North Central Massachusetts, USA
Rev. Aug 27, 2008 with description of summer bicycle commute by Doug Swain
Motorcycle: Year 1998 ATK 260 LQ (liquid cooled 2-stroke)
Bike nickname: The Hell Bitch (from Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry - the captain's horse)
Dec 2, 2007. Today was probably the last fall woods ride before we need ice tires. It was about 15 degrees F. at 7:00 a.m. rising to 22 degrees by 11:00. It was so overcast that you could not use the sun for navigation. Some of the water crossings were frozen solid; others had a crust that we broke through.
The ground was frozen hard. I could hear creaking in my bike when I hit rocks, and the leaves made the hard ground slippery.
Last night I bought tubing so I could attach a 6 ft vacuum cleaner hose to our car tailpipe, leave the motor running, and direct the warm, humid exhaust to my motorcycle carb and motor while I was kick starting it. My bike doesn't start well in cold air. It took a lot of kicks this morning, even with the warming from the car exhaust. The Hell Bitch has always been hard to start compared to other bikes. I put a new spark plug in last night, hoping that might help.
The bike was indoors all night, and I should have rolled it outside in the morning, started it, and rode it around the field a couple times. But it was dark at my 6:00 a.m. trailer loading time, and I didn't start it. The noise is awful, also, especially for Sunday morning.
In the sub-20 degree temperatures today, my hydration hose never froze up. I wear the hydration sack over my shirt and under my chest protector, to protect it from getting punctured if I crash into an area with sharp sticks or branches. I wore a large zipper vest over the hydration sack, and I tucked the drinking tube down inside my shirt at the neck, with the valve closed. I have to stop and use both hands to get a drink, but I can't take a chance on the bag or hose leaking in that cold air. When I fall, I could end up with my head downhill from my feet, and I could have part of a motorcycle on top of me, so getting out from under the bike can take a few minutes.
We splashed through some icy puddles, and ice began to build up on my pegs. When we stopped I hit the pegs with a rock, but that didn't clear all of the ice. A few times during the ride I felt my boot start to slip off the icy pegs.
I stalled just as my front wheel climbed up and out of the water in a water crossing. I started through the crossing at a slow speed, and I didn't have enough forward momentum to carry me through.
We rode the rock loop today. Each time I dread it, but today it seemed quite reasonable. We rode an organized ride at Freetown, Mass. two weeks ago which had some big rock gardens, so today's rocks were not as scary as they used to be. I'm gradually learning that I can ride right up over most of the bigger ones, and that it doesn't matter which line I take through a rock garden so long as I stick with the line I have chosen and don't turn the handlebars. Keeping your line is just like the business saying, 'plan the work and work the plan.'
I don't have a steering dampener. I had the suspension on my 4-stroke Husky dirt bike tuned last summer by Works Enduro Rider, and their rep said to use the tuned suspension for a while before getting a steering dampener. The ATK 2-stroke that I rode today has never had suspension tuning, other than fork oil replacement, seals, and adjustments by Bikeworx. These adjustments are pretty good, because I can grip hard and hold the bike in a fairly straight line through some intermediate rock gardens, so long as I stay on the gas and keep looking way out in front, not down at the stuff right in front of me.
Someone asked me why I ride. Some parents tell me they would never let their child ride a motorcycle. The risk parents take by prohibiting risky hobbies is that the child will be self-taught or will learn from unqualified friends.
Do you know those paintings of native American horsemen by Frederic Remington? Motorcycling is just a poor man's horseback riding. Growing up, I thought those Indians on horseback, looking out over the plains from a high hill or shooting game at a gallop, were examples of heroic hunters, warriors, and athletes.
Another reason I loved motorcycles was Steve McQueen's chase scene in the 1963 World War II movie 'The Great Escape.' By that time, I had been riding bicycles a lot, often putting sports cards on the spokes with clothes pins to make a motor sound. What was so cool about Steve McQueen's stunt riding in that movie? It's hard to explain but you know it when you see it.
I had seen Honda 50 step-through scooters in Sarasota in the early 1960's, but when I first saw a neighborhood teenager on a Honda 50 Supersport, I was smitten by a machine. It was a real motorcycle with a clutch, footshift, and tank between the steering head and the seat. I was able to ride it on my dirt road on Siesta Key, and riding it was a thrill. It was a huge leap from a bicycle.
In Florida in 1964 you could get a learner's permit at age 14, and that permit entitled you to ride a small motorcycle. That's why there were kids on Siesta Key with motorcycles.
I didn’t know about protective clothing or safe riding techniques. About the time the Beach Boys released "All Summer Long" with the motorcycle song, "Go." Car and surfing songs were popular, the second James Bond movie was released, and World War II movies were still coming out, glamorizing men with cars and guns.
When I was 19 I dropped out of Brown, got a kitchen job at RISD, borrowed money,and bought a used 1968 Honda CB-350 street motorcycle. A minimal helmet came with it and no other protective gear. I practiced riding steep curvy paved hills near RISD, was lucky that I didn't get hurt or get the bike stolen.
27 years later my 13 year old son started to ask about getting a trail bike, a single speed mini-motorcycle with a lawn mower engine. But I wanted him to learn to shift gears and use a clutch right away, so we bought a used Honda XR-100 trail motorcycle. He rode around the field so hard and did so many jumps that he would come in sweaty. I never knew that off road riding was strenuous. The jumps cracked the motor mounts to the frame, and I bought him a real off-road motorcycle, a 1999 ATK 125-LQ. To carry that heavier bike, I had to buy a utility trailer and get a tow hitch installed on our mini-van.
That's when I learned that dirt riders should wear special high boots, gloves, hard pads over the knees and elbows, a chest protector, goggles, and a full-face helmet to protect the jaw. Chances are that a person starting to ride without parental permission will not have the time or money to buy and use that protective gear.
Next I bought a 1998 ATK 260-LQ for myself, along with all the pads. I paid sales tax and got the yellow off-road license plates for the bikes. At the sand pit and on the wooded trails, I fell quite often, and each time added new layers of padding to my swelling suit of body armor. Also, we damaged the motorcycles by not understanding how to secure them properly to the trailer.
When we started having children in 1984, I never thought for a minute that I would ever ride another motorcycle. Starting when they were about four, I taught them to ride training wheel bicycles around the living room, at the public school parking lots, and on the bike paths to school. I always had them wear long pants, kids gardening gloves, and helmets. I talked to them about every bike path hazard from our house to their school, including loose gravel, RR tracks, pot holes, ruts, mud, and snow. I emphasized the danger, telling them we we wear gloves, not for warmth, but for protection in a fall. We wore gloves in the hottest weather, just like we do on motorcycles now. The idea of protective clothing is not that it prevents injuries; it just reduces them, particularly road rash.
I taught them how to signal to a semi-truck driver or train engineer to sound the air horn. I taught them to look for car reverse lights in parking lots. I taught them to walk their bike in certain situations, especially when riding with a beginner rider up a hill. Later, when they got driver licenses, I taught them to always roll down their window when passing near a pedestrian, when passing another car on a dirt road, when backing up in a parking lot, or in other situations when hearing could help them avoid a problem or show a courtesy wave to a walker or bicyclist.
Mon, March 10, 2008. This morning I rode my Raleigh mountain bicycle 13 miles from Lincoln, MA to work in Framingham, another cold ride that took 1 hr. and 20 min. The temparature was about 26 degrees F. in the morning and maybe 37 at 5:00 p.m. for the ride home. The rivers were pretty high; we have had a lot of snow and rain this winter. Mist blew over me at Saxonville where the water passes over a dam. In the morning I wore a thin balaclava under my helmet and I used silk liner gloves under my mittens. I wear Carhartt canvas double-knee pants and Ecco boots. I should wear hard elbow pads and hard knee pads, but I didn't today. The wind blew some minor sand and salt dust clouds. No one honked at me or leaned out the window and shouted. I saw no street motorcycles or bicycles in a total of 2 hrs. and 40 min. of riding. Two or three joggers waved back at me.
Cool, damp ride.
Wed, March 12, 2008. At 7:00 a.m. I rode my Raleigh 2 mi. to work in Lincoln. It's a gradual climb on paved bicycle paths up near the highest point in town, so I dressed lightly for the climb, carrying the warmer clothing for the faster return trip. I'm carrying my tools in a waist pack, keeping the weight as low as possible without strapping it to the bike. From day to day there is no change in the tool bag contents unless I switch to a bike with smaller inner tubes. I carry my clothes, cable lock and work papers in a summit pack, the contents adjusted each day for the job and the weather.
We make do.
At 11:00 a.m. I rode 6 miles in light rain to the grocery store. It was about 38 degrees F. I wore an insulated hat under my helmet. I have front and rear fenders and I needed them; there was plenty of water on the roads. On the way back I slowed down to a crawl when I saw an older woman on the bicycle path walking my way in the rain. I said hi, isn't this a nice day? She said, we make do. It really wasn't such a nice day but I was hoping that she appreciates a walk in light rain. Considering the alternatives, like a foot patrol in Bagdad.
This morning in Boston I asked a towtruck driver about how he pulls a car out sideways if it is parallel parked in a line of other cars. He showed me the J-hook and chain that he uses, but I didn't understand the exact procedure. I asked him why he keeps his extra-long door opener tool in a zippered fabric rifle case. I wasn't listening too well, because I can't remembery what he said. It was noisy there on the street. It looked like he had set up to tow a contractor's pickup but released it when the guy came out of the building, just in time to save being towed.
On Mon, Apr 14, 2008 I rode my 1973 Peugeot road bicycle to work in Framingham. I rode the 13 miles in 1 hr. 6 min. The return trip took longer - there is more wind in the afternoon. I don't know if thre is an altituge difference between Lincoln and Framingham. In this photo I have hard elbow pads under the green windbreaker, and I'm wearing heavy work pants and light work boots. There is some unpleasant traffic on Rte 20 for about 2 miles, but the rest of the ride is mostly free of big trucks and wide landscape trailers. It was abourt 34 degrees F. in the morning and much warmer on the return trip. I can't talk on the phone with that Blue Tooth headset while underway because of the wind noise in the mike, but I can answer a call quickly with that setup and then pull over.
My first bicycle commute on July 17, 2008 from Lincoln, Mass. to Brighton, Mass. started off humid and cool at 5:30 a.m. There's a small climb from my house to Drumlin Farm on Rte. 117, but most of the route to Boston is a gradual drop. I rode a recreational Raleigh mountain bike, and I was glad to have the fat tires and the front suspension because there are a lot of potholes and bad pavement patch jobs on the way to Waltham. At the old Waltham Watch Works factory, there is a low point at the Charles River bridge. Then the route to Newton climbs a bit to a high point at Boston College on Rte. 30.
Thurs, Aug 14, 2008. Today I rode a faster bicycle to work in Brighton, a single speed with high pressure clincher tires, dropped handle bars, and fenders. It took about 75 minutes to ride in and maybe 90 minutes to ride home. Riding home there is a lot more traffic and it's warmer. I had to walk the bike on some of the hills. I started riding up the hills standing on the pedals, but I couldn't keep it up for too long. With a single speed bike, there is no fear of popping out of gear and breaking the chain; I felt more confident about standing up and putting power to the pedals on that bike than I do with gear shifting bikes.
I was carrying a heavy U-shaped bike lock and a medium thick cable lock because I'm nervous about the bike getting stolen. Somebody gave this bike to my son, and it was a fixed gear bike with no freewheel. We tried riding it around the yard, but it was too difficult for a 26 mile round trip suburbs to city commute. So I had the freewheel put on with a couple extra teeth in the rear to suit my mature riding style. I asked a bicycle messenger about the fixed gear bike, and he said that it can beat you up on a long ride. I can't picture how I would deal with decents with those pedals spinning fast and forcing my legs to stay with them at fast RPMs.
While I was riding a bike and doing bookkeeping work, look at what my brother was probably doing today at the waterski tournament in West Palm Beach, Florida. This is a shot from a tournament in Jacksonville earlier in the summer.
Wed, Aug 20, 2008. I rode my BMW street motorcycle into Boston and had a breakfast sandwich at South End Buttery, 314 Shawmut Ave. in the South End. I recommend taking a walk to see the shops on Union Park Street next to the Buttery. I rode in the Mass Pike to test the toll transponder in my tank bag. The city was fairly quiet at 11:30 a.m. and I didn't have any problems doing U-turns on the K75S. I rode over to Mission Hill, just south of Rte 9 and Tremont St. It was quiet up by New England Baptist Hospital during the middle of the day. I got honked at once for taking too long at an intersection. There are some hills there that are fun on a motorcycle, but nothing like San Francisco. There are some Green Line (Heath) trolly tracks built into Huntington Ave. which are a little tricky on a motorcycle, also like the tracks in San Francisco. I rode home on Rte 9 and the back roads to Waltham. I missed a lot of shifts on the K-bike today, catching a false neutral around 4th and 5th gears.
Thurs, Aug 21, 2008. I rode my Miyata single speed bicycle into Brighton again today, 69 min. in and 84 min. out with a stop for a bank deposit. One problem on the ride out is parked cars on the streets. It's good to slow down as you pass parked cars because a door could open at any time. At 6:30 a.m. there aren't too many parked cars in the village centers, but later on, all spaces are full. Driving home would be slower, too, because of the traffic. I can keep up with some of the cars in the villages because they have to stop for so many traffic lights. I do, too, but I pass them on their right and proceed right up to the traffic light. Whoever gave this bicycle to my son really set it up nicely. The tires are perfect for commuting. The fenders are great. The handle bars are wrapped well. The brakes are good.
Wed, Aug 27, 2008. Today I drove my daughter's little car to Tufts to deliver her college clothes, bedding, books, etc. I saw two skate boarders riding down the parking garrage. A bicycle commuter showed me a special bicycle bag that hooks to the rear rack. I watched two college baseball players throw some pitches to each other. After all the events I walked on College Ave toward Medford, past the Isaac Royall House and slave quarters. I was tired from all the walking around campus, lugging luggage, but I got lucky and found Il Faro at 21 Main St, Medord and had supper there.
Sun, Sept 14, 2008. Hurricaine Ike has hit Galveston. I rode the Miyata single speed bicycle from Lincoln, MA to Brighton again last week in about 70 minutes at 6:00 a.m. The U-lock frame carrier vibrated loose up on that bumpy section of Rte 117 by Drumlin Farm. The ride home seemed a lot slower because of the 6 p.m. rush hour traffic, but it took only another 10 minutes. That last 5 miles from Rte 128 to my house is a push. To keep my energy level, I kept thinking about the bicycle rides I did from Colorado College to Cripple Creek with the Total Animals Bike Club in 1973. Those rides started at midnight, climbing up the paved road in North Cheyenne Canyon and then going all night on gravel roads to Cripple Creek by dawn. We had 10 speed road bicycles with 90 lb clincher tires. There were no mountain bicycles that I knew about in those days. We had to walk the sandy, loose road sections.
Sun, Sept 14, 2008, cont'd. I sold Adam's first real off-road motorcycle, shown below. Two mechanics could not get it to start after installing new top end, new capacitor discharge ignition (CDI) box, cleaning the Makuni flat slide carb, new plug, quick start spray, removing exhaust, testing compression in the top end, testing crank case seals compression, etc. It's a pretty bike and has a long trail riding history, mostly up near Gardiner, Mass. I rode my '98 ATK 260 LQ up there yesterday after taking the summer off. The humidity was bad. I had glasses and goggles fogging problems, and we were dripping wet after the ride. We rode most of the single track. I fell once on the uphill section of the rock loop. Roost Powersports in Thomaston, CT did a good job rebuilding the bike last March.
