Skip to main content

Bugs bugs bugs

...and I don't mean any rascally rabbit. Riding without a windscreen, wearing a ½ helmet, bugs are a real issue. I picked three off of my face just from the ride home from the dealership last Thursday. I start looking online for some face covering. I find one with fleece on the inside thinking I would appreciate the cushioning. Of course when I get it in the mail... it is for cold weather use... more surprising, I had pre-loaded my motorcycle jacket with a big bandana. I'm not always on the ball.

I have since invested in an honest to goodness Buff. Having only seen them on the TV show "Survivor" I knew they can be worn many ways. I got the UV protection one so I might use it as headgear once I'm off the bike. I don't have a lot of cargo space so everything I can get to serve more than one function is a blessing.

I went on my first night ride last night. The speedo emits a nice soft amber light and the LCD readout is legible (just - my eyes, not the bike's fault). The headlamp is a surprise. Low beam is more than adequate but the high beam will take some getting used to. I find it hard to put into words - it illuminates everything on both sides really well for a long way down the road. The middle bit is... odd. It seems to somehow flatten objects in the distance directly in front of me to the point where, if something was NOT moving (deer carcass for instance), I might not notice it right away. I will need to take a few more night rides just to get used to the quality of the light. The high beam does however act as a beacon for every flying insect in a two mile radius to attempt suicide on my face. The Buff in "Ninja" mode keeps them out of my ear.

Here I am with my Buff in "Pirate" mode.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

More rain

Last Saturday I donned my newly purchased rain pants and hit the road. I went to a pub outside of Ottawa called The Cheshire Cat at the suggestion of my old friend Roy whom I haven't seen in decades. We had a great meal and a great chat, something we should repeat as I don't think I have that many decades left. As we prepared to leave... that is when the rain started. Quite a bit of it at first. Daytime or no, those back roads were no safer feeling than an overcrowded highway. Visibility was no good at all and, even though most of me was dry, I might have benefitted from zipping up my sleeves. My arms were wet to the elbows and when I got home, even the seat of my pants. I wonder if my girth stretched the seam of the rain pants a bit? The run into Orleans was trouble free. I have to thank another friend, Gabriel, for pointing out that - regardless of name changes - Sussex Drive goes all the way from downtown Ottawa into the heart of Orleans. It's a pretty drive as well. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Summer begins

" Adown the golden sunset way   The evening comes in wimple gray;  By burnished shore and silver lake  Cool winds of ministration wake;  O'er occidental meadows far  There shines the light of moon and star,  And sweet, low-tinkling music rings  About the lips of haunted springs." ...from   A Summer Day -  by Lucy Maud Montgomery Summer is upon us and I am often on my bike now. I have been seeing some really cool things. I have found that the road to Calabogie is filled with Harleys on any given weekend. The road that runs from Calabogie to Lanark is even more fun to drive. I have spent far too much time on the backroads around here but I keep seeing different things.  A few weeks past I was on a tear down Zion Line when some Mennonite looking service was just getting out at a very low key nondescript building. I can't tell you how cool that sea of clean old timey black clothing looks through polarized sunglasses. Some...
Post a Comment
Read more

And another season begins...

Spring brought cold temperatures and flooding. May was not a good month for riding   The nights are getting warmer and inviting. Summer is not far away and the road is waiting. This picture is taken at Davidson QC. This run was taken after a health scare. Interesting fact, riding with the windshield off and a Buff over my face acts as a breathing aid. The world is my CPAP machine. Enough with the grim humour, this ride was a last minute decision made after I filled up with gas, not before I left home. Even if I knew I was going to be driving in the dark, would I have remembered to bring my clear lensed glasses? I’m not certain. As it was the sunglasses worked much better than I was hoping. Quite well, I’m sure they cost me detail on the periphery or something but I am comfortable repeating the experience. This is a third of the way through my ride and about fifteen minutes from darkness. The air didn’t cool too extremely. The colors were especially enjoyable but the shades m...
Post a Comment
Read more