I had an opportunity yesterday to take a trip to Boone, NC with JekyllnHyde. It was an awesome day for a ride and great to meet a new friend. He was very kind to a newbie rider and had a lot of great advice for me. We spent a couple of hours on the Blue Ridge Parkway and then made it to Boone. I learned a few things, as I do each time I ride.

#1- Business 40 through Winston-Salem is hellish on a bike. I hear you all talk about how people want to kill you...now I know.

#2 - Even though it is 65 degrees in the mountains, it feels like 45 with no windshield and 70 MPH. Thank you Jekyll for warning me to bring a warm jacket.

#3 - I need to practice u-turns. Jekyll showed me what an expert looks like. I am ashamed of my lack of skill in this area.

#4 - I love my motorcycle.

 

There are people who are expert riders almost by nature. And then there are the rest of us who some how get through a day of riding without a major OOPS! I have been riding for years and fall somewhere in the middle I think. Well, at least I have made it to 73 years old and still riding. Started riding motorized two wheelers when I was 8.

 

Hey Queen, since you seem to ride the BRP regularly, is a light jacket about the norm?We're headed that why on Sunday. Providing you stay with the cycling world you will develop the skills.

 

We were all beginners at one time and before you know it you too will be making U-turns like a pro hopefully helping someone else learn.

 

Im not a regular on the BRP, but yesterday it was about 65-68 for the high there. I wore a leather jacket with the lining out. I wish I had left it in. It got quite chilly for me. If I remember correctly, JekyllnHyde was wearing long sleeves, a hoodie and a jacket and he also said it was cool. Once we got off the mountain it was quite comfortable in my leather. So, I guess what I'm saying is wear layers. Neither one of us had a windshield, so take that into consideration.

 

I have a "what to wear" when the temperature gets low.
80°...nothing extra
70°...one add on
60°...two add ons
And so on

At least you have a riding friend that's concerned and helpful with your riding and that's worth a lot.

 

Fly by the seat of you pants, & the bike will go where you're looking.

 

I've raced motocross for the past 29 years as a hobby. I attribute this to the way I'm able to maneuver at low speed and ride in general. I was the only person in my MSF class that could do the smallest "box". I did it in second gear on a Street Glide.

I thank my dad for getting me into riding early. Taught me some good general riding lessons and situational awareness.

 

I'm jumping in here a few days late. I was going to start a thread about our ride but I guess I'll just keep it here.

We had a good ride that day. The weather was cool, but nice. I think we did about 250 miles that day....personal record for Queen. While I'm here I need to make a correction and tell everyone that I didn't have to be so patient with her. Queen did great and is way ahead of many other "newbies" I've seen that have been riding longer.

I didn't find this out until we sat down to have lunch in Boone but she's really only been at it for about 2 months, not the 8 or 9 months I thought. Then I found out why she was as far along as she was. We talk and give advice to new riders all the time on here and I bet that only a handful actually listen. Queen did it right! Ninety percent of the time she practiced in parking lots doing slow speed maneuvers. She actually saw very little street time. She got comfortable with her bike and it shows now, in just 2 months of riding.

She had no problem keeping up. She handled some pretty challenging sweepers and curves nicely. I was very impressed. Not once did I notice her struggling.....and we weren't babying it doing 30 in those situations. Speed limit on the parkway is 45 and we were at least doing that. With the exception of the times we got stuck behind those old Model T Fords that were touring. Damn that was aggravating. lol We got off the BRP onto 321 and were entering Blowing Rock. That's a pretty curvy road and it's fun to ride. This one particular part of that road is sharper than normal sweeper and I wanted to get some lean on so I went in pretty hard. I warned her beforehand and I thought she'd back off but when I looked in my mirror she was right there with me. lol I thought to myself wow, that's impressive.

Yes, she needs to work on her U turns but her problem with that is not balance. She has that....she's not looking far enough around and is not finishing the turn. She just needs to get more comfortable with that. Give her another 30 days and she'll be riding in circles. Now I think she already knew this but I still reminded her that she shouldn't get too comfortable and not to let these compliments get to her head. She's still new and still has so much to learn. I have to give her props though. If I had to pick someone who's been riding less than 6 months to enter and win road skills test, I'd choose her.

Now onto to what everyone wants to know. Yes, she did wear her v-neck top and no, nothing flew out. Her damn jacket killed any chances of that. Haha We had a lot of fun. Great girl!

Also, I had taken some good photos but the next day I rode to GA for the weekend and got caught in a downpour. I forgot I had my cell in my canvas jacket pocket. Phone got drenched and lost all my pics.

 

You guys were a couple of days behind me. I was there on Wednesday from Winston Salem. It was the perfect day for riding, but the BP was pretty chilly. Short sleeve tshirt gets a bit chilly.

Business 40 is not bad at all unless you are on it about 7:30-8:00 am or 5:00-5:30 pm.