Hiromi_X

I was on the bike again today, and it was really uncomfortable even at 9 pm. The people in cars around me -- or at least the ones in the newer models -- were coasting in air conditioned comfort. The road was crowded with vehicles with one passenger only.

This kind of lifestyle isn't sustainable, people driving around everywhere by themselves in a car. I opted out of this, but in that process, I'm subjecting myself to some discomfort. I could've taken the bus instead of riding my bike, but not all the bus stops are shaded, and the buses vary in frequency. I could be out in the sun for hours if I took the bus.

I am committed to viral change, but sometimes I wonder how this can be possible. How can I sell people on a carless existence? It's very uncomfortable to live this way in south central Texas. I was downright miserable today. I can't say that I'm glad to be in this mental state, but I can't bring myself to own a car anymore. But who's going to be on board with me?

An obvious solution is improved public transportation and the cessation of this fucking insane overbuilding of roadways combined with better city planning. Ahahahahaha! I'm not asking much at all, am I? Frankly, I don't see the gubmint helping me and my kind on this issue any time soon.

In the meantime, how the hell can I keep up my hope?

Maybe I can convince people to give up their cars from October to April at least?

Just to be clear, I don't mean to scold any of you readers who ride around in a car by yourself. But this is an issue that I think needs to be talked about, regardless of people's feelings. It seems to me that our political leaders avoid this very conversation because they don't want voters to feel bad about themselves and their consumption and lifestyle habits.

Anyway, I'm going to be taking a short blogging vacation for Memorial Day. Y'all enjoy your weekends!

Posted by Hiromi at 1:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)

Yesterday, the temperature went up to 101 degrees with a humidity of around 20%. In the shade, it didn't feel too bad because of the wind. Although I tried to avoid it, I got stuck in rush hour traffic in the afternoon. The heat, amplified by the asphalt and the heat generated by the cars around me, was immense. I was in full gear, too. While I can't imagine riding around in intense sun without being fully covered, heavy leather boots, a nylon jacket, and a full-face helmet doesn't quite have the heat protection dynamics of, say, Bedouin clothes. I was absolutely baking, but because of the low humidity and wind, I arrived at home without having sweated much.

I had been drinking water all day, and felt okay when I got home, so I didn't hydrate. I ate dinner and went about business as usual, but around 9:00, a weird torpor set in. And then after 10:00, my head started pounding and the pain intensified over the next several hours. I figured I was dehydrated and kept drinking water until my urine ran clear, but the pounding in my head kept waking me up during the night. Right now, it's almost 3:00 pm the next day, and the pain *still* hasn't fully gone away. I still get occasional stabs of dizzying pain in my head.

I remain committed to living a car-free life. But I'm still used to the complete freedom of owning a car, and haven't yet learned to fully compensate for the consequences of not having one. So, I have learned that:

1) I need to carry a water bottle with me, like bicyclists do.
2) Since I don't have to commute to work during the rest of my stay in Texas, I should avoid riding during rush hour if at all possible.
3) I need to think of different ways to dress that combine safety and heat protection.

I'm also surprised at my inability to bounce back quickly. I mean, I drank water last night, but the headache and weakness remained. Of course, I realize that people get weaker as they get older; I just didn't expect it to happen so soon. I'm still in my thirties for chrissake! The other night, I got really tired swimming laps, whereas in previous summers, I adapted to the exercise very quickly. Being ill right now, I'm going to indulge in some self-pity. I am struggling to learn to age gracefully in terms of my appearance, but this other stuff really sucks.

Posted by Hiromi at 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I'm becoming more and more committed lately to the idea of viral change. Richard Dawkins might call what I'm talking about a meme, and an article in the NY Times Sunday Magazine likened urban violence to a virus. Both of these ideas are similar to mine. The amount of shit that needs to be fixed in our world can be pretty overwhelming; given the scale of our problems, our individual actions seem pretty puny. But I honestly believe there are no empty gestures. I believe that if I act consistently, whether in reducing the amount of natural resources I consume or simply kind and considerate and shit and generally raising the tone of social interactions, someone else will pick up on my actions. And then that person will spread them as I did.

I've absolutely no proof that this actually works, but I'm going to treat this as a grand experiment on my part. Who knows? Maybe soon the world will be full of foodie motorcyclists.

Posted by Hiromi at 4:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

A little while ago, I pulled up to the pump and it read "$70.22." I let out a long gleeful internal cackle and walked away having paid only $6.50 or so. I pay this about three or four times a month; I get 60 mpg with city riding (other people who do mostly highway on my model of bike get 70 mpg).

I do, however, miss listening to the radio. I also miss wearing things like skirts and sandals, and I'm tired of constantly fixing my hair after taking off my helmet. But with a gas bill of only around $25 a month, I get to feel wonderfully smug.

Posted by Hiromi at 6:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Right now, it's 88° and 40% humidity. The sun is glaring. If I were wearing sandals, shorts, and a tank top, it'd be fine, but I was wearing motorcycle boots to the knee, knee socks, long pants, a mesh jacket, and a helmet while stuck in rush hour traffic on the way home. While I don't mind sweating in certain circumstances, I hate sweating in work clothes.And this is April. It's only going to get hotter.

Right now where I'm moving, it's 61°. The forecast for the rest of the week is:

Apr 9: high 57°, low 34°

Apr 10: high 52°, low 41°

Apr 11: high 65°, low 42°

There, the average high in July is 83° and 81° in August. In Austin, the average high in July is 95° and 96° in August.

I'm not going to miss Austin summers, and riding the bike up north during the summer will be absolutely lovely. I'll worry about winters later.

Posted by Hiromi at 5:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

My motorcycle Godfather gave me this amulet of the patron saint of motorcyclists, St. Columbanus. It's draped over my bike's right grip in the photo. Note also the presence of a (pooh) bear.

That amulet is what I have in lieu of health insurance right now (I'll be getting health insurance when I move in June). I wear it next to my heart when I sleep at night so it can "charge" with good karma, and I always wear it except when I'm showering or exercising.

However, I emptied my good karma bank this weekend, when it was proven to me that there is no end to the stupid shit that cagers can pull.

While riding down an extremely busy two-lane road (one lane in each direction), I flicked on my right turn signal and braked, getting ready to turn. Just as I was about to turn right, the car behind me passed me on the right.

I saw the car coming up on my right from the corner of my eye. I straightened up the bike, let the car pass, and then finished turning right. I stalled the bike in the driveway I pulled into and had trouble getting it started again since my heart was hammering in my chest. But in a show of mad skillz and cool-headedness, I kept my shit under control and didn't drop the bike. I rode it some distance, parked, and inspected the brake lights and turn signals (they were in perfect working order). The driver was decent enough to park, walk over, and apologize profusely. I didn't yell; we both almost had tears in our eyes. As she walked off, I paused, pulled the medal out of my shirt, and kissed it.

I'm looking at some temporary insurance, though. I may not be so lucky next time.

Posted by Hiromi at 6:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Musta messed with my bike as I slept!

Or more likely, it's just me.

My crash bars have a crack in them, and I think here's why: some time ago, all squidlike, I made a sharp right turn on my bike, angled all low and shit as if I were on a track or something, and forgot that I have crash bars on the damn thing. Not only did they scrape alarmingly against the asphalt, but they also made a sharp, unpleasant noise, which I think was the beginning of the crack. This incident was followed by several hot days then a very cold night this week, which I think exacerbated the original crack. The bars have been rattling very loudly and annoyingly for several days now.

On Wednesday, I tried to back my bike up and found I could not. Tires not flat. Wha...?

Shut off engine and monkeyed with bike. Discovered that for whatever reason, the locknut that controls the range of motion on my rear brake pedal had loosened, which jammed the rear brake into place so that it was permanently engaged. Tightened nut and fixed problem.

Post-monkeying, bike would not start. Pressed ignition. "Bzzzzzz."

Left engine on and drained battery.

Smacked forehead.

The screw that holds my battery cover on has been damaged somehow, so it was super difficult to unscrew it to reach the damn battery. Could not get cover off all the way, but loosened it enough so that I could was able to barely squeeze the battery out.

Bought charger. Charged battery. Lost one nut that holds the leads in place, and did not have enough access to the battery to be able to properly install the other nut so the screws are only very, very loosely holding leads onto battery.

Crash bars cannot be removed from frame because frame spacers were removed to put crash bars on. Do not want to mess with shitty-ass Honda dealer here in Austin, so must go to bike shop, get them re-welded, damaged screw cut off from battery cover, new nuts put on battery.

All this means less $$$ to pay for health insurance premium.

:(

Posted by Hiromi at 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Shit-ass busy week. Missed blogging. But brain dead, so random news only.

1) Finally I provide relief for those of you who have been glued to the edge of your seats waiting for the outcome of my werk evaluation thing. Turns out I'm not a fraud.

Another person whose opinion matters way more to me than my supervisor's told me I was doing new and important things. There was also one other official critique-er. My supe told me that the two of them were in agreement. The other person didn't talk to me directly about the project and in fact neglected to answer one of my emails, so I decided to talk to him in person today. And he said that one of the big things she told me didn't work, he liked!

Well, motherfucker.

The reason it hit me so hard was this: one of my biggest issues is this notion that I'd wasted my potential thus far in life. Now, I'm in a position to finally redeem myself in a field I like. I felt like I'd blown it, and was pretty close to despair. Fucken emotional rollercoaster this week.

2) Didn't like the winning dress on Project Runway. It looked like something you might see on that HBO show Rome. An Asian overachiever won Top Chef; I wonder how far the one on this show will go.

3) Welcome back online, Omnipotent Poobah!

4) I parked my bike nose-first in a dirt and gravel parking spot today, forgetting Ray's advice to back into parking spots. I checked to make sure the kickstand wouldn't sink into the dirt, and that was all good, but when I tried to back out, discovered that I couldn't. The bike was stuck in the fucken gravel. I couldn't walk the bike out; I had to sit on it, grip the handlebars, and jerk the bike backward inch by inch. Soon I was soaked in sweat. I stopped when I'd almost gotten the bike fully onto the asphalt, I was so exhausted. Thankfully, a guy in a pickup saw this pathetic scene and helped me lift the bike out.

I spent the rest of the day a hair's breadth away from meting out random violence. I was emotionally exhausted from the werk thing. Then the motorcycle thing. I hate being a weak little girl. I mean, I like being taken care of, but I like having the option of taking care of myself when I need to. But today I got myself into a situation where I didn't have the necessary muscle power. This happened in a different way earlier this week. Some clown parked his bike real close to mine on the right, so I couldn't get the bike upright enough to even get the kickstand up. I sat there, completely flummoxed. Thankfully, big strong man pulls up on a bike and parks nearby. I waved him over and he moved the bike out. So today was the second time in a week that I didn't have the muscle power to get out of a sticky bike situation myself. I used to think I was pretty strong, being able to do knuckle pushups and chaturanga dandasana with ease. But there's a difference between handling 100 or so pounds and 300 pounds.

5) Here's reality: as much as I'd like to be able to handle everything myself, I can't. I'd like to be able to believe so fully in my abilities that I can brush off criticism. But on the other hand, there's something to be said for having a good mentor who can help and guide you. We can't all be Mozart, taking dictation from our heads, and I guess even big strong men sometimes need an additional big strong man.

Posted by Hiromi at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Was riding in the main aisle of a big parking lot today when asshole in sports car darts across my path from a little side aisle. Hit brakes. Angrily pressed the horn, which emitted a comical and completely unauthoritative "meep." I originally typed "Meep!" but the sound doesn't merit a capital letter or an exclamation point. I may as well have had a jingling bicycle bell on the thing. I had the same problem with my little car: I'd be full of a righteous rage, but the car was only able to produce a Yip! sound like an angry chihuahua. But the funny thing about the motorcycle horn is that it's hugely loud when I press it instead of the turn signal.

Posted by Hiromi at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

It's getting beautiful here. The grocery stores have had these great big pumpkin and gourd displays that completely clashed with the toasty weather we've been having. But FINALLY a cold front is blowing through, making those displays look less like wishful thinking and bringing great riding weather at last. I'm going to have to sneak away from work to ride around in it.

There's one weirdly convenient thing about hot weather though: when your head gets all sweaty underneath your helmet, you can use the sweat to re-style your hair after taking your helmet off. Now I'm gonna have to buy a little spray bottle of styling spritzer and mess with my hair like a dork after I get off my bike. My set of riding accessories keeps growing: in addition to gear, I had to buy a special backpack that fulfilled all my nitpicky criteria (took an hour in REI to find one), and eventually I'm going to buy rain gear.

I also want some motorcycle pants to wear over my regular pants in cold weather, since I might do roadtrips this winter. I'm excited at the prospect of my first long distance rides for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think riding to San Antonio won't be too big a deal, but we tend to gather at my sister's house in Houston 'cause it's the largest and it's a pain for her to travel with my little nephews. And maybe I'll do the Toy Run! Deliver Christmas presents to underprivileged kids on my bike. Hey, Tina, if you're reading this, and if your wrist is better by that time, maybe we can all do that. That'd be awesome.

I feel such a badass these days. Whenever I feel intimidated, I think "I ride a motorcycle," and the feeling goes away.

Posted by Hiromi at 12:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)

I changed the oil on my bike! By myself! I'm so proud!

...

Well, it wasn't as simple and triumphant as that. I actually didn't intend to change my oil today. All I wanted to do was top it off. But after pouring some in, I discovered it was the wrong sort. Thankfully, it's not the sort of mistake that will cause damage -- "all" I had to do was drain and replace it. I put "all" in quotes 'cause I haven't done one single vaguely mechanical thing in my life, so the idea of an unexpected oil change kinda scared me. But when I screw up, I MUST fix it RIGHT AWAY. I can't not do that.

I have a Clymer*** manual and my bike's manual, and I thought they would be enough, but those things seem to assume you already know what tools to use -- both just say "loosen the drain plug..." (with really shitty diagrams as to where said drain plug is) and neither tells you exactly what tool to use, so I had to do research online. At first, I laughed at my colossol absentmindedness. Sometimes, I'm ultracompetent, and at other times, I do really moronic shit. But things snowballed:

1) The resources at hand weren't enough, which caused delay. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but
2) I was foiled in my online research thanks to my shitty malfunctioning computer, and
3) Its goddamn replacement won't ship until Oct 12 (never mind, long story).
4) This frustration made me focus on the total avoidability of the whole stupid situation, and that
5) I had to cancel things I wanted to do today to fix the problem,
6) Which was taking longer to fix because of my computer...
7) etc.

Just one or two of the above things wouldn't faze me normally, but somehow the combination made me want to break things and kill people. Any hope of a quick fix was foiled. I seriously wanted to blow up the world. Had there been a shiny red candylike button on my desk, I woulda pressed that fucker. Today, though, I held it together; There've been other times I have not -- there's a dent in my fridge from when I punched it some months ago, and my front door has dents from where I lobbed missiles at it. But never mind -- the whole anger thing merits its own post.

I found out what tools I needed to buy, made a list, and then went out to get them. I had to go buy a socket wrench, something that filled me with huge anxiety. My experience has revealed that any sort of car-fixing milieu is decidedly hostile to newbies and the ignorant, particularly female ones, but the guys I talked to today were nice, helpful, and non-condescending. I now own my first set of sockets, a 3/8" drive, and some extension bars. And an oil pan. I feel so manly.

Designated unfashionable pair of jeans as my mechanic jeans. Cut up old tshirts to use as rags. Got some newspaper to lay tools and drain plug and funnel on. Went outside (don't have garage), lay flat on back and looked under bike (got flattering smiles from people walking by). Saw only one thing that could possibly be the drain plug (photo in Clymer manual too dark to discern plug, diagram in bike manual didn't resemble reality too well, no clear pictures online). Tentatively loosened with socket wrench. Lightly loosened some more. Oil dribbled out. Score!

The whole thing was surprisingly simple, once I actually did the work.

Next job: clean and lube chain.

Update: Y'all head over to Tina's place and give her some love. She thankfully emerged in one piece from a motorcycle accident, but with a broken wrist and some scrapes.

***shop manual

Posted by Hiromi at 7:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Since I commute on my bike, I figured I may as well splurge on boots. At first, I alternated between my two pairs of winter lace-up boots. But I absolutely hate dealing with laces, so I looked for pull-on ones. I poked around various motorcycle gear shops here, but the selection was dismal -- a lot of women's boots seem to be designed for women who ride on the back, not for women who actually *ride* the bike. A lot of boots had high heels, or stupid frippery like metal buckles.

After much research, I found these (the ones labeled 8506) here. I'm glad I splurged on these. I had to wait two months for them to begin production in boots in my size. They're my comfiest shoes, even more comfy than my sneakers. They're made of tough leather, but they're very easy to walk in. The lining is soft and surprisingly breathable.

I love clomp-clomp-clomping in these things. When I wear them, I can feel legions of unworthy motherfuckers withdraw in fear before my badass self.

Posted by Hiromi at 11:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

I was happily riding my bike today when all of a sudden it began to wiggle and quiver and shimmy underneath me. I don't panic, though, even at times when I lose control of something. This sort of thing happened before when driving a car -- once when I had a blowout going 90 mph, and another time when I drove a car in the snow downhill without snow tires. Each time I just got off the gas, moved over, and braked carefully.

It was what I thought it was -- when I stopped the bike, I looked at the rear wheel and yup, flat as a pancake. Fuuuuuuuuck.

Bikes don't have spare tires. And you can't patch the kind of tire my bike uses. Plus it's hard as fuck to move a bike with a flat tire. I tried using my legs to push it while on the bike, but I had to get off and push it to the side of the road between two parked cars.

I was at a loss -- I don't have anyone to help me -- but again, I don't panic. I had to
1) Get my bike to a safe place
2) Get it towed somewhere
3) Get home
4) Minimize cost and stress

I calmed down, cased out the area, and found a safe parking lot. Buuuuut, I had to lift the bike onto the sidewalk to get to it. A bike with a flat tire is just dead weight; I could barely push its 300 pounds to the side of the road. Thankfully, this was near UT, with bunches of young guys walking around around who could be recruited as manual labor. I put on my most appealing expression and asked one young student who was walking by to help me, and he and another guy who jumped in of his own volition lifted the bike onto the sidewalk and pushed the bike into the lot for me.

Thankfully again, there was a bus stop nearby, so I got home no problem. And I remembered that I can get the bike towed for free through insurance, and I had already asked around about good repair shops in Austin, so I chose one that was on a bus line that I could ride to pick the bike up after it was done (it turned out to be a giant nail).

One thing I learned today is that feminine powers are not entirely a bad thing. I had no trouble finding male help for pushing my bike, and the repairmen at the repair shop, who are notorious around these parts for being dickish and condescending, were super nice and solicitous. The proprietor even walked out of the shop while I was gearing up to tell me about a very minor adjustment he made to one of my rearview mirrors. He was being so nice to me that I wondered if he would come out of the shop.

Hee!

This all might seem pretty minor, but I'm really proud of how fricken deftly I took care of the whole thing with minimum fuss. My more experienced biker friends tell me that maintaining control of a bike with a flat is not a beginner skill. And I never stressed out. I took care of shit. 'Cause I'm a rock like that.

Posted by Hiromi at 9:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I was on my motorcycle yesterday at a stop light behind a car. When the light turned green, the driver tossed his butt out the window right in front of me. Thankfully, the butt arced to the right and rolled away.

This sort of thing used to piss me off because I hate litter. But in addition to forcing others to live amongst their refuse, butt-tossers are also for chrissake throwing fire out the window! You can ignite shit with it! You can start fires in drought-stricken areas and burn holes into motorcyclists! Being a new rider, should that thing have landed in my lap or something instead of bouncing off me, I'm not sure my skills are good enough to both keep control of the bike and get rid of a flaming object on my person.

Gee, I can't wait until I ride behind a person trying to get rid of the extra ice in their Big Gulp.

Posted by Hiromi at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

One of my bosses is hyper-rational with no religious beliefs, but when he's watching his beloved Red Sox, he will deck himself out head to toe with Red Sox gear, from cap to special socks and shoes because if he doesn't do this, then they will lose.

Likewise, motorcycling has made me revert to ritual and mysticism. It's a difficult sport, and your mind needs to be in the right place. The last mishap I had was due to lack of concentration and fatigue and being spooked by the particular intersection I was in. So in order to put myself into the right frame of mind, I've decided to perform a Buddhist ritual every morning. If I do that, then I'll be in the right frame of mind for riding and even better, my heart tells me that my dad will go through this gall bladder thing with flying colors. Or at least I know that I'm doing as much as I can.

I used to think that this sort of thing was a weakness, but that's wrongheaded. It feels good. It soothes my mind. And while I still have absolutely no belief in gods or anything remotely religious, I've learned to stop fixating on "rationality" and "reason" because both of those concepts are as fuzzy as the concepts they are pitted against.

Posted by Hiromi at 6:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Or are birds just afraid of Harley riders? Or maybe they hate crotch rockets.

Ick. I'm going to carry some Handi-wipes in the storage compartment.

Had a great ride this morning, by the way. Thanks for all your kind comments yesterday. Actually, that's progress in two ways: lesson learned while riding, and asking for support.

Posted by Hiromi at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

So I got up really early this morning like Rocky Balboa so I could practice riding in low traffic. I did great -- stopping much more smoothly, shifting more smoothly, using the throttle more smoothly. I also drove out to Central Market and practiced tight turns and clutch control in its convoluted parking lot. Doing great until I tried to make a left turn from a busy street to a sidestreet.

I had to stop partway because a car appeared out of the darkness with no headlights on. I paused, but by that time I'm more than halfway through the intersection. I nevertheless tried to turn left anyway, making a very sharp turn. But I had the clutch pulled all the way in and the throttle way too open. And then for I don't know what reason I let the clutch out all the way quite suddenly halfway through my turn. Maybe because I heard the engine make an angry "nnnnyyyyaaaaaaah" sound.

Bam. On my left side.

Feeling like a huge loser, I shut down the engine. I wanted to turn off the fuel as well, but the fuel tap is on the left side. Thankfully, the bike weighs only 300 pounds, so I can lift it myself. Still, it wasn't very easy, as it's almost three times my weight. I tried to start the engine. Couldn't, it was flooded. So I walked it to a nearby parking lot to get out of the way of traffic. There's an incline into the parking lot. I was tired and shaken, so I dropped it again. But that time, I could feel it happening and was able to lower it to the ground, so it wasn't a "drop" per se. Right? Right. Figured out that I can start a flooded engine by opening the throttle while pushing the start key. Chagrined, I then practiced making left and right turns in the neighborhood over and over.

On the plus side, I have only a slight abrasion and slight bruising on my inner left knee from where the bike fell on me. Had I been wearing just a tshirt or something, I would've scraped up my arm, I'm sure. But since I wore my armored jacket, I have no bruises, nothing. As for My Precious -- cracked left turn signal and a chip on its, uh, carapace? On the upper left corner of the tank. A couple of scratches nearby. No broken knobs, thankfully. I'm gonna get some primer or something and at least camouflage the chipped part. I swear the bike looked at me reproachfully when I got home.

I know beginners will drop their bikes. I also know that people often advise new riders to buy a used bike for their first bike for that reason (first bikes are called "beaters"). I've heard of people dropping their bikes because they forget to put their feet down at a stop light. But I still have that "I must never, EVER make a mistake or I forfeit my right to be in the human race" complex. It was such a stupid thing to do!

No worries, I'm shaking it off. Sort of.

;_;

Soothing words, preeze?

Posted by Hiromi at 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)

eeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

My motorcycle was delivered yesterday afternoon!!! I actually jumped up and down when it arrived. I giggled a little when I saw it because they had to lower it so much. Also, they had to shorten the kickstand, so it's now a cute little stump. Works fine, though, and none of this bothers me 'cause I rather like having an eccentric low-rider sportbike.

I wanted to try it out right away, but it had just begun to rain again and the streets were slick. Plus, traffic of all sorts -- cars, bicyclists, joggers, people walking dogs -- was very hectic at that time, so I waited. I had to keep on waiting because it started to pour, but I was finally able to take it out around 9 pm.

At first, I puttered around a parking lot nearby, but I had already gotten used to the controls while in my own parking lot, and so was getting nothing from it. So despite the dark and the wetness, I went out into the streets, and was perfectly fine despite my trepidations.

Then, I sneaked out of work ridiculously early today to take advantage of clear skies and dry streets. After riding around more, these are my remaining issues:

1) Throttle control. I'm not doing any unintential wheelies or anything, but my use of it isn't exactly subtle. And I think that I'm not paying enough attention to posture, and so my arm and wrist positions are weird.

2) Cancelling the goddamn turn signal. I'm used to automatic cut off.

3) Coordinating braking, clutch, and throttle use in a turn.

4) Getting used to other vehicles.

I was really pleased to discover that one of my best qualities -- coolheadedness -- carries over while riding. I don't tend to panic. I discovered several trouble spots in my neighborhood where the majority of cagers* don't pay the slightest attention to cross traffic, and could have been hit a number of times had I not spotted the risk ahead of time and reacted quickly. A couple of pedestrians walked into my path, but I dealt with them calmly, too. And I got gratifying coolness points. I stopped at a stop sign and saw a gaggle of preschoolers shepherded by a couple of teachers. I waved them through. The wee children all smiled and waved enthusiastically at me.

One annoying thing is that, per the manufacturer, I'm not supposed to exceed 4000 rpm for the first 500 miles. But I can't just putter along at a low speed because I also have to use a variety of speeds, so I have to monkey around with gear experimentation, which is a tad difficult when you're a new rider and have a lot of shit to absorb and skills to acquire.

I was in full gear and after an hour, heat fatigue set in so I came home.

The lining of my jacket is pretty damn sweaty. There's nothing I can do about that because I have to wear it, Texas heat or no. I hope it doesn't get all nasty. It requires special cleaning due to the armor. My helmet's cheek and chin strap pads are removable for washing, but not the entire inner lining. I read somewhere that stuffing with newspaper prevents helmet funk, so I'm trying that.

Gonna take photos later when I can be arsed.

*Car drivers. I love using biker lingo.

Posted by Hiromi at 7:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

I've always placed humans in opposition to machines. To me, humans are supposed to be of Nature, and by inventing and relying on machines, we have somehow betrayed our true character. During the Industrial Revolution, we lost our souls forever. Of course I realize that machines make our lives more comfortable, but I've always thought that this came at a cost: alienation from our true selves. Even musical instruments powered by electricity seem less authentic to me, as do cameras relative to the brush or pen or chisel.

But then I rode a motorcycle and all bets are off.

In my limited experience with them, I've changed my attitude toward machines. I made a lot of progress toward mastering them in the short hours I've spent with motorcycles so far. No, I'm not deluded enough to think I'm heading for the race track as soon as my new motorcycle is delivered. But the progress I made was significant: I went from a fascinated ambivalence all the way to love toward...a machine. Toward the end of the lessons, I was "leaning the heck out of the motorcycle" (my instructor's words) while making a tight corner. The machine was slowly starting to feel like a part of me.

This is a little disturbing to me. I kept thinking of Tetsuo: the Iron Man. But that silliness aside, the thrilling feeling of conquering or mastering something is alien to me. In pursuits such as yoga or other sports I've engaged in, the thrill derives from becoming closer to your own body and fitting into it better. I never approached these activities in terms of conquering and controlling my own body or mind. I've always felt like I was becoming more and more me. Also, the notion of "conquer" or "master" has always been associated with the destruction of nature or the oppression of human beings. Maybe that sounds extreme to many people, but somehow, this point of view has become ingrained in me.

I know there are inconsistencies in my beliefs. For instance, I believe that the pursuit of knowledge in the form of science or philosophy is a large part of what makes us human. But the conversion of knowledge into technology -- I'm ambivalent toward that at best.

It was also strange to find myself in sympathy with something I've always considered an opponent. Throughout my life, I thought people who are into cars or whatnot were completely batty. I even pitied them for being so enraptured with things. Inanimate, soulless things. Despite my atheistic leanings, I feel sympathy with animist religions that recognize the sacredness of nature. But machines? Hell no. Seriously, I resist technology as much as I can. Sure, I succumb from time to time -- I did buy a cell phone after all. But now I'm thinking that creating machines is a part of what makes us human.

I can't wait for my machine to arrive later this month. We're going to bond, this machine and I, and I can't wait to get good enough to ride the beautiful, hilly, twisty roads of FM 2222 here in Austin.

Posted by Hiromi at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

While finalizing the sale of my car and the purchase of a new motorcycle, I took a motorcycle safety course and bought my gear. This helmet is a Shoei RF1000 in silver. From years of experience observing my fellow drivers, I know that bloody few drive intelligently or defensively. 'Cause I don't wanna get squashed, I'm trying to do as many passive as well as active safety shits. I've read that visibility plays a major issue in car/motorcycle accidents. Of course, drivers don't want to hurt us, but they're just not looking for motorcyclists, so it's important to be seen. Solid white (or bright yellow) is super-visible, but they didn't have that color in stock, and I'm gonna be riding soon, so I went for the silver, which is still more visible than black or a patterned helmet.

My major issue with helmets is glasses. I have contacts, but there will be days when I can't wear contacts, and on those days, I have few alternatives to riding since I'm selling the car. So I need a helmet that will allow me to wear glasses while riding. The earpieces of my glasses wouldn't fit in cheaper helmets -- I'm assuming it's because the visor opening is much narrower in those models. My other major issue was price. But when I thought about it, being cheap in terms of safety for the head seemed stupid. I have only one brain and I like my face, so the big $$$ for this helmet is totally worth it.

Those are leather gloves with extra padding in the knuckle and palm, and I also got a textile jacket with body armor at the shoulder, elbow, and spine areas. Apparently leather affords the best abrasion protection, but is way out of my price range. The jacket I got is made of cordura (very thick nylon), which is still good protection, and is breathable, a huge plus in Texas. I'm going to forego buying riding pants. It seems a bit overkill to me. There is a pair of women's motorcycle boots that I hopelessly covet, but buying the helmet put me over budget. So no boots for now. :(

Can't wait for my first ride on my new bike.

Posted by Hiromi at 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (26)

I've been doing a lot since my separation to lower my expenses, but there is one huge expense that is starting to be more trouble than it's worth: my car. There's the monthly payment, the insurance, freaking gas, etc., etc. So I've been thinking "Do I really need this thing?"

I'm generally the only passenger.
I hardly ever put anything in the car to haul around except a couple bags of groceries.
Parking is a pain.
Gas prices are getting scary.
Sure, I recycle and shit, but I'd also like to reduce my "carbon footprint."

So why do I still have the damn thing? Only because I'm used to it. I'm considering selling the damn thing and buying either

1) a scooter
2) a 250 cc motorcycle.

Not only will my monthly expenditures drastically decrease, I will also be 1) cute as hell if I get the scooter, or 2) badass if I get the bike. It might be a small bike that I will get, but badass potential is still very high.

I used to commute by bicycle in Japan for years in all weather and in all temps. I had to haul groceries and stuff on my bicycle. So it's not like I'm completely unused to some of the less convenient aspects of being on two wheels. I brought spare clothes to change into when necessary, and timed my departure depending on various conditions. I don't think that a motorcycle experience will be too different, except that the gear is much more expensive and apt to be stolen, perhaps.

I'm liking the idea more and more. See, next month is my one year sobriety birthday. Hell, today is my 11 month anniversary! Anyway, in July, I'm going to be one year sober, I'll be surfing and snorkeling and kayaking in Hawaii, and I might buy a motorcycle! If anything else good happens in July, then I'm the luckiest girl in the world!

Posted by Hiromi at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)