Today is Monday already and we had an interesting weekend. Never did make it to the garlic festival on Saturday, but we did go for a nice ride to Depot Bay and Gracie's Sea Hag for lunch. Troubadour and I rode two up and one of our bike night crew joined us on his V-Strom. Saturday morning we met up with everyone at Creekside Coffee in Corvallis. There were three rides going on. A group was headed to Bend to test ride Ducati's. We were headed to the coast for a chowder run and the other was heading to Eugene.
We all headed out about 10:30 am or so and went our different routes. Here is a picture I've pilfered off our PNW forum showing everyone at the coffee stop before heading out. Thank you Ducatichick for taking it.
The ride to the coast was uneventful. A few back roads were taken at a nice pace. Troubadour went easy on me as I wasn't in for a "spirited" ride. Some of the backroads were a little choppy though - quite the butt buster. They really need to be resurfaced. Pulled into Depot Bay and the Sea Hag without too much trouble. Hwy 101 traffic is always heavy though.
The Sea Hag had an extensive menu and was actually quite pricey. We'd heard good things about it though so had to try it. The only thing on their menu that was vegetarian was a garden burger - no kidding - even the salad's weren't vegetarian. We didn't feel like yet another garden burger. The clam chowder had bacon in it so I opted out of that. Troubadour decided on the fish and chips with salmon as the fish. I had the fish sandwich, as i was having fond memories of the fish sandwiches at the Barley Mill Pub in Penticton. Anything on the menu is highly recommended at the Barley Mill if ever in the Okanagan. Here are the obligatory photos. They didn't come out well as we used our new Kodak camera we aren't too happy with.....
We were all full from lunch and headed back to Corvallis the same route we came, arriving home at 4 in the afternoon. Had a nice relaxing evening.
Sunday we decided to have a lazy day. Slept in and I made homemade blueberry muffins for breakfast. Puttered in the yard and headed to a couple of plant nurseries. Headed home and about 6 or so in the evening decided to take the bikes out since I'd only been on the Ninja twice.
Well the motorcycle gods/gremlins got to me. I had an epiphany and decided that the bike just isn't right for me. There is something about it. Maybe it is too big? Too intimidating? Too performance oriented/powerful? There is just something that is freaking me out. I got a few blocks down the road and just couldn't do it. Maybe it is because I've never really been a fan of sportbikes. I like the standard or naked bikes. I do not have a need for speed. I am built for comfort not for speed.
Troubadour is very supportive and said he was proud of me for admitting what a lot of people wouldn't and that is that I either stepped up too soon and/or that a bike wasn't right no matter how easy other people thought it was to ride. He'd rather have me find out there was something about it now rather than wrecking going around a corner later. I never scared myself with the throttle or anything like that. Never lifted the front tire, I think I was too apprehensive of the power to give it much throttle. I did have it up to 65 mph on the backroads on a few straight stretches.
When I was riding the Nighthawk 250, I thought that it was a little too shaky, light and a pain to ride, but I can tell you I had a lot more fun working it to get it to 60-65 than attempting to hold on to the Ninja.
So.... the Ninja is up for sale and we're on the hunt for a smaller lighter bike. We are actually looking at the Suzuki TU 250 again. Maybe that is what I should have bought before the Nighthawk. We'll see. Troubadour would rather see my on a smaller bike having fun and keeping up with him that a larger bike and not wanting to ride. Here is a pic of the TU - they call it a baby Bonneville. Seems fitting.
I will keep everyone posted so stay tuned.
Now that the weekend is over we're back to work. Today is our 13th wedding anniversary and my mom was nice and sent a beautiful bouquet of flowers to my work and my brother even sent a text message. That was very nice of them. Troubadour and I are heading out when he gets off work for a nice dinner at a local place called The Woodsman. They have excellent Thai food. Perfect for our anniversary.
- Au Revoir
"Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat." ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
Trobairitz:
ReplyDeleteand Bradley, of course, have a very HAPPY 13th Anniversary and many more.
Better to be safe than sorry in the selection of a bike.
Not a lot of people know this BUT . . .
I had a lot of bikes from the late 60's to the early 80's, then sold them all and switched to convertibles because everyone was telling me it was too dangerous with a young family. Then a few years ago I got the urge to get back into riding, so used the scooter word to get my wife interested in buying one. We went all over the place looking at scooters. Yamaha, Honda, blah blah, etc. All the while I was asking how it felt, was it too high, did it feel right. We settled on a Yamaha BWS. My intention was to get her a scooter, and I was going to get a motorcycle. After we got the BWS she said that she didn't feel comfortable with it being so high and didn't want to use it anymore. Now my plans were ruined. We had to go shopping for another scooter and ended up with a Yamaha Vino. Now the BWS was mine to use, but in the end I bought a bike anyway.
So, in the end it's only money and safety takes priority.
bob
bobskoot: wet coast scootin
Have you considered the Suzuki S-40? Also known as the Suzuki LS 650 Savage. I can cruise comfortably at 65-70 mph and it doesn't take it all day to get it there. There is also a great forum for support. Don't listen to all the complaining I do about mine. She's a bit old and was treated bad for many years.
ReplyDeleteI know I just started riding, but I really like my V-star 650. First and foremost, I have an upright riding position which keeps me from putting my weight on my wrists, or stressing out my back. I have a little problem hitting 65 right now, but I suspect once I put a windshield on it will be a little easier. I also like that I seem to have a reserve of power available whenever I need it to accelerate back up from lolly-gagging (AKA sight-seeing) speed to oh-crap-someone-is-behind-me speed. Just my two cents :D Namaste!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for your input - as always it is appreciated.....
ReplyDeleteBobskoot - I understand what you mean about safety and money - always the most important. I feel like goldilocks - too tall, too heavy, I need to find my just right. My gut was telling me not to ride the Ninja and I had to go with it for self preservation reasons.
Danny - I almost bought a used S-40 prior to buying the nighthawk. I didn't really like the handlbars and forward controls. They seemed awkward for me. My dream bike is the Triumph Bonneville T100. I had a chance to test one a month or so ago at a dealer in Eugene and loved it. They updated them for 2009 to make them more lady friendly - lower seat and handle bars closer. Not ready for a new 865 cc though...so the TU 250 is the same styling and body postion just in a 'mini me' version. I figure it would make for an easy transition when I eventually step up to the Triumph.
Pirate - I've sat on the 650's but with my upper body strength I don't think I could control it like I need to. At least not until I've mastered low speeds and parking lots. And I know exactly what you mean about lolly-gagging. Troubadour often wonders why I drop back so far, just to come up behind him again all of a sudden.
Thanks again everyone.
I personally want a Honda rebel... I love them.
ReplyDeleteI hear you I have a similar story. Started riding about a year ago on a Honda Rebel. Then as I was taking longer trips and higher speed I researched all the bikes and choose a 2009 Suzuki VStrom 650 and sold the Rebel. I've put 3K miles on the VStrom but it never felt right to me, don't know the reason, but motorcycling ended up losing it's joy. I couldn't understand it since on paper it's the perfect bike for me, and everything I want to do. It could be the height, the power, etc. Just a month ago I decided to take advantage of the economy and went out and got another cruiser (2001 Vulcan 800) after riding a bunch of different ones and the joy of riding is back. So my plan is to keep both bikes for a year and see which one I gravitate towards as I get better at riding.
ReplyDeleteSome bikes you might want to consider on the way to the Bonnie are the Vulcan 500, Ninja 500, or the Shadow VLX (600), all are light bikes, with friendly throttles. The Vulcan 500 or the Shadow VLX were the bikes I was looking for but ended up with the Vulcan 800.
Tanisha - A lot of riders start on the rebel and then move on and love the Rebels. With my inseam they are just a little too small for me.
ReplyDeletePassionForTravel: It is nice to know I am not alone in this. I will be interested to hear which bike you choose and kudos to you for putting 3k miles on the V-Strom even with it feeling not right. The Ninja is so off for me I can't do 300 on it.
Please keep me posted.