June 25, 2009
Lambretta Day
A colleague rode his SX200 to work today. I got kinda choked up so similar was his bike to my old one. Later, when I was leaving work, I saw J125 riding down 8th St to the roundabout at Central and then head west. It must be Lambretta day.
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May 31, 2009
Mountainair Loop
How far we've come! Since Roomie chose not not to come along last week, she asked if we might go for a ride. Our so-called monsoon season has arrived early this year, so we did not want to get too far afield. Roomie suggested Mountainair for breakfast at Pop Shafer's.
The ride from Tijeras down NM 337 was better than I recalled. Perhaps the ST is more comfortable for long straights than the 851. It certainly soaks them up faster! In any case, once we were past the congestion immediately below Tijeras (unfortunately the location of the finest twisties of the ride), there were plenty of places to pass cages.
Breakfast was a delight. The ratio of motorcyclists to non-motorcyclists there was 7 to 1, including a pair on Kawasaki Vulcans that we passed on the way into town. I hope they manage to stay open.
The ride from Mountainair to Belen was fine, though NM 47 is rather congested on a weekend. Probably congested on a weekday too. But Roomie enjoyed riding up Broadway and Edith. Within a few hours of arriving back at home, the thunderstorms began. The rain was paltry, but it felt good to be home.
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May 26, 2009
Riding With the Big Boys
Monday, I had arranged to meet some of the High Desert Hooligans at Coffee at Dawn's. Just as I pulled up, without so much time to even check the time, I notice Jim about to follow a bunch of other Ducati's up NM 14 on his 1098. Thinking this must be my group, I follow Jim up to the Shell where the others are fueling up. Jim responded affirmatively when I asked if his was the group meeting at Dawn's at 10.Mike and Tom on matching Pearl White 848 and 1098 were there, as was Ron on his Aprilia. Hans, with his 888 was filling up and the five of us took off north.
Of course, this wasn't the group I had intended to meet, but we had a hell of a time anyway. The route took us from NM 14 to Pecos Trail, which used to be Old Route 66, but is now a frontage road for I-25. Pecos took us to Glorieta, where we had to get back on the freeway before exiting onto a frontage road on the other side. This we took all the way to NM 3, where we fueled up.
The first 15 miles of NM 3 are some serious twisties — lots of blind corners, some rocks on the road, the Pecos River, and a few small towns. Once the road opens up it becomes much like NM 41 or so many other New Mexican state highways: very high speeds with some widowmaking sharp turns. But the early part is where the fun is, and I want to go back to try out Risa's in Villa Nueva.
We jumped on the freeway to Clines Corners for a snack and more fuel. At the restaurant, we met a GoldWing rider whose charging system was getting him about 50 miles or so on a fresh battery. He almost made it all the way back to town with us, but needed to get a ride on the 848 into town to get another battery from the only large blue store that was open on a holiday.
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May 24, 2009
Binned: A Squid's Tale
Driving to Sears yesterday to pick up a mid-section toolbox to house my new goodies (see post below), I notice a motorcyclist on a wide-tired sportbike, fender eliminator, LED taillights, etc zipping through traffic, weaving to and fro. Minutes later, I pull up behind a stopped car in the right hand lane. I notice two people trying to move a hulk of a motorcycle off the road; they are not having much luck. Plastic bodywork littered the lane 30 feet ahead of where they were handling the motorcycle.
As the car ahead of me pulls around the pair, I see squid and helper trying to push the bike off the road. The fact that the rider was OK (thank God for helmets and protective gear) after having dropped his bike (or driven it into a curb) may have allowed me to grin more than I should have. After all, we are both motorcyclists. I am just glad that I am not that kind of motorcyclist.
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May 23, 2009
Routine Maintenance
I just placed my order for some serious specialty equipment: doo-dads to check and adjust the shims on the 851 and ST4S, micrometer, belts, etc. Although such tools come at a rather substantial cost, they will save me money in the long run. Perhaps sooner. Each 4-valve Ducati tune-up runs about $700. By the time I do each bike once, the materiel will have paid for itself.
Moreover, as much as I like the fellows at PJ's and appreciate all they do for the Ducati community in Albuquerque, I think that I can afford to take the time to do the work more diligently, if more slowly.
First up, the ST4S, who will need a 12k service by the time Roomie and I have done our next ride on it.
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May 12, 2009
Garanimals
With the higher seating position on the ST4S, Roomie decided that she needed a full-face helmet to replace the ¾ helmet we purchased last year. Choosing a brand and a model was fairly straightforward—I was ready for an upgrade from the HJC I bought back in Maryland when we were strapped for cash. I had had Shoei's for years before that. Both of them were in advanced disintegration before I managed to get rid of them. More difficult than choosing the model was choosing the color: I first had a black Shoei, then a red one. Most recently the HJC was in Safety Yellow.
To commemorate the new bike and keep in line with my pattern of not repeating colors, I opted for a light silver RF-1000. Jill had chosen the TZ-R because it came in orange, but at the very last moment pulled the trigger on a Monza Red model instead. As it turns out, our helmets are a Garanimals-type match to the ST4S. See for yourself.
My helmet: | Roomie's helmet: |
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May 10, 2009
By the Numbers
It being a lovely spring day, and having done a weekend's worth of chores yesterday, Roomie and I decided to go for a ride. Things were looking dodgy—her helmet has not arrived from Cycle Gear, and the gloves we ordered from newenough.com were backordered, then too small. A third pair will be ordered once the small Fargo's are returned. But mostly I think the hesitancy was in the thinking about going for a ride. The temptation to try out the new gear (her new jacket) won out. We set her up with my old full-face HJC helmet and layered fingerless gloves over some woolies and we set off.
NM 14 north of Cedar Crest is no man's land: one leaves the northern reaches of Bernalillo County, passes through a portion of Sandoval County that has no road connection to any other part of the county, and then continues into Santa Fe County. Above Madrid, the congestion is palpable. We stopped at the Mad Hatter and discussed how she felt about going really fast.
After tea, we stopped next at the Shell at 599. There we had to decide to go home via El Camino Real or to proceed to Harry's Roadhouse Bistro. Assuming Harry's was going to be packed on account of Mother's Day, I made a daring suggestion: we could head north and west over to NM 4 and have lunch in Jemez Springs. To my surprise, she took me up on the offer without hesitation.
I rode with restraint from Madrid all the way to White Rock. Beyond White Rock I was able to open the bike from time to time. From the NM 4 / NM 503 split to Jemez Springs is my favorite part of NM 4; the traffic is relatively light before Hwy 126 and the twisties are among the best in the state. We ate as planned in Jemez Springs, where Roomie posed the question I have asked so many times, "Where is the hot tub?"
Roomie's favorite stretch of NM 4 is from Jemez Springs to the Jemez Pueblo. Red rocks, the Jemez River, and roller-coaster hills. From the Pueblo home, congestion and slab-riding was the norm, though US 550 provided some high-speed straights. As a consolation for putting her through US 550, I took us home via 313 and the Sandia Pueblo, which conveniently ends where 2nd St begins.
While filling up at Jemez Pueblo, I noted the mileage: 46.6 mpg. Not bad for two-up mileage in the mountains, with some high-speed stretches thrown in for giggles. All told, 221 miles covered in about 6 hours, with stops for lunch, tea, gas, and potty breaks. Welcome to the ton-up club, Roomie!
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May 9, 2009
Matching Luggage
Roomie got all misty-eyed when she saw the embroidering on our TLC bag liners. But the ST4s is special, because I purchased it with her in mind. Roomie even gets a little jealous when I take it out without her. In any case, I am looking forward to taking some day trips (and perhaps beyond, once our housesitter arrives) later this summer. For the time being, an occasional toot up to Madrid or Leona's will have to do. 
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May 8, 2009
Bike Night
Last night I attended Bike Night in Albuquerque. Garduño's on the Green is a local chain restaurant set in one of Albuquerque's more unique environments. The Balloon Fiesta Park is a ready-made tourist attraction, complete with Balloon Museum, golf ball driving range, hundreds of acres of soccer fields and generally much open space. In the middle of all this is Garduño's on the Green. And oddly, there were a lot of people at this large-sized family venue. Even before the motorcyclists arrived there were bunches of people, coming in from the golf course, sight-seers, and who else I really don't know.
The event itself was sponsored by R&S Motors, a large Yamasakiuki dealer in town. They had a sad little raffle where no one seemed to be too thrilled with what they won. In fact, it was not entirely clear what was being raffled, though they certainly made a big deal of announcing the raffle several times as a highlight of the evening.
I estimate that about 200 motorcyclists showed up. There were some of the oddball things like trikes, but the bulk of the crowd was Harley dudes and dudettes, squids on sportbikes, and a handful (perhaps 10) Ducati's. One of the more intriguing groups was the Ms. Behavin' gals, some apparently lesbian, some apparently not. They sported patches and tattoos of a buxom red woman brandishing a bull whip.
Most of the Ducati folks are in their twenties so they blended in well, only the brand advertising on their leathers distinguishing them from the others. A couple of middle-aged men tag along with the Ducati group, one of whom is accepted despite the fact he rides a Kawasaki touring rig.
Bike Night brought out a couple of welcome geezers—folks who have some miles under their belt, have done a bit of traveling and know their motorcycles. I had made contact with one of them earlier online. He and a friend are plotting a trip to the WSB races in Salt Lake City at the end of the month and invited me to come along. Chatting with these two was really the highlight of the evening, and I am tempted by the prospect of doing some regional exploration on the ST4S.
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May 7, 2009
The Fleet
Spring has arrived in Albuquerque in all its 90° beauty. On Monday, I took the Trail 90 to work. Tuesday, the ST4s. Wednesday, the Benelli 250. After work Tuesday, I took the 851 back downtown to meet up with the High Desert Hooligan crowd at Villa di Capo. Four different bikes on 3 days. Now this is what having a fleet is all about. Sadly, the F1 needs a wiring upgrade and the Morini needs some swing arm bushings, so I won't be taking those in to work any time soon. But projects are good to have, especially with the days becoming longer.
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