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Tales
from the Road
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Banged Up Bikes...and Bruised Egos
posted by The Lonely Rider
 By
The Lonely Rider &
Stella, The Riding Princess
Sometimes ya just gotta get dirty, wet and even a little bruised and that's exactly what we did. Recently, Stella picked up a new Yamaha WR250 and wanted to go play. It was only her second time riding the bike and she was eager to take it off the beaten path. So with that in mind, off we went to go play on some local trails with me on my trusty "dirty bitch" (a BMW F650GS). Of course her bike was far more suited to such adventures than mine with its greater height, ground clearance and less weight.
After rendezvousing with Stella at her place in the evening, off we went. Once we arrived, we did a quick check of the trails to see what we would be up against. Although most off-road riders would no doubt laugh heartily at the trails before us, I was a little tentative with this being only the third time taking my bike off-roading and although Stella has a lot more experience than I do in the dirt, she was still getting used to a new bike, which is still a tad too tall for her despite having it lowered a bit (at least now her toes can reach the ground on both sides).
The following is an account of our evening from both our perspectives...
Shaun: The ride up was reasonably sedate and we made good time despite having to make a quick stop for gas for my bike. I was running on fumes and didn't really want to get stranded without any fuel. It was during this pause that Stella mentioned her two near misses behind me from two cars that pulled between us cutting her off. This was of course just another reminder of how clueless and careless drivers are on our roads but also reminded us of the need to be careful while on the roads. This would have been a good time to fill her tank too but noooo...she realized she needed gas about 5km later when her fuel light came on. No worries...another quick stop for gas and we were on our way. After arriving at a local off-road series of trails, we first scoped out the terrain and envisioned ourselves ripping up the dirt and braving a couple river crossings.
Stella: Shaun & his "dirty bitch" cruised along at a sedate pace while I followed behind and dodged cars turning in front of me: "She saw me. She turned her head and looked my way. Wait...did she really see me? Damnit! She is turning!" Reach for the levers, squeeze harder and harder, downshift...5-4-3-2-1...Little bead of sweat rolls down my forehead. Shaun is no longer in sight. Apparently, 36.6 inches of seat height makes you taller and thinner (and invisible to car drivers too). I finally catch up to Shaun who is kindly waiting on the side of the road for me. At that moment, a black truck sees the opportunity to squeeze in between us: "He saw me. Wait...did he really see me? Damnit!" Reach for the levers and apply the breaks once more. "If this happens one more time, I am turning around and going home!" My body temperature rises up along with my heart rate.
I am kindly reminded to take a deep breath. The show must go on. As I am riding along, my smile also widens as the WR "fun factor" kicks in. It is temporarily put on hold as the GS is thirsty and requires a fuel stop. I notice the slight cramp in my big toe from holding the motorcycle up with my vertically challenged inseam. I probably look like a dwarf ballerina on my WR! A few kilometres further, my fuel light comes on. I get the eyeball roll from Shaun, who amusingly highlighted that I am wasting precious fun time. The real fun of living wisely is that you get to be smug about it...I suppose.
After applying emergency manoeuvres twice, two fuel stops, an SUV talking a 1/4 of my lane and still surviving, we finally arrive at the guarded trails. It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety...the security guard eventually leaves and we joyfully trespass with our motorcycles.
Shaun: Of course our thoughts of ripping up the dirt like Pro Enduro riders quickly ended once we actually started riding and I wimped out on the bigger river crossings. Ok...I'll admit...I really didn't want to ditch in the river and get soaked. Instead we played around for a bit on the dry, rocky, rutted out trails and while crossing a small stream, my playtime came to a quick end. I nailed a rather large rock and broke off the springs for my kickstand. Not a huge deal really but since my kickstand kept falling down, it kept engaging the kill switch to the engine. Not really a fun feeling having your bike die on you while riding, so I pulled off and assessed the damage. Hmmm...nothing a couple zip ties couldn't handle to hold the kickstand up and it's a good thing I still had a centre stand to use. While I tended to my "dirty (broken) bitch", Stella was off "finding her grove" playing in the dirt. Needless to say...I was disappointed. Well at least she was having fun so I grabbed my camera and hiked back in to snap some pics. I arrived in time to see Stella having some first-class giggle fun as she flew over a huge dirt mound.
 Stella: As I glanced at the terrain and analysed the paths that lay before me, a hint of doubt crossed my mind. My WR was still shinny and new and I had not been off the beaten path since my days at Tracks (an off-road riding school). Knowing my reputation of riding hard and dirty (sometimes abruptly and falling a lot) I approached the terrain rather carefully. I made sure my feet remained on the pegs and the clutch was slipped in order to give me the torque I needed during slow speed manoeuvres. However, as I opened the throttle and increased the speed, I became at ease with the bike and flew over obstacles with grace. I soon realized that the dare devil had taken over and I found myself looking for hills and jumps to climb or fly over. I was giggling like a little schoolgirl in my helmet! Caught in my own amusement, I realized the GS had disappeared from sight. I soon found Shaun's silver stead but all I could see were a pair of legs laying on the ground behind the parked GS. My initial reaction was one of concern as I approached and saw Shaun fiddling underneath the engine. At least he wasn't hurt but his "dirty bitch" had suffered a little blow to the side stand. I returned to the playground, leaving Shaun behind. I was having too much fun! My confidence increased along with my attitude, which soon became a combo for trouble. The bike went down once. A little slip of the foot on loose gravel and I gently tipped over. I cursed a little but that was nothing compared to what was to follow. I aimed for the river crossing: clutch half way in, throttle opened and loose front end. The rocks in the river bed were baseball sized and slippery. As they became the primary focus, I missed the large rock on the other side of the river. The same one Shaun smashed against. You know what they say: better face it dead on then try to avoid it. At least I would have jumped over it but the front tire hit the edge, slipped and the brand new, shinny WR went down followed by the rider, which was also followed by a series of colourful and obscene words. I was defeated! So was my brake lever. My history for breaking levers was repeating itself. Thankfully, Shaun's camera didn't catch any of this. I picked myself up along with my broken parts and rode home with half a brake lever, a missing mirror and a damaged pride.
Shaun: All good things must come to an end and after picking up Stella's bike while she beat herself up over "breaking in" her bike, it was time to limp home with various parts of her bike in my tank bag and our egos a tad bruised. It was getting late and both bikes needed some work before the night was through. Along the ride home Stella mentioned that she had done a number on her leg and it was beginning to hurt. As such I was expecting a more "conservative" ride back but noooo...her bruised ego seemed to have healed rather quickly and she was still very much enjoying her new (although somewhat battered) WR and proceeded to race me off the line every time we left a stop light. Ok...I got beat by a girl. Meh...my ego can handle that and each time she pulled away from me with light turning green, I was reminded of how zippy her bike really is. A couple times I tried to keep up and each time she humbled me by kicking my ass. It must be the bike.....right? Once back to her place, she checked her leg (just a scratch and a developing bruise) while I quickly re-attached her mirror. Her brake lever will need replacing though. As for my bike, it was too dark to fix so it would have to wait until I got home to be repaired in the light of my garage.
One thing is for sure though...despite the "issues" we had...we would do it again in a heartbeat.
Banged up bikes and bruised egos...welcome to off-roading!
posted by The Lonely Rider
Rogers TV Coverage of RoadAwareness Rally - May 19th, 2009
posted by The Lonely Rider
The Rally coverage starts about halfway through.
http://www.rogerstv.com/option.asp?rid=51&lid=16&tid=27804&arid=51
posted by The Lonely Rider
For women only!
posted by Stella, The Riding Princess
 On my way to Hockley Valley Resort Saturday morning, feeling a little sheepish for not riding my F650 GS and doing a little detour by the Forks of the Credit for a bit of twisty fun, I settled back in the comfort of the truck's heated leather seat and dozed on and off as I listened to the rain's musical rhythm. My volunteer driver allowed me the extra rest as I hit the sack too late the night before. Although the day was just beginning, I could feel a growing excitement.
The BMW Motorrad exclusively female test ride event is one I look forward to every year. Although I already own a BMW motorcycle, my enthusiasm for the brand reaches across all models. And this is the opportunity to be introduced to the full range and capabilities of all BMW motorcycles. This is also the occasion to enjoy the ultimate riding experience in a relaxed and controlled environment with other women riders. BMW Motorrad has always taken pride in the availability of its demonstrator machines and believes that the benefits of riding BMW motorcycles become more apparent with every mile spent in the saddle.
This is a no sales pressure event. Instead, BMW's purpose is to show it's commitment to meeting the needs of female riders by demonstrating that their motorcycles are easily adaptable with fully-adjustable ergonomics, lowered suspensions and lower seat options. And no one else other than Norm Wells, National Manager of BMW Motorrad Canada is the host. I recognized him from two years ago and I was glad he didn't remember me (I dropped a demo 800 ST and broke a turn signal).
The Hockley Valley Resort was a perfect setting for such an event. Despite the cold, damp air, spirits were high and ready to roll. My first scheduled ride was on a R1200R; a joyful and powerful urban roadster. After a brief sign-up, review of the route and motorcycle cluster - and a strong emphasis on BMW's particular turn signals, as they operate as three separate entities (left, right and off switch), all ladies mounted their bikes and lined up in a staggered formation. It is particularly amusing how many managed to confuse the horn with the left turn signal as we made our first turn.
I found myself at the back of the group, just ahead of the "sweeper". This gave me the leisure of rolling off the throttle to widen the gap between me and the rider in front, only to roll it back on and experience what the R1200R had in its guts. My enthusiasm was cut short at a few occasions as the rider in front of me was getting acquainted with her own ride. I too, would be humbled on a K1300S. As for the steed I was mounted on, it had no pretensions but all attitude and made a good travelling companion.
Back to the resort after what I thought was a short ride which left me wanting more. A new group of women had gathered for the event; women of all heights, sizes and riding backgrounds. Some, you would never expect to see on BMW motorcycles. Ass-less chaps are a bit of a fashion faux-pas that do not associate well with the blue & white propeller. Nice gals though.
My next ride was on a F800 GS, the big sibling of my F650 GS. The regular seat was traded for a lower one and off I went. I knew right away that I belong in the GS series; I had found my comfort zone. The bike sounds quite tame when you first fire it up and idle it, but that soon gives way to a nice little growl when the tires snatch some asphalt. I am use to my single cylinder "thumper" and found the 800 GS to be much smoother with the parallel twin engine and significantly faster during acceleration. The F800 GS reminded me of my Yamaha WR 250, smile factor wise. It responded to my inputs with precision and is sure footed in corners. I brought it back to the resort with much regrets. It would have been a nice addition in my garage.
As my rounds ended, I returned to the truck, proudly wearing my new BMW hat "for women only". As I settled back in the leather seat, I fell asleep once more. Somewhere along the way, I pictured myself on my F650 GS riding the sand dunes of Africa...
posted by Stella, The Riding Princess
Motorcyclists Ride to Raise Awareness
posted by The Lonely Rider
Mississauga News
 By: Julia Le
Motorcyclists from across the GTA gathered Sunday at Square One and Yorkdale shopping centres to remind drivers to be cautious when sharing the road with bikes. About 200 bikers attended the Road Awareness Rally, which began at Yorkdale at 10 a.m. Participants then rode to Square One at 10:30 a.m., where they rallied for an hour before breaking into smaller groups and riding to Woodbridge AMC Theatre. Shaun de Jager, a Toronto motorcyclist who led a similar rally in March near Hurontario St. and Eglinton Ave., told The News earlier that there have been too many fallen riders on the roads this season. He said the ride and rally was meant to remind people to drive more cautiously when sharing the road with motorcyclists. "One motorcycle can be hard to see, but when over 200 bikes ride together, that stops traffic," said de Jager. For more information, visit http://www.roadawareness.ca/.
jle@mississauga.net
posted by The Lonely Rider
Ride For Sight Approaches - The Clock is Ticking
posted by The Lonely Rider
Greetings everyone, the time is coming near for the 2009 Ride for Sight to raise funds for the Friends For Blindness, which will be held on June 20th, 2009. The ride will go from Toronto to this years great venue in Collingwood. As a team, we are still far from our goal and I emplore you to reach deep for this great cause. As a direct result of the funds that we have raised, medical break-throughs have been made and sight is being restored to those who have fought with degenerative eye disease. In 2008, our team raised over $35,000, which added to over $300,000 raised in Ontario alone. By sponsoring me in the Ride for Sight, you will be contributing to finding a cure for blindness. One hundred percent of funds raised by riders go directly to The Friends for Fighting Blindness, which continues to fund significant research breakthroughs.You can help support me by making a secure online donation using your credit card. Click on the link below: http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=1986527
posted by The Lonely Rider
A New Riding Season Brings New Riders
posted by The Lonely Rider
 Each Spring, more and more people take up motorcycling and they do so for a wide range of reasons. As such, motorcycle training schools across the country quickly fill up with students who are new to riding or those who are returning after taking many years off.
Whether you are new to riding or someone who is taking up riding again, the question that is often asked is "Why take a course? Isn't it just like riding a bike?"
The short answer is no...it's not.
 Riding a motorcycle comes with risk, just like driving a car does. However, making a mistake on a motorbike can have far greater consequences. The point to taking a safety course is to mitigate and reduce those risks. Instructors start you with the basics of where the controls are and how to use them and rapidly move you up to required skills like emergency braking, obstacle avoidance and proper vision techniques.
Even for those who have ridden before and are returning to riding, much has changed in the past decade and so have the bikes that are now available today. For those who have many years of riding dirt bikes, riding on public roads is a very different experience since trees don't tend to simply jump out in front of you (only those who drive/ride drunk would disagree with that statement).
In general, people take up riding for many reasons ranging from a childhood fantasy to a mid-life crisis, peer-pressure from their friends or family, to wanting to save on gas, or simply wanting to indulge in the pure joy and sensation that riding provides and that they've heard about. Many of the joys of riding are foreign to new riders until they actually get out on their own bike and discover the thrills, adventures and excitement on their own.
I recently spent some time at a local motorcycle safety course and talked to some of the students and their instructors. The students shared the opinion that they wanted to learn the basics of motorcycle riding and one student went so far as to say that he took the course to "stay alive", despite his many years of riding a dirt bike. He recently purchased a new BMW F800GS and wanted to go adventure riding but since that meant riding on public roads, he wanted to get a better understanding of what was involved in riding on them.
Another student was very new to riding and when asked how long he had been riding, he replied "Oh...about four hours". I asked what motivated him to take up riding a motorcycle and this middle-aged student answered that many of his friends and family rode motorcycles and he figured he would take it up too. Although he had already purchased his cruiser, he wanted to take a safety course first before taking it out on the road. Wise choice.
 The instructors already understand what's involved in riding on public roads and are there to pass down their knowledge much like native cultures pass down knowledge from one generation to the next by showing them first hand. We all start out the same as newbies, without a clue what we are doing and it's the instructors passion for riding and willingness to "pay it forward" that makes taking a course enjoyable. Just observing the instuctors running along side the students and taking extra time talking to those who required some extra tutelage, showed how much they cared about arming new riders with the basic knowledge and skills that they would need to head out on the open roads. One instructor stated that he chose to teach new riders because of the instructors who taught him. He had been riding for seven years and teaching for two and wanted to give something back.
Whatever your reasons are for taking up riding, please take the time to do it safely and take a safety course. It's worth far more than it costs and should be considered a personal investment in you. Most riding schools offer not only a basic course for those who are new to riding but also advanced courses too. Some regions have graduated licensing and local schools, who are certified by their local governing body, offer weekend courses that focus on the skills required and actually administer the ministry tests that are required to graduate to the next level.
posted by The Lonely Rider
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