The Hill Climb...

A cool thing happened yesterday. Besides being on a dirt bike all day, that is. We found a really fun (read muddy, steep, rocky, v-notch) hill climb in the woods. The guys went up, one by one; some with more success than others, some with better form than others. The first time I tried, I fell half way up, laughed, had help turning my bike around, and coasted back down. Which gave me an appreciation for how steep the thing really was! With all the guys at the top, betting against me I heard later, I tried it again... First gear, wheels spinning, pushing my bike over the top with my boots, victory was mine! Much cheering ensued, pointing at my slick mud packed back tire, and a high five with my fiancée; I felt on top of the world. 

It's no small feat to look at a mountain and think "I can get up that." I reflect on times in my life that I just put it in gear and got through it... Baby in college, kiddo with cancer, grad school, divorce... Life changes give you the option of getting through or falling apart. Even with the guys betting against me yesterday, there's not a one that wouldn't help get me out of the woods injured or ride my bike up something I couldn't handle. Knowing this gave me the courage to try. Life is the same way; because I've always had people in my corner ready to lend a hand if I fall and cheer when I succeed, I look at opportunity and say yes. Want to try something new? Yes. Want to meet someone new? Yes. How about a life style change? Yes. Oh that didn't work out? It's ok, you'll figure it out. We're here when you need us. (Which yesterday, I totally did later, but that's another story.) I may not tackle things with style and fineness, but you know if you ask, I'll say yes, and I'll give it 100% of my effort, I'll laugh when I fall, I won't blame anyone else when things go wrong, and I'll be grateful every moment for the love and support of those around me.

This may or may not give an idea of this feat. 

Darron got video! 

http://youtu.be/gVmwWN3naow

Meme for the day...

The Tulip Ride....

Talk about a great fundraising idea.  Let's get on our motorcycles, grab some bagels, get a couple of adorable movie stars who ride, and raise some money for The Humane Society and The Red Cross!  Ok!  Let's go!  Sunday, April 27th, was my first group street ride.  It followed a sleepless night, where I almost bailed on the ride, but I am ever so glad I went.  First, it was nice not to be the beginningest beginner on the ride.  (The poor dear with the messenger bag... I don't know the story, but he or she seemed to struggle to keep up!)  But that wasn't the point.  This was a ride to bring the community together and have a good time.  And it was truly amazing to crest a hill on I5 and see bikes as far as the eye could see.  It was cool to ride the back roads as a group; to look behind me and see the same tinted orange windscreen the entire ride, without knowing who that windscreen belonged to.  It was fun at the tulips to have someone come on up and say "thank's for letting us in on the freeway!"   When you are with other riders, there is no shortage of things to talk about.  We compare rides, bikes, dreams, and adventures, as well as mishaps, close calls and past accidents.  We liberally give out unsolicited advice with the best of intentions.

And then we face the weather.  Rain or shine, around here, riders are riding.  On our way home, we saw sun, light rain, heavy rain, and hail.  And then sun again. I suppose somewhere in this ride there were tulips.  Nathan and I got a cute picture in front of some. But it reinforced the idea that the destination is never the point.  Sure, it was nice to have a hot dog and pop.  But the real reason for going is the ride; the tourist attractions simply happen to give us a reason to stop for a bite to eat.

Which I find to be a wonderful (though needing often repetition) life lesson.  When we get too focused on the shoulds, the musts, the fantasy, or the plan, we miss the beauty of life rolling by.  We forget to enjoy the stunning views, the intense smells, and the earth vibrating under us.  We look at our phones and miss the deer, we are so busy working on our calendar, we don't have time to go for a walk, we worry so much about the future, we forget to enjoy the moment.  That day, I remembered that life is a journey, not a destination.

City Hall...

Tuesday night, we were at Cycle Gear, and a guy said "check out our meetup.  We're going to City Hall Thursday for Taco Thursday."  Thursday came, we decided we had some free time, so off we went! Enjoying the back roads from Kent to Enumclaw, we wound our way, with only a couple of U-turns, and arrived at City Hall.  Where we found 3 sport bikes, a triumph, and about 837 Harley Davidson's.  Ok... Now, when we did the tulip ride, there were hundreds of bikes of all makes and models.  It was amazing to be out with so much variety, and feel so connected.  At City Hall Saloon, while everyone was super nice and the taco's were great, there was not as much diversity.  It was a bit strange to be surrounded by motorcycles, and feel a bit out of place.  The entertaining part was that it did feel just like a movie... Live band, lots of beer, beer bottles clanking in the garbage, and leather and tattoos everywhere.  It was fun to be outside with the band, watching the bikes come and go past on the side roads.

I don't know that I have a great lesson from this story, but if you want good tacos, great music, and lots of chrome, go to Taco Thursday's at City Hall Saloon in Enumclaw.

First overnight motorcycle trip...

Yesterday (ok, this post is slightly delayed), we spontaneously decided to walk the dog, hop on our motorcycles, and see where the road led.  I knew highway 2 was supposed to be beautiful, so I found a way up there using all the windy back country roads.  We got up to highway 2, headed east, and enjoyed the beauty.  After a while, I pulled over, pulled out a map, and said "where should we spend the night?  Leavenworth!  Back on the road for the highway 2 fun.  If you haven't been to Leavenworth, it's an adorable tourist town that Nathan could tell you the history and geology of, but from what I know, there are lots of pubs, during October fest, there are polka bands on every corner (which is actually like four, because the town is so small), there is amazing food, wine, and BEER!  Here's a picture that I snapped really quick; doesn't begin to capture the magic.

It was a little over three hours, taking the long way there.  The mountain pass was CHILLY!  By the time I got there, I had nearly forgotten how to use the clutch and brakes.  And my hands didn't really want to move anyway.  But it all worked out.

This morning, I found out about day two tiredness.  I was lethargic, slow moving, slow thinking.... Basically a sloth.  A sloth with a brunch date.  In Seattle.  So I counted on a shower, tea, and the rev of the engine to wake me up.  It did.  We went back the "short" way (only 2.5 hours).  

Today created an inward journey.  I suppose until the last two weeks, I've had an underlying apprehension about our honeymoon trip.  12 days is a long time to spend on a motorcycle, especially for a new rider.  In the last two weeks, I feel like I've graduated from a new rider to a rider with some things to learn.  This trip was awesome; it really let me practice what the 12 day trip will be like; from t-shirt weather to heated gear as warm as it will go weather, from long, boring freeway stretches to mountain pass curves; from commuters to Sunday drivers.  And I got to feel, and overcome the second day lethargy.  The soreness, the brain tiredness, and, on the plus side, the increased skill.  

The inward journey was about the curves.  Riding a motorcycle for me has been a series of instructions that don't fit very well together.  I've gotta ease off the clutch and roll on the throttle, counter-lean in the slow turns, counter-steer in the fast ones.  Chin toward wrist, weight on which peg, you want me to turn a blinker on and off?  When?  With which hand? But as it has come together, the brain has created a special path for the bike.  Curves bring my eyes to a new place, relax my body into a lean angle, and automatically adjust my speed.

As I have gotten comfortable, I can see how all I am doing is balancing the forces in motion.  So much like life, if you are proactive and know how to balance, it will feel smooth and natural.  But when things strike you suddenly, you have to make quick yet careful corrections.  But not matter what, the forces in motion want to stay in motion, and forces at rest want to stay at rest, and in life, it's knowing which adjustment to make in order to maintain balance.

I am a motorcyclist...

I had a strange realization the other day; due to extraneous circumstances, I drove my car to work.  As I left the building for the day, without my helmet and gear, I did not feel like my "self."  Nathan has talked before about riding as becoming part of identity.  I haven't disagreed, but I haven't felt like a motorcyclist in the past.  I've felt like a dirt biker, but to me that's like someone who works a day job and plays in a band or climbs rocks on the weekend.  Somehow, riding two wheels every single days has started to transform my identity. 

Which got me thinking about Erickson's Stages of Identity Development, and how it relates to rider identity development.

Trust vs. Mistrust
When I am on a motorcycle, I have to trust myself.  There's no one to blame for my mistakes.  I take full responsibility for the risk I am undertaking.  As a child, this identity crisis is parent dependent.  As a motorcyclist, it is self-concept dependent.

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
As a new rider, it was hard to set out by myself.  I'd come home and "confess" all my mistakes of the day.  There were times I doubted I could become a competent, safe rider.  But I pushed myself.  It was a bit like cutting the umbilical cord.  I had to make my own mistakes, recover from them and learn from them to learn to ride.  I had to learn to act, and not let my self-doubt inhibit my learning.

Initiative vs. Guilt
The first time I dropped my bike, I felt like I was going to be in trouble.  With who, I don't know, but Nathan was the nearest human.  The fallout from this mistake was that we had to make repairs, and I couldn't ride until my bike was fixed.  While this was a bummer, it was a great lesson to me that I can take risks, and deal with the consequences.  It continued to build my trust and autonomy.

Industry vs. Inferiority
When I feel inferior, I hesitate about riding.  This keeps me from doing the very thing I need to do to improve.  Industry is all about doing.  I have learned that outside of occasional VERY bad weather, nothing need keep me off my bike.

Identity vs. Role Confusion
Ah, the motorcycling teen years.  "I waved to another rider, but I feel like a fraud.  I don't feel like a real motorcyclist."  Here I was, riding every day, but I saw my weaknesses and my mistakes, and thought that kept me from being a real rider.  Something shifted inside of me.  I pushed myself to do what scared me, gained some skills, learned to risk.  And suddenly I found myself.  A motorcyclist.

Generativity vs. Stagnation
This is my current lesson, though in my view, the others are never mastered, simply practiced.  I don't want any of my skills to plateau.  It can happen to anyone.  We get comfortable, we think we've "got it".  But the trick to staying safe is always pushing to improve.  If we practice panic swerves hundreds of times, that debris that falls of the truck will instinctually be avoided.  If we practice our panic stops, we have our best chance of not hitting a deer that jumps out. 

Ego Integrity vs. Despair
This is a stage beyond me.  A stage where one looks back and reflects on "was it ok to be me?" Or in this analogy "Did I like the motorcyclist I became?"  It is my hope that with continued focus on my development, that I can face this stage with courage, confidence, and peace.

Dynojet...

So, the Ninja 250 has an issue.  I think the folks at Kawasaki were super excited to see just how great of gas mileage they could get from the little bike, so they jetted it extraordinarily lean.  While it's great to get 50-70 mpg, it's not so great to warm up your bike for a minimum of 10 minutes, ride with the choke on for 15, and then still not be sure that when you roll on the gas if your bike is going to go or sputter.  Nathan did some research (I suppose this entry could also fall under Nathan is always right) and found that there are a couple of options for this issue.  You could add washers and change out the jets individually.  This is an inexpensive, but experimental fix.  The primers online talk about testing it, and then adjusting it.  Now, if you've ever tried to work on a Ninja 250's carburetor, you'll know that it's in the heart of the bike, buried beneath all the fairings, with a miniscule amount of space between it and the airbox under the gas tank, etc etc... It requires a lot to change, test, change test.  Another suggested option is to take the bike to a professional with a Dyno and an electronic gas analyzer.  The third option is to read.  A lot.  And buy a jet kit, and follow their recommendations.  Nathan reviewed these options, offered his services, and I bought a Dynojet Jet Kit.  Nathan and I eagerly watched the mail, awaiting this magical box.  And then it did.  And the tinkering began. The bike came apart, and the carburetor's came off.  Jet's were installed, needles were raised, and then the putting back together process began.  Vacuum hoses were reversed, the engine was hydro locked, and the carburetors came off again!   Amazingly, everything went back together, and Nathan took it for a test ride.  He said it felt fine, you know, like a normal bike.  So, the real test was what did I think. 


So I rode.  And was amazed... When I rolled on the gas, the bike went.  Smoothly, evenly!  I didn't have to worry at stop signs that I was going to make it just into the lane of traffic before the bike bogged and maybe even died.  (Yup, that has happened.)  And it just plain felt more fun!  Plus two horsepower may not sound like much, but evening out the horsepower in the lower RPM's so it's not "nothing nothing nothing, hit 7000 and here's all your power" just makes riding epic! 


So, Nathan did a great job, and he likes to be reminded every few days that he is the best husband-to-be in the world.  He thinks it's because he put a lot of time and energy into the bike.  And it is.  But it's really because Nathan is always right. :)