It seems as though it has been forever since I posted something new. I have been riding, just not a whole lot. There is, of course, the daily commute. It's somewhat boring, and full of distracted drivers, but it keeps me on my toes and constantly reinforces my defensive driving/riding skills.
The day after the first snow of the season, I took a ride into the foothills. I took roads that have all been mentioned here numerous times, but was caught off guard by the cold factor. Having just returned from summer weather in San Diego, I was unready for the abrupt change to winter temps, particularly going up into the mountains. I stopped in the post office parking lot in Blackhawk to take off my pants and zip the quilted liner in. Boy was I glad I had leggings on that day (though after the deluge of Facebook articles claiming leggings are not pants, I must apologize to drivers on 119 for having to witness my ass in leggings as I got everything together--sorry!), but I was sorely missing my heavy jacket and electric gloves.
The aspens were turning, and Golden Gate Canyon was a lovely ride that day.
Roads were still closed for repairs after the massive flooding that happened in September, so I put few miles on that day. They were lovely miles, however, riding in the bright sunshine, snow lining the roads, and aspens just turning to gold.
Later in October, we received an invite to a dual sport event hosted by Rampart Rider and Fay Myers Motorsports. It was small, limited to the first 30 or so people, but it was a fun day of riding. Dan and Mary Predovich hosted the group at their home outside of Sedalia, welcoming us with coffee on their deck. Fay Myers had 4 or 5 people there, setting up courses, handing out SWAG, and talking about riding, checklists, and general motorcycle maintenance.
As people were arriving, a new BMW 700GS pulled up with panniers that looked strangely familiar. When the rider got off and removed her helmet, I recognized Sherrie, a woman I met and rode with in Silverton with the RMAR. It was great to see her and catch up, but I was horrified to find out the reason I recognized the boxes and not the bike was that a jeep had hit her head-on on a trail going about 30 mph. Her bike was totaled, but she miraculously came out of it only with sprained wrists. Amazing woman that she is, she went out and ordered herself another bike and kept going.
We had a great day of riding the off-road course, lunch, and a skills competition following lunch. Dave from Fay Myers judged the skills competition which included three challenges: weaving through cones as slowly as possible, picking up tennis balls off the top of cones, and tossing hula hoops over cones. These types of challenges are often done at events, but we were doing them off-road and uphill. No smooth asphalt for us! There were originally two competitive groups: smaller engine dirt/trail bikes, and larger cc dual sports. In the end, the Fay Myers group found an extra gift card (the competition prizes) and added a third breakdown--the women's group. I won the women's group! But, in all fairness, there were only three of us, and only Sherrie and I actually competed in all the events. I had a blast though!
Me with my gift card prize from Fay Myers! It was a gorgeous, warm sunny day. If we weren't on the bikes, we stripped down to as little clothing as we could. Fay Myers provided burgers and potato salad for lunch, and we all had a great day!
Mary Predovich, one of our hosts, on her little Honda. Many thanks to Dan and Mary for hosting!
Part of the GS contingent. It also included my 650, Sherrie's 700, and another guy's 1200. The bikes ran the gamut, from little 100s to giant 1200s--I watched a guy catch air off a berm on a Triumph Tiger 800. I was impressed by everyone's riding abilities!
The trick with the tennis balls was not dropping them after you grabbed them. It subtracted from your score each time.
We were supposed to be getting together again, the same group minus the Fay Myers guys, and riding in the meadow again last weekend. Sadly, the (In)Accurate Pinpoint Weather people forecasted bad weather that day, so it was cancelled. FYI--the weather was gorgeous that day. I raked leaves.
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