Took the CEO for a Ride on the K Today

[kentuvman]

Another 50+ degree F today in Minnie - supposed to get a cold front tomorrow with rain and possible - I can't fathom the S word - too soon.

It was Carpe Diem - ride today before the door closes on Fall and Winter arrives (we've had a beautiful Fall.) Didn't think she'd take me up on my invite to take a ride but she thought it would be fun. She put on some of my spare riding pants and jacket and we were soon on our way. She asked if our will was up to date and I told her I thought so.

She likes it! Have owned the F bike for several years, I felt that this to be more of a one up bike. My line to my wife when I asked her permission to buy the "K" was it was a bike big enough for us to take rides together.

Anyway, we did about 60 miles and rode down Hwy 169 and stopped at a roadside barn that sells everything - we ended up with a Rhubarb / Strawberry pie that was just out of thhe oven. We brought it home after our ride and indulged although we have dinner plans soon - guess we'll split something. We ate almost the whole pie - that good!

Say it aint so but I almost think the K bike handles better than the F bike - is this possible? We took some turns today and we leaned WAY over - thought she'd balk but she liked it! The gearbox seems stiff when shifting down from 5 to 4 to 3 to 2 - finding Neutral is a lot easier on this than on the F. The Corbin seat is pretty comfy and the big windscreen works really well.

It was really windy today - just liike flying, I had to crab the bike to the right to keep driving straight! On the way home I inadvertantly ended up on a dirt road that went for a few miles - I kept saying to myself, no front brake, no front brake. I really didn't plan on riding the K on dirt but she did pretty well - not quite as sure footed as the F.

Gratifying feeling to have taken the boss for a ride and having her say how smooth the bike is. She wants to go again - YES1

[rinty]

I almost think the K bike handles better than the F bike

Your F bike is a GS; does it have knobbies on it? I rode an R 1200 GSA with the off road tires once; felt pretty rubbery.

But that's all academic; your wife likes it. Congratulations.

[Gilly]

Crabbing an airplane doesn't really compare to compensating a bike going down the road, but I think I know what you mean.
Gilly

[kentuvman]

Hey Gilly - cool animation of Snoopy flying! I know crabbing in flying is different than riding a bike because of the 3rd dimension but same idea nonetheless.

I do have my private pilots license and am NOT current. Back in the day, I flew Cessna's, Pipers, Grummans and even got rides in an AT6 Texan WWII trainer, Cessna 195 and a T34 Trainer. Even flew Citabrias and Piper Cubs.

With that said, it takes a lot of time, patience, money and focus to fly safely.

Riding to me is the next best thing to flying. There are risks in both but one can be safe and sane with the right mindset, skills and equipment. There is something very spiritual, to me, in riding in a rural setting, on the road less travelled, taking in the smells and feeling the wind on my face. My favorite flying was always low and slow in the Santa Monica mountains, where I first learned to fly or flying through the Yosemite Vallley at 11,000 feet looking at Half Dome and feeling like we were at sea level!

Just finished a riveting book - Zen and Now - check out the website,

www. zenandnow.org

The author retraced the steps of Robert Pirsig who wrote Zen and the Art of M/cycle Maintenance (I tried reading that twice and still couldn't get thru it).

Reminds me of the cool MOA member who appears to be riding everywhere - the riding chef - website http://theoasisofmysoul.com/
This guy's got some amazing pics and stories on his site.

[Gilly]

Yeah same situation here, PP license but not current.
Without getting too techie, I am NO instructor, but a crab angle is when your heading or "course" is different then your ground track. You can see this when you see a small plane fly over on a windy day, it's direction its heading is way different from what the ground track is (or would be if it were on the ground). Most times crabbing is used to describe what you do to land with a cross wind, you fly more into the wind, but the airplane is head toward the runway just the same. Pretty easy, until the "rubber hits the road" as my instructor said.
With a bike, your heading BETTER be the same as your ground track or you're in trouble! Of course I know what you mean that you had to lean into the wind to keep from drifting off the road.
Gilly