A little motorcycle adventure
Date:
This is a vague summary of a 4-ish hour trip I went on with a friend of mine recently. I hope my mother never reads this! (In my defense, I survived).
After taking a motorcycle safety course in order to become, allegedly,
a safer and more aware driver,
I received the fatal M endorsement on my driver's license and developed an interest in
riding motorcycles more.
But now I want to have fun, to go faster, and to feel that free wind on my face.
Thankfully, I have an experienced, crazy friend with (at least) a couple of dual-sport bikes,
and we of course make plans to go riding.
It is a real risk, of course, because I have not ridden very much, or in heavy traffic.
And, of course, I have heard motorcycles continually called murder-cycles and donor-cycles,
but I'm on a quest to live life a little more
fast and danger.
Anyways, it is not a great sign of luck when before we even turn out of the parking lot onto a main road, I notice that my friend has a flat back tire. So, we have to return to the garage and fill up on air. Now that we are really ready, we need to stop first at the hardware store primarily because the bike that I am riding has an issue. The handlebar on the right side does not have a guard piece, which is useful for protecting the brake lever from bending (bad) in the event of dropping or dumping the bike. These guards are good to have because these little accidents can happen frequently in low-speed off-road riding. Anyways, after a riding through the busy streets to the downtown hardware store, and after a long ordeal of attempting to attach a new handle guard to the bike I am riding, we can finally head out. However, the attempt to attach the guard is unsuccessful, which will be important later. This is all besides my friend's unsuccessful attempt to create a spare key for one of the bikes. After several attempts to cut key copies, the store just admits they do not have the right stock. Although not under ideal conditions, we now head West on the paved mountain roads, with the beautiful fall trees and weather.
The view along the ride is gorgeous, and it is indeed fantastic to ride smooth and fast
along the roads.
The autumn leaves are thin and golden, which hold the sunlight in such idyllic ways.
However the bike's sensitivity to every movement of hand or foot must be respected,
and I feel nervous about losing control in a split second of urgent need.
However, I keep calm and continue on,
trusting in my training and a single day of previous street experience.
But once I get more used to the feel of the bike and, once we are further out from busy traffic,
it is better, and I start to feel more in control.
Oh, what fun to lean while turning a curve on a bike at speed!
Following my friend's lead,
I loved accelerating and speeding faster than I normally would in a car
(since I'm usually more cautious).
But there are a few funny and novel (to me) hick-ups along the rest of my journey that really
make it a disaster an adventure...!
None of these issues are something that happen at speed, thank God,
but that is the whole issue: there are several times where we stop for whatever reason,
and my bike will not start normally or easily.
The bike has this ongoing issue where its computer can not properly detect
when it is in neutral gear,
and so it actively prevents normal operation.
So, the first time that we stop and I find that I cannot start the bike,
I am at a loss for what we will do.
Why won't the bike start? It's in neutral and the battery is fine.
If it won't work,
how will I get out this place with no ride?
Thankfully, I do not have to ride on my friends back.
Internally, I am concerned, but my friend is calmer.
He asks me, Have you ever bump-started a car?
Never have I done this for any vehicle, and today is the day that I learn to bump-start a motorcycle. Apparently, this is something you can do with manual transmissions! This skill I did not expect to learn, and I am at first apprehensive, but I figure it out. It is trial by fire (in order to put fire in that engine). Motorcycles feel much heavier when you try to move them without the engine's help. The first time I try, I push the now heavy bike up to 10mph, hop on, and, oh no. I jump too vigorously and not at all with balance or so much as my foot on the footrest. So, I promptly dump the bike... onto the very side which is missing the guard. Oh, and there's a big ditch on that side of the road, too. Now we wish we had the handlebar lever guard, because it gets bent by the weight of the bike against the ground. Granted, the handle had already been a little bent, and now it is even more bent. If only we could have guarded against that somehow with some hardware... But still, it is not too bent, and my friend does not seem upset. The bike is completely functional, just with a little more damage. So, I struggle to tilt the bike back upright and get it out of the ditch. It is very difficult, and I fail. My friend manages to get it out though. He knows the technique.
After a few more tries, I finally get it started without dropping it.
But it does not last for long.
Throughout the rest of the trip, there are many more times where the engine
stops accidently and unexpectedly, due to the bike's neutral gear quirks.
One time, we stop for a photo-op, and I put the kickstand down while in neutral,
when it suddenly becomes quiet.
Oh, it's a safety mechanism where the engine shuts off if the kickstand is down while
the engine is in gear.
Regarding the engine quitting,
my friend simply says, It's not supposed to do that in neutral.
We are stopped where there was a cattle guard in the middle of the road,
and one time I put the bike in gear right over the gaps of the cattle guard while I'm trying
to start it.
The cattle guard proves to be an obstacle because of the limited space:
I do not want to try running over it (that could lead to a leg-breaking trip),
and I have learned that cannot start while over it either.
It does not work because the ground is too rough there.
The bike instantly stalls.
After a few more start attempts and hefty runs up the gently-sloped road,
I get it started again.
But, oops! I bump the kill switch while trying to adjust the side mirror.
I walk up the hill again and run back down, starting again.
Now it's started for good.
This day, I have become an experienced bump-starter.
The way back after that is a little colder but just as pretty. One interesting but brief sight and obstacle we encounter on the return trip is a couple of groups of wild turkeys. These little guys begin to cross the road when we are riding by. I don't slow down as much as I probably should, but the birds compromise and hold still. No collisions. Much better than squirrels. We get back to my friend's garage unscathed. This whole ride is an adventure because of the novelty and obstacles, and this experience shows me that uncomfortable and new sights and surmountable challenges make adventure.