Another successful ride yesterday on the motorcycle, this time with my leather jacket, essentially the same route as last weekend. Shifting is tricky, but not as tricky as starting from a dead stop. I need to fix my starter button so that, when I do stall on a start, I can restart without pulling over, kickstarting, and waiting to roll back into traffic.

I'm working on a redesign for the doctorhectic.com site, something simple, but with a few more features that are kind of spread around (or non-existant) right now, and not really being tended to. Message boards, the already exciting chat room (weekly, Monday nights, 9pm EST), and a new e-mail list, just for updates and such will all be consolidated into a new, easy to find and use interface. No Flash or anything too fancy, just a reorganization.

That's all for now, more updates this week as things develop.

I rode almost 10 miles! On the open road! I even waved and nodded and sneered (only because they sneered first!) at other bikers! Terribly exciting! And I got at least one or two "What the heck kinda bike is he ridin', anyway?" looks from people. I only killed it once, at the busiest intersection in Chapel Hill (not saying much on a Sunday morning), but I was able to roll over to the curb and wait for an opportune moment to get going again.

I also learned that I really need to do some yogalates or something if I'm gonna keep riding this way, I mean, in this position. I love the way the bike looks and feels, but I have to remember to support my weight with my legs and my torso, NOT with my arms. My arms/hands need to steer, clutch and brake, and if I rest my weight on them it's harder to do those things.



Fun, fun, fun! And a perfect day for it, too. I was gonna ride yesterday, but the bike had been sitting, and after an attempt to start it, the battery was not in a cooperative mood. Lucky for me, there is an outdoor outlet on the back of our place, so I rolled the bike up our sidewalk, and plugged in the Battery Tender overnight to charge it up. Worked great! I unplugged it this morning, rolled back down the sidewalk and actually kickstarted it to get it going. Then the adventure began. I know I hit 50mph on one of the longer, straighter country stretches of road, and I got up into 4th gear for the first time. I did ok with shifting, but I definitely need more practice. I'm glad it's so much fun to practice!

Those what knows can check out the saga of our move to Carrboro (in easily digestible picture form)...

Movin', movin', movin'...

Those what don't know, Val and I have moved to Carrboro, NC, although you probably DID know that if you've looked at this page lately.

Val and I went to dinner last night, WALKING over to our local sushi restaurant, Akai Hana. Val's birthday is on Tuesday, so we did her birthday dinner on Saturday, as I will be working until ? on Tuesday night. We came home and made martinis and drank them sitting out on our little deck. Earlier in the day we went to A Southern Season and shopped around their inventory reduction sale. They have lots of fancy-schmancy ridiculous stuff, but there's lots of great deals on deliciousness, especially during this annual sale.

This morning I got up and WALKED over to Weaver Street Market and bought bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. I LOVE living in this town. There are so many great places that we have immediate access to, and so many more places a short distace away. Like a short motorcycle ride away...

I took another short but sweet ride on the motorcycle today, in fact. I rode to the other end of our street, which turns into a large empty parking lot, and practiced slowly turning, swerving, and figure 8s. I almost killed it once, but I recovered and rode home victorious. 20 minutes to get it started, 20 minutes of riding around. I gotta say it was a good day. And a great weekend. Sometime this week, I'm going to go out for coffee on the motorcycle. I'm just about ready to ride it with a destination in mind. Although, it is fun to just have no desination in mind and ride around, there are so many great destinations around here, what better excuse do I need? Do I need an excuse? Never mind.

Reagan, Schmeagan...no big loss. I'm sure he's where he deserves to be (and I don't mean lying in state).

On the other hand, I'm sure Ray Charles is looking down, watching over us all, with Georgia on his mind.

R.I.P. Ray Charles, 1930-2004.

Well I started today right...

First, I woke up way too early, so I watched a little news/weather, had some coffee and peanut butter toast w/banana slices, and went back to bed.

Later, upon waking, I decided that the motorcycle wasn't gonna learn to ride itself (wait, no, well, you know what I mean), so I got dressed, grabbed my helmet, and stepped outside. Into the 85° weather, with probably 85% relative humidity. I uncovered the bike, unlocked the steering, switched all the switches, and used the "toothpick techinique" to push the starter button. With a bit of throttle encouragement, she started right up and kept running. I guess a new battery was a good investment.

With a successful idle, I took off my glasses, put on my helmet, replaced my glasses, and eased the bike forward off the center stand. Carefully reviewing everything that had allowed me to earn an NC learner's permit, I proceded with brake, clutch, 1st gear, throttle & clutch/brake release, and I was off! I rode up our quiet little street, shifted into 2nd gear, slowed, and turned into a parking lot. SUCCESS! Turning around, I managed to go back down our street, and repeated the shifting/turning around routine a few times. Then I got crazy, went down our street, and WENT THROUGH AN INTERSECTION! I only rode around for maybe half an hour, but it felt great, and the more I do it, the better I'll be.

The bike seems to be running ok, I only killed it once on this adventure, but it started right up again, and as long as it dies due to my error (and restarts!) everything will be fine. Next step, reviewing all the novice rider info I can get my hands on, and practicepracticepractice.

We are moved. More about that (pictures) when I have faster access. For now, here is the current terror alert level:



Oh, I thought that was so funny when I saw it this morning. Maybe it is funny, maybe not.