I did my first 100 mile ride yesterday. Suminder came over at about 5:30PM and we set out towards the Peninsula to ride down Skyline (CA 35). We took the San Mateo bridge and it was very windy. I need to look into getting a) a good riding suit or jacket and b) a good windshield. My el-cheapo Wilson’s bonded leather jacket is not really a motorcycle jacket. It was flapping around, drawing air in and tiring me as I rode the windy sections.
The ride down Skyline was fun, with Suminder and I pushing it to the limit. He is an awesome lead and riding behind him gives me good feel for how sharp the curve is, how fast to take it and how much to bend. I’m now comfortable doing 60-70mph in the twisties and leaning the bike over sharply. In fact I was pretty close to scrapping the footpeg a couple of time. Well, that rite of passage will have to wait a bit.
As we stopped at Four Corners (Hwy 35 and Hwy 9), Suminder unexpectedly dropped his GS. One minute we had pulled into the parking lot to a complete stop and the next minute his bike was on it’s side and he was on his back. A little scary, but everything was fine. There was a small scratch on his engine guard and his bike started right back up. We even took some photos there :
Your’s Truely. My hands were tired, but the DR was definitely not!
Suminder and his lovely GS.
We then had dinner in Cupertino and took the freeway back home. 880N in the dark was not fun, but I survived. The DR has a pretty bright high beam and the blinkers shine brightly too at night.
Some more photos of Skyline (from SBR)
Sujit Kirpekar 