Divided attention

There are some days that I think I shouldn't be on bike. Days where it seems like I'm not paying attention enough and that my mind seems to be wandering too much. But they have all been minor things and it really didn't bother me too much.

That changed on my last ride home from work on April 16th.

The whole ride home my mind is constantly wandering from one thought to another. Cars passing me on our multi lane main street are actually taking me by surprise because I'm not paying attention to my mirrors. My mask and goggles weren't seated correctly and wind kept making my eyes water.

I could handle that stuff. It was only a short ride and I knew it wouldn't be long before I would be home. There was one last thing though and it really bothered me. Actually, it's still bothering me now.

I was approaching an intersection and I was preparing to turn right. The light was green and I didn't have to worry about oncoming traffic. I took the turn and did so many things wrong that I'm surprised I made it home that night.

First, I looked down, saw dirt in the turn and proceeding to drive through it.

Second, I powered through the turn which caused my rear wheel to slip on the dirt that I had been watching.

Third (and this is the one that really gets me), I put my foot down. I PUT MY FOOT DOWN! The bike wasn't going down and my foot hitting the road actually made the bike even more unstable. All I could hear after that was my foot loudly slapping the road. Aside from falling asleep and blowing through an intersection years ago on my Kawasaki, it's probably one of the dumbest things I've done.

You'll have to forgive me, I tend to dwell a lot and I still haven't forgiven myself for slapping that road. It all boils down to inattention and not having a clear enough head to be riding.

So how about you? Got anything motorcycle related that you beat yourself up for? Or are you a little more forgiving of yourself then I am?

chilly

there is something to be said for the cooler temperatures in the morning. at least it wakes me up for work.

this morning was a balmy 4 degrees celsius (39.2F) with a windchill of -2 degrees celsius (28.4F). so yeah, i was a little chilly...lol. it will soon be time to switch back to the full face helmet. as it stands, i have to wear a mask with my shorty on. it's ok though, i look like a bad ass with my rising sun bandana covering my face...lol.

things are going great though. Selene is handling the chilly weather fantastically and we were actually able to go for a nice long ride a few days ago. speaking of that ride, i saw a wonderful site while puttering through the streets of a local residential district. i was behind a school bus and having to stop whenever it did. after one of the many stops, i noticed a motorcycle getting ready to come out onto the main street. instantly i noticed that it wasn't very steady and i thought, "new rider." sure enough, the bike pulled shakily onto the street and the feet came unsteadily up to the pegs. i avoided doing the wave, so as not to make her pull a hand off the bars, and just gave her a nod. well, didn't she take her hand off anyway and give me a big old wave along with a huge smile! i gotta tell ya, that made my day. she looked so happy to be out on her bike.

plans are already in the works to get my old kawasaki road worthy and ready for joey next year. on the list: tires, chain, sprockets, paint and general engine work. she hasn't been running for some time and i'm sure it's going to quite a job to get it her working like she used to. still, it will be a great site to see joey doing her first unsteady start. it will be even better to have her riding ahead of me. oh, she will be taking a safety course. no worries there. it's pricey up here though. looking at around 3-4 hundred dollars. oh well, small price for good instruction.