Sunday, August 31, 2008

Motorcycle Diaries 2008.08.31

Sunday, 8/31, GSX ODO 7137
Target
Notable: The indignity of it all.... OK, any ride is a good ride, but carrying goods from Target stuffed into your leather jacket is a less than glorious finish to the day's ride. Still, I did spend a few moments with a Sport Bike crowd on Waxpool when their tail rider was stranded at a light. What a great month of perfect weather. No complaints!

Saturday, 8/30, GSX ODO 7116
Football and back.
Notable: It has been raining for the past two days, so it's good to be riding again -- even if it was super-humid at 8AM! We lost the first game, but the team played well and the coaching is good -- just a matter of practice. Not much notable on the bike these days (that's generally a good thing).

Wednesday, 8/27, GSX ODO 7096
Work and back.

Tuesday, 8/26, GSX ODO 7078
Work early and back.
Notable: Early traffic -- commuting next week is going to suck.

Monday, 8/25, GSX ODO 7056
Work and back.
Notable: No riding yesterday... beautiful day!? What's up with that?? (Too tired after working out on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, for the first time in several weeks.)

Saturday, 8/23, GSX ODO 7040
Gym and back.
Notable: Gotta love it -- exercise and riding!

Friday, 8/22, GSX ODO 7021
Work, and gym in the afternoon.
Notable: Enjoy the summer hours, while they last... this is just about it. Good workout.

Thursday, 8/21, GSX ODO 6990
Work and back.
Notable: Amazing, it just seems like the perfect Spring-like days are endless. Three weeks (or more!?) and counting... in August!

Wednesday, 8/20, GSX ODO 6973
Work and back -- taking the long way home north on 28, and west on 7.

Tuesday, 8/19, GSX ODO 6955
Work and back.

Monday, 8/18, GSX ODO 6939
Work and back.
Notable: Cool in the morning, but warm in the afternoon... a hint of summer. But, only for a day.

Sunday, 8/17, GSX ODO 6924
Sky Line Drive.... and back!
Notable: What a ride! 160+ miles, with great twisties for the last two miles approaching the middle entrance. Posted speed limit was dropped from 50(!) to 35 MPH, with warnings signs stating "High Motorcycle Crash Area" and rumble strips at the turn-in for the tightest of the turns. Fantastic! The reduced limit is perfect, as it hold some of the crazier drivers at bay, and set a good pace for me. 40 to 45 MPH the whole way up was just about perfect. Leaning hard into the turns, it pays to stay calm -- hit sand, and you'll low-side under adjacent traffic, but hit the breaks or ease up on the turn, and you'll ride out of your lane and go straight into the canyon wall. Fortunately the sand was all in the oncoming traffic lane -- watch out on the way down the hill!

Saturday, 8/16, GSX ODO 6758
Morning and evening rides, with crystal clear skies and crisp-low humidity temps in the morning.
Notable: Perfect day!

Friday, 8/15, GSX ODO 6715
Work / shuttle.
Notable: What shuttle?

Thursday, 8/14, GSX ODO 6686
Work and a quick round-trip for Spicy Pickle carry-out lunch.

Wednesday, 8/13, GSX ODO 6667
Work and home for lunch.
Notable: No burning Ferraris.

Tuesday, 8/12, GSX ODO 6628
Long way to work, and home for lunch.
Notable: Holy shit!! Long way to work yielded a crazy sight -- Ferrari stopped on a back road at the stop sign. Driver and passanger hop out. Pop the back hatch. Poof! Flames shoot out two feet high from the front-left side of the engine!! Riding by, not much I could do to help. But, damn! "No, I don't think I'll buy this one after all. How 'bout a test-drive in the lambo?" Seems that this isn't unheard of: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovAbr44pqzE

Monday, 8/11, GSX ODO 6585
Work and lunch after work.
Notable: 75 and breezy... is this August!?

Sunday, 8/10, GSX ODO 6571
Summit Point (aborted).
Notable: Trying to get back to Summit Point for the WERA motorcycle races, and a few bonus laps in the Audi A5. Thwarted by rain! But, for the ride back, I had the company of two other sportsbikers.

Saturday, 8/9, GSX ODO 6482
Haircut in the morning, and bank in the afternoon.
Notable: Any excuse to ride, right!?

Friday, 8/8, GSX ODO 6454
Work and Sweetwater for lunch.
Notable: Rushed following lunch, to get home to swap for the 550i for the trip to Summit Point for the Audi Driving Experience.

Thursday, 8/7, GSX ODO 6427
Work and back.

Wednesday, 8/6, GSX ODO 6413
Work and back.

Tuesday, 8/5, GSX ODO 6399
Post office / bank on the way to work.

Monday, 8/4, GSX ODO 6377
Work and home for lunch.

Sunday, 8/3, GSX ODO 6349
Morning run out to the Dulles Town Center and around Algonkian Parkway.
Notable: Beautiful morning.

Saturday, 8/2, GSX ODO 6314
Best Buy and back.
Notable: Quick trip -- bikes and games; game with bikes: Civalization Revolutions and MotoGP '07.

Friday, 8/1, GSX ODO 6292
Work and back.

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