So, in the last few weeks, I've been doing more riding than writing, and now feel somewhat obligated to catch up on the writing. I got my endorsement officially this past Tuesday (July 18, one month and one day past my birthday) and have been trying to get out riding every day. So far, I've done...
... a trip south and west (through Saline, and almost as far west as Tecumseh?) with friends Marilyn and Paul through some beautiful farmland, with some truly wretched roads. I mean, some were worse than the worst of the downtown Detroit car-eating-pothole type roads, with pieces of pavement and gravel and all sorts of of unpleasant all over. I did, however, learn that it *is* possible to make it through a tight curve over gravel (repeating in my mind over and over in my mind not to change anything, to just sail through it and indeed, I did. We stopped for a break at the Saline Dairy Queen, and were shocked to meet some fellow bikers who, we'd thought, had left the bike at home (they were both wearing shorts and sandals). But nope, they rode off, and we managed to contain our gapes pretty well. (I still can't see someone dressed like that on a bike without cringing sympathetically).
... a trip with Marilyn, Paul, and Ken, out some very fun roads to the west of Ann Arbor, into Dexter, through Clear Lake, Pinckney (almost to Hell?), and ending up at a little diner in Napoleon. This was before I got the endorsement, and I pushed it getting home - I wasn't supposed to ride after dark - but it was good experience nonetheless. At one point, riding back on Old US-12, we hit a spot where the fireflies were so thick it reminded me of scenes from science fiction movie shots of flying through starfields. Beautiful, though I had to fight to keep from getting mesmerized...
... a trip to Tio's Mexican Restaurant, where I managed to only get rained on a little bit. I stopped by a friend's house afterward to see her kitten (a founding, which I had last seen when she was not much larger than my palm and was being bottle-fed), and got another lesson in just how annoying weight-activated traffic lights are. I need to remember to plot my night rides around a lot of right-hand turns....
... another trip with Erik, ostensibly to Chelsea for lunch, but winding up taking Hankerd Rd (one of the ones I'd been kinda freaked about; there've been at least 2 fatal motorcycle accidents on it this season) out to Gregory, near Hell, and then back. Some wonderful curves there, but it reminded me how much I need to work on 'em.
... a great trip with Ken out west again, through Dexter to I-94 at Baker Road, where I had my first experience with the expressway. I surprised Ken by going quite a bit faster than he'd expected (since I'd only gone a maximum of ~ 65 before, he figured I'd be doing good to get up to 70) - finding that speed is a good way to deal with encroaching 18-wheelers. I found that my windshield is actually a pretty good protection against the wind, even at 85mph, although I should confess that we didn't have any serious crosswinds. After we made it out to Clear Lake Road, we rode around some beautiful territory and ended up near sunset at Portgage Lake before heading back. Afterwards, I got to go to Bike Night in exile (from the Ann Arbor Art Fair, which takes over downtown this time of year) at Chris and Tina's, where I got to show off my bike *finally*, and meet their adorable little pygmy hedgehog.
That's about all for now. As I remember more, I'll add to it...
Hope
Published by Hope, shadowriderhope@gmail.com