2020

Well, I knew it had been awhile, but I can't believe it's been a year since I blogged for real!  Once Flickr started limiting photos, it became more difficult to move photos from my phone to the computer so facebook is just an easier avenue to blog rides.

I'm going to save all the personal drama for my other blog.  I made this one specifically for saving and logging RIDES.  Used to be, for my horse ... now, for the steel horse.  Rides are getting more tricky now with this COVID-19 virus causing mass panic across the globe.  Mental health is every bit as important as physical health, as the spike in suicide death has shown.  Riding motorcycles ... NOT going to contribute to spreading this thing unless you ride in mass groups and hang all over each other after getting off your bike.  Most of us ride 2-6 people at the most, we wear full protective gear, and when we get off to take a break, we're well further than the recommended 6 feet apart.  Most restaurants have their dining rooms closed, so we're doing carry out on the sidewalk, or pack a lunch in the saddlebags.  I understand the concern of accidents taking away hospital resources; but we STILL have to drive to buy groceries and essentials and just to get OUT.  I think we're all going stir crazy already, and the time recommendations just keep increasing.  So I will ride, and I will continue to ride.  Soon enough, this will all be over and we can get back to epic road trips ... for now, they're shorter and more local rides which is all I need!

Planning for a few miles with my buddy Lenore on Thursday; it's all because of her I passed my class, I believe!  I'm bad about getting in my head when I'm in a stressful situation, and she reminded me BEFORE I attempt that dang corner, or that dang weave line to get in the friction zone.  It helped TREMENDOUSLY, and I have used that advice many times on the tight, curvy roads I've ridden on.  I'm usually the follower, so to lead a ride is always different for me.  I just hope I don't forget where to turn!

So, I thought I'd go over a few things as I approach 3 years of owning Khaleesi.  I've already hit my 3 years having my license, but I never rode on my own until I got my bike.  I've enjoyed every second I've owned my Indian.  I've had ups and downs with my riding, as has everyone I'm sure, but the ups WAY outweigh the downs!!

1.  My biggest challenge is by far my faith in myself.  I have had several minor accidents because of "bucking up" and believing in my abilities, from jumping horses to riding ATVs.  That negative reinforcement has served to teach me that I don't always have it covered.  I don't have brute strength, and I don't have height on my side.

2.  It was a long time before I FINALLY got my bike 100% dialed in.  Don't give up on your bike if it feels mostly great, but still has that something that isn't quite right.  Keep tinkering and trying things until you get it right.  I had to make improvements piece by piece, and sometimes one "improvement" would actually accentuate discomfort somewhere else.

3.  Confidence DOES come.  You may not feel it 100% of the time, but with miles comes experience.  I've learned to not be hard on myself if I feel like I've "wimped out" in ANY situation involving motorcycles.  Sometimes that "wimping out" may save your life.  We all have days that we just aren't feeling something; that may very well be God impressing upon you that today just isn't your day.

4.  Take every ride with an open mind.  Every small situation can teach you something about being a safer rider.  I didn't chronicle it on this blog, but on our big New England vacation, I wrecked my bike.  I wrecked her because I ignored early warning signs from several rides where I slid in a straight line stop due to locking up my brakes.  It took laying her down at 35 mph down an interstate off ramp to figure out how to brake properly.

And finally ...
5.  Don't fight the motorcycle.  There are hundreds of different brands and thousands of different models for every size, desire, and style of rider.  Once you've found your ideal model, trust that the machine is going to take care of you.  As you carve through canyons and zip around corners, sit up tall or tuck in tight, and let the weight of gravity get you through it.  The more relaxed and "loose" you are, the more you're able to just enjoy the ride and chew through those miles!

The one bright side of damaging a motorcycle tank is having it fixed with some custom paint!!

I've ridden a hair over 32,000 miles in 3 years so far.  I've treasured every mile.  This past week was GREAT, riding wise.  Looking forward to Thursday's ride, weather permitting of course!  Thanks for checking in, I'll try to post more here rather than just on facebook! 

Riding variety!

I haven't moved away from blogging of my rides; I've just added another platform.  Sometimes it's just too much trouble to pull out the computer to log everything; I actually have to upload all my pics to Flickr, download to my computer, then upload to the blog.  I added an adventure page to my personal facebook page; you can search "Jen and David Ride", or Indisaki Adventures on facebook and "like" the page if you don't want to miss anything!  If it's not a big, giant, epic ride, it's nice just to upload the photos to facebook along with the synopsis.

The teenager at WORK

Looks like my last entry here was our vacation.  We've had a few fun rides since then, only one long one.  The long one broke our Riding record on day one of the vacation; we rode 435 miles in one day!  It was a fun day; we rode out to Lynchburg and back.

Freshly washed beasts

Sadly, the day after our long ride, my FIL had another motorcycle accident :(  He was riding alone to his brother's house on his bike, and a kid texting on his phone rear ended him as he was turning into the driveway.  It was a pretty devastating impact; he was taken by ambulance to Kennestone Hospital in GA and it turned out he has a pretty severe broken back.  He had surgery to place 2 rods and 8 screws; David had to ride down to GA to pick C up b/c it was his week to hang with the grandparents.  Thank GOD he is not paralyzed; his helmet actually came off his head during the impact, but he didn't even have a concussion.

Night Riding

Obviously, his future wind therapy is in question.  The MIL says she's keeping her bike for now, but won't ride alone.  There's no telling when the FIL will be well enough even to contemplate getting back out there; he's having to get the strength up to even walk again.  So yeah, there's that.

Top of the Dam

Our ride this week was a night ride out to Norris Dam.  We thought about a Cherohala trip, but pop up showers in the area deterred our enthusiasm!  Khaleesi is almost completely perfect; the final piece of my "must have" accessories has been added.  Floorboards!  She now has a Mustang seat, a Freedom Shields flared windshield, reduced reach handle bars, an LED high projection headlight, and Kuryakan mini floorboards.  I love the mini boards because I have the option to hang my heels off the back if I so desire.  My "want" list consists of pipes and upgraded shocks.  Later!

Bottom of the Dam

Let me just say, that if you've never ridden at night, you're missing out!  It is truly an incredible experience, especially once you get beyond the streetlights.  Tennessee has a LOT of area without streetlights.  It's so amazing to look up at the sky and see how vast everything is without all the light pollution; it's breathtaking!

We stuck to mostly main roads and a little bit of Interstate getting there; the harriest part is the "State Park" road because it's not lit, it's 2 lane, it's not well traveled, and it's in the "Park", so lots of potential critters!  God was with us, and even though we smelled lots of skunks and roadkill, we didn't see ANYTHING.  It feels completely different in the dark, and the ride becomes about the FEELING of riding the bike instead of the looking around at the sights; the "sight" part is pretty much cut off.  My next investment is going to be some amber glasses to try for the dark stuff; I feel like I see pretty well with just my eyes, but I'm all for every advantage!  I was sooooo glad I packed my "layers"; I was wearing just a T shirt and my mesh jacket b/c it was pretty humid and sticky last night (got up to NINETY ... in OCTOBER), but once we got moving at a pretty good clip, I got chilly.

Worst selfie on the face of the planet!!

We took the most hilarious selfie, I just couldn't stop laughing!  I feel like the JenandDavid selfie is sort of our thing, and it is the most HORRIBLE picture, it just makes me laugh.  We encountered some teenagers that wanted us to roll on the throttles, and a gentleman at the gas station that I think wanted to snap a pic, but he wasn't fast enough.  We rode around 95 miles I think it was; we were out for about 3 hours or so.  For me, the night rides are "guilt free" because we go once C is down, and the teenager just has to be present in the house; he doesn't have to DO anything.  It'll probably be November before C can go back to stay for "his week" with the grandparents, and that's provided that the FIL has a smooth healing road, and his pain stays under control as he learns to live with the hardware in his back.  We won't have many more nights I don't think, as hopefully the 90 degree days will stop. I'm not looking forward to COLD weather, but I AM looking forward to FALL weather, which means day rides are the BEST ... and of course, I want to ride through the changing leaves.

MUCH better selfie, lol!

Taking each ride day by day.  I try to average at least once a week riding to work.  Found a new way to go that's fun on the bike; keeps me from riding the same ride over and over.  I just thank God for allowing us to own and ride motorcycles, and I'm SO thankful for His protection as we're out and about.  The teenager is learning to drive, and I'm WAY more scared for him out there in the car as a new driver than I am for us on 2 wheels.  FIL's accident has caused us to just add another layer of carefulness to our riding; as we slow down, we use dorky hand signals.  Sitting at a traffic light, we're "split", with each of us having an "out" if the worst happens and someone comes barreling up, not paying attention.  Thanks for reading, and happy riding!!