Bama Rides

My  day was exceptional.  This morning I put my bike up on stands and cleaned it, lubed the chain, gave it a good going over, dried and polished it.  I showered, changed, geared up and warmed up my tires on the blacktop close to home while at the same time allowing my muscles to greet the machine and find rhythm with a few low-speed zig-zags.  I pulled out onto 411 and rode down the road to find food.  After eating, I eased down old 78 heading west towards downtown.  When I passed Bass Pro, I dropped a gear, opened the throttle and leaned into the first curve up to the speed limit.  I am continuously amazed at how responsive and smooth this machine is and my heart swells when I talk about it.

I got downtown and I road good streets, bad streets, straight-level roads, downtown streets with multiple stoplights, up-hill starts that required right simultaneous brake / throttle… I covered any and every hard situation that I could think of before heading back the way I came.  I stopped at Hill University Center for a pit stop, lit a cigarette and started to gear up again when a young guy approached me, smitten with the bike.  The discussion that took place was a replay of the one I had several months ago with a rider who’s bike I was admiring except this time I was on the rider’s end of the conversation.  He inquired about the cost… is it hard to learn to ride?  What made me want to ride?  I shared with him everything that I knew, which isn’t much – only what I’ve been through and experienced thus far, sharing the truth about my own riding experience and encouraging him as I had been.  When I got back to Leeds on 78, I took a last minute turn right by the Chevron and into Barber Motorsports where sport bike riders were enjoying track-day.  I pulled into a parking lot where I could see people watching a turn in the track.  I joined them for a few minutes and watched these bikes and took in the sight and sound of the various high-powered engines that labored effortlessly down the hill and into the turn, where they accelerated.  I’ve never seen bikes on a track before.  It was exhilarating.

I usually take 78 to and from work because the interstate generally scares the hell out of me.  Semi trucks are my nightmare.  When I approached the light, I found myself turning left, then right heading towards the on-ramp to I-20.  Traffic was moderate for a Saturday and there were a few trucks up there.  I felt a bit empowered by those bikes on the track and decided that I was ready to cautiously approach and encounter another fear, after all – that is precisely what’s enabled me to progress so far in my riding.  As the on-ramp ended and I was head-checking my entry point I realized that there were no cars occupying any of the lanes and that those that had gone by were already disappearing into the curve ahead.  I laid into it and when I did, I crossed a threshold.  This may inspire a few giggles but that’s ok – I saw the shift light for the first time as I stepped through the gears (the former owner of this bike obviously set it at over 10,000 RPM’s and I’ve never pushed the bike that hard before).  The power I felt was absolutely amazing and I understand now why Yoshimura exhaust is so popular because it screamed like a banshee.  The hair stood up on my arms because the bike went rigid and into the curve, I pushed slightly and leaned and it laid down with me… I swear, it almost felt like sex.

I exited at 144-B, and back toward home I drove, cruising the speed limit.  I took one hand off the bar and sat upright as I moved down the highway, all the time exercising what I’ve read and learned – cushion of space, two-second lead-time between vehicles, number one position of the lane for higher visibility, staying out of driver’s blind spots, scanning the road surface, mirrors and side streets.  I passed by my neighborhood and laid back into the gas and cruised towards Odenville, doubled back to Kelly-Creek Road and cruised the moderate twisties on my way back to the house.  I could not bring myself to stop the ride until I decided that my wrists and my right thumb were sore and it was time to shut it down.

I am a ball of stress but I experienced several hours worth of Zen this afternoon.  All of this may be just another rider’s good afternoon but for me, it was the freedom, relaxation and fun that I’ve been working toward since I first climbed on my motorcycle.  I’m truly one of the happiest people on the face of this planet right now and I still have a beautiful, sunny day tomorrow to look forward to.

– FreqnLoDown

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