Thursday, November 15, 2012

Excuses for non riding

We had a great summer.  Then during mid September I bought my Nu2Me  R1200R Hexhead Beemer.


I was planning a last multi day ride on my Nu2me bike and I farkled it up with RAM mounts for my GPS, a new topcase rack and basically it was ready for the highway.  I booked my vacation days and during this time the weather was gloriously beautiful.  I had plans to visit my Uncle towards northern Vancouver Island and I had also made arrangements to meet another blogger in Victoria.   The reason I waited too long was because Mrs Skoot was going to Las Vegas with "the girls" and I wouldn't feel guilty taking the time to be away by myself.   Even up to the week before my planned days off the weather was looking good.

But at the last minute I got rained out.  I managed to salvage another vacation day which I booked for another Monday a couple of weeks later, hoping for the weather to co-operate, but it also got rained out.   We were getting waves of torrential wind and rains for weeks.

Then when I got access to my garage to move my "vette, I was also moving my bikes around and stressed my bad foot.  I could barely walk.  It took a couple of weeks before I was healed enough to walk nearly normal.  It was only last week when I felt normal again.  The rain still hadn't stopped but last Saturday I thought about taking my bike for a ride, rain or no rain.

I don't like to ride when the temperatures are 7°c or lower because that is the threshold for good traction on summer tires.  I worry about "Grip" on our wet roads.  Also in the City we have very aggressive drivers and you may have to do an emergency maneuver.

Friday morning we had a horrific accident on Burrard Street which claimed the lives of a rider and passenger.   The pillion was a 22 year old female who was also pregnant.  You can read about it HERE
Yes, the rider may have been speeding.  The BMW may have not seen them and pulled in front of them and they couldn't stop but the fact is that they are dead

There has since been a lot of discussion about it HERE   To make a long story short, I decided not to ride last weekend.  I worry about grip and traction control.  I told myself a long time ago that if I got bad vibes I would just take my car and be safe.  Saving a few dollars for fuel but putting yourself in harms way is not the best choice. 

I nearly forgot to mention that I also stressed my left wrist.  It hurts when I flex it a certain way, like a lightning bolt up my arm.  I do not know what I did, perhaps slept the wrong way or something like that

Then the Fog came


I prefer to keep away from fog as it is difficult to see my small taillights.  Plus the week after daylight savings time is when there is an increase of accidents.  You probably noticed that I think too much.  I worry about safety and I believe there is a time to ride and a time to NOT ride


When it is only 2°c , the fog can also deposit on the roadway and turn into ice.  We have humid air on the Wet Coast, not the dry air you find in the East where it may get cold but the roads are dry


Then that fateful day nearly two weeks ago Mrs Skoot broke her right wrist (rotator bone).  I told her not to go to work but she is a workaholic and she was advised NOT TO DRIVE, during the healing time which may span 8 weeks or more.  So now I am also her chauffeur.   I leave work in Coquitlam and drive to downtown Vancouver to pick her up and bring her home.   I did think about riding my bike to work, BUT then I would have to come home first to get the car.  This would take extra time and effort and just didn't make sense as I can swing pass her work on the way, so now the commuting option is out of the question.  I have been waiting to ride on the weekends but there has been rain forecast for every weekend for as long as I can remember.

Broken Wrist UPdate:   It has been nearly 2 weeks since Mrs Skoot had her mishap and cast put on.  Today was her followup checkup and it didn't go well.   It seems that the cast did not keep her bones in alignment and she now has to go in for surgery tomorrow to have it "pinned".  I imagine this would be for day surgery and she will be able to come home later in the day.   It would seem that my domesticated duties will continue for the foreseeable future, but that's okay as the weather forecast is for rain again (sigh).


18 comments:

  1. My best wishes to Mrs. Skoot on her surgery tomorrow. Even though it's an outpatient procedure doesn't diminish the impact to your body. I like your fog photos even though they are illustrative on why not to ride. I hope the weather improves and the improvement lands on a weekend.

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    1. Richard:

      Thank you. I think I am the one that is "stressed", but I know it is for the better and it will heal correctly. I am not a fan of hospitals or doctors and I make a point not to see them unless absolutely necessary.

      I used to ride all year, all the time then one day I thought about it and I have nothing to prove to anyone and sometimes it's just stupid to put yourself in danger. When I notice bikes out with frost and slippery streets I think to myself "what fools they are".

      OF course, with a HACK, it's a different scenario

      Lots of people don't take good FOG photos. Those were taken +1.00 EV exposure compensation

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    2. I was experimenting yesterday with fog photos and I wasn't satisfied with the results. Maybe I need more daylight as everything looked orange due to the sodium vapor lights....

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    3. Richard:

      it's all in the white balance. Do you have Photoforge2 (I think), either that or change to B&W then there won't be any white balance problems, then put a bit more grain in it

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  2. Yes Bob, you worry too much as I do too!

    To Everything
    There is a season
    And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

    Do you wear a Chauffeur's uniform and tip your hat?

    Best wishes from an Ancient Briton, N

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    1. Nikos:

      Thank you for that song which is now echoing in that empty space between my ears. It's the Byrds isn't it ? around 1967 because I used to hear it all the time when we were carpooling in my friends brand new '67 Barracuda fastback 273 V8 torqueflite. His brother had a new 383 V8 Magnum Charger fastback

      Right now my whole life is planning meals, going shopping and rushing home to make dinner, OH, and being the Chauffeur too

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  3. I haven't been on a decent road trip on the big bike since end of September, and I still have insurance for another month but the weather makes it kinda difficult.

    Even the scooter isn't used as regularly as I would like to. We had frosty temps in the area and the fog was creating slippery roads, so I wasn't going to take the risk.

    Long story short: the weather sucks ;-)

    Hope all goes well with Yvonne's surgery!!!

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    1. Sonja:

      I rode my Vstrom recently and it felt good to be leaning into the corners and shifting gears. That's what I miss the most is the shifting gears.

      After that accident last week my mind was reactive about grip and tire traction so I just decided to leave the bikes alone. Call it bad vibes. Many times I get premonitions and I just go with my gut feelings.

      you know that even at 2-3°c there may be ice on the roads. I had to scrape my windows 3x last week, so for me no commuting. I have to wait for the weekends again, and guess what ? more rain forecast again.

      If we were retired I could scoot down to see Guido and "Help" him keep fresh gas in his Tiger.

      Yvonne will be home later, until then I know nothing but things like this "stress" me . . . That's why I am at work. I don't deal well with hospitals, doctors or waiting rooms

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  4. Bobskoot, I hope Mrs Skoot gets along we'll with her procedure tomorrow. That's got to be a bit frustrating for both of you.
    And I too have a lot if excuses for not riding very much lately. For me it has mostly been too much work with travel that required the auto. But also I just haven't been feeling very well. Nothing serious, but blood results were a bit messed up recently and we are taking a new pill now to try and help. But there will be other days. One of these days it all will change Nd get better.

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    1. Jimbo/cpa3485:

      It's the aging part that is frustrating. Something so simple for a young person has ended up to cause a lot of problem, but hopefully it will mend correctly now.

      Don't worry about the riding, it will be there waiting for you. Hope your new medication works better. You can't ride if you are not up to it. Safer that way

      try to take things easier, same with work, let the others take up the slack for a while

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  5. I follow a couple of BC news sites on facebook and saw a link to the accident article. Just a sad situation as they all are.

    And I agree, if you just aren't feeling the ride, it is best not to ride.

    Our weather hasn't been conducive to riding either and we have some big storms coming in. One day it will be dryer and we'll get the bikes out.

    Hope all went well with Mrs. Skoot today. Good thing she has you to worry and fret and take care of her.

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    1. Trobairitz:

      Often I get premonitions and when I do I take the safe route. I was thinking that the roads were going to be slippery and my tires lose traction below 7°c, then this accident happened. There have been several bike accidents during the past week so that just made me think more about not riding.

      I worry when people I love are not well, or when life isn't treating them well. I know, I think too much . . .

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  6. :( hmmm, well at least the dr wasted no time deciding to operate. be well, and hang in there you two!

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    1. Ms M:

      Actually, Mrs Skoot was on "Standby" so she had to be there before 7am so they could "squeeze" her in sometime during the day. They had 21 operating rooms and it was very busy today. She was not actually scheduled, but emergencies had to be handled first.

      We didn't get home until after 7pm, a long day for her and now the anesthetic is wearing of and she is on morphine to kill the pain. Will be bad for a few days until the swelling goes down.

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  7. I hope the morphine helps you Mrs Scoot, hang in there because even though it's age that means these things can be more complicated it's also age that means you can cope with it better ... both of you. I bet you are loving looking after your wife Bob :)

    I'm glad you didnt ride when you didnt feel it was right, that weather looks scary to me too. We dont really get fog or frosts here, although this year was a little damper and we got a couple last winter.

    I'll be sure to post a few nice summer skies for you Bob :)

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    1. Brenda:

      I'm a bit stressed having to do everything but here we are 2 weeks later and we're still here and not starving

      You're right about the age, we feel young but the parts are wearing out

      You always have to listen to your inner mind. If I have a feeling that something may go bad, then I don't ride. The same with speeding, sometimes I just get that feeling and slow down, the same thing you did.

      Okay, post up your summer skies and we will get back at you when It's our turn . . .

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  8. Glad Mrs. Skoot is home ... hope healing is quicker and better this time (aging sucks!) I just read that the BC insurance industry has posted the high accident areas for motorcycles ... preminitions or not - why try to beat the odds.

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    1. Karen:

      Living in the heart of the city has its challenges. I know that just about every Friday we have major accidents on our bridges because drivers are impatient. This is the reason I don't like to bike commute on Fridays. Then you can't ride on the first day of rain when it has been sunny for a while. I consider a lot of things before I ride and if I feel like something is going to happen then I play it safe. There are certain stretches of hwy 1 where many riders try to avoid. The locals know where but if you are travelling through you may not know which roads to avoid. State of mind is as important as riding skills

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