New Tires Are Sheer Joy

I have heard there are riders who actually need to replace their tires due to age, instead of simply wearing them out. I can't imagine such a lifestyle, but I've also heard I'm a special case when it comes to riding.

Anyway, last night I picked up the Vespa, which had been in the shop getting new feet. As soon as I walked in, the person at the service desk said "You'll be glad to know your bike is actually ready today."

Darn right.

I couldn't exactly say what it is, but vehicles - even cages - just seem to run better with brand new tires. New tires on a motorcycle are especially wonderful, of course, because the simplicity of the machines. Tires are probably the most important part on a motorcycle, though a functional motor and a seat are awfully nice to have. And there isn't a whole lot to insulate the rider from the tires on a bike. Crappy tires make for crappy rides.

The ride home from the shop was like gliding along smooth ice on sharp skates. It was so nice, in fact, I decided I should really bring the Vespa to work today. You know, just to keep it exercised. And I've got to scrub in the tires, after all.

And because an ear to ear grin is a good way to start a Friday.

Service With A Smile?

So about a month ago, I called the local Vespa dealership to see about getting some new tires for the GTS. They didn't have them in stock, but they were on order and they'd call when they came in the following week.

Fast forward a week and a half, to when I called to see if the tires had arrived or what. They had, and the earliest they could get the bike in was in two weeks. The reason for the delay is because they're down to one tech. Awesome. So, I made the appointment and got down to the serious business of not forgetting when I had to bring the Vespa in for new tires.

On Tuesday night I finally dropped it off. I had to wait 15 minutes for the service manager to come see me. He was busy with a bike, which is fine, but couldn't one of the parts counter folks - you know, who went to tell him I was there - have let me know he was up to his neck at the moment and would be out when he could?

Whatever. The bike was supposed to be ready yesterday, and I hassled a friend into driving me over to the shop to pick it up.

It wasn't ready. In fact, he'd just gotten done calling two people to let them know their bikes weren't ready. But, of course, I didn't get a call...

The good news is, suddenly I don't have to pay for the labor. The bad news is that I have to go back again tonight to pick it up. Hopefully.

Note to service managers everywhere: A phone call telling me the bike isn't ready is going to annoy me a lot less than driving all the way to your shop to find out the bike isn't ready. I expect this is true for most people.

Might Be Time For Some Warmer Gear

It's a different day every year, but every year there's one morning where the temperature is cold enough that I really, really wish I had a warmer jacket on. It's the morning when I think "do I really want to ride through another winter?"

This year, that morning was today. Brr. But, of course, I do want to ride through another winter. There's no bad weather, just bad clothing, right?

I'd meant to get the zipper on my leather jacket repaired, but life happened and it's still broken, so I'm going to have to dig out either a Carhartt jacket, or my old army surplus jacket. Or both.

This is kind of a tricky season, because it's cold in the morning, but plenty warm in the afternoon. There's only so many layers I can reasonably wear and carry back and forth every day.

I guess it's all just part of the adventure though. At least I don't have to put the bike away for the season.

Finally, Fall.

It was a brisk 57 degrees on my ride in to work this morning. I, perhaps, should have worn my fleece.

I'm just glad the heat appears, for now, to be over for this year.

And with the delightful fall weather comes this year's Nanowrimo. If you've been dying for some more adventures featuring everyone's favorite unemployed biker gods, well, you'll be able to follow along with this year's attempt here: http://holyrollersrogues.blogspot.com/

The fiction begins November 1.

Trip to San Diego

So I've wanted to learn how to sail for a long time, and this opportunity to go learn how to sail in San Diego presented itself.

There was only one thing to do: load up the bike and and get my ass to San Diego for a long weekend.

Because of various work responsibilities, I had go in to work for a half-day on Friday, so the best travel strategy would be to bring my crap to work, and depart for SoCal from there.

My brilliant travel strategy, incidentally, traumatized 3 out of 4 of my coworkers. Apparently, leaving on a motorcycle trip from work is unbelievably risky, though leaving from home isn't. I don't get it, but I guess I'll just feel flattered they worry about me.

So I got into San Diego as the sun was setting. Who knew that riding off into the sunset would be less of a dramatic experience and more of a squinty, uncomfortable pain in the ass?

The next day I got up for an exciting day on the high seas of, uh, San Diego bay. I'd been led to believe there would be some classroom training, so it was a bit of a shock when we went straight down the dock and got onto the boat. The boat, you see, was the classroom.

After an all too brief review of the parts of the boat (glad I'd studied before attending the class) and the rules of the road, we cast off and went out to try and wreck the boat. Somehow, I survived the next two days and now have my first ASA certification (which means I'm qualified to keep learning how to sail...).

Monday morning I loaded up the bike again and rolled home towards Phoenix, where the sailing isn't quite as good, but at least there's plenty of decent riding weather.

Rainy Day Schedule!

The hot weather finally broke, I think. We had two wonderfully rainy days here, which seems to have cooled everything off into the comfortably warm range instead of painfully hot.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the forecast said there would be thunderstorms. My general opinion is that if the forecast says rain, it will not rain. And I'm usually right (because I live in the desert. It just doesn't rain here.).

Of course, sometimes I'm not right.

During my ride home on Monday, I somehow managed to ride precisely between two rain showers, one to the east and one to the west. I could look either way and see the storms pouring rain down, but I was cozy and dry right in the middle.

On Tuesday, I wasn't as lucky. Apparently I left work just in time to ride into a severe thunderstorm.

Whoops.

I didn't have my rain gear on because I hadn't brought it. Because my rain gear sucks. And besides, if I get a few drops of rain, I'm generally dry by the time I get home.

As I rode through a light rain, I could see lightning ahead of me. Lots of lightning. And it was really dark up there. And I thought "uh oh." And then I rode into a massive downpour.

Roughly 30 seconds later, I was about as wet as I could get, catching rain in my teeth as I'd opened my visor halfway in order to try and fend off fog. Traffic around me slowed down, and became scary and erratic, because if the residents of Phoenix know how to do one thing well, it's how to completely lose their shit when it rains.

I got off the freeway as soon as I could safely get from the HOV lane to the right. Incredibly enough, I didn't encounter any flooded roads until I got home (where the water was shin deep in places).

As you might expect, I was grinning ear to ear. I had to peel my clothes off in the entryway so I wouldn't track water through the house. My boots and gloves are finally dry today.

One of my coworkers asked if I'd ridden home in the rain, and was somewhat disturbed when I said, "of course."

I guess not everyone has the same sense of adventure.

Meeting An International Motorcycle Adventurer

On Monday I had the opportunity to meet Gary France (you know, this guy) for coffee.

If you didn't know, he's English, and he's been riding his Harley-Davidson, The Leading Ladies, across the U.S. for the last couple of months.

We didn't have a whole lot of time, but it was great to meet up with him and check out his bike. The Leading Ladies has been decorated with top-notch airbrush portraits of many of the starlets from Hollywood's golden era.

Gary is a great guy and I would have been happy to drag him out for pizza, but he's on a pretty tight schedule, as he's been doing his best to see absolutely everything in the U.S. while he's here.

Now I'm probably going to have to ride a Triumph across England in order to catch up with Gary on his own turf...