Forget the commuter train this week

This may be the last stint of nice days to ride into work. I normally catch a Amtrak style commuter train from the South Suburbs to Hyde Park. Today is the 3rd day in a row that I decided to ride the Concours into work. In the midst of rush hour traffic, being cut off, slowing to a stop at time, I am in a surprisingly peaceful zen like state of mind. Fully aware of the surrounding, I am one with the Concours as it smoothly maneuvers through traffic.

Can everyone ride a bicycle?

This is asked at the beginning of each basic motorcycle class. We say that we can teach you how to ride a motorcycle, but we don't have the time to teach 2 wheel balancing. Of course everyone says yes. And then I ask, are you sure. Of course everyone says yes. However, there is an occasional person who didn't go through the proper self evaluation. Their posture on the motorcycle clearly indicates that if there were ever on a bicycle, it was a decade or so ago. I wish that we had a generic bicycle at each site that we required riding by prospective students. It would definitely cut down on some accident reports that have to be written any time a bike/student goes down.

Nice day ride to Savanna, Il

I took last Thursday off from work to have a day of riding. I still have the granddaughters with me so the only riding I get to do is going back and forth to teaching MC classes or a commute to work. The thought of spending a day on the bike was exciting. I spent the evening trying to decide where to go. It wasn't until that morning after I got the girls off to daycare/school that I decided to head west. Checking the map the evening before, it looked like US HWY 52 from Joliet, IL to Savanna, IL would be one nice option.

There was a slight fog that lasted most of the ride to Savanna. This meant the temperature stayed in the low 60's which was a slight bit chilly since I chose to ride in mesh (top and bottom). The rode had gentle curves and hills from I-39 onwards. With the corn tall in the fields, most of the curves were blind. I made a pit stop at Palisades State Park and took a snapshot from the overlook at the south entrance. The sun was unimpeded for the ride back brought the temps back into the low 80's. Overall, a great day that burned on a meager 365 miles.

Loss of a fellow instructor

Dennis P. Wegener passed on August 14th at the age of 70. He had battled cancer for the last year. When Ebony and I took the Basic Rider Course in the Spring of 2005, Dennis was one of the instructors. He was great, knowledgeable, and funny. He had lots to add the curriculum with his experience as a retired State Trooper. During the first two seasons as an instructor, I had the honor to teach with him. Dennis was great to teach with and will be missed.

She's whole again

I took the Connie in to have the new side mirror and front fender mounted. What a mental difference. The cracked side mirror and damaged front fender didn't affect the ride, but it just didn't make me as happy. Of course while riding, I couldn't even see the front fender (except in my mind). My mind was telling me everyone out there sees it, but they didn't, just like those drivers who don't see me on a motorcycle anyway.

Rode into work. 65 mph on the Dan Ryan at 7:30 in the morning is a clear indication of the job loss in Chicago.

Caught in Hyde Park

A sweet Honda CD 175, kick start, shiny chrome tank

Experienced Rider Course and broken plastic

Neil and I attended the Experience Rider Course that was held at Triton Community College Sunday. The broken plastic happened elsewhere. After teaching many 8-3 Saturday MC classes, midway during the morning I realized that we were going to be in the classroom until lunch and then ride for the afternoon. The ERC course is run from 8-6 with an hour lunch. We received a handbook for the course but it was not referred to during the classroom at all. The classroom used some older "RSS" curriculum videos. A pristine GMC Pacer gave the decade away. Browsing the handbook, I had hoped that we would have covered some of the "situations and solutions" particularly for Neil. Since that was not the case, I think that Neil and I will go through the handbook together.

I treated Neil to Subway (big spender that I am) for our 1 hour lunch break. We were back first and lined our bikes on the very familiar "T's" that are used in the basic classes. Of course the instructors moved us once they arrived back from lunch as they are not used in the ERC at all. I lost count of the total number of exercises that we did. Some were short link purposefully locking our rear tire for a stop. I didn't particularly enjoy the feeling of my rear tire skidding and coming out of line. Cornering exercises were as enjoyable as they could have been. TCC has the MC program use a terribly cracked and bumpy parking lot. So during the corning, leaning the bike over, having to negotiate dips and loose gravel didn't give me the confidence to lean the bike over as much. 18 year old Neil on the other hand is another story. He was at the edge of his tires limits and dragging pegs on that Ninja 250 like it was nothing. I was rather proud of his riding during the class and the instructors commented on how good his performance was during the exercises. That being said, our 40 mile ride home in traffic on the Chicago Expressways reminded me that I need to work with him on how to better position himself in traffic. I am not as concerned with his skill of handling the MC, but how he positions himself in traffic and his lack of maintaining a modest space cushion.

I did find myself wanting to performing the exercises more often next to one of the two instructors. He was the one who constantly offered suggestions for improvement. I am a sucker for that stuff. Like in all other settings, I thirst for feedback (and approval) and want to "make the coach" happy. I am extremely competitive, especially with myself. The other instructor simply let us ride the excercises with very little feedback. I noticed that Neil went to the one offering the feedback as well.

The majority of the riders had 1-3 years of riding experience. There was a Harley, two SV650's, another smaller but exceptionally painted cruiser, two M109's, Neil' 250, and my Connie.

As Neil and I pulled into our driveway at the end of the day, I had to park behind our of our cars because there was not enough space to get my Connie to the garage door. Neil ran an errand in the car and made it safely around my bike. He came home for a few minutes that wanted to go out again. I was on the computer and jumped up as I heard a loud noise. Yep, he forgot the Connie was there and backed right into it. We I got out my heart sank seeing the bike on it's side. After getting it upright (not the lightest bike in the world with a 7 1/2 gallon full tank), my heart sank further. The front fender was broke in half, the right mirror is crushed, and there are scratches on the main fairing from the bumper of the car. The rear tip over bars saved the rear end from any damage and I am made that I hadn't put on the front tip over bars (crash bars) as I had planned to before the ERC. I will ride it over to the shop and place the order for the replacement fender and mirror. They will have to do the fender and the wheel has to be removed and rivets drilled out of the fork brake that the fender is attached to. I may or may not have them replace the mirror.

Neil will be paying for the greater portion of the repair. However, I am also feeling bad having him spend his money that he has earned working with the MC program. Having the Connie with a few scars and needing some repairs doesn't make me happy either. It's only cosmetic, and it will be okay. It didn't impact anything necessary to ride.