was stopped by a tree.

Say goodnight Gracie.

Put a fork in it.

It's done.

So I had to purchase a new helmet.

Yay.

$500 dollars later I had a helmet that couldn't decide what color it wanted to be. Why can't manufacturer's make a yellow helmet? Am I the only one that likes the color?

Here is the old one:

You're going to see that one coming a mile away. Here is the new one:

Not going to see that one a mile away. It works with the ears, but I really wish I could have had yellow.

Ta!

Balisada