Newbie Old Guys Newsletter

[graydog 0]

(OK, this posting is for we old guys who have finally taken up riding dirt or gotten back in the saddle after too many years away. More experienced riders are welcome to read it for the humor and nostalgia it might offer)

NEWBIE OLD GUYS NEWSLETTER 10 APR 08

After a great Boulder Creek ride into the Descanso backcountry I decided take the KLR to Procter valley, which is only 10 miles from my house in La Mesa, to practice. My confidence is coming on the loose stuff and I can zip along at 40 mph without fusing my grip into the bars. Worked on my turns and even got some nice rooster tails exiting....wow, I am on a roll....so I say to myself "hey, lets drop down to those neat trails below for some hill work." here I what I learned:

1. Like looking up at the high dive when you were a kid a trail may be steeper than it looks...a fact which you don't appreciate until you are either at the lip of the high dive or have just stalled part way up the trail...which I did while chanting the mantra of "body forward, revs up and look ahead".

2. My dismount was better than some others I have logged but I learned that my Tech boots will catch on the passenger peg if my foot goes below the front pegs while trying to eject....unlike ship captains going down with the bike is not required.

3. Under the heading "if it can happen it will" I learned that when your foot happens to slip off the peg while falling it can deploy the kickstand which then provides the bike a great pivot point to rotate around until the engine dies.

4. More interesting still is that the pivoting bike is now jammed against a burm that won't let you take it from the less desirable seat downhill positiion to the more preferred seat uphill stance for righting the bike.

5. Yet more instructive the kickstand is now buried into the ground which makes lifting the bike away from the ground a memorable exercise.

6. Note to self: a wet KLR with tools weighs about 400 lbs...I can only leg press three sets of ten at 210 lbs...even while the leveraging the bike with my legs I need to avoid trying to lift with my back. Second note to self: wow, arn't you glad you put that engine/radiator guard on since it gives you such a neat place to grab while trying to right the bike....third note to self "maybe we should have bought a lighter bike".

7. Finally getting the bike upright, but looking downhill, I realize the clutch lever is wedged into those swell Maier handguards I installed....gee they are well made and took the hit for the team.

8. I am in need of some encouragement so I compliment myselft on having shortened the levers and having drilled a hole in the stem to allow the lever to break toward the end rather than at the pivot point....sometimes you have to really reach for something to promote self esteem, especially while you are remembering you didn't pack a spare lever.

9. Realizing I have picked a trail up that exceeds my skills and that the trip down is no less captivating I decide against trying to loosen the guard bolts to free the clutch lever...so I bang on the guard instead. Did I mention how well Maier makes those guard platforms so they really need a massive sudden force to move them?

10. Then it dawns on me, if you rotate the lever mechanism using the rear view mirror shaft for leverage life gets easier and the clutch is freed...OK, it is a bit freer...duh.

11. greatly impressed with my ability to go down the trail without falling I exit up the less steep trail to the Proctor Valley road where I discover that the new angles of the lever and the guard will trap my fingers while trying to use the clutch....I suggest to myself that this would have been good to check before reentering another trail up.

12. Topside, things tightened, straightened and seemingly ready to ride I ease onto the gravel only to see a SUV coming fast around the turn while enjoying what I was failrly sure was myside of the road....

13. Non-judgemental observation: the guy doesn't even see me as he holds a phone with one hand and seems to be shuffling thru papers with the other....additional note to self: never assume you will be staying on the road and like a good pilot always have a place in mind to land should your airspace become compromised. Squeeze by and ride back to the hardtop a bit slower than my ego wants to.

14. Parting thoughts: how come I always land on the left side of the bike? Next time I should try to crash on the rightside to balance out the scrapes on the plastic and that beautiful bend of the handbars I have crafted on the left....also, remind yourself that the boots, padded pants and jacket you are wearing are worth more than you paid for them and that they increase in value with each fall. Remind yourself that you will fall again...remind yourself to laugh about the fall and be glad no one was there to cover how really ugly it probably looked. Look up into the blue sky, adjust your googles and head home.

Ride safe...well, as safe as you can....

graydog

[bikeslut 1]

nice post dog!

Everybody has crashed... yes; even me

and Hammer

And most of the time, as it is unfolding, you have that slow down of "oh ship! I can save it..." right up until the point where you don't...

Failure leads to success... pick a Monday to ride, and I'll be there... uh... not THIS Monday...

Because I'll help you through the tough stuff... because I will help you pick al ine... because I will help you pick your bike up... because I carry lots of tools...Because I would take pictures!

[2Wheels 0]

Good write up, graydog. Good to see you're having fun with the KLR.

[Steve 0]

Well written and funny. Coulda been me. More specifically, has been and will be me.

[cardiffchris 0]

If you're not crashing, you're not trying!

Any ride you can walk away from is a Good Ride.