A Typical, Atypical Bent Day Ride

[Bent]

OK, I went to bed last night literally sick from work stress all week (great job I have ). Woke up feeling the same way. Sooo, needing therapy, I decided to hop on ole TMAC Black and go for a ride in my "back yard".

While "visualizing" before I went to sleep, I decided to try some new riding posture and techniques today. So, I did, and WOW!!, I have had the most ride changing day in my riding career with the new but simple changes. I have WAY more control over the bike (you know what that means....), and I wasn't exactly the slowest rider on a VFR. Today, things have remarkably changed.....

I leave town over the mountain I live on, to the twisties immediately and head North towards Lynchburg "the back way". Only Skuuter knows this way and I know part of it he doesn't.. :biggrin: I took some pics which comes very un-natural for me as I just lately learned bike brakes were for things other than stopping for only for an emergency... :fing02:

Just past the pig sty out of Huntland I can't help but notice how neat the canopy is over the road...

I stop and eat my PB & J samwich at Tim's Ford Lake. Jiffy Crunchy...no Peter Pan junk for me!! This is the first time I've seen the lake full in two years!!

Your arrival "welcome" to Lynchburg, Tenn. now. :fing02:

As usual, it's a Harley day on the Square in Lynchburg. The town is good for the Jack Daniels Distillery tour if you haven't done it, walking around the square, and gassing up the bike. The place is starting to really turn me off as it's beginning to remind me of Gatlinburg.

The Square and courthouse in Lynchburg....

Judy's Leather in Lynchburg. When Skuuter is there, he's like a bull in a china closet in there looking at bike stuff and talking to Skye, the owner.

Jack Daniels warehouses on Hwy. 129 in Tenn. (not the Dragon)....whiskey and LOTS of it!!! Drool, house, drool buddy!!!!!!!

Hwy. 129 is a nice and fast (if ya wanna) run from Lynchburg. to Hwy 231, then beyond. It has some triple digit sweepers (if ya wanna) to 15 mph (sign recommended) 90 degree turns (that means 54 mph for me, :biggrin: ).

This is your welcome to a little town on 129 named Petersburg and they mean it. The town is a speed trap, at least.... :rolleyes:

When I parked on the side of the road to take this pic, James and Cindy (in the brown car approaching) kindly asked if I needed some help. They were drunk as skunks and after they asked if I needed any "crank", I said "not today, but thanks!". Time to go!!

On the square in Petersburg were a bunch of hogs with THREE cop cars guarding the ice cream shop...they must have heard I was coming.... :laugh:

Dude from Bell Buckle, Tenn. checking out ole "TMAC Black". Gotta be careful of those Bell Buckle dudes....not kidding either.

He was asking all kind of questions about "The Interceptor". He was with a bunch of Hogs but a nice guy.

Nice farm and house on Buckeye Loop off of Hwy. 129. Nice twistie side loop off of 129.

Heart Break Turn. A blind, very sharply decreasing radius turn at the end of a triple digit (if ya wanna, not me) sweeper. I've seen one confirmed death and one probable just past the end of the fence. I don't play with this turn.

After 231 miles of everything from "relaxed / scenic" in TMAC vernacular, to WFO throttle (Bent vernacular), I arrive safely back at our Pad just in time for my Sweetie to take a pic of yours truly cutting up. After practicing my visualization today and getting damn faster in the twisties, I've had to re-think things. It seems my new limitation is how well I can see through the turns. Not trying to push the envelope but good bike control is the new greatest benefit I bestowed upon myself today. Another benefit from what I experienced is that, this year, I'm callin' out that :squid: named Baileyrock!!!

All in all, a perfect 70 degree sunny day to ride. Hope you enjoyed!! Let's RIDE!! :fing02:

[KanadianKen]

Great write up Bent - glad you had a great day of riding. So did you get any ice cream? :biggrin:

[jeremy556]

So what was this new technique you used anyway?

About all you can do to increase your comfort level for blind turns is to practice emergency braking in turns. You would be surprised at how hard you can brake while leaned way over.

Key is to work up to it slowly. What you are looking for is an oscillation in the bars (your arms have to be completely loose and at ease to be able to feel it), this is the point that the tire is beginning to lose traction, do not brake past this point as you will be lowsiding when you do. As you decrease your lean angle, you can add more brake force. Just remember to engage the brake gradually, if you grab it too quickly it will make the bike want to stand straight up, or almost instantly lowside if you grab a handful.

[marid2apterbilt]

Sounds like lots of fun today.. Dont you loveit when new things make the limits almost unreachable...

see you next weekend.. sunny n 80's is the forcast.....

[hondalover]

:fing02: Dang, my money was on Baileyrock to be the first to break his hip. :fing02:

[Nicole]

Great pics Jim!!!! Glad you had fun too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[turtlecreek]

nice shots jim...yeah, petersburg sucks....one of the few tickets i have ever gotten was there (he was sitten by the church just up the hill from the shell station next to the bank)...5mph over....no mercy.

glad you had such a nice day recovering....pure therapy.

[Rivcyko]

Cool. I really need to move down there.

P.S., Jim, Your lower parking light is burnt out. :fing02:

[Bent]

So what was this new technique you used anyway?

About all you can do to increase your comfort level for blind turns is to practice emergency braking in turns. You would be surprised at how hard you can brake while leaned way over.

Key is to work up to it slowly. What you are looking for is an oscillation in the bars (your arms have to be completely loose and at ease to be able to feel it), this is the point that the tire is beginning to lose traction, do not brake past this point as you will be lowsiding when you do. As you decrease your lean angle, you can add more brake force. Just remember to engage the brake gradually, if you grab it too quickly it will make the bike want to stand straight up, or almost instantly lowside if you grab a handful.

Thanks for the words of wisdom, Jeremy. Nice to have from an expert. Really, all I did was make closer "love" with the fuel tank.

I was riding over the tank anyway, but today, I got way forward and down on it which helped loosen my arms even more (very floppy loose), bring the controls closer to me, let it lean easier, and this allowed me to get my butt off the seat more and quicker. I brought myself even more forward on the bike which made it easier to "kiss the mirrors". All this made the bike feel much lighter and tossable.

I was doing all this, but just moved it more forward on the bike but MAN what a huge difference it made!! I'm really careful about blind turns because some of them around my place are even more dangerous than around the Gap area if you can believe that.

I've had to brake hard in turns but seriously doubt if I'm anywhere near as good as you at it. There was a lot of fine loose gravel in the turns today and I could feel the front slip a little but I know the area enough to not panic over it. But, it does only take once.... :fing02: Point is, I can feel the front end better now. Hope all this makes sense to you but that's how I perceived the changes.

No, Ken, I didn't "hold up" the ice cream shop. If there had only been two cop cars, I would have done it without hesitation... :fing02:

Yep, Sam, look forward to Bea's again. It's about time for a "fix" isn't it!!! I'm putting some new sneakers on my 5th gen. tomorrow so, no telling what I'll show up on.

No broken hip, just Bent.... :rolleyes:

[jeremy556]

Nice to have from an expert.

I wish

[toddulu]

:fing02: Dang, my money was on Baileyrock to be the first to break his hip. :fing02:

Looks like he's auditioning for one of those "I've fallen and I can't get up commercials!!!"

:rolleyes:

In alll seriousness though, nice write up.

[spud786]

Nice and green there Bent

I thought this monday was memorial day, now you talk about a BUMMER>G<

[SEBSPEED]

Congrats Jim! Looks like a great day for a ride down there, had a beauty here too but I was framing a new shed...

I hope I have another revelation this year too, but it's scary, because I already ride waaay too fast on the road.

Great pics too, thanks for sharing! :fing02:

[Sweeper]

I thought I had found somebody I could ride with and now this. :unsure: If you're off riding with the BR crowd, maybe Skuuter will be huntin some new sane company. :rolleyes:

Looks like you had a great day. I found the time to put on my new rear tire and wash off the TMac rain film. Took my daughter out for about an hour of crawling.

Be careful out there.

[Tightwad]

Proof that the VFR is fast even standing still....you have the radar fooled!

[SEBSPEED]

^^^ I was thinking the exact same thing!! :biggrin: :laugh:

[marid2apterbilt]

So what was this new technique you used anyway?

About all you can do to increase your comfort level for blind turns is to practice emergency braking in turns. You would be surprised at how hard you can brake while leaned way over.

Key is to work up to it slowly. What you are looking for is an oscillation in the bars (your arms have to be completely loose and at ease to be able to feel it), this is the point that the tire is beginning to lose traction, do not brake past this point as you will be lowsiding when you do. As you decrease your lean angle, you can add more brake force. Just remember to engage the brake gradually, if you grab it too quickly it will make the bike want to stand straight up, or almost instantly lowside if you grab a handful.

Thanks Master Jeremy... added to memory along with the demo you gave 1 of the canucks with foot position..

Also thanks to Bent I had read that before but hadnt used it yet (much)......

Yep see you next week Bent.. Need the home mae fried chicken n other goodys fix...

Bea's is great (another thanks to skuuter for enlightening me about this place)

come on back down anytime Travis, free room for you at the mountain home of wayward souls... :biggrin:

[soichiro]

Yep, you want to be as far forward as possible. You should be totally against the tank, rotating around it.

I would think it works the same as a dirt bike. The more weight you can put on the front the more traction you will get to a certain point. If you notice a pro motocrosser stick there leg straight out it is not to save the bike from falling but to weight the front end. I am talking about the leg being extended. Not just dabbing the ground.

[Trace]

Jim,

You didn't try any of that mysterious "trail braking" we were talking about in Franklin, did you? :rolleyes:

[jstanwood]

Nice ride and write-up, Jim. I bet a few of us wish we could be back there with you!

[skuuter]

Great write-up and pics Buddy.........all looks real familiar except the little "extra foray" out of Petersburg. That's the most bikes I've seen in downtown Petersburg in ages....usually seems "deserted" lately.......... :goofy: Curve at the end of the fence is very nasty...kinda' caught me off guard on the Triumph last time down...wasn't really going that fast, but found myself in the middle of a slight "using all the lane" problem before I got out the other side. Lynchburg had a lot of sport bikes and naked bikes (RARE) the next Saturday after T-Mac when Mitzie and I were there...looked good for a change........ :fing02: Just told Mitzie the other day, Tims Ford Lake is higher than I've seen in 5 years. Estill boat ramp is almost completely submerged. 2-up on the Gold Wing in Huntsville Saturday, by myself for a quick trip there on the Gold Wing yesterday, after a "food forage" early on the Triumph.

Had a family reunion to attend yesterday....no riding after Huntsville............. :dry: ...good food though........... :rolleyes: Glad you had a great trip......plan to slow down to "Skuuter Crawl" pace next Sunday.............. :fing02:

[TimC]

Great ride report, Jim! Thanks for sharing it with us. :rolleyes:

[house]

Jack Daniels warehouses on Hwy. 129 in Tenn. (not the Dragon)....whiskey and LOTS of it!!! Drool, house, drool buddy!!!!!!!

Hwy. 129 is a nice and fast (if ya wanna) run from Lynchburg. to Hwy 231, then beyond. It has some triple digit sweepers (if ya wanna) to 15 mph (sign recommended) 90 degree turns (that means 54 mph for me, :rolleyes: ).

Yep... I've ridden that rode (but it has been years - about 20.) I cannot ride that road anymore... I almost totaled my bike twice there. It's like a mystical force pulling me in as I try to navigate past those buildings! Glad you had fun, I was in town and wanted to call, but my cousin's wedding and the fact that I had no bike with me put the kabosh on any riding therapy this weekend.

[Bent]

Yep, you want to be as far forward as possible. You should be totally against the tank, rotating around it.

I would think it works the same as a dirt bike. The more weight you can put on the front the more traction you will get to a certain point. If you notice a pro motocrosser stick there leg straight out it is not to save the bike from falling but to weight the front end. I am talking about the leg being extended. Not just dabbing the ground.

That is exactly what I did!! Geez how it works so good. I was doing it anyway but when I moved over it more, night and day difference!!

Smee42, yes, you can ride with me. I don't need to be Valentino all the time...nice race he had yesterday! Much of this ride was "relaxed" pace.

Yep, that speed sign does kinda add up to what to expect in Lynchburg. :biggrin:

Travis, please please help!! That lower rear light doesn't work on my 5th gen. either!!!

Yes, Trace, I did try some trail braking but that will likely come somewhat slow without "formal" instruction. I can make it happen though!! Bet on it!

Thanks for all the kind comments from my friends!! I look forward to seeing all of you again soon!!

Jim

[Baileyrock]

Very Nice job Jim and glad you found something that increases your confidence, that's AWAYS a big plus!

Actually I found that I was too close to the tank on my track bike and wasn't able to move freely enough on the bike so I slide my butt back a little and it opened a new world to my body position and the ability to get down (upper body)on the tank. I still have work to do, but on the track it was the way to go for me.

On the street when running a rapid PACE I don't really move around that much, only when rippen (like trying to keep Jermey in sight or behind me) do I brake much or hang off. :biggrin:

No matter what I'm doing I find pushing hard into the pegs allows the bike to free up under me allowing rapid and easier direction changes.

Very good advice from Jeremy about practicing mid (blind)turn braking, I need to do more of that as most turns around this part of the country are blind. :huh: