2 Wheel Adventure Blog

What a day.

Got up with my wife and daughter.  She was thrilled both Mommy and Daddy were taking her to school.  Then we headed down to Haymarket.  I had my “flight plan” filed with my wife.  Before I go out on any ride, my goal is to provide a route to my wife, with estimated times of arrival.  It is very difficult to communicate while on a motorcycle (without a headset anyway), so this is an important step for my safety, as well as my wife’s peace of mind.

Granted, I’d have company on this ride.

So we got to Haymarket to the seller’s house.  He was already at work, but his wife opened the garage.  I got suited up, sat on the bike.  I’ll tell you, it felt a little heavier than the little Rebel, but not as bad as I thought it would. 

I had heard that the v-star 650 has a ‘narrow’ friction zone.  So I decided to feel it out a bit in the street for a few minutes.  But after a couple times, I got used to it.  I decided to head out to the high school.

Drove into the parking lot, and there was Doc, sitting there waiting.  He had a v-star 1100 custom.  Nice bike, plus he had done some decent customizing.  Very similar color scheme.  He also looked over the bike, and gave it a thumbs up.

He asked if I wanted to do any practice, but I felt fairly comfortable at simply heading out there.  The route would be 15, up to Route 50, head east to Watson Rd, and then pickup Evergreen Mills to get out to Doc’s house to make a quick stop to pickup something.  After that we’d head to the DMV.

I’ll tell you, one investment I will be making is a windshield.  There is a very small windshield on there now (Yamaha’s “boulevard” model).  It is useless above 55 MPH.  Granted, I didn’t go much faster than 55 for most of the trip.  We got out to Leesburg with very little issue, then off to the 15 bypass, where I stalled at a light heading up hill in some fairly heavy traffic, but got through it.

Then out to the DMV.  We took a circuitous route around the parking lot to get to the DMV, but once there there was only a minor wait.  Doc was going to have his wife come over on lunch break to take her written motorcycle exam, but she didn’t have enough time.  At this point, Doc needed to head out and get some things done.  I told him he was generous enough to offer the time that he had, and that I’d see him tomorrow at ‘Skoot Skool’.

Done at the DMV, so I decided to head back home.  I just figured I’d go back down 15, but when I got there, I decided to head down my normal work route to see what it was like on a motorcycle.  Down gum springs, then to Route 234 west back to 15 and back North again.  As I got up to Route 50, I had never been out west of 15, so I said, why not?  I headed west through Aldie, then Middleburg.  Turned around in Middleburg and headed back east towards home.

I was getting close to Aldie again.  The elevation of the landscape is such that the road is higher on the left side, and lower on the right (south) as you are heading east.  I caught movement of something in the lower side on the right, below the level of the road.  Next thing you know, a black bear waddles out onto the road!  Luckily I had slowed down from 50MPH to about 40 as I was approaching Aldie with a lower speed limit.  

Even still, the bear was maybe only 50-60 feet in front, and I had to panic stop.  I locked up the rear, and just kept it down as the bear waddled up the high side of the road to the North.  I didn’t know whether I was more surprised or startled by the whole event!  I don’t think I’ve seen a black bear this close, ever!

I had remained fairly calm through this event, perhaps a combination of surprise and awe, who knows.  Besides, it was getting late, and I knew I needed to get back home to pick up my daughter, so I needed to get the car.

Back up Watson road, to Evergreen Mills, this time towards Ashburn.  What an awesome day.  How many people can say they get to see a bear, and on the first day of a new motorcycle to boot!

So, I was hanging out on the V-star CCND forums on Delphi.  I was also on the Southern Cruisers Riding Club Loudoun County chapter forum, also located there.  Why?  Well at one point I had found one of the members there was selling a v-star, and why not lurk around and listen to some of the activities of other fellow cruisers.

I posted about my interest to join the group.  The safety officer ‘Throttle’ runs a “skoot skool” occasionally where they do some PLP (parking lot practice) similar to the BRC.  It just so happened there was one on June 21 - the day after I was picking up my ’skoot’.

I mentioned I might like to join, and asked if it was ok whether I joined the rest of the group on Saturday.  I was picking up my bike on Friday, and this would be a good extension of what I did in BRC but on my own bike.  Mind you, I barely knew any of these folks, aside from the fact that “Throttle” also frequents the msgroup forums on which I also spend some time.

As I was mentioning all this, one of the members ‘Doc’ offered to ride with me on my journey to pickup the bike tomorrow.  I will have my wife drop me off and then I will head to the DMV to get the titlework, license, etc.  If at any time I was feeling uncomfortable, I’d just head home instead, or worse yet, just pull over, get a ride to my house, pickup my truck, rent a trailer, etc. etc.

While I found it a little odd at the forwardness of the SCRC folks to offer help, this is what these guys do.  They have a club primarily for the purposes of riding together, often times in a spurious ad-hoc manner.  So to them it is just the status quo.  Even still, I found this a very generous gesture.  A few other members on SCRC tried to talk me out of it, and either trailer it home, or have someone ride it for me.  But I am bound and determined to do it.  The Rider Coaches all seemed to recommend I get out there on the road.  Besides, why did I buy a motorcycle anyway?  To have someone ride it home into the garage for me?  Granted, I could just putt around in a parking lot close to home, but the route from Haymarket to my home is not particularly difficult, and I figured why not give it a shot.

So, looks like plans are on, and I’ll probably meet up with ‘Doc’ at the high school just north of the seller.  If all the SCRC folks are this cool, why wouldn’t I join them.  Granted, many of them have older children, and it is presumably a little easier for them to get out and ride, but sure beats riding around by myself all the time.

Now I have a valid certificate to ride, and I have a motorcycle.  Of course, I need to get the motorcycle titled, get my license updated etc.

Wife says I cannot pick up the bike until I clean out ‘my’ side of the garage (which has more than just ‘my’ stuff BTW).  The prior owner wants it out of his.  We compromise and settle on Friday, June 20th to get it.  That should give me plenty of time to straighten out the garage.

I have a riding jacket, helmet, gloves.  I have no luggage, so I picked up a swiss gear backpack that has a chest strap and tons of storage.  It also has a laptop storage pouch should I choose to ride to work.  Plently of other places to store keys, bottle of water, lunch, paperwork, etc.

Now, on to straighten the garage.  I’m antsy to get the bike.  I don’t want to forget what I learned at the BRC, and I want to have some more fun!

Fathers Day.  I got to get up early and, well, make my own breakfast to head out to the range.  And I was excited!

Got there again around the same time.  We had 12 bikes on the range on Saturday.  Only 11 were there when we returned on Sunday.  Most of us figured out what happened pretty quickly.  The younger man, who was clashing with the one instructor, was counseled out.  Not so much because of his verbal antics, but he truly was causing safety concerns for himself and others around him.  Needless to say, his buddy, who rode with him the prior two days, did not return either.  Apparently, one of them was responsible for a multi-bike drop the prior day, where he just fell over and knocked a few others over like dominos.  I did see the result the prior day, but I didn’t see how it was caused, because I was usually at the front of the line due to being a little more confident.  There were a few other drops, but most were fairly benign.

The guy with the bad clutch control did return.

Apparently, we all passed the written portion.  I was not surprised.

Today, we got to practice a bunch of different maneuvers.  Panic Stops, Swerves, U-turns, and more turns and items.  I forgot to mention yesterday, that I found the shifter on the Rebel 250 to be horribly positioned for those of us with large feet.  Even with adjustment, it is just not easy to get to for larger people.  The shifter knob is so short, that my large shoe can barely get under it to upshift.  Downshifting is less of an issue.  Not to mention I felt a few times that I was going to hit my knees on the handlebars, but I didn’t.  During this class, I was glad I didn’t stick with a smaller bike as a starter.

On the panic stops, you have to initiate a stop at a set of cue cones and complete your stop within a prescribed distance.  Let me say, that it was very difficult not to anticipate the stop.  Granted, it is somewhat of an academic exercise; usually you don’t stop when you pass a set of cones, but rather because of a hazard that you see in front of you.  The positive reinforcement coach said, don’t worry about it; I’m really happy with your stopping ability and in the real world you would have been able to handle it.  I did forget to shift back to first a few times.

On the swerves, I did really well.  The exercise has you traveling straight towards a set of cue cones, and you have to swerve within a set of cue cones to either side of the coach, upon being signaled to do so.  The positive reinforcer coach recognized this, and really started to challenge me.  I swear, I got within 5 feet of him a couple times before he signaled me to swerve.  I started to worry that I was doing poorly.  He came up to me later and set me aside and said he was trying to stretch my abilities because I was really doing well.  Phew.

The U-turn/Figure 8, for all itents and purposes was a real pain.  We got to practice it early in the day, not once did I get through it without planting a foot (but always stayed in the box).  Later in the day, I got to practice it again, and I did it a few times without putting a foot down.

Then we had to peform a cornering maneuver where we had to maintain at least a certain speed (probably at least 15-20 MPH).  For the most part, I felt really comfortable, except for the U-turn/figure 8 box.

Well, that was it, we went through all the skills practice.  Now it was time for the infamous “skills evaluation”.  Did I curse myself buying a bike prior to taking the class?

So, the first exercise was a panic stop.  Did really well on this, even managed to not anticipate it and downshift.  A few people didn’t get enough speed and got a “do-over”.  One individual opened the throttle when they went to brake.

Next, Figure 8.  As luck (and some anxiety) would have it, I put down my foot during this exercise.  Now, I knew that if I went outside the box, I’d lose more points.  Since I wasn’t sure if I would lose more points putting a foot down again (on the second U turn) vs. going outside, I opted to put a foot down if I had to.  I should not have thought too much about strategy, as I put my stupid foot down again.  Mind you, I had just performed this twice flawlessly, but then again what is 2 times perfect out of 5 times total.  Regroup, and sped up out of the box to the swerving exercise (flawless).

Last exercise was cornering.  Got through that fine.  Shifted to 2nd, went around.  Then it was over to the “confessional booth” where the Ex-Marine broke down the score. 

Panic Stop - excellent, U-turn box, put foot down 2x.  Swerve - excellent.  Cornering, not quite enough speed through the corner, lost a few points.  He “yelled” at me for not having enough speed through the figure-8, but after that he told me that I had done pretty well throughout the entire course and he would not be apprehensive in riding with me.  I took the vote of confidence and rode on!

Out of the 10 people that were left in the class, the guy who claimed he had made it through before failed.  This was the same guy with the poor clutch control.

Nobody dropped a bike during the skills test.

I didn’t drop the bike once.  So what is worse, dropping the bike?  Or planting a foot down to avoid it?  I always say the latter, but we shall see.  I know dropping the bike is an immediate failure of the skills test, whereas planting a foot is not.  So my vote is dropping the bike is worse (and probably a whole lot more expensive).

Anyway, the conclusion:  Buying a bike, even if it was on Friday the 13th, wasn’t enough bad karma to cause me to fail.

I couldn’t wait to get down to Haymarket to pick up that bike and bring it back.  How much different would it feel than the little 250 I was on in the course?

Went home with a big grin to spend the rest of my Father’s day with the family.  I decided to call my dad to wish him a happy day.  Given we wanted to head to the pool together, I figured I’d give him a quick call.  We had just talked a few days prior, there wasn’t a whole lot to discuss, and I started (as I often do) with my 4 year old daughter on the phone.  I really didn’t want to get into a few hours of discussing the motorcycle class, etc.  Of course, as she’s talking to Grandpa, one of the first things she said is “Daddy went to a motorcycle class”.  Now hear I am thinking, so much for going to the pool now, we’re going to have to have a 4 hour discussion.  But my dad just asked a few quick questions, and that was it.  Long discussion averted.  Not that I’m ashamed or worried, but like I said, I wanted to try to surprise them somehow with this new endeavor of mine

Now I can’t wait to get that bike…

Today’s the day.  First day on a motorcycle.  And it was grand.

Got to the practice range just before 7am.  We were instructed on the range hand signals, the staging area, etc.  We were instructed to pick our bikes.  Each of us would use the same motorcycle for the duration of the course.

I got a little Honda 250.  There were some Kawasaki 250cc cruisers, even an old Kawasaki 125, a Honda Nighthawk, a Ninja 250, and even a couple of Dual Sports.

The personalities of the 3 rider coaches became very evident during this portion.  The Ex-Marine, well, ran the course like a drill sergeant.  Granted, he was a very respectable and genuinely nice guy, it was just his style.  The ex-Navy guy was a little more wacky, but also pretty cool.  The quiter coach was an excellent, positive-reinforcement type instructor.  I found the diverse combination a nice mix.  One guy would verbally whack you over the head, while the other would give you the positive reinforcement version in a good-cop bad-cop kind of manner.

First we sat on the bikes to learn to keep them balanced.  Wow, I was amazed at first of how much concentration was required just to keep myself and a 350 lb bike from falling over.  But I quickly mastered that.  I don’t think anyone dropped there bikes yet. 

We moved on to the friction zone, power walking, and then straight line exercises.  I really started to feel comfortable after the straight line exercises.  Then we progressively moved up, traveling around a oval track marked out by various cones that the rider coaches would move periodically.

For each exercise, one of the coaches would demonstrate the objective, and then we’d all head out of the staging area to perform it.

Towards the end of the day, you could clearly see differentiation from the rider.  There were a couple of people who owned bikes and rode for years.  They were, of course, doing well.  Then there were a few of us new riders including myself that were also doing well, for the most part this was men similar to my age, and there were a couple younger women (probably no more than 20 years old).  Then there were 2 young men who were probably around 20 years of age, and were taking the class together.  One of them was the same men that were clashing with the ex-Marine on a regular basis (the young man needed to learn that the future of his motorcycling fate was in the hands of the coach and practice verbal restraint).

There was also a man who claimed to have passed a few years back, but never went to get his actual endorsement.  I find it hard to believe that any judicious instructor would have passed this guy, as he had not once mastered adequate clutch control.

I was feeling fairly comfortable, way more than I expected, for my first day riding.  I didn’t expect to pick this up as quickly as I did.

We all went back in and joined the afternoon session to take the written exam.  I’m pretty sure that if I didn’t ace it, I came pretty close.  I decided to head home and spend time with the family instead of waiting around for the results.  I wasn’t the only one who felt the same way.

What an awesome day.  This is really a fun way to spend $150.

It seems like a week ago that I was down in Haymarket buying a motorcycle.  I took the ‘classroom’ portion of the BRC this evening.  With all the preparation that I put into the curriculum-based portion, this was very much a review.

The instructors, or “rider coaches” had us highlight the answers to certain questions in the course book and then read them aloud to share them with the rest of class. 

We were also broken into 4 teams.  2 of the teams would come back Sat/Sun for the morning session (approx 7am to 12 noon), and the other 2 teams would follow in the afternoon.  We discussed the answers to the coursebook as a team as well.

I chose to be on the am session.  I’m a morning person anyway (not real early, but not late either).  Plus, it is June, and even though it isn’t supposed to be as hot as last weekend, it is still cooler in the morning, and there are no risks of Tstorms.

We have 3 rider coaches.  One of them conducted the majority of tonight’s classroom portion.  He is an ex-Marine, so he runs a tight ship.  The other individual, who is the facilitator, is ex-Navy.  I haven’t seen much of the 3rd coach, but he seems more subdued, and more of a coach-like personality.  I can already see the ex-Marine coach clashing with a few of the younger students.

For the most part, I don’t expect the written test to present much of an issue.  Just need to remember my TCLOCs and FINE-C.  I think I got it.  Actually I had these down a while ago.

I will say, the Rider Coaches did offer a lot of personal experience and coaching on proper riding strategy.  While some of this was in the coursebook, some was not, and I always appreciate an experienced rider’s point of view.

Alright, tell me if this was a bad idea:

Here it is, the night that MSF BRC starts.  What did I do Friday am?  This morning I went into craigslist, and there it is, a 2002 V-star 650 classic, in reasonably good condition for $3000.  I immediately call the owner, and he says he has someone coming to look at it at 1:00, but if I can get there earlier.

So, I embark upon an early lunch.  I get to his community and check out the bike.  Looks like it was kept outside for a few years, then garaged after that.  For the most part, however, it is in good shape with 7000 miles.  That is, aside from the wu-tang sticker on the Yamaha Boulevard windshield.  The paint is black, so it does show quite a bit of swirls, but nothing deep.  Most of the chrome is in good shape despite a few minor blemishes.  Even the rubber looks good.  Starts right up (so the owner claims).

I bought it.  This was the most impulsive thing I have probably done.  I don’t even know how to ride a motorcycle and I just plunked down 3 Gs.  My wife was a little miffed at this as well, but I think she was more in shock/disbelief.  Honestly, I don’t think she thought I’d ever get a bike and learn to ride.  She may be more shocked that I actually went through with it!

So, was it a bad idea?  By a bike on Friday the 13th, not to mention the night I start my BRC ?  Time will tell.

I asked the owner if I could leave it in his garage until I can either trailer it, or ride it home.  Probably the following week sometime since I’m tied up with the BRC all weekend!

See, I know what is going to happen.  If I buy a bike now, I will jinx myself, and fail the BRC.

If I don’t, I’m going to pass, and I will buy the first thing that comes along because I’ll want to get out there and ride!

Neverthless, I’ve been on craigslist daily now.  There are some good deals that I’ve passed by, and there are less v-star classics now than there were.

OK,

So, I know, I wasn’t going to buy a bike until I got my license/passed the MSF BRC.  But a local bike dealer had a nice V-star classic with low miles (around 10k) for $3000.  The prior owner did chop the rear fender and took off the pillion, but other than that it is intact.

Maybe I’ll let it pass.  I like the fuller rear fender.

Here we go.  One more week until the actual BRC.  I ride by every weekend and see them out there, next week it will actually be me!

It has been crazy hot here in Northern VA, so I’ve been out buying some underarmor to have to help keep me cool.

The other thing that is weird, is the BRC states it is only 15 hours.  But the directions indicate that the class runs around 6:30 or so to 10:30 on Friday 6/13 (yeah, I know, Friday the 13th), and then 7am to 6pm on Sat and Sun.

That seems like a whole lot more than 5 hours classroom and 10 hours range.  I guess I’ll bring voluminous amounts of water to be out in the heat that long.  Maybe it will be a little cooler.