BluepoofBikes Motorcycle Adventures

Now, this is dedication

From our work motorcycle parking area. That's one dedicated motorcyclist *and* unicyclist!

We can't shoot.

Awesome drawing by Melissa, to ease our collective pain over having the worlds' suckiest wrist shots.

Janky Elbow

I rode up to Rick Mayer Cycle in mid-April for a custom seat for the Beemer; a fun ride, but the friction zone on the clutch was too far out (even adjusted all the way in), which left my forearm and elbow a bit unhappy.

I replaced the levers with Wunderlich Vario adjustables, which helped a bit...

Stock clutch lever:

Vario lever:

But I continued to ride, and continued to aggravate the nerve, and now I have Janky Elbow.  

Janky Elbow is a distant cousin, I believe, of my old friend Angry Shoulder, except that Janky Elbow is at least predictable.  I pretty much can't pick anything up with my left hand, and forget about squeezing anything with my arm extended....y'know, like a clutch lever.

So, here's Janky Elbow currently.  

It's incredibly frustrating, to understate the obvious.

The wrist wrap and forearm strap help a bit, but I still can't do anything nuts like ride a motorcycle.  Astute readers might remember that I don't actually own a car, so I've been hemorrhaging money for the last two weeks on a rental car.   I'm also doing daily heat/ice cycles, ibuprofen, and regular chiropractic visits.

I seem to be able to play hockey without pain or inflammation (though backhands can sometimes really tweak it unexpectedly), so at least that's keeping me marginally sane.

In the meantime, I added Rox bar risers to the Beemer, which did bring the bars back farther, but I think the bars are fundamentally still too high and too wide.  

Peter gave me the suggestion to sit on his Airhawk, which actually did help my posture -- who knew I'd ever need a HIGHER seat?? So I might be heading back to Rick Mayer to add some more height back onto the custom seat (well, when I can even consider riding 250 miles, that is).  

I'm also looking into swapping narrower bars on; I like how the wide bars feel more stable in turns, but it's clearly keeping my elbows at a, well, janky angle.

So, the short story is that I'm incredibly frustrated but, hopefully, Janky Elbow is on the med and I'll be riding again soon...fingers crossed.

I swear, in my next life, I'll be averaged sized and not have ergonomic problems with every single thing I try to do.  Rarrr.

Drunken Pirates update

Oh my goodness, I haven't talked about hockey in a month.  That there is just not acceptable.

The Drunken Pirates continue to impress and amaze with our mad skillz...or maybe just our enthusiastic suggestions that the other team be keelhauled or walk the plank, yarrrrr.

We're in second place in the division right now (just two points behind Nora and Wendy's team) and have a ton of scorers -- 10 out of 13 skaters have at least one point.  I've already tied my point count from last season, which is totally meaningless but nevertheless gets me all worked up.  It drives Peter insane that I pay attention to my stats, but I'm a program manager! I can't help being OCD! ;)

Anyway, we're not quite halfway through the season and I'm glad to have the chance to skate with this team for another 3 months.  

Our next game is Sunday, against the Monkeys on Ice (Andrea and Cheddah's team). :)

Campsite review: Portola Redwoods State Park, CA

Location: 

9000 Portola State Park Road

La Honda, CA 94020

650-948-9098

Directions:

From Alpine Road and Hwy 35 (Skyline Blvd), turn west onto Alpine Road and go 3 miles to the intersection of Portola State Park Road.  Turn right onto Portola State Park Road and follow into the park.

NOTE: According to the website below, the campground is closed from December 1 to April 1.  The park might also be closed in "severe weather" -- I have no idea what the park service considers severe, so I'd call ahead if it's storming.

More info: 
http://parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=539

Date of visit: 
May 22-23, 2009

Weather: 
A little chilly, but what do you expect in the redwoods?  It was in the mid- to high-60s while I was setting up camp and fell to about 50F while we were sitting around the campfire.  The overnight low was 47F.

The morning was chillier than the evening.  If it's a foggy morning, be extra careful on Alpine and Skyline on your way home; visibility was terrible and there were bicyclists everywhere.  Temperatures also fell to the low 40s on Skyline, even at 11am.

Campground Condition: 
* Most of the campsites that I saw were medium sized and could probably fit two four-person tents.  Our campsite, #27, had neighbors right across the road, but we had plenty of space to each side.  

* Many of the campsites are bordered by a significant cliff that leads down to a river.  These are well-marked on the reserveamerica.com website and, if you're camping with little kids, you probably want to make note of these.

 * Each site has a fire pit with metal grill, a picnic table, a wooden locker, and a place to park. There were water faucets, recycling barrels, and wildlife-proof trash bins every few campsites. 

* There is a lot of wildlife at this park, especially raccoons! Do not leave food out overnight, even in the locker.  If you have a car, that's probably your best bet for overnight food storage.  There are no bears, just birds and raccoons, so I'd imagine that aluminum or plastic motorcycle luggage would be safe for food storage.

* The bathrooms are pretty clean and have flush toilets, sinks with warm water (!!), and soap (!!!).  No paper towels though.  ;)

* There are pay showers available at each bathroom building for $0.25 for 2 minutes.

* Firewood is available at the visitor's center for $8/bag.  They also sell bottled water, soda, T-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, and some books about the park.

 

What to do: 
There are lots of walking trails at the park.  The visitor's center has two free trail guides: one for 0-3 mile hikes and one for 3+ miles.

We took the Old Tree Trail, which is a 1/2-mile walk out to -- you guessed it -- the Old Tree.   We were the only ones on the trail, which is not a loop (you walk to the tree and then walk back).  It was a fun and easy hike with interpretive signs along the way.

My photos:

Campsite #27:

Looking from the back up towards the road:

Along the Old Tree Trail:

Beemers now and then

Two happy Beemers in the work parking lot.

 

Fangirl!

So, about a month ago, I was hanging out at Cal BMW waiting for the windscreen for the Beemer.  It was a weekday afternoon and the only people loitering in the shop were me and a couple who looked vaguely familiar.  Dirty BMW suits, check.  Tall blonde guy, short girl with buzzed haircut, check.  

I finally got the courage to go up to them and say, "hey, are you guys riding around the world?" "Guilty as charged!" they replied, which is how I met Simon and Lisa Thomas.

(photo from RoadRunner magazine, who's running articles from Simon and Lisa over the next few months)

For those that don't follow Round-The-World motorcyclists, Simon and Lisa have been on the road for six years now, riding through 50+ countries so far.  Their goal is to ride to the northernmost and southernmost part of every continent.

They have their own site, 2RideTheWorld.com, which is the perfect antidote to a boring Friday afternoon -- conveniently, it's Friday now! So go look!

Anyway, they were at Cal getting their Beemers serviced in anticipation of leaving the States for the Asia/Australia portion of their trip.  Lisa showed me around her F650GS and all the various crazy mods they've done to it...it sorta looks like my old thumper, if my old thumper were on steroids.  A 39-liter gas tank!! Damn.  

We talked F650GSs for a while; I was really glad to hear that she hadn't had any serious mechanical troubles with hers, despite having over 120,000 miles on the bike.  In fact, the only trouble she'd had were a couple of blown fork seals.   My theory stands that my thumper just hated me. ;)

Eventually I figured I had to let these poor people move on with their lives and I should stop following them around the shop like a twitterpated schoolgirl.  

Fortunately though, they were giving a presentation back at Cal last Friday, so Peter and I could go hang out some more.

The "90 minute" presentation would up with us being at Cal for almost 4 hours.  Their talk was awesome, the pictures and stories just fantastic -- even Peter thought it was cool.  :)  You can read their diaries here on their site -- very very very worth it.

After the talk, we bought a couple of their photo prints and had them signed.

If you don't already read RoadRunner (which is an awesome magazine anyway, btw), definitely pick up the next few issues to read some stories from the Thomas's trip.  

New job = new bike sticker

1550-mile review

Saturday will be my 1-month anniversary of owning the 2009 F650GS and, since I'm at 1553 miles now, I thought I should give a more thorough review. :)

So, in no particular order...

Engine

I'm digging the additional 20hp that the twin has over the thumper.  It's not so much horsepower that I'm scared of the bike (yes, I'm a pansy) but it's way more comfortable on my freeway commutes, especially when I need to pass someone or accelerate quickly down an on-ramp.

I've still noticed a couple of moments of snatchy response but I think it's rider error instead of the motorcycle.  The bike is really quick to small throttle movements and sometimes I'm just sloppy with my throttle control. 

Transmission

Very smooth.  Shifting is trivial and I've never hit a false neutral.  Speaking of neutral, it's super-easy to find with the engine off or on (like when sitting at a stoplight).  No more hunt-and-peck for the green light!

Handling

It sorta creeps me out to have a low suspension bike! I keep thinking I'm about to drag something.  It's the weirdest feeling.  Also, I suddenly have no chicken strips on my rear tire.  I think these two points are related.  Hrm...

The bike handles really well.  Really tight twisties (10mph) are a little rough but I think that's because I tense my shoulders up -- it makes it hard to maneuver even with the wide handlebars.  The bike really holds to a line well,though.  I don't fight the bike in a turn or have to do a million tiny adjustments entering the apex.

Ergos

The seat is a torture device.  Get rid of it.  I did! I went up to Rick Mayer Cycle two weeks ago and got a custom seat.  Now my butt is happy.

Other than that, ergos are pretty darn good.  My only complaint is that the clutch lever is too far out from the handgrip, even when adjusted all the way in.  I have to twist my wrist out slightly to reach the lever, which is bugging my tendonitis.  I just ordered a Wunderlich clutch lever which claims to bring the lever closer to the handlebar (this was backed up by a fellow shorty on T3h Intarwebz), so hopefully this will be a non-issue soon.  

Oh, and the F800GS windscreen works really well.  I don't know how it would be for taller riders, but I like it a lot.  I don't get a lot of helmet buffeting.

Braking

Love it!  No problems at all.  This is my first ABS bike though I can't honestly say I've noticed any difference.  Granted, I haven't had to do any emergency stops at all yet, so I'll keep you posted if I change my mind.

Off-Road

I've hardly done any off-roading at all so far, so this section won't be fleshed out yet.  

I did a few miles of gravel road on my way to Rick Mayer and, to be honest, I didn't like the stock tires at all.  I felt very squirrely.  New dualsport tires must go on the research list. 

Non-Optional Options

The non-optional options are growing on me.  I've used the heated grips a few times and the onboard computer is great.  Given my druthers, I'd rather have had the under-tail storage than the tire pressure monitors, but so far its readings match up with my tire pressure gauge, so at least it seems accurate.

I think that's it so far.   Questions?  Hit me up and I'll try to get to them ASAP.  :)

Burninating the Eva Bash!

Yesterday was Eva Bash, a fun mini-tournament that Eva of the Big Fat Flying Pigs put on to raise money for the AIDS LifeCycle ride.

There were four teams in the tourney; all local to the Bay Area: the Burninators, the Black List, the Bucktooth Angry Dolphins, and of course the Big Fat Flying Pigs.    So many people that I knew! :D

Peter also had a game yesterday -- the Team Danger game that was rescheduled from last Monday -- but in a different city, so I was on my own for getting to the rink.  Bwa ha ha.

Heather passes out team bandanas before the first game...I chose a cute one with frogs all over it.  I wore it in both games and it seemed to serve me well!

Game 1: Burninators vs Black List: 2-2.

Our first game was at 4:15pm against the Black List.  I played center with Jean and Jen Schwartz.  It was my first time playing center in at least a couple of months, so I was a bit rusty....and exhausted after a couple of end-to-end runs!  Being sick for six weeks apparently takes a bit of endurance outta ya...who'd'a'thunk it?

I think I might have actually knocked over Nora in this game....whether it was me or gravity, we both went down in front of the Burninators net.  I narrowly avoided being smoooooshed and Nora laughed at me that it would be my own fault if she landed on me.  ;)

We spent the whole game being even-steven for shots on goal. I think the Black List finally eked out a couple more SOG than we had, but we finished the game tied, 2-2.  

Between-games goofing off

There were four games in the tournament; we had game 1 and game 4.  That left a couple of hours in-between the games for general mayhem.  Most of us stuck around the rink and chatted, tried to find some food, and watched NHL playoff games.

Kim (who was on the Black List and thus only had a one-game break) demonstrates the height of must-dress-quickly hockey fashion:

The Big Fat Flying Pigs team mascot and...I think the pig is actually an MP3 player:

Our locker room, complete with Trogdor and his thatched-roof cottage.  Amazingly, women's locker rooms generally don't smell that bad, even during tournaments.  Boys, don't you ever wash your gear??

The Sharks game started about 20 minutes before we had to go back to the locker room and get dressed for our second game.  That was enough time to see Joe Thornton's goal, though! Welcome to the playoffs, Joe, nice to finally see you.

Game 2: Burninators vs Bucktooth Angry Dolphins: 4-2.

Our first time beating the Dolphins! Hooray!  :D 

Playing the Dolphins is always really fun.  I know almost everyone on the team and they're good, strong players.   Luckily for me, a couple of them are even on the Drunken Pirates, my normal NCWHL team! :)

I played left wing for this game, with Jean on right wing and Becky on center.  Becky is all kinds of awesome to play with; she can play any position quickly, smartly, and damn well.  My hero!  

I had my best play of the tournament at the end of game 2; Becky brought it into the zone and passed to me; I deked around a defenseman then brought the puck way over to the righthand side of the net to get around the other D.  I had a wide open backhand shot, which the goalie was able to get, but it was a decent shot on goal, at least!

Liz commented after the game that she saw our line doing some nice things; hopefully that means we'll play together again.  That was a fun line.  

After-game revelries.

After our game, everyone got dressed and reconvened in the sports bar for raffles, food, and Sharks-watching.

Lots of cool raffle prizes -- I won an iPhone cover. :)

Andrea wasn't sure what to make of winning a funny beefcake guys-in-funny-drag calendar....

Jennie and Graham scored the women's golf clubs:

Sharon's going to have to take up scrapbooking now...we expect a beautiful montage of our next Burninators game!!

Fortunately Tracy's new purse matches her Dolphins orange tracksuit.  Whew.

Liz and Cara hang out and represent our team during the raffle:

We all hung out until Marleau's game winning goal in overtime, when the entire bar went totally batshit and yelling and screaming and cheering.  Sharks in 7! ;)

A great mini-tournament for a great cause with great people.  Thanks, Eva, and everyone else!