Skimming across the pavement…
…my YZF purrs under me.
Odo: 24255
It is a really pretty day, sky blue, calm, and peaceful. I have errands to run: a client with Outlook problems, insurance premiums to pay, parts to pick up, parts to deliver, blah, blah, blah. Leathered in my Vansons, black jeans, Sidis, double mirrors, album mix in my ears, I ride.
Traffic is mellow today. Maybe it is because we all know these are the last days of the beautiful summer. Fall is here and the rains will begin very soon. The temperatures have dropped into the 70s. I glide through, without felling the tension I usually feel as traffic tightens around me.
One goal of the day is to change out my rear tire. I am down to the wear bars and each time I do a corner correctly, that’s to say accelerating out of it, the rear slides a bit, nothing major, just enough to remind me. Today has been no exception. When leaving my house, the rear kicked out to the right on the first hard left-hander. The next light was no different, a 90 degree right, under 20, mellow departure. It still kicked out a bit. I think this tire is officially wasted.
So I changed my tire. I scratched the rim in a couple places but I did get it changed, balanced, pressurized, the whole deal. Then it wiggled all of the way home, just like new tires are supposed to. LOL. I have only put about 30 miles on the tire. More miles are required before it will be broken in.
One drag for the evening was my choice of eye protection. I had not planned to stay out beyond business hours. Of course, my plans changed while hanging out at the bike shop. After dinner with a friend and the arrival of darkness, I started home with double mirrors in place. Hmm… Not good. I must admit my eyes are very sensitive to light. I always wear sunglasses. If the sun is even thinking of being up, I have something over my eyes. Always. I rode through the city with my visor up and my Black Iridium Oakleys in place. Once I got the freeway, I had to drop my visor. And that’s how I got home. Double mirrors, well past dark. Mellow as always, hyper-vigilant for anything on the road. Once I got off the freeway and away from other cars, which I used as trailblazers, I slowed and flipped up my visor. Not ideal, but I survived yet again.
