Twisties In The Sunlight.

     I have a couple of issues. Well, I have a lot of issues, but I have a couple that are currently causing me some discomfort, and  one created the other, and it's all my own fault. The first issues is, that I blew out the back of my right ear. I got a good chance to look at it yesterday morning, and realized that when I put the taper through, scar tissue from the last time I stretched up, just broke and ripped from the inner half of the hole out. I basically filleted my ear. So, I had to take the taper out and treat it like an open wound, which it was. I'm at a crossroads now. Do I regroup and retry, or just give up entirely. I'll just have to wait before I make a decision on that. The second issue was created by the first, which is, that it got mildly infected. I have take care of the infection, but because of that infection, the lymph node in my neck on that side, is swollen. It's not a big deal, I've dealt with this before. It is more of an annoyance than a health concern. It causes me some pain when I eat, and has the nerves in my teeth on that side going a little batty. A couple of days and I'll be fine.

     With the taper out, I was finally able to get my helmet on, with some pain pulling it over my ears, which, as you just read, one was a murder scene, and they other felt like it was heavily bruised. Everything was fine once the helmet was on, but putting it on and taking it off, well, that was a treat. Since I could ride, I was making plans to just ride around as much as I could. The sun was out, and it was a mild temperature, so I could wear the new jacket. Lo and behold, I got a text from 3W. He wanted to go for a ride. This is the first time he has contacted me in a couple of months, Actually, it is the first time he has contacted me since he bought his new bike.

     I've been waiting for this. He has told me all about his skill level as a rider, and I wanted to see just how factual he was in his assessment of his own ability. I had doubts about what he was saying, and with good reason. Things he would say about riding just didn't add up. He would mention how he does a certain thing, and from everything I know, it would be the exact opposite of what you are supposed to do. I was going to find out, whether I was right or wrong about my doubts.

     The first thing we did, was go to lunch. He chose a place near his house. I'm not a fan of the place. The food is subpar, and the drinks are under poured. The drink thing didn't matter though, since I stopped drinking. I just had a Sprite with my meal. I also had a turkey club. It's pretty difficult to screw up a turkey club. It was ok, nothing to write home about. We finished up, and then headed out to get him some gas. After that, the test was on.

     I roared out of the gas station and took off. I expected him to be right behind me. His bike should be faster than mine, by all means. I had to wait for him, so I slowed down. Once he caught up, and the road was wide open, I took off again. Once again, fully expecting him to be right behind me. He was no where in sight. I was so far ahead of him, that it took several minutes for him to catch me. After that, I just kept it kind of slow. I was taking him to a place, that really tests your cornering ability. It's a fun road, that gives you a chance to lean the bike over and have some fun with it. When we got to the mouth of the road. I stopped on the side and waited for him to pull up next to me. I told him to take his time and go at his own pace. With all the stories he has told me, I expected him to overtake me, and leave me in the dust. That wasn't the case at all. Half way through the run, I slowed way down to make sure he was still behind me. When I finally saw him round the corner, It took off again, and met him at the finish. I'd like to say that I was shocked by this, but I wasn't. I had a feeling that all his stories were just that, stories. When he pulled up next to me. I mentioned that we passed a place that would be good for pictures of the bikes. We would have to turn around and make another run at the twisties, and he said he was up for it. I gave him the warning I said early about keeping his pace, because this time, I wasn't going to slow down and wait for him until the end.

     I got to the end, and I waited for a couple of minutes for him to finally show up. I am thoroughly convinced now, that he is a little frightened of his bike. That's ok, you should have a slight bit of fear when you ride. That is what keeps you alert, and saves your butt more times than you will ever be able to count. Here is the thing though, you have to take a chance every now and then, because that is where the fun lies. I'm not saying to bust the envelope wide open, just push it a bit. If you never do that, you will never get better at the thing you are doing. While I was going down that road, I was working on two things. One, my ride position, so that eventually I will be dragging knees, and two, focusing on where I am going in the turn as opposed to looking at the turn itself. That is called target fixation and it is the leading cause of bikes going down in corners. Instead of looking where you are going to be, a rider will look at the corner itself, and when you do that, that is where you go. The next thing you know, you are going off into the grass, and that is a best case scenario. The worst, is that you low side and the bike catches and flips a couple of times. Test yourself, but be smart about it. That is what I was doing out there.

     With the twisties behind us, we headed to this picturesque little boat ramp I saw on the way there. It was about two miles back along the road, so it didn't take long to get there. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful spot. We parked the bikes in a way, that you could see NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building off in the distance. The sky was blue, that water was rolling along, and the bikes were gleaming in the sunlight.

     He rides a 2016 Yamaha YSF R6. The color scheme is in honor of the 60th Anniversary, and it has a 60th decal on the sides of the bike. It's a nice bike, but I'm in love with Saki. The bottom picture is the one where you can see the VAB. It is just above Saki. See that little white square? Yep, that's it. That is where they prep all the rockets before taking them to the launch pad. If you can blow the picture up, I suggest that you do so, so you can see it in all it's tiny from a distance glory. That building was designed to withstand Category 5 hurricane winds. Although it lost some siding when Charlie came through several years ago.

     Regardless of being proven right about my doubts, I still had a great day of riding. It was short, for what I like to do, but it was a ride with some fun turns in it. Maybe in another two months he will want to go out for a ride again.

     I started writing the story I was talking about. I'm not sure I like the beginning off it. I debating on whiter or not to post the first two paragraphs to get you opinion on it. I just don't think I het the mark yet, but that is the great thing about writing, if you don't like it, you can delete it and start over again. I'm going to sit with it a bit, and see if it grows on me. If I do decide to post it here, it would be on Tuesday, so keep an eye out for it, and please, please let me know what you think of it. Be completely honest too, because otherwise I might grow complacent about it, and just leave it.

     I just realized that I didn't get a picture of the tapers for you. I will try to get that for you on Tuesday as well. That way you can see how they could have destroyed my ear. Well, I'm going to get some sleep and see you in a couple of days. Peace in and goodnight.