If Only the Incessant Screaming In My Helmet Would Stop....

It's pretty much a given that motorcyclists like twisty roads. We don't usually like the straight route to anywhere and in fact will seek out the twistiest road we can. First Lobster and I have covered twice the distance of the straight road to go someplace by the twisty road and been happier for it.

However, I pretty much suck at corners. FL has spent a lot of time on the side of twisty roads in various parts of Canada and the U.S. waiting for me to catch up. He has a bike which is heavier and has a lower centre of gravity, and...he's a better driver than me, so he rocks the corners.

This year I took a cornering course to see if I could improve enough to keep up. It was held in a church parking lot in Edmonton, so, not a lot of corners to practice on, but still, I learned and practiced the 10 steps of cornering. I was ready when vacation rolled around to.. Well.... swiftly roll around some corners.

So let me tell you what it was like..... And keep in mind, this is after a full day of practice in the parking lot.

FL's rule of thumb while cornering in the USA is to take the "suggested" cornering speed in miles per hour, double it, add 10 or more percent and then take the corner in that number as kilometres per hour. He LOVES 35 mph curves and routinely takes them at about 90-100 kph. Sometimes he rolls around them with his feet still resting up on top of his pegs, although occasionally he does actually condescend enough to put his feet on the foot pegs the way they are supposed to be.

This is how I take a 35 mph curve... "OK, 35 mph. Am I in a state that is conservative in their estimate of suggested cornering speed (Idaho), one that haphazardly decides to or not to put up a sign whenever they want (California) or am I in the state that really MEANS the suggested speed (if only I couls actually remember which state that was)? Ok, I'm almost at the corner, I'll downshift two speeds.... No.... That seems a bit fast....downshift another one just to be safe.... Better safe than dead right? Quick-10 steps of cornering.... Inside foot with the toes on the peg (cuz if I am slanted so much in the corner my foot touches the road - that's a BAD thing (and NEVER gonna happen)), knee out, slide ass off towards the inside of the curve, pick turn point, eyes into the turn and.... Ok, now I'm in the turn, ummmmm. Oh yeah, relax the outside arm (and the neck and the face), push with the inside arm. Wait... Relax the thighs too (that's not actually one of the steps, but my thighs are gripping the tank so tightly I'm leaving dents in the tank). NO! My brain screams- you can't relax legs and arms...you might DIE! Next step- big picture vision - head up and look around the corner, not at the road in front of you! Unfortunately- all I can see is the sky... There's a gigantic cliff off the side of the road... My brain is instantly flooded with thoughts of sliding off the road and dying on the long drop to wherever. I hate corners with gigantic drop offs, and corners that are hairpins downhill, and hairpins uphill, and every corner downhill, and all corners I can't see the exit before I've started the corner...so pretty much every corner that is not on the flat part of the desert!

And now the corner is over and it's time to catch my breath from the scream that started way, way back before step one and petered out in a small whimper just as I accelerated out of the turn. And time to start the next turn..... 15 mph? What? No you can't really mean that! And it's an inside turn, so if I skid out I'll slide across traffic and either get run over by oncoming traffic or slam into the rock face Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh .......

The "Gang" experience...

I have ridden with a group of three and four motorbikes before, but most of the time it's a "gang" of two or a motorcycle "duet" of my husband and me.

So what is it like to be a part of the duet...?

When we ride, First Lobster (FL) rides in the front - it is his job to tell the GPS where we want to go, then follow the GPS, and try not to let it kill us... Which it pretty much tries to do on a daily basis. He sets our speed, watches for the tax collectors, and picks the "correct" lane.

As the follow behind, I don't have to watch my speed or figure out where to go to follow that damn GPS... I also have more time to look around at the scenery and read some of the road signs...which means sometimes when the GPS tells us the wrong way I can see the sign telling us the correct way to go. Alas, that means it is too late to get us growing the correct way. Sometimes FL and I have choice "words" about things when we get lost, but not very often.

As the rear rider, it is up to me to be ready at all times to follow FL if he decides at the last second to take the exit, or speed up into a gap or come to an emergency stop on the side of the road (where I also then hang out just a bit more than him and put on my emergency lights). 

This means the majority of the time I have nothing more than a vague sense of where we are going. I have absolutely no idea how long it is going to take us to get there, and if we get separated, I am basically lost.

I could take my turn riding at the front, but if the GPS succeeds in killing us, I don't want it to be my fault.... We even park in the same order....

But what do you "do" on vacation?

When we had young children we used to take them to Kelowna or Vancouver, one year to Las Vegas. Vacation never really began until we got where we were going. All the whining and complaining (mostly from me) about how loooonng it took to get anywhere ensured that vacations were never fun until we had arrived! People say they are going to Los Angeles or Las Vegas or wherever and they have a thing to do there...go to Disneyland or go shopping or the beach or ....something.

Now First Lobster (my husband) and I go on vacations where the end point is just the point on the earth where we will turn around and come back. We came to Los Angeles again this year....why? Because it has good roads to ride our motorbikes on that we haven't been on yet.

Other people can drive to LA in 24 hours, switching drivers and driving straight through - their vacation begins when they get there. We take 6 days to get here (which includes one really light day, or entire day off) so our butts can have a rest.

We will not go to Disneyland. We will go shopping this year, but only because we went to the mall where they filmed Bad Santa or because we "needed" something from the cycle store we don't have in Canada. We will spend our days in the nearby hills/mountains riding twisty roads just for the joy that brings. Yes, there are twisty roads nearer to home, but we've been on a fair number of those and there are a few bragging rights to saying I road my bike "all the way" to LA (and home again too actually).

So see you laters the twisties are calling me to nothing more than drive them!

The Weather and Forest Fires

Riders are very concerned with the weather....or at least we are.

Truth, you will be too hot or too cold at some point- possibly in the same day.

I try and dress for the majority of the day, which in August in the U.S., is hot. So I wear long underwear bottoms and top (special stuff called Heat Out), mesh over pants, mesh jacket and mesh gloves. This is a fantastic option when it's 20C or over, otherwise the jacket is a bit breezy. 

As we climb up into the mountains, the weather can drop by 10 degrees, which means I'll be cold for a while. Sometimes that's nice, sometimes not. I have a thermometer read out on my dashboard and I watch the temperature climb and fall.

Interestingly 2C change can be noticeable. Also there are air pockets like the warm water pockets at the swimming pool, all of a sudden you can feel the temp change even though the thermometer isn't registering it.

In mesh, on the highway, 23-27C is the perfect riding temp. However, in the traffic, 20-23 is great.

We hit 36C yesterday afternoon with a dry wind. My lips were stuck together. I left them that way, because it kept the spit still in my mouth. Today we are riding through the Oregon dessert, because it is less hot than riding through the Nevada dessert. Weather forecasts are no rain and a high of 31, so it might be ok...

The other thing we watch is where the forest fires are and where the smoke is blowing. So far so good this trip but parts of California look bad and might alter where we go.

Here we are, just about to enter the Idaho part of the Lolo forest. Fantastic riding!

Packing for a motorbike trip

People have a myriad of questions when you tell them you are planning a long trip on your motorbike. 

So, yes....my butt will hurt. Yes, I am hot or cold....depending on the weather. Yes, I get wet if it rains.

Now on to one of the other questions....what do we take with us.

I am a master packer...... Even approaching Jedi Master status.

I start with a list divided by function and location I will pack it. So tools in the left box, or electronics bag in the right box. The key to remembering everything is a great list. The key to finding it on the trip is consistency and logic.

In the left box we store things we don't need everyday, such as rain gear (hopefully), tools, and the bag of everything. This has .... well....everything in it. Maps, Lysol wipes, visor cleaner, owner's manual, flashlight....you get the idea. This way we don't need to take the box off at night and haul it up the numerous stairs to our room (which is always on an upper level if the place doesn't have an elevator.  Cuz, you know... There's nothing I want more, after 6-7 hours of arse numbing riding in the heat, while wearing full crash proof clothing, than to haul my luggage up the stairs.

The right box has clothing, meds, electronics, swim stuff and sandals (you only get to bring one pair of shoes beyond your riding pair). So the stuff we need in the hotel room at night. 

The top box has food, drinks, extra gloves and other things we may need to access multiple times during the day. This box also comes into the hotel room...(cuz it might occasionally have alcohol in it).

We bring 4 days worth of clothes (that is all we have room for) and of course, there is laundry soap in the bag of everything!

We don't buy souvenirs usually, but do have expandable space....just in case.....