BluepoofBikes Motorcycle Adventures

This is why you wear gear, kids!

Some of the aftermath of my Sport-Touring.net buddy Frank's accident in Foster City, CA on 9/6/09.  

Frank went down when he was turning left in an intersection and a Harley rider ran the red light and came straight at him. The Harley rider then left the scene.  

Frank spent 5 days in the hospital with a broken scapula, broken collarbone, and seven broken ribs. And that's WITH full gear.

We just had our monthly STN dinner over at Frank's house with pizza and beer and nice company. He was in great spirits and showed off his lovely bruises (sorry, no pics ;) ). The ZR-7S is in remarkably good shape; if it weren't for a scratch on the quarter fairing and some rash on the sidebags, you'd never know it had been in an accident.

Here's Frank and the aforementioned ZR-7S up on Hwy 299 in October 2005. I'm glad that both it and Frank are still (mostly) in one piece and will be riding again!

Physical Therapy is phun!

I've been rather avoiding blogging lately as, well, I don't do anything these days.  I don't mean my hockey games or motorcycling are uninteresting, sadly; I mean I don't do them. At all. But I realized that I'm not the only injured person in the world and I thought maybe other motorcyclists or hockey players would be at least marginally interested in my latest physical therapy adventures. 

So.

I last rode a motorcycle on June 10.  I last played hockey on August 16.

WTF?

Janky Elbow
Well, the motorcycling bit started out, as you know, with Janky Elbow.  I started doing PT for Janky Elbow in late July.  My fears about tennis elbow were justified when they measured my "squeeze" strength with each hand.  With my elbow at my side and my forearm out straight (making a 90 degree angle with my bicep), my right hand could squeeze 75 lbs.  My left arm? Barely 30 lbs, and even that hurt like a mofo.

So I began regular PT.  Ice, electrical stim, and stretches.  

Once an hour, I do these stretches:

I also recently bought a Thera-Band Flexbar, which seems to be helping already.  After reading this post from the New York Times, I figured it was worth a shot.  I do 10 repetitions of the exercise shown in that post, twice per day.

I'm at the point now where I can sit on a parked motorcycle and use the clutch a half dozen or so times.  Progress!

So that's my elbow.  

Janky Back

So then, as mentioned in my last hockey entry, I tweaked my back playing on August 16.  By August 17, I couldn't stand up or move at all, and spent the day lying on an icepack cursing the world.

Long story short, I had two tilted and stuck vertebrae, L3 and L4.  By the time I got to the chiropractor (about a week after the injury), my whole back was messed up.  I couldn't stand, couldn't walk without bending forward nearly double, and couldn't lie flat either on my back or stomach.

Pretty much once an hour, I had to lie like this on an icepack (without the dumbbells ;) ) for 20 minutes just to make it through the day:

After two weeks of twice-weekly physical therapy (no stretches or exercises, just manipulation, ice, and electrical stim), I could walk upright and felt almost normal...unfortunately, then we flew to Wisconsin to pack up my mom's condo.  Packing boxes put me right back out again.

So now it's been a month since the original injury and I'm just starting to get OK again.  I still do twice-weekly PT, with the following exercises:

Every hour:

• Hamstring stretches (30 sec per leg)
• Piriformis stretches (30 sec per leg)

Every day:

• Cat/camel (10 reps)
• Tail wags (10 reps)
• Bridges (10 reps)
• Knee lifts while sitting (10 reps per leg)

I'm supposed to also do a couple of Swiss ball exercises but they still hurt my back too much to do them. I'm hoping to start those up next week.

The L3/L4 pain is pretty much gone now, but a lot of pain has spread down to the sacrum area.  I'm told that's normal after having an abnormal walking pattern for any length of time (and I've certainly been walking like a pregnant hunchback for the past four weeks), but I'm over the novelty and really, it could go away at any point now.  Really.  Other than that, it's just that my hip and upper back muscles have turned into hard cords.  It's really massage o'clock once I can get ahold of the Apple Wellness people to fit me in at lunch sometime.

As for hockey, the physical therapist said that once I can go three days in a row without pain when sitting, standing, or walking...then I can start thinking about when I can skate again.  Realistically, I'm guessing it'll be about another two weeks.

So, another season in Red for me as Maroon evals are this weekend.  I'm bummed about that but...what can I really do? I can't skate at all, much less be evaluated for the next highest division.  Must be zen about annoying things.  Ommmm.

So that's my life in a nutshell.  Lots of PT, lots of frustration, but I'm starting to read motorcycle forums again (I'd stopped for a while because it was just depressing) and starting to sit on my bikes in the garage again and make little vroom vroom noises.  

Hopefully soon I'll have actual content to write about! :D

Missing rider near Missoula, MT

I hate making these posts, but I feel helpless enough sitting at home in front of my computer that I hope maybe just sharing the information might be useful.

Donald Masters left Orofino, ID on Monday, August 31, headed for West Yellowstone and then on to Denver. He has not been seen or heard from since. Last credit card usage was for gas in Lolo, MT. on 8/31. He was riding a black 2008 Goldwing, Colorado Plate #327-UTH.

If you are near Lolo Pass, or anywhere between Missoula and W. Yellowstone, please be on the lookout for Donald and his bike. He's 62 years old, weighs about 175 and is about 5'9" tall. His bike would have been loaded with a fair amount of gear as he was on a 2+ week trip. If you have seen him or have information about him or his bike, please call the Clearwater County (ID) Sheriff's Department at (208) 476-4521.

If you're in the area, please consider joining the st-owners.com search on Saturday September 12.  More information here: http://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72221

Everyone's a motorcyclist in Wisconsin

Even the TSA at Milwaukee gets into Harleys. :)

The "solo traveler" lane had a lone rider on a Harley, but Peter wouldn't let me skip the security line to go take a photo. ;)

I also love the "Recombobulation Area" sign just past security; yknow, where you...recombobulate.

Our most recent visit to Wisconsin happened to have amazingly good weather, so there were tons of motorcyclists around.  It was pretty neat to see.  There's a part of me that really does think it looks badass to be riding a big Harley down the midwestern freeways and county backroads.

I guess the closest I ever got was riding a Buell Blast around the farms...

Ah well.  You can take the girl out of Milwaukee, but....

What the heck is going on?

Yeah, I suck.  My bad. 

Let's see....

Janky Elbow

Janky Elbow continues to be janky, though slightly less so.  I can fully extend it about 60% of the time now, which is sadly an improvement.  I've just sent off an email to my doc to get a referral to an orthopedic doctor with the ultimate goal of physical therapy.  

I was hoping to avoid PT, but it's been 5.5 weeks since I've ridden a motorcycle now and the elbow isn't healed yet.  Time to bring out the big guns.

XT225

I'm still hoping to attend the Chain Gang Altitude Sickness 2.0 ride in September.  It seems a little ambitious right now to be planning a ~600 mile weekend when I haven't even been able to ride around the block lately, but I'm delusional and optimistic.

F650GS

The nice part about taking time off from the bikes is that I get to do a bunch of modifications that would otherwise be a pain in the ass.

So far, I've ordered Rox handlebar risers, which bring the bars slightly up (bad) but much farther back (good).  I haven't done an installation report yet, since we're still tweaking things, but here's the gist so far:

The two downsides to this mod are that I have to order a longer brake line (which I've been steadily forgetting about for the past week) and I have to have the Rick Mayer seat slightly tweaked.  With the bars up a little bit from stock, I need the seat to be higher in order for my shoulder/elbow angle to be OK.  

Given the bike has a low suspension and I wear boots with risers, I should be able to have about 1/2" or 3/4" added to the seat without a problem. Right now I'm sitting on an Airhawk while testing angles in the garage, and it seems OK.

I swear, in my next life I will be 5'6".  

Hockey

Hockey is going really well, as thank goodness Janky Elbow isn't keeping me off the ice.  I'm probably overcompensating a bit for the lack of riding by getting super involved with hockey, but it's keeping me (relatively) sane.

My NCWHL team, the Drunken Pirates, are really a great team and just a joy to play with.  We're in second place in the division but, more importantly, have a ton of fun when we play.  I know I say that every season, but this team really does rule.  We're actually passing and making plays and have little pirate cheers.  

In other NCWHL news, I've join the board of directors as the league Treasurer.  I told you, overcompensation. ;) I'm a bit terrified of it, but that's generally a good indication that I'm doing the right thing.

Team Danger, at Ice Oasis, is sadly out of the playoffs after just one game.  We somehow wound up in first place based on points and penalty minutes (there was a four-way tie for first) but got our asses handed to us by the CPC Waves in the first playoff game.  Oops!  This was a pretty decent season for Team Danger; we had a little bit of a hero complex going ("I alone shall save this game!  Who are these other four players on the ice wearing the same jersey as me? Pish tosh! I alone shall win!") but -- frankly -- I've never been on a coed team that didn't have that going a little bit.

In other Ice Oasis news, I'm going to be joining the Thursday night league as well.  I told you, overcompensation. ;)  Thursday is also a coed league, like Monday nights (Team Danger), but Monday is mixed-level and Thursday is ostensibly done by skill level.  

So next season, I'll have my NCWHL team, Team Danger, and a Thursday night team at Ice Oasis.  Whew.

OK, I think you're all caught up now!  See you again in another month. ;)

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.

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.  

2009 F650GS test ride

I didn't have much to do today and I was curious about the 2008-09 parallel twin version of the F650GS, so I made an appointment at Cal BMW to take a test ride.

Pros:

• I really loved the engine.   The extra horsepower (~70 as opposed to my thumper, which has ~50) is very apparent as I could actually accelerate on the freeway and other crazy stuff like that.    
• There are next to no vibrations from the seat or footpegs and only verrrry slightly from the handlebars.  Bar end weights would get rid of the bar vibes, no question.  
• The transmission is very smooth and shifting is super duper easy.  Finding neutral is not the hunt-and-peck that I'm used to on my thumpers. 
• Handling is very good -- I didn't get to take the bike to any twisties, but I did do a few U-turns and played in a small cul-de-sac.   
• Braking is also excellent...or perhaps my standards are just low as I've been riding the XT with its drum brake. ;)  
• In non-riding news, a lot of the strange Bulgarian placement of parts seem to have been relocated. The oil goes directly down into the crankcase now (so you don't need to remove the oil cap to take off the fairing), the oil return line is not blocking the clutch cover, the front sprocket nut is accessible, etc.   

Cons:

• The engine is incredibly twitchy.  The teeeensiest input to the throttle would either kick in a bunch of torque or engine brake like mad.  I'd probably get used to this quickly, but it was really disconcerting on a 30 minute/15 mile test ride.  I would also be very wary of this off-road.
• The standard "one turn signal button per hand grip" Beemer indication configuration was clearly designed by someone with longer thumbs than I.  Canceling the turn signal required me to shift my hand on the throttle, causing bullet point #1 to appear.  It was "fun" to suddenly be lurching while just trying to cancel my blinker.
• The "low seat" is for short giants.  The bike I test-rode had the low seat on it and I was on my very tiptoes (like, the fronts of my boots sort of tiptoes).  I would definitely need the 30.4" low frame version for an extra $175. 
• Speaking of extra, the bike's MSRP is $8995, but there are apparently a lot of non-optional "options".  When I told the salesman that I didn't really need $60 white turn indicators (as opposed to the stock amber) or $250 tire pressure monitors, he said that that's what BMW ships, so that's what they sell.  Adding up all the non-optional options gives a "total suggested price" of $11,420.   

That's all off the top of my head.  It was a really fun bike to ride and, if it weren't for the engine twitchiness, I would have probably had a much longer conversation about pricing with the salesman.  As it is, though, I have to do more reading up on it and perhaps do a second test ride with the low suspension model sometime. 

Catching up

Hey, remember me? I have a blog and sometimes I even post to it?

Let's see, what's going on...

Hockey: NCWHL
I'll start with hockey since no one but me cares. ;)

The Puck Ewes had our last game last week, in which I didn't play due to a respiratory infection. Boo! But I watched the game and took a lot of photos, so that was cool.  I enjoyed the Puck Ewes this season -- it was a great team and it made my first time captaining smooth and easy (though I think I gave Jeannie a few heart attacks when I'd forget to send out the game Evites...oops).

I'm trying out for the Maroon division of NCWHL this coming weekend.  Evals are Friday night and Sunday afternoon. I'm a little nervous since I haven't been on the ice in two weeks (that respiratory infection again) but all I can do is go and have fun and do my best.  My fingers and toes are still crossed, though. ;)

Hockey: Ice Oasis
Team Danger has one more consolation game during the Stanley Keg playoffs at Ice Oasis.  It will surprise no one that we came in last for the league, but we had a lot of fun. 

I think I'll still be on Team Danger next season, along with Peter, Tony, and Steph.  I don't know who else will be on the team, since the hockey director wants to shuffle the teams up a little bit.  I still want to buy bright orange jerseys for the team but am finding it hard to justify the cost.  I might tweak some things to make that happen...orange jerseys with the old-skool Danger logo would be fantastic.

Motorcycles: BMW
Well, the good news is that the Beemer is back from Ted Porters and is running great.  The bad news is that it's developed a pinhole leak in the rear brake line, so no rear brake workee for me.  I have a replacement stainless steel brake line; the trick is getting to that damn front banjo bolt.  I hate the Bulgarians.

Motorcycles: XT225
So, not surprisingly, I'm back to commuting on the XT.  The good part about that is that I just put brand new Metzeler Saharas on, so I have buttery smooth tire happiness.