SeaCat
Hey, my Halo is smoking
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2003
- Posts
- 15,378
It's funny but when I was asked this I couldn't really answer. The person wanted to know why I ride.
Yes I know the inherent risks in riding and still I do it. Do it hell I enjoy the hell out of it. Trying to decribe it is beyond my meager skills as a story teller.
I can describe a ride and make you almost feel as though you were there but you aren't there with me. You can't know how it really feels. Take this morning for example.
I started out at 0605. The weather was just about perfect. Temperature was right around 75 degrees but the humidity was right at 100 percent. There was a light fog and it was dark. I climbed on the bike and pulling in the clutch I hit the starter. The bike kicked over and started beneath me. I sat there pulling on my helmet and zipping my coat closed as the bike warmed up. I could feel and hear the engine revving up as it warmed. I eased in the choke slowing the engine then pulled on my gloves. The last thing I did before backing the bike out of the parking spot was to stuff a couple of paper towels under my thighs.
I walk the bike backwards out of the parking spot and push the choke in all the way. Turning the bike a bit I pull the clutch and hit first gear. Easing out the clutch I walk the bike the rest of the way around until Im pointing towards the road. As I check the road for cars I pull down my visor and ease out the clutch again taking off. In forst gear I motor down the short stretch of road to the entrance to the park. Once again I stop and check for traffic before pulling out onto the main road. I wind the bike out through the gears feeling the wind pressing against me as the engine whines beneath me. I make the U-Turn and head back towards the east, bleeping my horn as I pass my trailer and my sleeping wife.
Finally I'm heading south, the turn onto Old Dixie was perfection. I let the bike have it's head as I kick it up through the first three gears. I know the bike likes to run at high RPM's and I let it do so. I'm at 45 MPH and relaxing even as I watch what's going on around me. I head over the drawbridge, feeling the bike getting loose under me as I thrum over the steel planking of the bridge itself. Once past this I know I have a fairly clear shot south.
I pass the BBQ place and smell the hint of old wet woodsmoke hanging in the air. I dodge the sprinklers in the median aas I approach the Donut Shop. Soon all I can smell in my helmet is fresh coffee and donuts. My visor fogs and I use a paper towel to clear it as I let the bike slow slightly to match the speed limit here. I watch the mirrors as a car comes screaming up behind me. The driver isn't watching what is happening so I shift lanes and let him blow past. No thought was involved even though I looked over my shoulder before making the lane shift.
The road ahead is lined on both sides by streetlights softly glowing through the fog. A double line of dimly seen lights each one haloed and shaded. The traffic is almost non existant along this stretch and I can feel my musckes relaxing even as I move the bike from side to side dodging the occasional obstruction.
I drop down through Riviera Beach, the traffic lights seeming to work in concert as they remain green for me. Slowly now the traffic builds slightly. The bike is running flawlessly as I hit the bridge past the Port and I can hear the cranes loading a ship in the distance. As I crest the bridge and back off the throttle slightly I look down and see the flashing lights of a police traffic stop. Again I shift lanes to keep away from the action and whine past with my needle pegged right at the speed limit.
Now the scents and the scenes are coming faster and even more varied. The smell of gasoline from the station receiving a shipment. The sounds of a group of Highschoolers waiting for the bus. Looking ahead I watch as the light changes and I grab the brakes while downshifting. I glide to a stop at the intersection and watch several cars move sluggishly through. As I sit there I again use the paper towel to wipe my visor and mirrors. I can feel the heat coming off the engine warming me slightly even as I smell the odor of hot oil. (I have a very slow leak on the front of the engine.) I hear the squeal of the brakes as a truck comes up beside me.
The light changes and off I go again smoothly shifting gears and watching the traffic. To the right of me is the truck, I can hear the roar of it's diesal(sp) as the driver cranks it up. Up ahead of me a car pulls into the road and accelerates, no problems for me. He shifts into my lane and keeps going. We come to the end of the road and the light there. Both of us are going to the left. As I sit there I can smell faintly his ciggie as well as the smell of fresh earth from where a home owner is diggin in his yard. When the light changes I accelerate into the turn, the bike leaning into and slicing through the turn without effort. I watch ahead and see the small puddle and tighten the turn slightly to avoid it. No effort and no worries.
I slow and downshift for the next turn. Pushing on my righ bar I slice into the turn and off I go without thought. Before I know it I'm coming up to the parking garage for work. Again I slow and make the turn. The gaurd at the gate knows me and doesn't even blink as I roll past him into the garage. Up two floors I roll until I find the spot I want.
As I park the bike and pull off my helmet I'm feeling exhilarated like never before. Usually when I pull into work I'm still dragging my tail and thinking about waking up but not this morning.
Don't get me wrong, a cup of coffee will taste mighty fine but I'm awake. I've been concentrating on my ride, my entire mind and body has been focused on the ride and what was going on around me. It was like being one big nerve out in the open. I was alive.
Cat
Yes I know the inherent risks in riding and still I do it. Do it hell I enjoy the hell out of it. Trying to decribe it is beyond my meager skills as a story teller.
I can describe a ride and make you almost feel as though you were there but you aren't there with me. You can't know how it really feels. Take this morning for example.
I started out at 0605. The weather was just about perfect. Temperature was right around 75 degrees but the humidity was right at 100 percent. There was a light fog and it was dark. I climbed on the bike and pulling in the clutch I hit the starter. The bike kicked over and started beneath me. I sat there pulling on my helmet and zipping my coat closed as the bike warmed up. I could feel and hear the engine revving up as it warmed. I eased in the choke slowing the engine then pulled on my gloves. The last thing I did before backing the bike out of the parking spot was to stuff a couple of paper towels under my thighs.
I walk the bike backwards out of the parking spot and push the choke in all the way. Turning the bike a bit I pull the clutch and hit first gear. Easing out the clutch I walk the bike the rest of the way around until Im pointing towards the road. As I check the road for cars I pull down my visor and ease out the clutch again taking off. In forst gear I motor down the short stretch of road to the entrance to the park. Once again I stop and check for traffic before pulling out onto the main road. I wind the bike out through the gears feeling the wind pressing against me as the engine whines beneath me. I make the U-Turn and head back towards the east, bleeping my horn as I pass my trailer and my sleeping wife.
Finally I'm heading south, the turn onto Old Dixie was perfection. I let the bike have it's head as I kick it up through the first three gears. I know the bike likes to run at high RPM's and I let it do so. I'm at 45 MPH and relaxing even as I watch what's going on around me. I head over the drawbridge, feeling the bike getting loose under me as I thrum over the steel planking of the bridge itself. Once past this I know I have a fairly clear shot south.
I pass the BBQ place and smell the hint of old wet woodsmoke hanging in the air. I dodge the sprinklers in the median aas I approach the Donut Shop. Soon all I can smell in my helmet is fresh coffee and donuts. My visor fogs and I use a paper towel to clear it as I let the bike slow slightly to match the speed limit here. I watch the mirrors as a car comes screaming up behind me. The driver isn't watching what is happening so I shift lanes and let him blow past. No thought was involved even though I looked over my shoulder before making the lane shift.
The road ahead is lined on both sides by streetlights softly glowing through the fog. A double line of dimly seen lights each one haloed and shaded. The traffic is almost non existant along this stretch and I can feel my musckes relaxing even as I move the bike from side to side dodging the occasional obstruction.
I drop down through Riviera Beach, the traffic lights seeming to work in concert as they remain green for me. Slowly now the traffic builds slightly. The bike is running flawlessly as I hit the bridge past the Port and I can hear the cranes loading a ship in the distance. As I crest the bridge and back off the throttle slightly I look down and see the flashing lights of a police traffic stop. Again I shift lanes to keep away from the action and whine past with my needle pegged right at the speed limit.
Now the scents and the scenes are coming faster and even more varied. The smell of gasoline from the station receiving a shipment. The sounds of a group of Highschoolers waiting for the bus. Looking ahead I watch as the light changes and I grab the brakes while downshifting. I glide to a stop at the intersection and watch several cars move sluggishly through. As I sit there I again use the paper towel to wipe my visor and mirrors. I can feel the heat coming off the engine warming me slightly even as I smell the odor of hot oil. (I have a very slow leak on the front of the engine.) I hear the squeal of the brakes as a truck comes up beside me.
The light changes and off I go again smoothly shifting gears and watching the traffic. To the right of me is the truck, I can hear the roar of it's diesal(sp) as the driver cranks it up. Up ahead of me a car pulls into the road and accelerates, no problems for me. He shifts into my lane and keeps going. We come to the end of the road and the light there. Both of us are going to the left. As I sit there I can smell faintly his ciggie as well as the smell of fresh earth from where a home owner is diggin in his yard. When the light changes I accelerate into the turn, the bike leaning into and slicing through the turn without effort. I watch ahead and see the small puddle and tighten the turn slightly to avoid it. No effort and no worries.
I slow and downshift for the next turn. Pushing on my righ bar I slice into the turn and off I go without thought. Before I know it I'm coming up to the parking garage for work. Again I slow and make the turn. The gaurd at the gate knows me and doesn't even blink as I roll past him into the garage. Up two floors I roll until I find the spot I want.
As I park the bike and pull off my helmet I'm feeling exhilarated like never before. Usually when I pull into work I'm still dragging my tail and thinking about waking up but not this morning.
Don't get me wrong, a cup of coffee will taste mighty fine but I'm awake. I've been concentrating on my ride, my entire mind and body has been focused on the ride and what was going on around me. It was like being one big nerve out in the open. I was alive.
Cat
