To: nedod@linus.mitre.org
Subject: First Ride of the Year...
Date: Mon, 04 Jan 1999 17:40:12 -0500
From: gayathri <gayathri@world.std.com>


I wanted to go do Fastrack Riding school at Willow Springs this past
weekend, except the stupid shop we order the tyres from couldnt get a
new rear tyre in on time, and the fzr was officially down for the
count. And I didnt really want to take it on the zx-6r or the
Daytona. And of course, the weather at the track was Perfect.

BUT, we did go for a ride, took rt 2 up to Palmdale turnoff (starting
to get chilly again), and got passed by a bunch of squids on Angeles
Forest. I got mad, since the last squid to pass me wasnt that much
faster then me - except he'd brake really hard in the corners, and
would wick it up in the straights. Idiot. Tho the worst was the front
guy who JUST HAD to pass me as I was setting up for a right hand
turn. Practicing that late apexing (actually, I like what late apezing
does to my tires, looks like I lean the bike over a lot - tho what
really happens is I go in deep, look waaaay thru the corner, and flick
the bike over hard and roll on the gas - gotta be careful not to loft
the front wheel or break loose the back, but WHOOEEEE! and one's tires
get really scuffed!)

	anyway, idiot passes me on the outside as I'm apexing, and his
loser friends follow. All way over the double yellow. I'm pissed. I
pull over on the straightaway.

I wait until the last loser passes me, and wick the bike back up. And
catch up with him. Until he slams his brakes in the turns. WHAT? why
are you slowing down?!? its a TURN!

	I pull over again. This idiot's riding style is so different
from mine, that its making me crazy to follow him - he speeds up in
the straights and SLAMS on his brakes in the turns. Bleah. learn to
lean, idiot! (and I make it faster without having to hang off, which
he does every turn...)

	I catch up to squidboy, and we go to aliso canyon road. Those
same squids are parked by the road. My initial reaction is to stop and
wait for them to go ahead, since I didnt want to spend the whole road
looking in my rear view mirror. But Squidboy goes ahead, and I decide
to try and put some distance between me and them. We get to almost the
end of the road, and BLAM! I'm passed again by the leader, in a
turn. I pull over and stop, waiting for the rest of them. That last
guy, I dont let him go by. 

	okok, testerone takes over. not that I'm going any faster then
normal, but you know.. let's just see... this whole section is kinda
tight...

	I kept in front of him easily. He finally passed me on the
right when the road straightened out just before the end, and I'd
caught up with squidboy.

	We pass him and his friends and I ride by, wishing I knew how
to wheelie my bike (where's patrick burns when I NEED him?)  'cause
the thing the hooligan wanted to do was wheelie by in third gear
giving them the finger.

	So I just settled for giving them the finger and pulling over
at the intersection to tell squidboy I wanted to wait 'til they left
'cause I did NOT want to spend the coming road wondering where and
when they were going to pass me.

	(my roomie tells me later, I should have pulled over and
stopped the bike and told them off. I pointed out there were 7 or 9 of
them and one of me.)

Anyway, I shake off the anger and irritation at feeling like I could
have gotten killed by some idiot who Just Had to treat me like a
moving pylon, and we head off. I'm trying to find Tony's Route (see
http://world.std.com/~gayathri/moto/1998-10-10) backwards, so somehow,
we get onto Lake Elizabeth Road from Soledad Canyon, and stop to eat
at this little biker joint just before Lake Hughe's Road (my goal for
the day).

	food was good, nice looking waitresses, and that redhead was
COOL. (Very Catness in attitude...)

	After lunch, squidboy starts futzing with my handlebars, and
voila, moves them to a much more comfy position (and finds his 12 mm
allen key in my toolkit and threatens to kill me, even tho he put it
in there and forgot - the 12 mm is what we needed the day before to
take his front wheel off - and I think I need it to get to the battery
on my bike). Whee! I follow him onto Lake hughes and we just Go.

	happy me. I'm singing Third Eye Blind, and Bare Naked Ladies
and just falling into that zone. Even getting caught behind the camper
didnt bother me, as the views of the water and the mountains made up
for it - the road was just really fast sweepers at that point, so
slowing down was actually nice. 

	Lake Hughes unfortunately ends on the 5, and so we take that
south to 126, and then get lost trying to find a gas station, and then
squidboy saves the day by remembering the right turn onto Seco Canyon
Road and then to San Franscquito... zooooom!!!! The wider stuff on San
Franscquito are wonderful and the new handlebar position makes the
front end feel a lot steadier in the long sweepers, and we take it up
to Spunky Canyon.

	I love that road. I like it almost as much as GMR. Except the
sun was going down and the glare was giving me a headache. We finished
Bouquet canyon to Sand Canyon, but I chickened out at the end and had
Squidboy take the 14 to the 210 home.

	
All in all a good day. I would have liked to do fastrack, but I'm not
in a hurry. :)

Gayathri