Going the Distance

I took my first long distance trip on my 2007 Ninja 250R yesterday. 177 miles at an average of 65 mpg. Here's a breakdown of the experience.

Preparation - New Grips: I knew I'd need better grips than the stock ones or this would be a very long trip. Based on recommendations from the Ninja 250 Riders Club, I ordered some Oury Road Grips. They required some modification to get them to fit over the bar ends (didn't want to bother with taking the weights off) - I had to cut a hole in the end of the left hand grip and cut the right end off of the right hand grip to keep it from binding the throttle when released. I cut the stock grips off with a utility knife (cutting up as not to scratch the throttle tube and handlebars) and initially tried soaking the new grips in dish soap and water for install. The left hand grip would still rotate a little once dry, so I decided to give hairspray a try. Hairspray seems to be the way to go! The grips slid on much easier than with the soap/water method, and the hairspray appears to be just sticky enough to help hold the grips in place once dry. The comfort of these grips is much better than the stock grips. I'm glad I made this upgrade before yesterday's trip.

Preparation - Luggage: I also needed a way to haul some of my stuff on the bike, of course. I came across some luggage on clearance, and after taking some measurements I found a tail bag I thought would hold my laptop and saddlebags that would fit without interfering with the rear turn signals and exhaust. I got the Fieldsheer Compact Saddlebags and Fieldsheer Expander Tail Bag. I had to get a smaller "sport" laptop case ($20 at Wal-mart) to get the laptop to fit in through the opening in the tail bag, but now it slides right in no problem. The saddlebags fit-up fine, too. With both tail bag and saddlebags installed I initially felt a bit crowded when sitting on the bike, but once I got settled in I was fine. The luggage stayed very secure the entire trip.

Luggage installed and ready to roll

The Ride: At first I was nervous and I had a bit of a death grip on the throttle. Anyone who rides knows that is a good way to make your hands tired very fast. I remember thinking to myself after just 11 miles: "This is going to be a long trip with lots of breaks!". A few more miles down the road I think I relaxed a bit and felt fine. I felt so good that I decided to forgo my initial plans of stopping for a break every 60 miles and decided to wait until I was past the halfway point before breaking for lunch (85+ miles). I found about 80 miles seemed to be my limit for comfort. That's about when my butt started to get sore, I was starving, and needed a bathroom break. Plus, I needed to get the bugs cleaned off my helmet visor - it was getting difficult to see clearly! After the break and lunch I felt good again. But then I ran into some pretty strong wind (even stronger when riding 65 mph!) and my death grip on the handlebars returned. I think the last 30-40 miles of the ride wore me out more than the first 140. By the time I got to my destination my butt was sore, my right hand was sore from the death grip, and my neck was sore from wind buffeting. But I had arrived safely without any problems (this part of course made my wife's day)!

Stopped for lunch - my visor was caked with bugs

End Result: The bike and I are now both safely where my wife is living (and I am living part-time). I'll put the bike in storage for the winter here. I calculated up the gas mileage for the 177 mile ride: 65 mpg. I've heard of people getting 70 mpg on Ninja 250Rs. Maybe if it hadn't been so windy and the luggage hadn't been on the back I could have gotten closer to 70 mpg? In any event, it was fun and I'm glad I did it, but I don't think I'll be taking rides of this distance on a regular basis. Based on yesterday's experience, rides of <100 miles shouldn't be a problem on the Ninjette, though.

Window Shopping

I took the motorcycle safety course last week and passed.  That means I now have a little card that I can take to the DMV to get the motorcycle endorsement added to my license and I am legal to ride on public roads.  The question of whether I will be getting a bike is currently a point of contention in our household.  It's very tempting to just go ahead and buy one before my wife gets back from her three week trip to Japan, but I figure that would be a bad idea.  So I'll wait, but there's no harm in looking.

I have yet to go to a bike shop and actually try sitting on some different bikes, but I know that the Honda Nighthawk I rode in the safety class was a little small for me.  Looking around online I find myself drawn to the looks of the standard/"naked" bikes.  And I've been told several times that if I have any self-control to go ahead and get a bike in the 500-600 cc range because I'll get tired of a 250 cc very fast.  So here's some of the bikes I'm interested in at the moment.

Suzuki GS500E

Yamaha FZ6

But I also find myself drawn to some of the older bikes I've seen on Craigslist...

1984 Yamaha Seca 550

1974 Honda CB750

What do you think?

Exception

I ordered a new power supply for my computer last weekend.  It still hadn't shown up by Wednesday, which I thought was strange (the expected delivery date was Tuesday).  When I checked the tracking status, the UPS website showed "THE APARTMENT NUMBER IS MISSING OR IS INCORRECT. UPS IS ATTEMPTING TO OBTAIN THIS INFORMATION. / A POSTCARD HAS BEEN SENT TO THE RECIPIENT REQUESTING THAT THEY CONTACT UPS." 

Easy enough to correct.  I contacted UPS and provided the apartment number.  But funny...I never did get that postcard.

The Object of My Affection

I'm tired of the calculator I have at home. Nothing annoys me more than the "click-click" noise its buttons make, and the fact that even if it "click-clicks" it doesn't mean I've pushed the button hard enough for it to have registered. I have a fancy graphing calculator, but I long ago realized that it is far more than I need...if I need to graph something it's way more easier to use a computer. I love the scientific calculator I keep at work. It's a Casio fx-260. I think it cost all of $8. I think I need to buy another to keep at home.

Report

My wife is convinced that our dentist has a difficult time getting along with his hygienists.  Every time she goes to the dentist she tells me about how well he appeared to be getting along with the hygienist who helped him that day.  Typically her report is that the dentist was less than pleased with the hygienist's performance (because he throws his latex gloves in the garbage rather aggressively or is very short when speaking with the hygienist).  However, today was different.  Today's hygienist was accurate as well as quick at her work.  My wife's proof that Dr. M was pleased?  He was happily humming as he was working.

I have to admit, I've never really noticed any indication that Dr. M was pleased or displeased with the hygienist's performance when I go for a visit.  But I'm a guy.  And an engineer.  What do I know about people skills?

How Do You Revert From Rotten?

Up until last July, I had spent the previous six years living by myself.  That of course means I did all of my own cooking, cleaning, and laundry.  When my wife first moved in I was pretty good about continuing to help with all of these things, although she said she is more than happy to handle the bulk of it since she's currently not working (plus I tend to be a bit more particular about the way I clean and fold my laundry).  I find myself slowly doing less and less.  I find I'm not nearly as particular about how the cleaning is done or how my laundry is folded when someone else does it for me. 

We were just discussing what to do tomorrow.  I suggested cleaning.  After a bit more discussion, we came to the conclusion that she already took care of all of the cleaning during the week.

Well, I guess I better enjoy it for now since she'll be back at work this coming fall! 

My Father's Son

I can remember from when I was still living with my parents how much it bothered Mom when Dad would come home from work and the first words out of his mouth would be "did we get any mail today?" while shuffling through everything on the dining room table (since that's where the mail usually got placed once it was brought in).

Now that I'm married, I find that when I get home from work my eyes immediately sweep the dining room table looking for mail.  And I have to remind myself to say hello to my wife before asking about the mail if I don't see anything there.

Suspicion

I've always been a bit suspicious that some of the airport security practices currently in place in the States are designed to make passengers feel like much is being done to protect their safety, while in reality the practices do little to protect passenger safety.  This suspicion grew stronger while in Japan.  

We flew on two domestic flights while in Japan.  The first time I don't think I even emptied my pockets.  There were restrictions against carrying plastic drink bottles, but that's about it.  Before putting my carry-on through the x-ray machine, the security official asked if I had any plastic drink bottles or dangerous items in my possession.  I responded that I did not and he directed me through the metal detector...with my shoes, belt, and jacket on.  Not even so much as a peep from the metal detector. 

I figured the lax security must be because these were domestic flights (maybe more of a focus on making sure questionable individuals don't get into the country to start with).  However, when we departed Japan to come back to the States, the experience was the same.  

Is Japan more relaxed on their airport security?  Maybe so, but I honestly find that a bit hard to believe.  Having lived in Japan I have a great respect for the country's culture and its people.  They may do things differently than we do in the States but often with similar, or better, results (quickly ask yourself what brand of car you drive, TV you watch, stereo you listen, etc.).  I have a feeling that my safety is being protected just as well at airports in Japan as in the States, but through other means.

I don't want to scare anybody, but a few weeks ago I read the article here.  It's about a reporter who has managed to get through airport security using fake boarding passes as well as carrying various restricted items (pocketknife, box cutter, 24 oz. of beer, and the list goes on).  He goes on to quote "security guru" Bruce Schneier: "Counter terrorism in the airport is a show designed to make people feel better.  Only two things have made flying safer: the reinforcement of cockpit doors, and the fact that passengers know now to resist hijackers."

I won't claim to be an expert on the matter, but found Goldberg's article and Schneier's opinion very interesting.  Is airport security truly protecting us against the next terrorist attack or is Schneier correct in saying "the whole system is designed to catch stupid terrorists" and we're potentially letting the smart ones through? 

Life's Good

I found our two week trip to Japan very refreshing. Of the times I've been to Japan, I have to say I definitely had the most fun this time around. Maybe it had to do with getting away from work for a prolonged period of time, but the trip reminded me that life truly is good. I had started to forget that after 6+ months of 50-60 hour weeks at work.

I thought I was mature when I got married, but over the last year and a half I've learned a lot from my wife (and her family) and discovered that in some ways I'm not as mature as I thought I was. I'm learning not to sweat the small stuff so much. And I'm learning that the very nature of "work" in today's world means that there will always be more to do than you possibly can get done. One of my goals this year is for a standard work week to be 40-45 hours, with maybe a 50 hour week here and there as needed. My personal life and health are far more important than killing myself to keep the bosses happy. As I heard one of my co-workers say once, my employer will not be at my funeral.

So, I've been trying to remind myself that life is good. Given the current economic situation I'm grateful to have a good paying job, and as far as I can tell, job security. When things go to crap at work or I'm feeling overwhelmed, I recite my mantras: "I love my job" and "Life is good". And I'm making more of an effort to leave the stress and worries of work at work.

But ask me midway through tomorrow and you might get a different response....

Deep breath..."I love my job"..."Life is good"...

Hayai!

During our travels in Japan we rode the "bullet train" (shinkansen) a few times.  One of the shinkansen we rode was "Hayate" to get us to Tokyo on our journey home.  According to Wikipedia, Hayate has a top speed of 275 km/h...that's 172 mph!

While standing on the platform one day while waiting for our train, there were several other shinkansen that passed through the station without stopping.  I doubt they're going the full 172 mph when they go through a station, but they're moving along pretty well.  It's enough to give you a rush (and enough for my wife to tell me to step further back on the platform, despite the boyish grin on my face).  A video doesn't quite do it justice, but check out this video to get a feel for it: Video of Hayate Passing Through Fukushima Station.

(By the way, hayai! = fast!)

There's a Tear in My Sake

Every New Year's Eve in Japan they have the "Kouhaku Uta Gassen" (Red/White Song Battle).  Musicians of Japan who were popular that year are split into two teams (red team = female artists, white team = male artists) and perform their songs.  At the end of the night a winning team is chosen based on votes from the studio audience as well as text messages from those watching by tv.  While watching "Kouhaku" this past New Year's Eve I realized that the Enka singers tend to be much more talented than the J-pop singers.

Enka is a Japanese form of music.  It's often said to be similar to American country music.  However, the only similarity is really lyrical themes.  I'd say that enka is probably closer to lounge singing in terms of musical style.

New Year's Eve we also watched part of an enka flashback show.  I was very impressed by the voice of one singer in particular: Misora Hibari.  I bought a two CD set of her best hits before we came home.  You can hear one of her songs here.

Incidentally, a black American has recently become a very popular enka musician in Japan.  He goes by "Jero".  He sang on "Kouhaku" this past New Year's Eve.  You can hear the song he sang on "Kouhaku" here.

 

Bicycle

In my previous post I mentioned that I was nervous about speaking Japanese during my trip to Japan.  I found that it came back fairly easily.  This just reaffirmed what I already knew - the best way to study/learn a language is to travel to the country where that language is spoken and immerse yourself in it.

I also found it interesting that despite the fact that I haven't done any serious Japanese language study in over three years that my listening comprehension has improved significantly.  I could better understand tv shows and even the scratchy announcements by the conductor over train PA systems than when I was last in Japan three years ago.  A few people even mentioned that they thought my Japanese is better than it was three years ago.

I suppose some of the credit needs to go to my wife since her influence allows me more exposure to Japanese than I would have otherwise.