daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
Today I went for a nice ride around town with Kiki, my motorbike. I didn’t bring my GoPros so I was just focused on riding and having a good time. I rode over to downtown Austin, then took Lamar Blvd north all the way to Parmer and then back home. The beautiful weather made it a perfect day to be out with Kiki!
I returned a book to the library and then went to the Sunset Deck at Balcones Canyonlands Wildlife Refuge. It was a very nice ride!
Please come along virtually:
I hope you had a great day!
I went for a maintenance ride today with Kiki. The maintenance refers to keeping my riding skills maintained and sharp. 😀 It’s important for me to keep the motorcycling skills up since it is a dangerous activity, so riding around the neighborhood, with plenty of slow turns and stop signs is a good way to practice.
When I first began riding, I’d be nervous whenever I had to come to a full stop. Since I cannot flat-foot both feet (my inseam is maybe only 28″?), I’d have to tip-toe. And also, getting the timing right of putting down my feet as soon as I stopped moving forward was a challenge. But after a bit of practice, I learned to just slide my butt off to the left side, and put down my left foot only. I can flat-foot on that side, and it is very stable and comfortable. And I have gotten the timing right for stopping. Basically, I come to a stop kind of forcefully at the end, instead of a gentle slow-down. Now coming to a full stop is almost second nature, although I do still have to give it a little bit of thought, especially to make sure I don’t put my foot down on any slippery oily stuff.
It was a nice little ride, but I do need to adjust my clutch lever. I had moved it up since my motocross boots needed extra room, but I don’t have those boots anymore so I can lower the lever to make it easier and faster to shift. I actually missed a couple shifts today because I was tired from a long run in the morning, and that reminded me that I need to adjust that lever!
If you have a few minutes, why not come along for the ride? 😄
I was inspired by Youtuber Seaman / Japanese Moto Girl’s videos to try out a couple of new camera angles. For my previous videos I used the chin-mount, but I think I now prefer the chest-mount. I just need to angle it up a bit more (as you can see in the video). I also put the GoPro on the handlebars for the selfie view, which I also like. But since I only have one GoPro, it’s not convenient to switch out the one camera to different mounting locations.
I guess if I ever get serious about making more motorcycling videos, I can get another GoPro, but for now, I’ll be satisfied with knowing it can be done.
Enjoy the video!
Trying to beat the heat by going for a morning ride. But it was already in the 90s! 😫 Still fun, though.
