Attack of the U.F.M.

Attack of the U.F.M.

It all started on a sleepy autumn morning. I rode to work early, usually getting up around 4:30 – 4:40 am and left around 5:00 – 5:10 am. Needless to say I’m usually only partially awake at that time in the morning. I don my leathers and head out to the garage.

I opened the garage door and backed Mistress, my V-Star1100 Classic, out and got the rest of my gear on, gloves, face mask, clear riding glasses, and half helmet. I tucked my lunch inside my right saddlebag. It was cold enough outside that I had trouble keeping the glasses from fogging up when I breathed out my nose. I closed the garage door and proceeded to start the bike.

First I turned the ignition key all the way on. I made sure the choke, (fuel enrichment knob), was turned all the way on. Then, I made sure the fuel cut off valve was turned down to the on position remembering that if I do not turn the fuel knob back on, I will not make it out of my neighborhood with out running out of fuel and stalling the bike. Don’t ask me how I know. I pressed the cut of switch to the run position and hit the start button.

Mistress’s 1100 V-Twin roared to life. With the Cobra exhaust, you can bet my neighbors know when I leave in the morning. I slid the fuel enrichment knob, (works like a choke), over to idle her down some and headed carefully out of my driveway onto the dark, damp streets.

It was a cold, dark and foggy Monday morning. I turned out of my neighbor hood and headed eastbound on Cheek Sparger Road. I straightened out from the turn and started to accelerate. Just then, I caught some movement just barely visible at the far reaches of the headlamp and riding lights off the side of the road. At first I didn’t pay to much attention to it, thinking it’s probably just a rabbit on the side of the road hopping around.

Then I noticed the anomaly is headed perpendicularly to my track on the road and will cross right in front of me. That’s when I spotted the glowing white beady eyes of this creature fixated on my Mistress and myself, reflected from the lights. As I got closer I could make out its size. It was larger than an alley cat and more like the size of a small dog. Now I could make out some large teeth and huge fangs in a pointy snout and large whiskers with foam trailing out the corners of its mouth.

Just then I realized what the Unidentified Flying Marsupial was. It was a very angry opossum running at full gallop across the road and headed straight for me. It looked like it was out for blood. For all I knew it could be rabid. I raised the angle on my right wrist and Mistress responded by slowing down some, both of us hoping to throw the attackers timing off. I just new it was going to either try to get up underneath my front tire and knock me off my bike or just jump straight up for a death grip on my throat.

My change in speed to throw off the timing ploy did not work. My next tactic was to aim my V-Star 1100 right at it. Mistress nodded in agreement. The logic in this approach was that, if I tried to hit a moving target, more than likely I would fail. The gargantuan opossum was at a full out run and just fixing to spring at me, its claws glistened in the riding lamps, when its head hit my front tire. It made a hollow thump type sound.

At this point neither one of us could adjust the momentum we had built up. The killer slid underneath the path of the bike. I could feel the rear of the bike lift up as the rear tire ran over the marsupials head. I knew it was its head because if it had been its body the back end of the motorcycle would have bounced up a lot higher.

In a flash it was over. Mistress and I had thwarted a deadly attack from a killer opossum and barely survived. I tried to glance back behind me and saw nothing on the roadway. But it was foggy and dark so I might not have been able to see it. I called my wife when I got to work and asked her if she had seen anything in the road, she leaves for work right after me, she had not. I looked closely again at the scene of the assault on my way home and saw nothing. The Attacker had made a clean get away.

Opossums are the other brown meat and tastes like chicken, I would imagine. Otherwise, they can be just another large, rodent looking, Unidentified Flying Marsupial obstacle in the road. Most of the time, you only get to see them with their little feet sticking up stiffly. Yep, they are just another obstacle you have to watch out for while riding a motorcycle in the Texas suburbs.
What is the moral of this story? Be prepared at any time, any place, and any conditions to react to changes in road conditions or obstacles in your path. Also remember, not all obstacles hold still for you. Sometimes obstacles have a mind of their own.

Ride on,
Torch

The Stench of the Ride

The Stench of the Ride

Sometimes trying to describe the nuances of riding on two wheels to the uninitiated is hard to do. Take for example smells. Being set free from the confines of a cage lets the surrounding scents in. The smell of the Waffle House on my commute to work in the morning most of the time is an aroma that will makes me want to stop and have breakfast. Riding by restaurant row in Grapevine on my way home I can sometimes pick out the smells of steaks cooking ad that gets my salivary glands all hyped up.

There are all kinds of scents that you notice when riding a motorcycle that you never have a chance to when driving an automobile. It is probably worse here in Texas where almost everyone has their windows rolled up and air conditioners running on max. Some of these smells are, like it is going to snow, smoke from a fireplace, someone grilling or smoking a brisket, imminent rain, flower or tree blossoms, piney woods, or coastal salty air. Not all scents are fun to smell though.

Then there are the bad odors, the diesels, the cars running too rich, the sewers, the dumps and landfills. Some food establishments may smell OK on the inside, but outside emit something that’s not quite pleasurable. Most fast food places are like that. Then there is the time Thomas Ramirez had his V-Star 650. We rode to lunch one day headed to one of our favorite restaurants called El Taco H. It is located right next to the Baja Grill and is like the fast food part of the Baja Grill.

We headed our way through downtown Grapevine and through some residential neighborhoods. We passed one older home with chain link fence with several dogs in the backyard. Then it hit us. The breeze must have blown just ever so slightly and we were slapped up side the head with the worst, foulest smell of dog do-do you ever smelt. I’m talking take your breath away, nauseous type of smell. It’s like when you are riding at highway speeds on a very windy day and a strong cross wind goes across your face and you cannot take a breath.

I attempted to hold my breath until we got further away. We came to the next stop sign and Thomas, catching his breath also, said, “Did you...” I cut him off with a laugh and we laughed together, shook our heads and twisted them off to go to lunch hoping to get our appetite back. Yes, not everything smells rosy when riding a motorcycle.

Ride on,
Torch

Cold Riding Hands are Sluggish Riding Hands

River Road Cheyenne Cold Weather Gloves Review

This December my fingers were really getting cold during my morning commutes to work. I had been wearing a pair of inexpensive leather gloves purchased at Wal-Mart that had a thin Thinsulate liner. They worked great for driving a cage and if you were out of the wind. On a cold winter’s day though, at any speed over 40 mph, the cold wind sliced right through the seams. These gloves were not designed for motorcycling. I needed a pair of cold weather gloves.

I was off for the Christmas and New Years holidays and taking some vacation time from work and decided to take my V-Star in to get the front tire replaced. So, I was browsing my local Bikers Bay store while they were mounting a new front tire on my Mistress early on a Saturday morning. I looked at the gloves rack and found the River Road Cheyenne Cold Weather Gloves. The pricing was fair so I tried a pair on. They fit well despite my large hands although they sure felt bulky as all cold weather riding gloves will. I bought them and a neoprene face mask when my bikes front tire installation was complete.

The Cheyenne Cold Weather Gloves by River Road got their first trial as soon as my vacation and holiday time was up and it was time to get back to work. These gloves had a reinforced leather palm with good grip traction. The back side of the glove is made of a durable looking textile material. They have a breathable windproof Hipora liner they claimed was waterproof. These gloves are also equipped with a Thinsulate layer for warmth as well. They have two hook and loop adjustable fasteners one for the wrists and another for the cuffs. This makes them very adaptable. On top of that, they have reflective piping in several places on the seams for safety.

I have now ridden with them through our short Texas winter. These gloves kept my hands and wrist warm down to about 35 degrees Fahrenheit at 60+ mph. If it gets colder than that your fingers will still start to get cold. I would recommend a thermal glove liner to go with them when riding in temperatures freezing or below. I will invest in a pair of these for next winter. The gloves do an excellent job of blocking the wind. Finally, I also had the chance to wear them in the rain. I had my doubts, but the Cheyenne Cold Weather Gloves are indeed water proof. These River Road Gloves in conjunction with my frogg toggs kept me completely dry. The fact that I had dry and warm hands really impressed me.

The bulkiness of the gloves does have its cons, but the pros far outweigh them. If you have ever been caught in the cold without gloves, or just too lazy to pull over and put them on, and had to ride, you know what I mean. It takes a little adjusting to, to ride and use your motorcycles controls with the gloves on. The hardest thing to get used to for me was the starter button. However, I found that if I just kept moving my thumb around it would eventually make contact. They have held up good for the first winter riding season, although some may debate that Texas really does not have a winter season. Torch gives the River Road Cheyenne Cold Weather Gloves a M.M.M Rating of 9 on a scale of 1-10.

Ride on,
Torch

A Variety of Bikes at Work

Several people where I work ride motorcycles. Some of them are what I call "Fair Weather Riders", they ride their bikes only when the weather is nice. A few, like myself, ride rain or shine. Either way they ride, and their motorcycles are all sharp. The bikes are a mix of all brands and styles and as unique as their personalities. I thought I would share some photos of some of the different motorcycles:

Kim's '94 Gold Wing. He just added chrome mirror trim rings with turn signals built in. He also has a '76 Gold Wing named, "Old Yeller", because of the bright yellow color. Old Yeller has a matching trailer as well.

David's 2004 Suzuki Hayabusa: 4 into 1 Yashimura Exhaust, Yoshi Program, TRE System, Custom Paint, Frame Sliders, Billit & Chrome Accessories, Mini Stalk Rear Blinkers, BMC Air-filter, BMC High Performance Coils, Blue Neon Light Kit, Steel Braided Brake Lines

Craig's Honda VTX 1800N: Cobra Exhaust, Power Commander, Blue light Kit, Riding Lights, Windshield, and more coming...

Gilberto's Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic LT. His wife rides a Honda Shadow.

Danny's '08 Honda VTX 1800T: Cobra Exhaust, Blue Light Kit, Lindby Engine Guards

My '03 V-Star 1100 Classic, "Mistress": See her list of adornments here.

There are several others that were not available at the time I was scouting for photos.

Ride on,
Torch

A Harley To Die For

This truly is a Harley to die for. Here is a motorcycle gravestone spotted somewhere near Llano Texas. A coworkers husband shot this picture and shared it with me. I thought I'd share it with you, as the Picture of the Day. It looks like it's located in a place that manufactures headstones. I wonder if they could do a V-Star ?

Ride on,

Torch

When It Rains On A Motorcyclist, It Pours

Classic Pro Action frogg toggs Review

When it rains on a motorcyclist, it pours. I wanted to be able to ride my motorcycle every day possible, even in the rain. Soon after I got my Texas motorcycling License I began to research wet weather gear. I scoured the Internet reading blogs, forums, ads, and articles. One name that kept coming up was frogg toggs. The name really stands out and a lot of motorcyclists were recommending them. So I decided to check them out.

There I was again browsing around Cycle Gear again looking at motorcycle jackets, and anything else that caught my eye, when I saw a frogg toggs label. I looked at them and compared them to the other rain suites they had on display. The first thing I noticed was the Frogg Toggs were made of a thinner material making them much lighter and less bulky. The material itself felt like it had an almost waxy feeling to it. I picked up a black pair and headed toward the checkout with them. On the way I saw a sign that stated all the frogg toggs were on sale. It must have been my day.

A couple of months later I had purchased my V-Star1100 Classic. I kept the Toggs in my saddlebag. Thomas Ramirez and I rode to Bates Discount Cycle #2 to look at leathers, helmets and everything else. They had a fascinating frogg toggs display on the counter. It had water in it and showed how the frogg toggs material was 100% water proof, but would still breathe and let air through. I knew then that I had made a good choice in rain gear.

The frogg toggs Classic Pro Action jacket had 1 inch elastic bands on the waist and wrists. It is equipped with a nylon zipper and a protective storm flap that snaps closed. The snaps are nickel coated to prevent rust. They had adjustable locking draw chords around the hood opening. The hood rolls up and tucks neatly into the compartment in the collar designed for it and zips closed.

The frogg toggs pants have 8 inch zippers on the leg openings that make them easier to take on and off with boots on. The pants had 1 inch elastic bands on the leg openings. They came with adjustable locking draw chord around the pant waist. The toggs have right and left front pass through pockets so you can still get to things inside your regular pants pockets.

The rain suite is water proof, not just water resistant. This also means that they are wind proof. The toggs come with reflective piping around various seams to help you be more visible at night. To top all that off, the frogg toggs rain suite came with a small compact water proof duffel bag with locking draw chord to store them in. All these features made this rain suite a very attractive ensemble for a motorcyclist.

I commuted around for a couple months with the frogg toggs tucked away in my saddlebag. I got caught in some showers and downpours in the morning and afternoons coming and going to work. Finally, I got to test the frogg toggs first hand. I put them on with ease. They fit over my leathers and helmet just fine. They worked fantastically, and kept the rain out while driving down State Highway 121 in a downpour. The zipper, storm flap, elastic, and draw strings did a pretty good job of keeping the water from creeping into places you don’t want it to. I felt that they performed up to their reputation. Torch gives the Classic Pro Action frogg toggs a M.M.M. rating of 9 on a scale of 1-10.

Ride on,
Torch

Rider Down?

Rider Down?

Why do motorcycle forum and blog titles have to sound so negative when a rider does go down? I frequent a lot of motorcycle forums and blogs and I feel that a title like, “Rider Down”, is way too negative. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind hearing of someone in need. The least I can do is throw up a prayer to the big man upstairs, and post a get well soon message. I also enjoy the lessons gleaned from reading the information about what happened and the circumstances leading up to the infraction. If we all read and took heed, there would be less of these reports.

Most of the time if someone does go down they do not stay down permanently, they get back up. Even if it is fatal, they are now on their way someplace else, hopefully a better place. I try to be very optimistic about people and circumstances, always looking for the good in things. It is not always easy to do either because it is far simpler to find the negative aspects of everything.

How about changing our forum or blog titles to something a little more positive? How about these ideas:

Rider Up
Biker Getting Up
Rider Recovering
Biker Riding Again Soon
Rider Ready Soon
Biker Rising
Rider Been Down
Once Fallen

I do not know what would work. I just think there needs to be a positive lean to it. We definitely need to continue to support our fallen comrades, spiritually, mentally, and financially if possible. Everyone needs to be reminded of the inherent dangers of riding on two wheels and how to cautiously avoid becoming another statistic. Ride smarter not less frequently.

Ride on,
Torch