Saturday May 31, 2014.
Yesterday was the first day since last autumn that Doc and I went for a ride. It took some coercion ....(I'll buy lunch)...
...but I finally got him to go for a ride that is not for commuting.
Doc moved into his 5th wheel trailer last year and spent some considerable time trying to organize...and then his motorcycle died..so he was trucking it for a while. Last month he fixed his bike and has been commuting on it.
So....Friday I sent a text message.....Ride tomorrow?
We met at 1030 and headed up the Sea to Sky Hwy to Squamish. Due to time constraints that was as far as we could go yesterday.....(Whistler is a popular destination for a ride...it's another 40 minutes or so past Squamish)
It was my first ride on curvy roads with my new tires. My past three sets of tires were Dunlops. I had no problems with the Dunlops...I found them to get good mileage and decent traction. (at least for my style of riding...which is not very aggressive).
My new tires are by Metlzer. They roll quite differently from the Dunlop tires. The feeling is that they roll easier....but I also found out that I have to pay better attention to the road and not sight see. I discovered that if my eyes wander , then my bike wanders....After doing that a few times, I figured it out...and once I realized why I was wandering and corrected it...my bike performed admirably.
Learning never stops when you ride a motorcycle.
Most of the day was great. Warm temperatures, dry roads, blue sky....and the usual dumba$$ drivers.
Paying attention saved my life yesterday...or at least saved me from a terrible crash....Doc and I were in the passing lane....because we were passing some slower than the speed limit drivers....I saw a white Nissan 240 in my mirror come up fast on my right side.....I had a feeling he was going to pass on my right and then pass me....so I slowed a bit to allow this....and sure enough...he did. Then I saw a red car coming up on the right also....He had also passed that slow moving car...then moved back into the driving lane...but he was obviously not content to wait until I was past the car on my right...I was almost up to the car on my right...so I sped up to get past the car to be able to get out of the way...but the red car suddenly sped up even more and deeked between me and the car on my right. I had to apply my brakes and downshift to avoid being hit. (The refresher class I took sure paid off). Doc saw it and later on told me he had wanted to give chase....but the red car was going so fast, it was long gone. ( I have been with Doc and another of his friends riding when his friend gave chase to someone who had almost harmed us. He didn't get the guy, but he got a make and license number....and when we pulled in for fuel later...there just happened to be some law enforcement types there...so he made a report with them.)
The white Nissan left the highway at the next exit....which was in sight when he pulled his bonehead maneuver...so I wonder what the point was in all his weaving in and out, passing and being dangerous on the road. I suspect he and the red car driver were racing.
Later when Doc and I got to Britannia and stopped at the red light...he pulled up beside me to ask if I was ok. He said it looked like the red car almost clipped my front wheel. Phew! ALWAYS pay attention to your surroundings. Keep checking those mirrors. It will pay off.
We stopped in for a quick look at the new gondola that has been built beside Shannon Falls.
In case you are interested to know what I'm talking about...
http://www.seatoskygondola.com/?gclid=C ... 3RQCDw_wcB
It just opened up about a month ago. It's too expensive for the locals to go more than once....it's a huge hit with tourists...The place was quite busy yesterday. It will only get busier as summer approaches.
I used to love to go to Shannon Falls...but it has lost its appeal due to the huge amount of tour buses that deposit hordes of people...and I do mean hordes....
We went to the Howe Sound Brewing Company for lunch. This place is a hotel/pub/restaurant/craft beer brewery. I personally don't like beer....but I know their beer is quite popular. Doc and I don't indulge when riding. I used to ride with some organized clubs whose goal seemed to be a couple of beer at lunch and then continue riding. That could account for some of the stupid behaviour some of them had. I no longer ride with those groups.
We were finishing lunch and realized we were out of time...so we left right way. I said..no stopping...we'll just ride straight back. We were having a good ride until we got to the Upper Levels Highway in North Vancouver...when suddenly traffic ahead was stopped. Doc pulled up beside to get me to slow even more....and said to try to get over to the far right....so we could exit...He had been listening to his radio and heard that there was a crash at the north end of the bridge..so traffic was backed up the highway...we managed to take the exit and ride down Lonsdale to a cross street that cut across North Van. We still ended up in a traffic jam....but much closer to the bridge. While we were slowly making progress...the news reported that traffic was now backed up to Westview....it's a good thing Doc had heard the traffic report....
We went our separate ways just before the Port Mann Bridge. He went to a retirement dinner where he would be imbibing later.
And not ride home....he said he would probably stay over at his brother's place...and pick up his bike today. I came home and uploaded the Riding Game picture.
I forgot...another bonehead maneuver...but on my part....
I was behind some slow moving car...wanted to pass...saw what I thought was Doc's bike in my rear view mirror in the passing lane behind me...we have ridden together so often he can often anticipate my next move...so when I looked in the mirror and saw the bike.....with driving lights...in silhouette...I thought it was Doc behind me. I could not see another bike...I signalled and shoulder checked...and changed lanes....once I was in the passing lane was when I saw that there were actually 2 motorcycles...that the bike I had pulled in front of was coming up fast....I sped up and pulled into the driving lane...and a guy on big Harley passed me...Ckrap...it hadn't been Doc I saw behind me....I laughed at myself....we talked about it later and I explained that I had not seen 2 bikes...He told me that the guy on the Harley had been coming up fast....I honestly thought it was Doc behind me...or I would never had changed lanes.
I must go wash Zena. It's long overdue.
When I went to the refresher day, I scraped pegs a few times. That's not usually like me.
