daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
I went for a long ride this morning with Kiki, my BMW motorbike. We went north on Ronald Reagan Blvd, which used to be very empty several years ago, but is now crowded because there are so many new houses in the area. It’s really sad!
But even with more traffic, the ride was fun! When I got home, I was pretty cold though, so a nice hot bowl of instant ramen hit the spot.
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.
