I Am On Vacation

I am on vacation. It is the type of vacation that finds me waiting for the truck to deliver a new washer and dryer. It is the type of vacation where I'm going no place special and much of my travels seem to be connected to the word "errands."

I had hopes for this vacation time. Originally I thought it might mean a trip to Michigan, but that didn't happen. Then, I thought it might bring a new scooter into the garage, but that was not to be. I even thought I might be doing a lot of riding and inline skating, but it is so very hot here. So, of course, that hasn't happened either. All this left me only one alternative. I went out an bought some new gear.

Cyclegear has their HEAT-OUT base layer garments on sale--50% off. I bought both the "long johns" and a "long sleeve crew neck top".

Today was the day for the new washer and dryer to be delivered. All went well. The delivery guys came on time, made quick work of hooking up the set, and then were on their way. It was still before noon and the temperature had just reach 100F/38C. I figured if I was going to go for a ride, I'd better do it before it got really hot. And besides, it seemed  a great opportunity to test the new gear.

And, how did it work? It worked 85mi/138km fine. Yep, it took me a few hours to make sure, but it worked just fine.

While I was testing my new base layer, one of the places I found myself was Creve Coeur Lake.

This was my second hydration break. The scenery was much nicer than the QT where I made my first stop at.

I, also, checked out some corn fields. What I found wasn't pretty.

This corn should be green, but...

it was mostly brown.

I did see some irrigation going on and some activity in the fields.

I saw a for sale sign in this field. It is being offered up for "development".

Back in the City the grass, too, is turning brown.

This is in Carondelet Park, but it could have been almost anywhere.

There were clouds in the sky, but the earliest we might see rain is early next week.

One hopes the rain, if it does come, doesn't come violently.

I was very impressed with the HEAT-OFF garments. I was hot, but not uncomfortably so. When I ended my ride I still had energy. It was 105F/41C when I returned from my ride. The heat index wasn't much higher than the actual temperature. Nothing much works when the humidity is up, but these undergarments matched with vented pants and an armored meshed jacket work well for today's condition.

On a another note. Early in my ride I came up Sappington Rd. At Big Bend Blvd. I found traffic backed up and although I'd planned to turn left, I decided to turn right so as to escape whatever the commotion was. When I returned home and went online I saw this headline on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch  website: Two Motorcyclists Killed in Crash in St. Louis County. This was the commotion I'd encountered near Sappington and Big Bend. (click here to read the story) It appears to be another case of a car turning into the path of a motorcycle. I would have been there not long after the accident happened. I know the intersection where it happened. Until today there was nothing remarkable about it, but from now on it will be another reminder of the danger lurking in all intersections.

Please, you all; stay cool, be safe, and take no intersection for granted.

Where Would You Be?

It's 90F/32C outside. We've yet to turn on the air conditioner. We do have the ceiling fans going. If you are a cat where do you choose to hang out?

Leo making sure he doesn't catch a chill.

Undercover, of course.

And, if you are a motorcycle rider where would you be?

I may have trouble getting out of the metro sprawl, but I know one or two interesting roads.

On the road, of course.

What to wear? I saw a guy on a cruiser wearing a full face helmet, tank top, cut-offs, and flip-flops. I made some other choices.

Dri-plus tight fitting shirt and well vented pants worn over knee guards and a good pair of wicking briefs.

A mesh FirstGear Venture AT Jacket and an O'Neal Series-5 Motocross helmet. Also, I wore a buff to keep the sun off my neck and help minimize dehydration. Oh, I wore goggles, too.

I rode for close to a hundred miles, which was over three hours seat time. I got warm only once.

That train wasn't there the last time I came this way.

It's all about the gear, and......

the lack of humidity doesn't hurt either.

Dead

Wednesday after work Billie, my Symba, wouldn't start. It sounded like the battery was low, but this seemed unlikely since the battery was less than a year old and I use a battery tender. Be that as it may, It certainly sounded like the battery was weak. Fortunately kickstarting was an option and Billie started right up on the first pump and away we went.

When I got home I hooked it up to the tender. When I came out the next morning I had a nice green light indicating a nice fully charged and healthy battery. When I hit the starter she started right up. After my morning bagel, no such luck. Back to the telltale low battery sound and then nothing. Again the Symba started right up with one kick. After work? Another kickstart. When I got home I didn't even bother plugging Billie into the tender.

Awhile back I was having starting problems with Billie. I even had to kickstart it once, but when I took it into the shop the battery checked out fine. We checked all the connections, scratched our heads, and decided we'd just have to wait and see what happened. What happened was, Billie started up on the first try each and every time until last Wednesday.

Friday brought non-starts followed by kickstarts and a phone call to Mike my wonder working wizard at Maplewood Scooter Company. He told me to come in Saturday.

Saturday saw me kickstarting Billie and heading over to Maplewood. I know you know what happened when Mike tried to start the bike. Yep, he pushed the starter button and the engine purred to life. He shut it off and tried again. Again it started right up. He tried a third time and this time it made the noise that I had dreaded for the last three days, but now was music to my ears.

Out came the battery and it was deemed to be dead.

This was a high quality battery and it shouldn't have died such an early death. Definitely a warranty issue.

Mike didn't happen to have a battery in Billie's size in stock. If he had he would have changed it out under warranty. But, what he did have were these new batteries. He offered to sell me one at cost. This way I'd get a great battery and he'd have a great guinea pig. The battery comes with a three year warranty. I've never heard of suc a thing for a motorcycle battery. So, now I can add being a guinea pig for a new technology battery to my resume.

Because the battery was much smaller than the old battery some padding was needed. The Ballistic battery was not only smaller, but it was two pounds lighter. Mike figures with the weight reduction I should be able to hit seventy Symba miles per hour now. I think he was pulling my leg.

While I was there I took a Genuine Blur 220i for a test ride. It is a nice bike, but the seating position is wrong for me. Many folks have complained about the height of the bike. The height was fine for me. What wasn't fine for me was where my knees came in relation to the handlebars. There just was no room. When attempting slow speed maneuvers I kept bumping into my knees when turning. Not fun. The bike was very quick, felt quite stable on the road, and is reasonably priced. Overall I liked the bike, but not enough to go through the trouble of modifying the seat.

Also, I have an announcement of sorts. As an experiment I've started another blog. It is a diary of my daily commute. Ever since I've been commuting to work I've used my facebook status to give the weather conditions, whether I rode that morning or not, and often a comment or two about the ride. I've decided to expand this format a bit and start a blog around it. I'm doing this for two reasons: Some of my friends who aren't on facebook have mentioned a desire to keep up with my daily commute; and, I was increasingly finding the status line too confining. 

And to close . . .

This apparently is a rare short legged species of flamingo. The one in the background I think is stoned.

On the Road Again

This morning I went to see my Doctor. As I expected he released me for all activity. Come Monday I can go back to work. I can even skate, but I don't think I'll be doing any sprints for a while.

After lunch with Heather I came home and prepared to try out some new hot weather gear. It came the day I got hit by the car. I got a neck cooler which is just one of those things you put in the freezer and than tie around your neck. It didn't cost much and I figure I'd give it a dry. The other purchase was more of a risk. You can read about it here:  http://www.coolvest.com/RPCM_Cooling_Vest/Default.aspx

I had put the cool packs in the freezer to charge last evening. When I took them out they were the solid white color I was told to look for.

Here they are on the kitchen counter.

I placed them in the vest. The packs went in easily. The vest felt heavy until I got it on. I had hoped there would be less condensation with these packs than with other systems, and perhaps there was. That said these packs "sweat" quite a bit.

Obviously not a profession model.

It felt cool, but not freezing when I put it on. I thought it might feel heavy, but it didn't. I put my regular jacket on over it. And, I was good to go. 

I rode out to Castlewood State Park. It is one of my favorite places to ride to.

We stopped in the Park for water and a couple of photos. This is my first photo of Billie since the panniers were removed.

By the time I returned home I'd been wearing the vest for over two hours. I was still feeling some coolness from the vest as I waited at the last stop sign before pulling onto my street.

After two hours there was still some charge left. I was impressed.

It was triple digits here today so it was a good test. After my ride I wasn't worn out, not did I feel that overheated feeling that I nearly always feel after a ride in today's conditions.  The only negative so far was the condensation. As I expected I still did sweat quite a bit and hydration is still important, but the vest definitely kept my core temperature down. My initial reaction is: For the commute home and for longer summer rides this vest seems like it will be a good addition to my arsenal.

Changing the subject slightly, it was great to get on the bike again. It is difficult for me to comprehend that just a few days ago I was hit by a car. I was indeed one very lucky cat.