Getting back on the horse...er, I mean bike

GIGI!!!  I'm feeling those sparks for you again.  Thank you.

Well folks, I haven't ridden my bike since last fall.  She's been cooped up in the garage.  I moved, got busy, got too scared to practice in a downtown area, and the next thing I know, many months pass by without me even acknowledging my Gigi.  I began to worry if wanting to ride was a short-lived fantasy or just a way to impress my new BF...

With promising my sister my car for a week in April and wanting to prove to myself that learning to ride is a real thing for me, I decided to practice in a lot near my apartment.  Only a few butterflies fluttering...that's a good sign.

I'm smiling!  Feeling good so far!

A little tense when practicing swerves, but waaay more comfortable than expected.

Pretty Gigi.

I practiced regular stopping, circles, and gentle weaving for about 20 minutes.  I didn't have as many nerves and it really was like riding a bicycle...you never forget.  Good job muscle memory!  I took this confidence and told myself I was going to bike to work tomorrow.  It's only 5 minutes away so it's a good next step.

Lessons learned:
1.  When in doubt, do the basics and build the rest up later.
2.  Don't put so much pressure on yourself.  It's about having fun right??

*huge sigh of relief*

Pretty

Being pretty is a compliment right?  Well maybe unless you're a guy.  Being called a pretty boy usually isn't a good thing.  What if you were a motorcycle?

She's a head turner!

I've had a couple of men, on two separate occasions, call my bike "pretty."  I took it as a compliment and said "thank you."  I thought about it little more.  Was this said because I was a woman?  I know two guys that had the exact same bike as me.  Did men call their bike pretty too?

On a cooler note, my bike was once called "awesome".  It was by my 4-year old nephew.  And thank you Scrumpy, it is awesome.

Flashback: My First Drop

Disclaimer:  This event occurred a long time ago.  I was just too lazy to write about it when it happened.  These types of posts are what I call Flashbacks.

You know when you get something new and shiny and you become deathly afraid of the first time you damage it?  It's like that pit in your stomach feeling that makes you say, "NOOOooooo!!!"  Yep it happened.

It was 10pm and I was in my apartment complex parking lot starting my bike.  My bike is a 250 Ninja, so it's a smaller engine, and therefore not THAT loud.  I started the bike, and let it run for a few because of the choke and all.  I was sitting on my bike until it warmed up when my neighbor came out. He didn't say anything, but watched me for a full 3 minutes before I turned off my engine and asked, "Is this disturbing you?" He replies with, "My son is sleeping." I start walking my bike to the street feeling guilty and frazzled when my pant leg gets stuck in a peg, I lose my footing and me and my bike slowly go down. It felt like it was all in slow-motion! I was thinking, "Oh no I'm going to scratch my bike!" After my fall, I look up to see my neighbor going back into his apartment. I was so embarrassed! But also angry that he saw me fall and didn't help me!!! **update:  a couple of days after this happened, he apologized for the way he acted.  it was strange!** In my freaked-out-ness, I remembered I learned how to pick up a fallen bike from a thread on Two Wheel Females.

 I put my back to the seat and tried to push it up, but I was still feeling so startled from what happened that I didn't have the energy to do it. I ran to my BF who was waiting for me in the street and said, "I dropped my bike!!!"  He came to help. I was disappointed that I had to get him to "rescue" me. I should be able to do this on my own! It was nice to get a hug from him though.   I went to check out the damage.  No visible scratches!!  It's a miracle.  But I sure did break one turn light signal.

So lessons learned:
1. Practice picking up a fallen bike
2. Either park my bike in the street to avoid disturbing neighbors OR screw what they think! I haven't decided yet...
3. Now that I have finally dropped my bike, I can now move on and not worry about my "1st drop" anymore.
4.  (Learned days after I dropped the bike) You don't need to "warm" up the bike.  It'll go.  Just remember to turn off the choke.

Thanks for reading!

Apology letter to my bike Gigi

Dear Gigi,

First I'd like to say that I think about you a lot.  I really do mean a lot.  Whenever I see a rider on the road, I pass beautiful scenery on the highway, or even passing a Cycle Gear...I think of you.  I'm really sorry that I haven't given you the attention you deserve.  You've done so much for me.  You challenged me, gave me courage, and showed me a good time.  The last few months have been tough.  I moved to San Jose and lost my usual practice lots...it's getting cold outside...you've been cooped up in the garage forever and now you probably won't even start!  I miss you a ton and I'd like to make it up to you.  How about this weekend I give you some fresh oil and gas, and we take a short ride around town?  It won't make up for the 3 months we've lost, but I think it's a start.  What do you think?


Your riding pal,
Liezl

My First Group Ride!

My first day trip went so well, I was ready for another!  A friend, who used to have a motorcycle, was in town and my BF and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to all go on a group ride.  YEAH GROUP RIDE!  So what if there's only 4 of us?  Still neat!  There is something about seeing a line of motorcyclists riding together on a road.  You can't help but turn your head and look at each one, every bike passing with their own unique "vrooomm!" sound, hoping that the line keeps going for a while, saying to yourself, "whoa...."  Then when the line is over and you see the last person ride further away you say like an enthusiastic 8-year old, "COOOOL!!!" What...you don't do that???

I've never cleaned my bike before (sorry Gigi!) so in the morning I dusted her and she looked so pretty!  Wish I took a picture.  The forum Two Wheel Females has been such a HUGE help in my journey in learning to ride, so I bought a decal sticker and proudly stuck it on my windshield.  Damn wish I took a picture!

After packing my camera (yes I had one the whole time), a water bottle (great tip!), winter gloves, and kleenex we were ready to go.  We all headed outside to get on our bikes and oh no! my friend's bike won't start!  My BF and him try to figure it out and I'm sitting there because I have no idea what's going on.  Next thing I know, my friend is sitting on the bike, walking it, and my BF comes up from behind, pushes it while running, both trying to get it to start.  It was a funny site.  Two grown men in full motorcycle gear, one on the bike like a kid while the other pushes him like a proud father.  Wish I took a picture.  But here's one after they got it to work!  Yes it did work =)

Woohoo success!!  Walk back to your bike proudly my friend!

Anyone who's ever ridden a motorcycle in the Bay Area has visited Alice's Restaurant.  It's a neat ride with wide curvy roads hidden in the trees.  On the weekends, riders from everywhere meet at this joint to eat burgers (named after motocycles!), check out bikes, and meet other folks.  That is one thing I love about riders.  Most are friendly, curious, and have a sense of community.  So Alice's was our first destination!  It was like a rite of passage for me.  To me it meant, "yes, I'm officially a rider!  Not just someone who is learning to ride, but an actual rider."  I've been invited to take rides here in the past, but been too scared.  I'm worried about how I would look as I rolled up to the restaurant.  I swear everyone looks at everyone as they ride in.  Not in a judgmental way, but out of curiousity.  I didn't want to look like a fool...an obvious newbie.  I didn't want to stall my bike in front of everyone.  I didn't want to accidentally crash into someone's ride.  Too much anxiety and I wasn't ready before.  But I was this time =)

I enjoyed the ride there.  My friends suggested that I ride second in the group, where it was safest.  The lead took his time and set a comfortable pace for me (thank you!!!) and the sweeper (the last person in the group) looked out for us and made sure we were safe from cars and jerks (thank you too!!!).  The ride proved more challenging than expected.  I was so focused on the curves, bicyclists on the side, looking for unexpected things on the road, that I kind of missed out on the prettiness of the scenery. Guess I was just feeling things out.  After about 40 minutes, I see the trees clearing out and tuh-dum!  The sign for Alice's Restaurant!!!

We met a friend there and the 4 of us shared a burger a fries (yes the 4 of us).  Just wanted a small snack before heading to Pescadero for a seafood lunch!  But first, we wanted to go to the beach to visit my animal friends and possibly a quick swim!  The way there was a bit tougher for me.  Felt like there were tighter curves and higher speeds.  Maybe it was just my imagination.  I took those curves really slowly.  It was pretty ridiculous.  I was a bit nervous about going on a group ride with my friends because I didn't want to hold them back from riding fast and doing their thing.  But I suppose they knew what they were getting into because I was there.

There were a couple of close and scary calls.  We were going about 50 mph and coming up on a right turn into a parking lot.  I turned on my turn signal, felt the butterflies, and began talking in my head.  Should I downshift?  Do I pull in the clutch and brake?  What does that sign over there say?  I'm getting distracted!!!  The turn comes, I'm going way too fast, think to myself "okay I've committed!" and lean my bike over more than I ever have before.  I think I made it through, but realize that it's not a 90 degree turn, it's more like 60 degrees.  Realizing that I can't make it, I straighten up my bike, riding forward crossing the oncoming lane (luckily no cars were coming), and towards a cliff.  I stop quickly but smoothly.  HOLY SHITTTT!!  I'm panting and feeling majorly freaked out.  If a car was coming, I would have definitely been hit.  If I didn't practice my quick stops earlier that day, I could have fallen over or maybe even ridden off that cliff!  I was damn lucky.  My BF was riding behind me, made sure I was okay, and we joined our friends.We made it to the beach and my friend told me that he noticed I was going under the speed limit.  I was nervous and didn't know the roads too well, so I felt better going slower.  They told me that my speedometer actually added 5mph to my speed.  Which means that if the speed limit was 50mph, I kept my speed reading at 45, which actually meant I was going 40mph.  I felt so goddamn embarrassed.  I wanted to hide.  Seriously.  Completely discouraged.  I'm not sure what those feelings were about.  Maybe because I felt dumb.  Or the guilt of making my friends who were experienced riders go 10mph under the limit (who the hell wants to ride that slowly??)  Or because I reeked of newbieness and thought I could do better.  Or because I was still recovering from that stupid mistake I made.  Or maybe all those reasons.  I was feeling pretty terrible, but had to snap out of it.  I'm here riding the California coast on my own with good friends and I should feel proud.  Good thing the scenery was breathtaking with the huge crashing waves and adorable seals bobbing in the water.

Chilly but pretty!

Me and my riding buddies!

Umm...yeah I don't think I wanna get in there...

We're feeling pretty darn hungry at this point.  I've heard numerous people talk about Duarte's Tavern in Pescadero and suggested that we check it out.  We drove through pretty golden hills and long curvy roads.  Wish I took a picture.  (sensing a pattern here?)

Made it to Duarte's Tavern!  We filled our bellies with tasty non-local seafood.  I was sad to hear that nothing I ate was from the area.  FYI, don't get the mussels!  They are bland.  I did enjoy my crab sandwich though!  We talked to some guy at Alice's and he said the artichoke soup was bomb diggy.  Not in those words but that is what he meant.

I was getting pretty tired so I wanted to start heading home.  The roads back were funner!  I think it was because I was feeling much more comfortable with curves.  Before this trip, I never took a curve in my life.  Now I can feel how to control my bike on them.  Yessss!!  Feeling pretty good right now.

Somehow, a bug got into my helmet!  It flew around, landed on my face, I'd blow air inside to move it, it flew around, landed on my face...Eventually we stopped and I was able to take off my helmet and get that sucker out!  This was a good time for a photo op!

We drove back to Alice's for a potty and stretch break.  My friends started talking to this one dude with a cool Ducati for I swear like 30 minutes.  It was entertaining though.  After 45 minutes or so of uneventful riding, we made it home!  We celebrated the end of our group ride with delicious cold beers.  Cheers!!

Pretty emotional day for me, but that's part of the learning experience right?  Here are today's learning lessons:
1.  Take the time to take some damn pictures!!!
2.  Break more before the turn.  If I'm going too fast, just keep going forward.
3.  My actual speed is 5mph less than what it says on my speedometer.
4.  Don't forget to show your appreciation to your friends for their patience and time in making you feel comfortable while riding.

Thanks for reading everyone!

Trip on 9/3/11

First Moto Trip - Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of the trip!  There is just SO much to share that I couldn't fit it on one post.

During the clam chowder lunch, I talked to the BF about my lack of thrill...lack of adrenaline.  I'm still too focused on how to ride.  I talk to myself A LOT about what to do.  "ride your own ride.  shift down.  release the clutch slowly.  how fast are you going?"  GAH!  I want my FREEEEEEDOM!

After chowder samples, a bowl of chowder, fried calamari, and fish tacos, I was hurting full.  Did I mention that I wasn't hungry after the samples?  I love food so much, I should have a separate blog about it.  Now I needed coffee and a walk to settle this belly.  Haha.  Curing full-belly pains by putting more things in it...makes sense to me!

Posing with the pelicans!

Ice cream in cold weather?  He loves ice cream in any weather =)

Dessert on the wharf.

We walked off the full belly and came across a museum.  Look at what they had!

The Back to the Future car!  Only 3 of the 7 made are left!

What the?  Where am I??

Ohhh I'm on a pirate ship!

Don't worry!  I'm a friendly pirate!

After wandering for about an hour, we decided to head back home.  I didn't want to be too tired for the ride and wanted to avoid crazy sunset rays to get in my eyes.  BF found out that you can ride your car/motorcycle to the edge of the wharf.  You know what that means...picture time!  *Cue "I'm Too Sexy" song*

Roxy and Gigi

Vroom VROOM!

Neat-o sky water shot.

Good job today Gigi!

Ahhhh it's time to go back!!  Do I have the energy to fight the wind for another hour and a half?  Well I'm not sleeping over in Monterey so here we go!

Got gas, headed to the highway, then BAM!!!  Bumper to bumper traffic.  I freaked out, pulled over to the side, lifted up my face shield and told my BF, "I can't do it."  I've never ridden in these types of conditions before.  He said okay and that we could take the next exit.  We got back on the road and side by side we were crawling through traffic.  I had to practice using the friction zone and good clutch control.  I was worried about either my bike stalling or ramming myself into the car in front.  Luckily, neither happened!  And super luckily, I had a great time in traffic!  It really tested my skills and the whole time I was like, "omigosh I'm good at this!!!"  I'm in California where it's legal to lane split (ride on the lines that divide the lanes) buuuut I didn't feel comfortable doing that at all.  It felt too risky.  We just kept walking along.  The exit just would not come!!!  Thanks honey for walking all those miles with me!  Finally after what felt like 10 miles, an exit came, I headed towards Starbucks for a much needed break.  By the way, there was still an insane amount of traffic further ahead!

Cheers to a great ride!

Sat on comfy couches and talked about the exciting and terrifying things that went through my head that day.  After a while, I knew it was time to hit the road again.  Hopefully traffic has died...so what if only 30 minutes had passed?

Of course there's was still a ridiculous amount of cars out there.  Altogether it was about 11 miles riding through the "parking lot" but fun, fun, fun!  Once things cleared, the rest of the ride went smoothly.  I finally got to do the wave to other motorcyclists, coolest feeling ever!  My BF and I rode side by side (each in our own lane) through the slight curves of the freeway.  Wheeeeee!!!  We were nearing home, and my body was feeling tired.  I only have about 15 miles go, I can suck it up and power through!  So, I was going 75mph in the left lane, and I see flashing lights behind me.  OH SH*T IT'S A COP!  I glance at my speedometer and think, "he can't be pulling me over for speeding!  WTH??  Ugghhh I don't have money to pay for a ticket!!"  I try to move to the right lanes but there are cars in the way.  I try to pull over to the shoulder but there's debris or cones in the way.  Next thing I know I'm driving a full minute with this cop behind me flashing his police lights.  Haha it probably looked like a slow chase scene.  Here's a summary of what I remember from our conversation:

Cop (in a nice tone):  Are you a new rider?  How long have you been riding?
Me:  (oh crap it's obvious I'm a newbie!) Just a few months.
Cop:  The reason I pulled you over was because I was called for a Code 3 and you weren't pulling over.
Me:  (what??  I didn't see him in my mirror for a while)  Oh I'm sorry officer!
Cop:  Why did it take you so long to pull over?
Me:  Because I couldn't find a place I was comfortable with.  (yeah I reek of newbie-ness right now)
He encouraged me to practice stops in parking lots and to ride in the right lane since I'm newer.  He wanted to make sure I was a "competent rider."  God I felt embarrassed, but knew he was right.  He let me go with a warning even though he didn't take any information.  Phew!  Glad I didn't get a ticket for getting in his way of an emergency.  Wait a sec...if it was an emergency, how did he have time to pull me over???  Well I was glad this cop was cool and I didn't get a ticket.

Made it home feeling super exhausted!  What can make this day even better?  A spaghetti dinner and chillin in the hot tub after!  Felt so good on my sore muscles.  My favorite thing about this day was that riding finally became fun.  Stressful on the way to Monterey, but had a great time on the way home.  So I guess riding IS for me!!

A ride like this can't go without important riding lessons!
#1:  Look in your mirrors!  If I had looked, I would've seen that cop a while ago.  I think I was too tired.
#2:  Take a break if you're tired! It'll prevent me from making mistakes.  Taking a break won't kill me, but riding tired might!

Thanks for reading this crazy long post!


Happened on 8/24/11.

First Moto Trip - Part 1

Holy impromptu day trip!!  This morning I just wanted to ride like 30 minutes away, check out other bikes, and head home.  My BF suggested Monterey, ride along the coast, no twisties, and clam chowder.  Damn that sounded good!  Monterey is about 90 minutes and 75 miles from my house.  It was 10am and my brain needed food!  Eating really does help me focus and with my first upcoming moto trip in 30 minutes, I ain't gonna mess around!  For breakfast we had eggs, sausage, and coffee.  PROTEIN POWER!

Geared up and we're ready to go!  My usual butterflies started kicking in.  It was a combo of nerves and excitement this time.  I rode in traffic and the freeway recently, so I'm feeling pretty good about the road ahead.  First stopped at the gas station to fill up and check my tire pressure.  What??  14psi??  That's crazy!  I could've died!  It's supposed to be at 34.  After things get fixed, my BF said, "LET'S ROCK!!!"  I give him a nervous smile and we're off!  We're on the freeway and my bike is going 75mph!  I've never felt my bike do that before!  It feels buzzy, but I asked about it and that's okay.  I'm following behind my BF and I notice he's going 80.  Then I start going 80!  OMG there's so much wind resistance.  On my bike you're pretty much sitting up straight so of course there's more surface area for the wind to knock against.  To fix this, I really lean forward.  I feel like a racer!  Cool!  But ouch my back!  Okay I can't keep going 80.  It's a little freaky and my bike gets REALLY buzzy.  I tell myself, "Ride your own ride.  Ride your own ride."  It's a mantra used a lot by the Two Wheel Females forum.  It means, don't feel pressured to go outside your comfort level.  Do what feels good to you.  I'm positive that my BF didn't realize how fast he was going and wasn't trying to get me to hurry up, but I still went back down to 70-75.  Ugh!  All this freeway riding is making me tired!!!  My triceps are bulging!  I practically yell at myself, "RELAX!!!"  That's when I loosen the grip on the handles and my arms feel better.  Of course 2 seconds later I'm back to super-tense-I'm-riding-fast-on-a-major-freeway arms.  Good workout though.  40 minutes later we need a stretch break.  Riding tired can be risky.

Pulled over to the side to stretch, say "yaay!", and take pics.

BF posing with our sexy bikes.

My first picture with my bike!

Heading further down 101 south.  Pretty drive after the freeway ends.

We got back on the road, halfway there!  I saw my BF do the wave to a motocyclist riding the other way.  I was so jealous!  I wanted to do it too!  I felt like a chump when they would wave at me and I couldn't wave back.  I was worried that if I lifted my left hand too much, I would lose my balance and crash.  So while riding, I practiced my wave.  Haha.  First I lifted my hand off the handle a couple of inches...whoa that was a little scary!  Okay let's be a bit braver.  Lifted it off 4 inches...yikes!  But it was alright.  Okay this time let's extend the arm outward a bit.  I slowly lifted my hand off and reached outward, but then I felt the wind against my hand and it freaked me out so I grabbed the handle!  Whew that was a rush haha!  I'll get the hang of it soon.

No crazy mishaps happened.  Just achy hands and back.  I gotta make sure to keep the blood flowing in my hands because one time my hand was so used to the throttle position after riding for a long time like that.  When I had to brake, my hand forgot what to do and it took me longer to squeeze the brake than it should have.  We made it to the wharf and I was thrilled to finally get off that bike.  That feels sad to say.  I didn't get any rush while riding.  I just felt tired, impatient, and anxious.  This isn't what I signed up for!  I learned to ride to feel tingles, adrenaline, and liberation!  I'm feeling disappointed.  Maybe riding isn't for me...

Starving for food, we head to the docks and look for...FREE CHOWDER SAMPLES!  Probably my second favorite thing to do at Monterey (aww-ing at the sealions is first).

"I'm a chowder freak!"  Just kidding, he didn't really say that.

Tried chowder at 4 different places.  Would've been more...

View of the wharf

While deciding which restaurant to go to, I wanted to visit my animal friends.  I love sealions!  I swear I make sealion calls everytime I go to Monterey.  Owr owr!!!  This time we saw pelicans and seals too!

How freakin' adorable!!

Trying to get close to the pelican for a picture.

OMG it walked right past me!

It started to circle around me.  It was scary!

What the?  Around AGAIN?

Haha.  Crazy-ass bird.

I wanted to get close to this one, but the end of his beak looked sharp.  Not worth it!

Okay enough of playing with the animals, I need food!  We settled on a place that we've never been to before and had nice outdoor seating.  FYI:  Eating comfort food after a long and tiring ride is THE BEST.

Super thick chowder!  Filling enough to feed two.

Close up of the deliciousness.

We also ate complimentary calamari and fish tacos.  But who cares?  It's all about the chow-dah!

Part two of the trip is soon-to-come!

Happened on 8/21/11