Hit the wall


 Yesterday it was a little windy and I geared for the longest so far I’ve ridden on the highway. About 18 miles on I-77. Needless to say, I was a little scared. However half the way, I had to deal with traffic. My palms were sore from holding the clutch.

So, I got there a little before 6pm from work, took me about 35 minutes to get there. Hammy from CharlotteSportBikes.com were there waiting. After a while Shawn S. showed up. After going over bikes and me making it quite clear being a newbie, we took off.  We rode from Cornelius to Harrisburg.
It was chilly. My wrists were hurting, my chest felt cold. But I didn’t mind the pain that much. I was more taken by/fixated on other things.

1.       Shawn S. is an amazing rider. I was in awe seeing his skills. I was at least trying to pay attention to lot of things he was doing. But he truly rides well.
2.       The roads had a lot of twists and turns. It was not a ‘flat track’ (a new term I learned). That meant paying more attention on my part to make sure I don’t lose the bike or something more major.
3.       The country side is amazing and beautiful. In between watching Shawn ride and my own riding, I was trying to take in the natural beauty, the big mansions and all. Since moving into Charlotte, we thought South Charlotte is rich and beautiful. But this country houses/mansion will blow South Charlotte in a heartbeat.

We stopped at the Harrisburg Family House for a grub. First in I asked for a hot tea, cuz I was so cold. I was pretty darn cold throughout the whole time. Both Shawn and his friends had good advice on riding and such.

I learned but haven’t mastered on how to pull the bike at clutch point, cruising the bike and also the importance of gearing down rather than clutching down on stops. Here’s a list of few things I learned and remember:

1.       Finding the clutch point of the bike and being able to cruise on 1st gear. A great tool when taking off of stop and signal.
2.       The importance of gearing down rather than clutching down on stops. As I’m approaching a stop or turn, to slow down put in some gas, pull the clutch and gear down. The idea is to let the engine slow itself down rather than wearing the break. It also serves another purpose. If I had to veer off the road for possible hazard or continue to go, it would be easier and safer to keep going rather than having to match the gear and take off.
3.       Using the rear brakes less and front brakes more when braking. Simply because front brake has about 80% stopping power than the rear break. Also with front brake you have a pretty good idea how much you are pull the brake and more control than the rear brake.
4.       Learning to enjoy the bike rather than just riding in speed. I can totally relate to that with running. You have to give yourself time & dedication to learn it rather than pacing yourself.

On my way home, I kept playing with these and noticed the difference immediately. For instance, when braking since I would pull the front brakes more; my body wouldn’t shift forward due to the speed.

Today I am beat up. I feel like I am hitting a wall. Possibly since I woke up around 6am yesterday, went for a good pace 1 mile run and then went riding for almost 2 hours. I didn’t get home till 10pm. 

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