Crisis averted; the bike works just fine...

Hey, it works!

Bump starting ain't so bad...

Well, it may have been bad for Erin. She was the one pushing me down the drive way. After a couple of tries, we got the bike to start. And it runs like normal, so to me this seems to be a starter issue.

I called Renton Motorcycles and they're booked solid until the 21st. They said that if I can get the bike in before then, they will do diagnosis before the 21st. Looks like I'll try to take it over on Friday. Gotta love technology.

Crap.

My bike won't start. I was going to ride it down to my mom's place. I got it started it, and then realized I needed to pull my helmet out of the top case. Shut it off, got the helmet out, and now it won't start. It won't even crank. Battery's not dead, because I still get gauges, lights, and the fuel pump comes on like it should. But, no cranking.

I'm thinking I'm going to need to do a little bump starting tomorrow to get it going. I hope that works. Argh.

Wild West Rally 2007

Paul Eklund's 2004 WRX STi
Originally uploaded by BernieC

This past weekend I went east to Pullman, WA with Erin, Dave, Sarah, and Scott. We met up with Derick (who lives in Pullman) for the Wild West Rally in Pomeroy. Being the first time that this rally was run in Eastern Washington, the rally saw a lot of retirements. The roads looked to be smooth and fast, but with some very technical bits which caught almost half of the teams out.

I brought my camera with me, but accidentally left it in my bag at the hotel. The pics I have were taken by Erin and Derick: Flickr Photo Set

In other news, will it please stop raining so I can ride the motorcycle? :-)

Labor Day, as it actually happened.

The ride's actual route actually turned out to be very close to what was planned:



Highlights from the trip included:

• A nice chat at Seattle's Colman ferry dock with a gentleman carrying a parrot. His duck was in his truck (I kid you not.).
• Another nice chat with a septuagenarian Texan who was traveling the country in his small SUV. He had a very impressive setup in his vehicle for documenting his trip.
• Taking "action shots" of Dave and I on the road up to Hurricane Ridge. Hopefully I'll get some pictures from him soon.
• Saw a former coworker and friend of his (a guy who used to park his motorcycle next to mine at my office) at Hurricane Ridge.
  
• Lunch at a diner just outside Port Angeles with slow service because one of the two cooks had gone to jail during the weekend (doh!)
• The first 23 miles of highway 112 were recently oiled and graveled, making traction less than ideal. Dave told me later on that, at one point, his bike was not responding to steering input on one stretch of road. I just noticed that the bike felt a little bit looser than normal.

So, all in all, a good trip. Hopefully I'll be able to fit another trip in before October.

Labor Day

I haven't been riding as much as I was this time last year. August has been an unusually mild month. With I-5 being under construction for part of it, I spent a couple of weeks at home and just didn't get out much with the bike.

That should change this weekend, as it's labor day. Here's my mapped out route I'd like to take on Sunday. Hopefully it'll happen.



Here's the full route, courtesy of Google.

Missing something?

Uh, wow. I've had stuff hit my legs, but never anything quite this severe...

A Japanese biker failed to notice his leg had been severed below the knee when he hit a safety barrier, and rode on for 2km, leaving a friend to pick up the limb.

From The Daily Telegraph.

Leavenworth

Went on a ride today. Out to Leavenworth. Nice day for it too. Here's the route...





Overall, it was a damn good weekend. No complaints from me. More pics of the trip are here.

Junk in the Trunk

Nope, not talking about my butt.

My motorcycle now has a trunk. Ahem, topcase. It's a Givi E52 Maxia. Boo yeah!

Pics of the installation are here.

Bernie and the Wee-Strom

50s in Seattle, 40s on Snoqualmie Pass, and mid-70s in Ellensburg, Washington. Ya gotta love Washington state's weather. Today was a beautiful day for a ride out to the Yakima River Canyon and to have lunch with my friend Derick at the Yellow Church Cafe in Ellensburg. Happy Memorial Day. I won't forget this weekend for a while - it's been a fairly eventful one.

I've posted pics of that trip as well as some others here. Enjoy...

Aluminum Overcast

There have been some significant changes in my life in the past week. While some of the stress in my life has not gone away and will not for a while, there is some that has. One change has been a little tough to deal with, but life goes on. I have hope that good things will come out of it.

Today I went to see Aluminum Overcast at the Boeing Museum of Flight. I waited for what seemed like forever to get onto the plane for a tour. But it was worth it. What wasn't worth it was that I couldn't squeeze my fat ass through a narrow space in the bomb bay. So I had to exit the plane, holding other people up. I still enjoyed the visit, and got plenty of pictures. Check them out here.

Tomorrow I plan on a ride out to Ellensburg, WA. I'm going to make a lunch stop at the Yellow Church Cafe and then ride the Canyon Road between Ellensburg and Yakima twice (first south, then north).

I love Spring.

Thanks for the picture, Vijesh!

South Seattle Drivers

South Seattle Drivers are the worst. On my way home tonight I'm on a 4-lane road, 2 lanes in each direction, with a median in the middle. There's one car in front of me and no one else around. I'm putting along at about 35-40 mph. The car in front of me suddenly slows down and flips a u-turn IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD!!

I had to do some quick braking and shouted a few obscenities and honked my puny sounding horn at the car, but by then he was gone.

Seriously. Some people need to...

And I'm still here to talk about it...

What a night. Here's the executive summary:

- I went on a night motorcycle ride with my friends Dave and Sarah
- At one point, I very nearly dumped my bike
- Dave bottomed out his bike and injured himself
- While inspecting his injuries, Dave forgot to turn off his headlight and drained his battery, requiring a jumpstart

Ready for the full story? I thought you might be.

I spent a good amount of time today putting up some new photo galleries of rallies past. I chatted a bit with Erin before she went to work and then called up my friend Dave to see what he was up to. He invited me over so I rode my bike up to his place in Kirkland to visit. He mentioned the possibility of a bike ride with him and his girlfriend, Sarah.

I got up to Kirkland and we nearly immediately got ready for the ride. By this point, it was nearly dark. After warming up his bike, we got moving. Dave led the way out to, I think, Woodinville. I really have no idea where we were. It was dark, and I was just trying to pay attention to Dave.

Dave led us down a very dark, wooded road. Toward the bottom of a steep hill, he started to brake very quickly and I responded in kind. My front wheel locked, and I tried to swerve at the same time. The bike did not respond well. I just felt the ass end start fishtailing. My feet had dropped off the pegs and as the bike jerked back and forth, I felt the pegs hitting my lower legs, right above the ankle. I was able to right the bike, although at one point, I really thought that the bike was going down, and it was probably going to be a highside, meaning it might toss me off. But, I'm a big guy and perhaps that's what kept me on the bike. I hope. Luckily, no serious damage - just a little bruise on one side. I am fine. The braking on my bike can be touchy and I gave it too much at that particular moment. Dave said he saw a deer and was trying to avoid it.

Dave, is not fine. Dave, in the lead, took a left up a steep hill. Sarah was on the back of his bike, a Kawasaki Ninja 250R. With all of this weight, he bottomed out, and I saw a few sparks fly out from underneath his bike. I didn't think much about this until Dave diverted into a gas station. He diverted so quickly, that, again, I had braking issues. This time with the back brake. Just a quick lockup. So, anyway, Dave apparently pulled his groin in the impact of his bike bottoming out. He said he put a foot down as a reaction and somehow the bike jerking up after the impact not only hit him hard in the crotch, but also caused him to pull his groin. He was not happy at the gas station and was starting to limp.

Dave has some bad luck. Seriously. He had forgotten to turn off his bike at the gas station and when he finally did, he'd drained his puny little battery so much that he could not get the bike to start up again. Neither of us had jumper cables on us. And the cranking on his bike was causing him to flood the bike. Jumper cables at the gas station were $30.

Not long after this all started, another motorcyclist pulled into the gas station and saw our predicament. He said he lived up the street and had a mobile charger that we could try. He came back a few minutes later with the charger, which did not work. It was nearly dead. Both Dave and Sarah had left their phones back at Dave's apartment. So they couldn't call any of their friends for help. We decided I'd head back to Dave's place on my bike and get jumper cables out of his van.

Here I am in a place I'm not familiar with, and it's dark. It's also starting to rain. Dave directed me back to his place, and I left my phone with them. Once I got to his place, I called them. They told me that someone had jumped his bike and they got it running, but Dave then shut it off because they were waiting for my call! And then it wouldn't start again! Argh!! So, Dave had to find someone else to help jump his bike. It turns out, though, that the guy that originally brought the charger out was also the guy who helped Dave get his bike going. He had some motorcycle-specific jumper cables which worked perfectly.

Dave and Sarah did eventually get back. Safely. And from Dave's place is where I'm typing this. I still have a 25-mile ride home tonight, which might be rainy, but I've done it several times before so I'm not concerned.

Well, it was an interesting night. Hope you enjoyed the story.

Hi there, riding season. It's good to see you again...

The past few months have seen very sporadic riding from me. I did manage to ride a bit this past winter, but I've decided that if I need to wear a balaclava in order to stay warm, I probably don't want to go on a long ride. And the balaclava has this nasty tendency to fuck up my hair (it gives me the worst cowlick!). That, and I didn't have any decent riding pants until a few weeks ago. Lemme tell ya, riding in jeans with thermals underneath in snow was NOT fun back in January! :-)

What a change today was, then; 65 degrees, filtered sunshine, and mostly dry roads. I even got to use the tinted face shield and my summer gloves today. I recently bought a pair of Icon Super Duty 2 boots. The hiking boots I had were not keeping my feet warm, and these have helped tremendously.

I had no plan for a ride today. I just knew I needed to take advantage of this nice weather - it can change so quickly here. I managed to make it out of the house at 3pm after having gotten a nap after my girlfriend left at 11:30am. It was a bit late to head out on a ride, but it was nice, and now that the days are longer, I knew I'd have enough time. I rode up 99 into downtown Seattle, admiring both the blue water to the west and the city to the east. I rode in downtown past my company's new building (we just moved this weekend) and then down 2nd avenue until I hit 4th Ave. South. I got on I-90 east and just started riding.

My friend Maureen works in Issaquah and I thought to myself - should I stop in and see her at work, or just keep going? I opted for the latter and eventually ended up taking the Snoqualmie Parkway exit. I headed toward Snoqualmie Falls, and then made a sharp right onto this little road right before the falls. I've taken the road before, so I was fully expecting some good twisties. And I was not disappointed. While the road conditions were dry to slightly wet, I had to use caution with the amount of dirt and gravel there were on the roads. It hasn't quite dried out yet.

Still, I rode around those roads for a bit, and then worked my way back to the falls. The road north from the falls is quite fast, with sweeping downhill turns, a little treat for me. I then worked my way back to Fall City and finally found the Last Frontier Saloon. This is a place that my coworker had recommended going to. I didn't stop, but I do know where it is now, and I saw quite a few bikes parked out front. From Fall City, it was north through Carnation and then over Tolt Hill up towards Remlinger Farms. Then back south down WA-203. I eventually ended up going through Preston and back out to I-90.

By now, my butt's sore and I'm ready for a break. So I stop in Issaquah at Maureen's work. As soon as I hop off the bike, I see I have 3 voicemails - two from Maureen. How convenient! Into her store I went, and then we ended up having dinner at the Red Robin across the street. After dinner, sunset has started (it's about 7pm), and I've realized that I will soon be illegal with my tinted visor in the dark. It's time for me to go.

So, back on I-90 I go. As usual, an uneventful ride up I-90. But I did hit some good stretches of road today and it was a good refresher of my skillz. I'm really looking forward to experiencing a full riding season now that I've got almost 4400 miles behind me on the bike. Hooray for spring!

Mental note.

Mental note: Don't ride a motorcycle to a friend's if there's even a threat of snow. You will have to ride it back home in the snow.

Yep, nothing like having to ride a 400lb 650cc bike 25miles home on freeways, in the snow, (only 8 miles worth of snow) just to get home. It was wee bit nervewracking.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, considering my car's in the shop until tomorrow. Ugh, I'm just glad I made it home in one piece. There was a time on the ride home where I couldn't find a track to ride in so I was making a new one. Me no likey.

What. A. Year.

Well, folks, this has been quite the year. Let's take a little trip down memory lane...

January: Celebrated 6 years with my then girlfriend in Victoria. Watched her leave for India for 6 weeks before I left for India, myself. Started building a friendship with someone who was, at that point, only an acquaintance.

February: Left for India at the beginning of the month for four weeks in Bangalore for work.

March: Returned from India to a life that had changed a bit. Started socializing more with friends. Had a very fun and interesting welcome back party. Continued building friendship with the person who used to be an acquaintance.

April: Ended my six year relationship with my girlfriend. Road trip to Vegas with a friend, and on the return, San Francisco. Start friendships with several people and become part of a new circle of friends.

May: Started seeing someone I knew in high school. This did not last for long (see below).

June: The fit hits the shan and thus begins the worst summer of my life.

July: Yup, the fit's still in the shan and summer still sucks, but I took a motorcycle training course and I bought a motorcycle. Woo!!!!

August: The fit's no longer on the shan. I take a deep breath and life starts to simmer down. I turn 28. I take another road trip with a different friend - this time to LA to see the Price is Right, and through the Bay area. One of the best road trips ever! I got to go to Disneyland!!!! For the first time!!!!!

September: A minor crisis averted. And a long motorcycle trip around the Olympics.

October: Nothing much to report here. Did go to Oregon Trail Rally near Tillamook, Oregon.

November: Nothing much to report here. Did go to the Seattle International Autoshow.

December: Wild West Rally at the beginning of the month. Then, a trip to Connecticut to see my grandmother, whose health had been progressively getting worse. Then back home for a week, and then back to Connecticut for her funeral. Happy Holidays, yo!

A very eventful year. Ups and downs. But through it all, my friends have been there and I end the year with more friends than when I started. I love my friends. Being 3000 miles away from my real family, my friends ARE my family.

Flippin' rain!

I've rode to work once this week. And it was 38 degrees when I rode to work on that day. Kinda cold. Besides that, it's been raining this week and was too cold before that. I'm not the type to try my luck when there's a chance of ice.

I saw two V-Stroms on the road today, both with riders in full raingear. I can't actually find pants that would fit me (What?! I'm fat! Wanna fight about it?!), and that's really all I need to make riding in the rain a regularity. Once I take care of that, I could ride more in the rain, because the temps right now are very tolerable.

I'm not planning on winterizing the bike this winter, so I need to try to ride it at least once or twice a week to keep it going well enough. I think I might just be able to do that.

All I want are dry, overcast days. Those are the warmest ones you can get here in the winter.

About my weekend, and another ride report

Was back out on the Olympic Peninsula this weekend. Met up with a bunch of friends in Sequim and saw a friend's band play at the 7 Cedars Casino. Had a great time with them Friday night and ended up pretty sloshed, but I managed to get some riding in on Saturday.

The weather called for rain later in the day, and luckily I managed not to get caught in any. I started in Sequim, and rode up 101 to highway 112. Highway 112 is an interesting road. Heading west, most of the road is downhill and some of the twistier stretches of the road are downhill making for some interesting riding. Perhaps it was the previous night's drinking, but I felt like I was not quite riding as well as I could. The two times my foot grazed the ground had me either worried or laughing, as I was riding pretty hard. In any case, I still had a good time. I then made the mistake of riding down highway 113 to get back to 101. I should've turned around and rode 112 back to Port Angeles. 101 before Lake Crescent is really boring, and then I got stuck behind several cars on 101. Ah, well.

The rest of the ride was uneventful and I managed to get onto the Edmonds ferry just in time. The weather's really starting to change, so some of the colors I saw on this ride were stunning. In any case, I hope to keep being able to ride even as it gets cooler.

Ride Report - Around North Bend, Carnation, Duvall

Today I took the first of what I hope will be many rides with 3 other guys, two of which I met for the first time today. My friend Dave, who has a Ninja 250, met up with me at Fry's Electronics in Renton. Joining us was the leader of the group, Tim (Ninja 250), and Mike (Suzuki SV650).

Tim knows the roads really well, and led us all on about 5 hours of riding some excellent twisties. Went up Highway 900 from Renton to Issaquah, and then road up to Fall City. Road out to Tiger Mountain, and then to Rattlesnake Lake. Then had breakfast at a place called Gordy's. Not a shabby place for breakfast.

Tim then took us up to some excellent twisties up around Snoqualmie Falls. There was a bit of rain the night before, so some of the roads were a bit wet, but had no major issues with them.

After Snoqualmie, we went further north, all the way up through Carnation and Duvall, and then ended the ride in Monroe. Dave and I broke off from the group and rode back down to Renton so he could get some warmer gloves for our ride tomorrow.

Two close calls, that certainly had the "pucker factor": 1) Locked up the rear wheel on a downhill 70 degree right turn. I was taking up the rear, and had to do some hard braking. I braked in the turn and the back wheel locked and then started fishtailing. I got control back and did not have any problems. 2) While entering a very congested I-405 in Renton, I almost rearended a car that stopped in front of me while I was changing lanes. Got within inches of his rear bumper, but did not make contact.

For all of that, I'm OK, the bike's OK, and I'm looking forward to another ride tomorrow.

Tomorrow - the Olympic Peninsula

Ride Report - Snoqualmie Falls

Today I took a little ride. Started at the house, and rode up I-5 to SR520. Rode SR520 to Redmond and then took SR202 (Redmond-Fall City Rd.) into Fall City. It's a fairly benign road, with few major turns, but it meanders through what's left of rural King County farmland.

The map I had was printed and stored in a pocket of my jacket, but I was not studying it. So, navigation was done just through road signs. Upon entering Fall City, I could have stopped for lunch, but instead I decided to head up to Snoqualmie Falls. And that's what I did. A quick 15-20 minute stop there, a few pictures, and I was back on the road. I continued through Snoqualmie and then stopped for lunch in North Bend.

Lunch was had at Twede's cafe, apparently a showpiece in the TV show Twin Peaks. (I never watched it, so I wouldn't know). I had a patty melt and fries. It was about what I expected for road food - pretty dang greasy. Then, back on the bike. I rode out to I-90 and instead of getting on I-90, I just kept riding. Not for long, though, as I hit a dead-end. After flipping around, I decided to ride I-90 to Snoqualmie Pass.

Nothing of consequence to note from the trip from this point on. I tailed a group of Harleys on the way back to Seattle. And I learned just how severe some of the wind gusts on I-90 can be as I was blown around a bit.

A short ride, but a good one. Hopefully next weekend I'll be heading out to the Olympic Peninsula for a day, if the weather's good.

A long ride.

Is the subject a metaphor for my life, perhaps?

I just got back a little while ago from a decent ride through Seattle. Rode up the viaduct to Western, then up 15th NW, then went all the way around Magnolia. From there, I continued north. I went through Ballard, and then rode to Shilshole and stopped at Golden Gardens for a few minute break. After that, I rode up through Loyal Heights, then back down to Ballard again, and then cut over through Phinney back to 99. What a nice, calm ride. The bike's now past its first 600 miles, and yesterday I performed its first oil change, chain lubrication/cleaning, and inspection (with the help of a friend, of course). I am, so far, having a lot of fun riding the bike.

My life has changed very much in the past year, and even moreso in the past seven months. I've made new friends, strengthened other friendships, and ended a long relationship. In the past year, I've made two trips to India, a trip to Canada, a trip to Vegas, and a couple other business trips. I bought a new car for myself after my ex's car died. She got the current car I had at the time, and I just gave it to her when we broke up. I bought a bike just a couple of weeks ago.

So yes, while I've made many interesting trips and met new people, I've also made mistakes along the way. I have made some poor personal choices that have interrupted my life and affected others. I have dragged my friends through this crap, and while they've been great, they shouldn't have had to deal with this. I love my friends for all they've done for me, and I feel truly lucky to have them in my life.

I find myself feeling lonely far too often, even though I spend plenty of time with my friends. Coming home to an empty house has been depressing, as well. Unfortunately, in these moments of loneliness, I feel weak, and I've done stupid things to try to ease the loneliness. Very stupid things.

There was a time when I had no problem being alone and, in fact, I relished in it. I loved being introverted and antisocial. Those days are behind me now, and I find I want to spend time with my friends as much as possible. But spending all of this time with friends only provides temporary relief from the crap in my life that I need to take care of. I'm working on that.

So again, to my friends, thank you for being there and listening to me. You've seen how crazy I have been the past few months, and I think that might get a little worse before it gets better. Bear with me. I'm working on straightening myself out.

There are situations and people in my life that have contributed to my state of mind, but it's all of my own doing. There's someone that says I have a guilt complex about this, but I find it hard not to. I made the mistakes, I have to live with them.

So enough of the emo rambling.

Anyway - my birthday is in 2 weeks - party on the night of the 12th, people! At my house. You're all, of course, invited.

Something new.

Today is the 7th day of ownership:

2006 Suzuki V-Strom 650.

It's fun.

Motorcycle class

The good news is that I passed the class. All I need to do is show my completion card at a DoL office and I can get my endorsement added to my license. This makes that class completely worth it. 96/100 on the written test and 85/100 on the skills. I blew the u-turns test. I can't blame the bike, as I nailed the u-turns in practice earlier in the day (they give you a 20'x40' box to do two u-turns in). The bike, by the way, was a Honda Rebel 250.

I'm feeling the effects of working some muscles on my body from riding that I haven't worked in a while. And I spent Friday moving our lab full of servers up to a different floor in our building. So I'm still sore from that.

After class, I went looking at bikes. I finally got to sit on a V-strom 650, and it was pretty much what I was expecting. It's a large bike, and pretty high up, but it is just what I'm looking for. I wish I could find something similar that's a little bit cheaper, as I don't want to sink so much money on a first bike like that. If anybody has any suggestions, let me know.

Snakes on a plane.

And that's all that needs to be said about that.

Motorcycle training class starts tomorrow. I bought a helmet, gloves, and some decent hiking boots that cover my ankles for it. Not sure if or when I'll buy a bike, but I'm looking at something in the 500-800cc range, at least to start out on.

Fat guy on a Ninja

That was me on Saturday. My friend Dave bought a Ninja 250R and his girlfriend and I played chase car as he rode it around. It was interesting to see him get better at riding the bike and it appears to be working out pretty well. I rode it around a bit myself and it was pretty easy to get used to. But I'd be more interested in something like a V-Strom 650 as it looks more like what I'd like to ride.

I'm taking a training class at the beginning of July with Dave. Looking forward to it. haven't decided if I am going to buy a bike or not. I guess it depends on how much I like riding.

Had a BBQ on Friday, got a visit from my friend Derick last night, and had some interesting drama in my life this past week. I hope that the drama will soon be over as I'm getting sick of it.

In Billings, Montana now...

I'm typing this from the KOA campground (or is that kampground?) in Billings, MT. They have a small little closet-like thing with a power plug and phone jack. I've only managed to get a 31200 connection, but I'm not complaining - it's certainly better than nothing. In fact, it's downright cool. They have some full hookup sites with phone lines. I would've loved to have gotten one of those.

Barring any unforeseen problems, tomorrow should be our last day on the road. Since I last wrote, we've been to quite a few places - Gettysburg; the Spam museum in Austin, Minnesota; the South Dakota Badlands; Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota; and Mt. Rushmore.

This has been one incredible trip and I've got many pictures to show from it. Nicole and I are holding up pretty well, considering being stuck in a Jetta for the past 4 days. Traffic through South Dakota was great, giving me hours of 90 mile-per-hour driving. Today I managed to get the little beast up to 120mph.

The Sturgis motorcycle rally has been going on for the past week and there are motorcycles up the wazoo. We've got a group of bikers from Alberta in the next camping spot over from us. And man, have they been nice to us... not once, but twice, did they offer to take a picture of Nicole and me at the areas we've visited. Very cool. Of course, we did see one guy with a swastika tattoo and underneath that, another that said "Born to raise heil!", but overall they've been great.

Due to the great success of this trip, I foresee many future roadtrips like this. Any suggestions of routes to take? Perhaps a more southerly route, or more through the middle of the country, rather than the northerly route we took.

Anyway, time to go read up other /. journals. Happy trails!