To: nedod@linus.mitre.org Subject: asthma and riding Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 17:57:54 -0500 From: gayathri oh, this was a new trick. I only have asthma when I've been sick for a long time, and sometimes it kicks in at a weird time. Like just as I'm going up StunT Road in the Santa Monica Mtns and really concentrating on those turns thru the mountain (some of those turns are sharp). Squidboy is long gone, tho I hear the VTR rumbling in the canyons... It's been a couple of weeks that i havent been riding. One weekend was pouring all weekend and I ended up staying in bed reading a book too depressed to look out at the large puddles of water turning my yard into a lake, and other weekends have had skiing and work keeping me busy. The Sprint is still in the shop, getting new handlebars and the front forks and brakes done, so I borrowed the cb600f3. I definately miss the Sprint on the highway - rt 101 N has a lot of constant bumps. My helmet is bouncing up and down (yea, time to order a new one) and smacking my nose all the time. *my sunglasses are bouncing on my nose too, maybe time to get a smoked visor* Its sort of neat, if you open your mouth, you can feel your teeth chatter. Its been so long since i've gone to the Rock Store that I forgot which 'Canyon' exit it was off the 210. We get off at Laurel Canyon, and head towards the hills... I find Muholland Hwy, but it doesnt look right. We're in Encino hills, and the highway is still interesting, albeit way too many cages. We end up heading south on Reseda until it deadends into a county park for off road bicycle riding... I coast back down the hill at a respectable 45 mph, engine running, bike in neutral, but keep having to brake behind the VTR, 'Hey - you SLOWPOKE! get out of my way!" Its very strange to countersteer thru a turn when you dont have the engine power pulling you thru them. I keep wanting to wack the throttle on the way out. We ride til we find the RIGHT Canyon Road, Topanga Canyon (only 13 miles off), passing a bright yellow "hey, squidboy, what kinda ducati was that?". Its a 900ss painted that awesome yellow colour. We find stunt road, but I say, "HUNGRY!" and head towards the Rock Store, which was empty for a saturday - only 15 or so harley's sitting outside, one duc 900ss in red, a couple of beat up bmw's and our two Hondas. Lotta funny looks when I pull off the helmet and mess up the hair - I look like a squid, my purple leather jacket matches the f3 pretty nicely. :) Squidboy has a couple of friends by the time I come out with some quick lunch and I spend the next half hour antsing around - I wanna ride. The sun is setting (its 3 pm, and the shadows get bad in the hills). Too late, the shadows are bad, I dont want to go the next two miles up the hill right into the sun , so we head back to Stunt Road. Part of Muholland Highway is a national forest, so its empty, but there are sections that have houses and people walkin around - we pass thru a small town and three kids run out into the road ahead of me. Fortunately, I know its a town, and I'm doing under 40 mph when the kids run out. Fortunately too, the F3 has really good brakes. I did my first baby stoppie when the bike was slow, kids were across the road, and I grabbed the brakes harder because I thought I saw one of them start back across the street. Whoo! Bike STOPPED, rear end came up. Kids all laughed at the squid (bad squid, I hadnt meant to grab so hard). I catch up to squidboy, he's stuck behind a cage. Honda Civic coupe driven by a couple of sightseers, which isnt so bad if they move over when there is room and let you by. But these folks are weaving all over the road. The VTR gets by 'em on the straight and when I signal to pass, they swerve into the oncoming lane. "What the F*&^? ?" The passing lane goes away. I'm now stuck behind them thru some of the more intersting stuff on Muholland. I slow down 'til I cant see them anymore, and take the turns at speed til I catch up. I decide that the Honda must have gotten spooked by squidboy passing or were spooked that I thought I could pass in the short passing lane. I hit the end of the stretch and squidboy is waiting for me. The Honda makes a turn and the road ahead is free... long sweepers, but there are cops all over and they use radar, so we keep it at a more sedate pace. Find stunt road and head up it. One turn lands me directly into the sun's rays, and I gasp. Mistake. I start to cough. WHich makes it harder to breathe, which makes me cough more. I slow down to a crawl, trying to get my breathing under control. bleah. I get up stunt road to the top to find Squidboy up there, helmet off, looking at the view. For a second, I thought I saw someone wearing a set of beat up old leathers, holding a cigarette in his hand, and fishing about for his camera, but the image faded as I realize there were two other riders up there. They were talking about riding styles, but I wasnt really intersted in talking to anyone right now.The last time I was up here for any length of time was with Yves, and I smiled, remembering that ride, and sitting up here eating a pb&J smmwich, listening to them all talk about a previous ride where they coasted down Stunt Road. The smog is rolling in, so you cant see as far as you can after the winds come thru, but from one side of Stunt Road, you can see straight into the valley that holds Pasadena out to San Bernadino, and ontthe other side, is the ocean, Santa Monica and on a clear day, Catalina... We head down, me on the vtr, and steve back on his f3, to test the new progressive springs. I like using that massive engine to brake into the turns, but the sun was getting into my eyes, so I'm not pushing it. At the bottom of the hill, we stop and I do alittle happy dance of joy as the sun sets behind the santa monica mountains and we head home. obPickle: We passed a guy on the highway on a 84 ascot. I wave and wave at Pickle's clone. I miss pickle sometimes. Gayathri