Contemplating

Hey friends,

Just came back from a three day vacation weekend.  I went home to visit family and had to leave my bike at my place.  But now I'm back, and ready to ride again.
The last few weeks, I have been contemplating riding to work. The forecast for Thursday is supposed to be a clear warm day.  Nervous about the trip though, about 20 miles each way on backroads, which are mostly clean and in good condition, and without any major twisties.  Not really the road conditions but having to deal with traffic...it seems that going to work causes people to drive like maniacs! I am hoping that if I leave early enough, I can avoid much of the traffic, and fortunately, most of the trip is on roads with one lane on each side, so not many worries about people switching lanes and hitting me.

I will let you know how it goes, if I decide to finally start commuting!
Also, if there is anything you guys would like to know, about me, the bike, riding...anything at all, leave a comment and I'll definitely answer it!

Have a great day!
Pandabear

Jog Jog Jog...Snake!!!

Hey friends,

I didn't ride much this weekend as I went on a trip to see one of my college friends.  When I did ride yesterday, it felt great, and I had a weird confidence so I took some turns a little quicker than usual, with no problems. Whipped around corners, and even at a mere 40mph, I felt like I was a MotoGP racer, tucking and leaning!

Anyways, a little story about my trip.  Originally I had planned to ride my bike for 120 mile journey (round trip), but I can easily say that I'm glad I took my car.  Still a nice ride, maybe not as fun as the bike, but after hiking several miles and playing basketball, the car was much easier to make the return trip home.  Keep that in mind when you ride, if you plan on a busy, exhausting trip, you may want to reconsider riding, or perhaps getting some rest first at least.  Riding while drained is probably not a very smart thing to do!  I noticed my attention drifting a bit on the way back.

Waterfall, or maybe just watersplash?

Creek trail, an easy return route

Michaux State Forest was one of the places I visited.  It was a pretty large state park with some decent views. At the entrance to the trail was a small waterfall, right near the street.  The roads around there were fairly desolate and calm so the scenic value wasn't ruined too much.  It was a long hike up a rocky hill, though unlike some of the other parks I have visited, it lacked any spectacular views.  There weren't any overlooks, but it was still enjoyable.  I was jogging down the trail a few times to catch up with friends, so it was a great workout too.  While jogging, I got startled when I came upon a...SNAKE!!!

By the time I recognized what the black thing on the ground was, I had nearly stepped on it.  I then proceeded to jump about 18 feet into the air and screamed like a little girl.  I had no clue whether it was poisonous or not until I turned around from afar, and ogled at it.  Fortunately, it was just a common grass type snake, and he just wanted to continue on his own personal journey, so I snapped a picture and let him continue, as I did the same.  He was about 3-4 feet long.  So long, amigo!

Well, that was my weekend for the most part.  Thought I'd share a little experience I had!  Not quite motorcycle related, but hey, it's still an adventure.  This entire week will have thunderstorms rolling by, but sometime next week I plan on riding down to Hershey Park, land of chocolaty goodness.  I am fortunate to live only 15 miles from candy heaven!  

Stay tuned, and have a great week!

- Pandabear

BTW, if you want to check out other pictures I have taken, head on over to:

http://razzi.me/miles_prower/photos

I will be posting all new pictures there, so if you are into photography, definitely check out my pictures, as well as ones from other users.  I will admit that I use a cellphone for my photos (5MP) so the quality isn't that great. I do plan on purchasing a nice camera in the future, though I'm not sure when! 

Why Can't I Straighten My Bike?!

Hey everyone,

Another short post today.  Yesterday I made a quick trip to pick up a rental PS3 game (Saints Row: the Third, for you VG junkies out there), and on the way out of the store I experienced two things.  The first was parking on a slight slope, with kick stand down the hill.  I thought I was getting used to the weight of my little Ninja, but phew, it was a workout to straighten the bike up to ride off.  A few inches of lean at a stand still makes the bike feel several times heavier!  I ended up having to swing my torso to get enough momentum to get the bike upright!  Taught me to really pay attention to the way I park, we take things for granted in cars for sure.

Second thing, was on the way out I was honked at by a minivan.  I have no clue why he was honking, as I made a left turn well in front of him while he was slowed for a speed bump.  He made some type of hand gesture, might have been a compliment, or out of disrespect, but all I took away was that it was a distraction and interrupted my concentration.  So please remember, do not honk at motorcyclists, or anyone for that matter, unless they are in danger.  It can cause some problems!

And again for the VG fans, Saints Row is definitely worth checking out.  It is a ton of fun, kind of like Grand Theft Auto, but more silly and outrageous!  Great game, and very addicting.

Have a great day friends!

- Pandabear

Conquer Your Fears!

Hey friends,

Just a quick little post today.  Didn't ride much, just to the store to pick up a movie.  On the way I noticed that the part of the road was covered in petals.  I had a huge urge to slow to a snail's pace out of fear of sliding and crashing.  I could see myself going through a hundred scenarios..sliding and hitting the guard rail, sliding and high siding, sliding and falling under an oncoming car..etc.

But instead I told myself, keep going and put my tires where car tires have swept a bit of the debris away.  I did this, and everything went smooth, and quickly.  Can't let the fear of falling cloud your mind, because if it does, you may just end up falling once more!  I also noticed that I was distracted when leaving my apartment.  Don't be in a rush to start riding, I now know.  Just take your time, clear your mind, and prepare yourself for the fun.  100% FOCUSED!


Great week today, hope you guys and gals get out there too.
Question for you all, what do YOU ride!!??

- Pandabear

Repairs, Battle Scars, and Breaking 100 Miles!

Hey Everyone!

Finally posting some updates.  This one should be good, I have a lot of pictures, and everyone loves pictures!  I'm currently using my cellphone (5MP) to take shots because it's easy to take around, however eventually I hope to get a separate camera or a much better phone, so I can bring you all some better shots in the future.

Cowling damage, massive crack and scrape

Fender damage, another chunk missing!

Anyways to kick off, I'll finally show the damage to the bike, which amounts to about $1000 or so in parts and probably $500-700 in outrageous labor fees.  I "fixed" it for $30 and about five hours of my time, not too shabby!  The bulk of the damage is in the front of the bike, and was caused by the guard rail.  The slide did not do much damage except for a cracked left cowling and a little chunk of plastic missing.  The front right side was heavily damaged by the railing. There is also a nice long scratch running down the right side cowling.  It's not too terrible though.  I might bring up a scratch remover from my parents place and try to buff it out!

Left cowling.  It happens...

Front view. Ouch!

Also, either when the bike crashed or my rescuers helped pull the bike out from under the guard rail, the front wheel came out of alignment.  I ended up taking all the front cowlings off and using a breaker bar and some sockets and wrenches borrowed from a friend, I loosened the nuts on the triple trees and let the front fork unwind.  Google is our friend!  If you have a Ninja 250R or are planning to get one, I highly recommend joining the forum Ninjette.org.  There are a lot of riders who have a breadth of knowledge!  

Chunk missing? Oh well!

Ahh! She's naked!

I was lucky that my frame was not damaged.  And I am also lucky that bikes are much simpler to work on than cars.  All screws are easily accessible, and things snap together pretty easily.  You don't have to be all that handy to figure things out!  In order to repair some of cracks, especially on the front, I used a combination of clear silicone sealant and super glue.  I also had to use them to keep the left turn signal from coming loose and dangling around.  Here is the end result, and the scrape on my leg (which wasn't too bad, but man, taking a shower made it sting like crazy, I was almost bawling like a baby!).

Glued the separation together. Voila! 

Closer View. Can't even see the long scrape!

Can you spot the crack? 

Scrape.  There was a big bruise too, but that's going away!

Now that my bike is all repaired, it's riding like it came straight out of the factory.  But before I put many miles on it, I got to celebrate my birthday!  I only got one candle, but that's cool too, it makes me feel younger.

Once I returned to my area, it rained day in and day out.  I guess April showers carried into May as thunderstorms. This past weekend I finally got a chance to ride my Ninja.  I brought my backpack too, so I finally got use experiment with transporting groceries, and it worked wonderfully!  I'm able to manage to carry enough food for a few days at a time, which is plenty for me since I never know what I want to eat days in advance anyways.  I'm clearly very indecisive.  

Yesterday I went on a trip to find Simply Grapefruit juice, which is a godly fresh(er) squeezed grapefruit juice.  I was so excited I was singing in my helmet all the way to the store..Juice juice, juice juice jujuice juice, juice..!!!  On the way, I passed a pedestrian who turned and stared, I'm sure she thought I was a nutter LOL.  Sadly, when I arrived at the store, they were all out of Simply Grapefruit, so had to substitute it with some type of blueberry pomegranate concoction, which is just ok. Regardless, I sang the juice song on the way back home.

I also went for a long ride around town, out for an hour, and practiced leaning and being smooth on the controls.  I am getting better at controlling the throttle, and downshifting and upshifting without upsetting the bike stability too much.  It's remarkable how much you can feel the difference when you slightly speed up in a turn, as opposed to holding the throttle steady or slightly letting off.  The bike feels so much more stable and confident when rolling on the gas a bit, and that confidence also transfers to the rider too.  After my spill, road conditions are becoming extremely important to me too.  I've taken to scanning the road surface and remaining very cautious about any sort of debris: pebbles, cut grass, leaves and petals, oily surfaces.  It's becoming easier to spot such dangerous substances!  Road, I will not be sliding across you ever again (at least not for a long time I would hope)!  

Got a chance to park my ride out in a quiet area, and got to take a somewhat decent shot of my bike.  I would like to find a beautiful scenic area to take some more pictures, but this will have to just be a start.  Ideally, I'm on the hunt for a nice mountainous overlook, but I have yet to venture out further.  Soon, soon..  

And finally, my bike is now at 126 miles on the odometer.  Actually had to fill up the tank a bit since fuel was running low.  I pumped 3 gallons, setting me back only ten dollars.  This equates to just over 40mpg, which is not bad for mostly slow speed parking lot action, or wide open throttle on the back roads.  Driven more conservatively and on longer rides, I'm sure this little Ninja will get about 50-60mpg or even better!

And to wrap this post up, I have to say that I have fallen in love. I ride my damaged bike and am proud of it.  It's damage is part of me, part of my experience, part of my adventure.  It serves as a reminder that when you fall down, you need to just get back up and continue going.  Never give up! Friends and family always ask why I want to take such a risk riding a motorcycle.  All they hear about is gruesome accidents and deaths.  Yes, it can happen, and it's tragic.  But riding a bike is like flying.  There is nothing that feels as exhilarating and inspiring.  When I throw a leg over and go for a ride, everything else on my mind disappears.  I love every moment of it, and I love my bike.  Some people say they get very attached, almost like these things aren't inanimate objects.   I completely agree!

Have a great night friends!

-Pandabear

Busy Busy Busy!

Friends!

Sorry, it's been a busy time for me.  I haven't been able to ride for a while due to constant rain and thunderstorms, and going away to celebrate my birthday this past weekend!  It's pretty late here tonight, and sadly work doesn't ever take a break, so I need some sleep!  In the next few days, I will post a pretty lengthy update which will include the status of my bike, pictures of damage, my repairs, and some other interesting tidbits.

Hope everyone is having a good week so far!
Check back soon for the next update!!

- Panda