Can you call this sickness anything else?? Because that’s all it can be if you are out today on two wheels as Jeanne, Karla and I were. It’s only 32 degrees outside. The "haze" in the background is not fog...it's snow!!!
Today was Mickey’s last day of the Motorcycle Safety Class so Jeanne, Karla and I decided to ride down to cheer her on. Like me, Mickey learned to ride on dirt bikes when she was a teen and decided to get back into it—of course she does, we are all cool biker chicks!
You could not have asked for a more rotten day. It was cloudy, gray overcast day that felt like snow. Did that stop us? Heck no!!! The threat of snow and 32 degree temps was not going to keep us from riding down to cheer Mickey on.
That didn’t stop the other two from griping about it, though!!! He he he…I think Karla held the glove record…I think she had 16 pairs of gloves on!! Not, really, it was more like three.
We were afraid they were going to call the class because of the weather. As we were riding down to Pikes’ Peak Community College, it started snowing. We pulled over, had a debate on whether it would be a good idea to turn around and go home or press on. Are you kidding? We are dressed and ready to go…let’s keep going!
We get up to the training lot and see the class going through the exam. Ahhh, the memories of taking the Motorcycle Safety Course……except mine was in the middle of summer and it was sweltering!!
The riders were doing the Figure 8 segment and it was going pretty well. This particular segment requires the rider to enter one end of a ‘box’ drawn on the pavement, make a figure 8 then exit out the other end of the box. After exiting the box, you ride down to the other end of the lot, enter another lane, swerve and then brake.
One of the ladies did the box, exited and as she came to the swerve/stop portion, locked her front brake up which results in a drop. She took a pretty hard fall too. She wasn’t thrown, but she did get hurt.
A drop is an automatic fail. It was hard to watch as we all know that a drop is something that happens at one point or another. Of course, seeing a motorcyclist taking a fall is never pleasant.
There was another drop at the accelerate/brake/downshift exercise. It’s a straight line exercise that requires accelerating to third gear then stopping when you pass a cone. You have a certain distance to stop. Also, while you are braking, you are required to downshift. When you put your feet down, you have to be in first gear.
Of course, another rider dropped her bike as well. Grabbing that front brake!
Mickey passed and we all went down to Southside Johnny’s for a drink to warm up and lunch. So cheeseburgers and green tea were in order for our celebration!!! Of course, talk was about bikes and all the silly stuff girls talk about. I think the gentlemen sitting behind us were entertained, at least!!
Mickey’s dream bike is the Honda Aero. It’s a good looking bike—and of course comes in purple!!! LOL….we’ll see what she’s going to get. In the meantime, Karla made her an offer on her bike since Miss KayBee wants a Victory King Pin. You go girl!!!
We headed out, but not before we snapped the ride pics. The Blonde Smoothie, Miss KayBee and The Rainbow Wahine all brain frozen from our ride!! It was fun and while I’m not particularly fond of being cold, it was worth turning out to support our new rider.
Johnny was behind the bar and stopped by to give us a shout out. He said he didn’t think he was going to get any riding customers today. He told us that he was glad that he did have some riders come by …girls at that!!
We geared up and got out on the road. By that time it was snowing pretty well and we had some accumulation on the bikes. Yes, it was time to go home!!! Brrrrr…
I can’t wait until warmer weather comes along!!!
Keep The Shiny Side Up!
~The Rainbow Wahine
4 comments:
Congrats on taking the course. I see there is no stopping you from riding. That is what I like to see. Here in the Bay Area it has been around freezing, which is COLD for here at sea level. I have just been putting on an extra layer. Hey, I added you to the Motorcycle Blog Aggregator so keep posting. Let us know how it is going.
You sure are one keen group of lady riders - man it must be cold riding in that weather!! Great to see that you support your mates in such a hands on way.
And I reckon its getting cold in the mornings at 20 degrees C (close to 70 deg F) - think I'm getting soft!!
You are one brave fellow sisterhood! I will have to show this post to Stella so we can punch each other in the shoulders and go shopping for a few more sets of gloves.
KT- with lots of ride envy.
I hope you don't mind, but I added you to my motorcycle links. I am all for supporting Biker Bloggers, especially Female Biker Bloggers!
~Angi~
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