If It's Comfortable In The Shop ... It's Probably Going To Suck On The Bike

Went for a little ride today, along a sweet little road that takes you to Eumungerie via Mogriguy. Was a lovely little road, even better than the highway I took to get home on. Even so I just wanted to get home once I'd been riding for ten minutes. Why? Because I bought new gloves last week, they have been a drama since the very first.

First of all I tried them on in the shop, X-Small it said on the packet, so I put one on and went, sheesh it's roomy. Talked to the nice young salesman about that and he said well they're not huge on you are they, I said well not really I guess. They felt damn big and clunky and I was wondering how I was going to get a grip on anything with them on, but I figured they were the smallest I could get so I would have to just work it out. I needed new gloves because the ones I had feel too small and hurt my thumbs after a while.

I got home and proudly pulled them outta the packet to show hubby .... 'Look new gloves!' I yelled and put them on. The one I put on in the shop went on first, then the left one, it felt tight ... huh? Ok I thought, maybe the other one is stretched from being tried on by various people in the shop. I took them off and sat down to do something else, oh I think it was looking at reviews of them online, shoulda done that first I guess but I didn't find anything anyway .../shrug. Then I looked over at them sitting on the table next to me and a label caught my eye, 'Ladies Lrg', it said ... huh? Right so now I figured out that I had bought a pair of gloves that contained a large and an x-small ... sheesh.

Shop was by now closed, so wait till Monday and take them back for a matching pair, in my wisdom I decided to try on a pair of small. Which I did, and they seemed pretty comfy in the shop. Then I wore them today. Ugh they were too big, they slide off my hand as I'm riding and bunch up under my palm. My hand was really hurting by the time I got home and it was only bout an hour ride. Well I've decided that if it fits in the shop then it's probably not going to fit when I get on the bike. Take my shoes, in the shop they felt too big, way too big. On the bike they're the best fitting I think I'll get. So I guess I'll have to wear my old ones again until I can afford to go get more gloves. I wish you could take this stuff for a test ride before you buy it.

Oh yeah and while I'm on the subject of comfort ... another hint I wish someone had told me before I did it ... Don't wear tight jeans! ... no kidding they look great when ya wondering round the streets, but they get damn painful after a while perched on a motorcycle seat.

Besides that the ride today was nice. Cornering is getting better, and even braking is working itself out, I really think the shoes help me there. I've been riding to work as well most of the week, all this practice is paying off I think.

Oh yeah and I LOVE MY BIKE !!!

It's All Part of the Learning Curve



Out and About

 This weekend I didn't bother going for a long ride. I rode the bike to work a couple of times this week and I'm still finding stopping a pain, not quite literally but it's a close thing. I've worked out what I'm doing wrong and I'm trying to correct it, I am almost afraid to go slowly, so as I approach a stop I put my feet down too soon, and half the time its both feet, stopping with just the front brake which is making me jerk to a stop. I'm trying to think about what I'm doing and make myself approach stops slowly and just put down my left foot, the back brake is a much gentler stop and using it in conjunction with the front makes it go like clockwork. When I do manage to stop like that tis lovely, when I don't, I look around to see who saw me cream myself on the tank.


I've gone for a couple of rides around town this weekend, just for practise and to test out my new riding shoes. New shoes!! I couldn't get boots to fit me properly unless I paid $700 for them, and I really don't know yet if I will get enough use out of them to justify that price, but I want to be safe when I'm doing highway or country rides. The shoes I got are a bit big for me, but they are lace up so i can tighten them enough that they don't slip off my foot. After having them on for a couple of hours yesterday my feet were so damn hot and starting to swell, I was glad for the extra room, and when I get a bit more than town speed up I seem to be getting a breeze in them, probably because of the loose fit, I likes that. Getting used to chunky feeling shoes is becoming a challenge, yet another one. I cant feel the gear lever like I could in my joggers, so half the time I don't know if my foot is actually under the lever or not, caught myself looking down a few times to see, and I have had it stuck under the lever a few times too. The tread is great on them, putting my feet down feels a lot more stable, and I do feel safer with some protection on my feet. That tread also means the boot doesn't slip on the foot peg either, no more sliding my foot a bit forward and down to change gears, I have to lift up my foot and move it now, changing habits can be a huge challenge. Sometimes I cant feel the actual change, I've gone into neutral more times this weekend than I ever have in the past, another one of those moments when you look around to see who saw you ...



New shoes, any girls dream,
not exactly glass slippers tho

 Yep this week has all been part of the learning curve, getting used to new things like shoes and helmets, it's amazing how much of a difference those things can make. I'm still learning so much every day that I ride, and I know I still have a hell of a lot to learn. I went to lunch today and took the bike for a ride otherwise it wouldn't have gotten a run today at all. I've never parked in the main streets down town because they have a pretty mean camber on the roads, and it's angle parking. The angle is going the wrong way for me. I have to park back into the curb because with the camber on the road I would never be able to move it back when I want to leave, I'd probably have to get some burly bloke to give me a push. I don't back the bike out of it's parking spot at home, hubby does that for me and turns it around so I can just take off forwards down the driveway. I parked my bike in a different spot at work on Friday because of the threat of hail, and I had to push it back to get out of that park, it felt a lot easier, I've always said that moving the bike would get easier once I built up the muscles I need to make it happen. I'm also getting the feel for how to do things, it's the same as anything eventually after doing something for a while you find the most natural and easiest way to do things. So when I got home on Friday I was all full of confidence, and Saturday I made hubby stand by while I did the backing out, he only had to give me a push twice when I got stuck on the side of the driveway:) I don't like the angle parking in the main streets, I'm going to have to work out how to park in them, if I park in the direction of the park lines the bike is leaning at the wrong angle, and it actually doesn't sit on the stand properly, it moved back on the stand today and that's not a nice feeling, plus when I take off from that angle it's a hard left turn to get onto the road, I practically had to do a u-turn to do it. Hey I did another u-turn, yay bring it on!!

One other thing today, I washed the bike! (yes again) I was using a you beaut motorcycle spray on and rinse off wash, it lasted 2.5 washes, and when I couldn't finish on Saturday I didn't bother using the shammy, bad mistake. The water marks on the chrome are sinful and I couldn't stand it, had to buy something to make my baby shine, so went with an old fashioned wash that requires a bit of elbow grease, all good I still love my bike enough to bother and now I'm off to polish the chrome :)

The Ride To Gulgong

The Shadow in the main street of Gulgong



 Yesterday was a day of adventure. Rode all the way to Gulgong and back myself. Well I wasn't on my own really, but Terry didn't take over for me at any stage, I did it all. Terry drove the car behind me though, cause I like company :)

It's about 100km's, give or take a bit, to Gulgong and the whole trip was 225km's, the longest ride yet for me. Damn it was fun!!

Well yeah things are changing, the very first time I rode at 80km/h I felt almost scared, the wind was so strong and it seems so much faster when you can see the road so intimately, but yesterday when I first started out I got up to 80k's straight away with no problems, yeah the wind is still strong, but it's not as daunting. So on the highway to Wellington I sat on 90km/h quite comfortably, by the time I got onto the back road to Gulgong I found myself doing 100km's, certainly wouldn't have done that a couple of weeks ago. Not all the way though, just on the bits where it seemed like I wouldn't kill myself, or the bumps wouldn't kill me.

The bumps, trust me those country roads are not highways, and I was complaining about the bumps on the highways. Right so my kidneys got shaken out somewhere between Wellington and Goolma, but I still enjoyed the lovely scenery, didn't I? Hahaha I guess it's not that bad, sometimes you hit a bump and it sends you in the air, you kinda lose a bit of control of the bike for that split second, and when there's a succession of them you have to slow down just so your eyes will stop vibrating. At other times its just a bit bouncy, that's not so bad, I'm getting used to that, and the good thing is today when I was riding to work, the roads in Dubbo just didn't feel so bad after all. A couple of times those bumps were craters, the thing is I never saw them, there's no warning, and all of a sudden you feel as though something has just hit you in the stomach and the kidneys all at once, you're winded and you feel as though your back has just been folded in half. The worst part is I'm not sure how I'm supposed to avoid that, I never saw what caused it, although the second time it happened was on a stretch of road going through the forest, tree shadows on the road are distracting and camouflage the condition of the road nicely.

Cornering. Always a challenge for me, and even hubby said that at higher speeds he felt as though he had to try and haul the bike around some corners. I  think I'm getting the hang of that a bit. I always think about the great advice I have seen in forums, and in A Twist of The Wrist (seriously that has to be any bike riders bible) look at where your going and hug the tank, it's getting easier to do these things. So there were a couple of corners where I knew I was going to go too wide and I had to slow down, but when I corrected what I was doing I found cornering started to become enjoyable, this is the stuff I wanted to ride for. I love that feeling.

Have I mentioned the smells, the smell of those huge hay bales rolled up at the side of the road, one of the best smells in the world. Riding through a forest that is warming up after two weeks of rain, wow amazing. Then there are the not so lovely ones, tip to the uninitiated, when you see a dead kangaroo on the road, don't just swerve, hold your breath!

Gulgong, I guess I have to tell you about that place, first time I've visited I ashamed to say and it's an amazing little village. It's like stepping back in time, I didn't go into the museum, though that sort of thing fascinates me and if you're into history I would think it would be worth the look, I didn't have time but next visit it's a must. The whole town is like a museum, you were almost looking for the horse and cart coming up the road :) Oh and lunch and coffee at The Butcher's Cafe is good.

So we came home along a different route, that was where I got the forest and the tree shadows across the road, the road is much the same either way but I got to travel along the Golden Highway for the last 30k's or so, it was lovely to get on smooth road.

Have I mentioned bugs, thank heavens for the new helmet cause they were thick and fast, there was the grasshopper who tried to barge through my chest, made me go oof. Then there was the bee who tried to hitch a ride ... on my glasses. When he first flew up my helmet onto the inside of the visor I raised my visor to try and shake him, he disappeared up there somewhere, but when I put it back down I think I'd just made him angry or scared, or both. He hightailed it onto my glasses and when I felt him inside them tickling my eyelashes that was too much. Time to pull over!

Finally Its Stopped Raining

Worked this morning and t’was very overcast when I left for work, so no bike today :(

But wait by the time I got home it was hot !!! So I had a little sleep cause they make me get up early for work, then decided to take the dog for a walk by the river .... and wheeeeeee take the bike for a ride. I had the little twisty bit of downhill road to get to the parking spot at the river and a U-Turn at the end, was nervous bout the U-Turn but didn’t have an issue with it, though when I got to the curb to park I kinda over balanced and it started to go over, excitement plus ...  I didn’t let it fall. Yay another day I didn’t drop the bike.

Used my new helmet, now that was interesting. Not being used to full face helmets, made it all a new experience for me. I like it. I felt as though I couldn’t breathe when I tried it on the first couple of times, cause I’m not used to having something in front of my mouth like that. When I got it on, it made me feel like I had to hold my breath, so I did at first then worked it out. Got on the road and wow, the noise is different with it on, not so noisy but you can still hear stuff. The vents don’t seem to do a lot except add a bit more noise, but it wasn’t hot in it anyway. Moving the visor up and down while moving was easy peasy, not awkward like I thought it might be. Oh yeah and the cheek pads ... well Ok I’m sure they do a job but the thing they seem intent on doing is raising my cheekbones bout 3 inches. Made me do fish faces and by the time I got home I was chewing my cheeks. I’ll get used to that, and I’m hoping it will ease and soften as the helmet gets used, oh and the chin strap... feels more like a hangman’s noose atm, that has to be from the way it was packed in the box, I can kinda move them forward so they aren’t strangling me for a while but they work their way back again after a bit, gotta train them, the buggers, wonder if they will respond to a reward system.

Just Doing Stuff

Well I'd planned to ride to work all last week. Of course it rained all week.  It's been raining forever, I'm dying to go for a ride. The saddle bags didn't fit, oh well I guess I'll have to work out a plan B.

I would have liked leather ones, but they are all so poxy, tassells and stuff all over them, why do they think everyone who rides a cruiser is some kind of country bunkin who like tassells? The other thing is the Honda saddlebags for my shadow look small. I guess it's time to reveal why I want big saddlebags, or luggage at all. My big plan!!



We have a trip to Queensland planned, and we want to ride the bikes. Yep that's what I said bikes, plural. Terry has plans too. When I got my bike there was a gorgeous VT750S, it's a shadow but without all the fancy stuff, not as much chrome, no big fancy fenders, lower handlebars and old fashioned chain driven. It has the most classic cruiser look. We're working on that and I cant wait til we go for actual rides together instead of him driving the car and me on the bike.





Terry's dream bike

I got myself a new helmet. I had to order it in because they didnt have it in small, but it's pretty and after a bit research I thought it looked like it was going to be good enough quality to last me a while.



A Little Trip

Been riding the bike more, oh wow I love her. So I planed a little trip to a place called Toongi. There are so many places I could go to, just need to find the time.

I followed Terry, he was driving the car with Gizmo, the amazing puppy, along for company. Went off past the zoo and just cruised. I still find anything over 70km/h a challenge. That wind is still trying to tear bits off me and it just feels so fast.

Turned off Obley Rd to Toongi Rd then Terry went straight onto The Springs Rd and stopped, OK I could have turned round back at the intersection but not where he stopped, there was bees! Terry was looking for a hall that was not there, the amazing invisible hall of Toongi ... should be famous. I moved on to find a place to turn round.....he reckons I went miles to find a place, but damn it was a narrow road!! Turned around at a cross road and I’m on me way home. Yes I did a U-Turn, first time since all the stupidity with dropping bikes. I'm feeling pretty damn proud of myself at the moment.

Things I have learnt to hate, Causeways, horrible bumpy bastards of things, I leave the seat with every single one of them. Things I have learnt to make me look less like an idiot, don’t try to wave at other bikers with me right hand while taking off at a roundabout :P Did 69.1 km and only one bug down the back of my jacket. Now when it starts crawling down the top of your jeans you just start getting a bit panicky, had to stop to have a dig for it.

After A Little Break

I haven't ridden the bike since that trip on December 24th. Three weeks. I haven't even sat on the bike. I washed and polished it after the trip, it looks pretty, and I still love it. I just don't want to ride it. All sorts of excuses were used to myself as well as to other people, but deep down I knew I was scared.

I decided that I needed to do something about that, and I've made myself ride it to work, every day this week! It's funny, my tummy was full of flying things when i first sat on it, actually before I even sat on it I was nervous. Then I took off down the driveway and did that right hand turn up the street, got past that and it was like I'd been riding all my life. It just felt natural.
OK my husband read that and laughed, so not natural as in I'm a natural rider, but natural as in I felt as though I hadnt last ridden the bike 3 weeks ago but just yesterday. I guess the saying 'it's like riding a bike, you never forget' is true.

Have I mentioned I hate right hand turns, specially tight ones. This week has been nothing special, just riding and getting the feel for it. Have even done a few tricky right hand turns, and while I feel nervous about them when I'm just about to do them, I have actually managed to do them. Without dropping the bike or going too wide and hitting cars at the side of the road. All those things that go through my head just as I'm starting the turn. Switch it off, just think about the turn, look at where you want to be instead of at the road beside you and the car you're worried about hitting, and the bike will just go with the flow for you. Round abouts are the same, they're tricky and I don't care what anyone says a right hand turn on a round about is a challenge. I do two of them every day when I'm coming home from work. While I'm not super confident about them yet, I am feeling better about them, I can actually go around a round about at a speed faster than a stroll through a park now. Oh but do love going through a round about straight ahead. Wheeeee !!

Oh and bought saddle bags for her, they're second hand but barely used, and once I cleaned them they look awesome. They're big though, one of the things I wanted was big enough to fit stuff in, but I'm looking at them and wondering if the will actually fit on the bike. Getting them fitted by the local Honda shop in a couple of weeks so I guess we'll find out then.