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July 30
Well, I'm back from my first highway ride by
myself! Hilo to Waimea and back on Ernie's Yamaha Seca. I e-mailed a
friend about my adventures and he wrote back, "Seca 650? That's good commuter, but no taste, haha. What did you
get? And yes in the rain, riding need a lot of stamina even you have a rain-suit. Please take care your self."
So I replied, "Yes - 650. It belongs to my former instructor, now friend. He already
has a
Seca, no longer running, to use for parts for the new (used) one. You
are
right, I found it to be very good for commuting. I think maybe at my
level I do not need good taste, but a healthy meal, haha! Right now I
don't care if
the bike is cool or has personality. I care that it is reliable and I
can
pick it up when I drop it. Ha!"
I learned a lot of things last night - Among them: If I lie down on the
gas tank, the hot air from the engine streams over me and keeps me somewhat
warm. I still need to buy rain gear, so my leathers were very soggy when
I arrived in Waimea! Fortunately the conference location had a dormitory
room
for me to rest in and hot showers - with LAUNDRY facilities, so I dried
my clothing and heated everything before riding out! Oooooh - freshly warm
socks inside my riding boots - very luxurious!
August
5,
2001
Seca has been good commuter wheels, if a bit more damp than I might
always want.
We had the tail of a hurricane
dragging over the island through most of the conference, so I've learned
to ride through three inches of mud (eeeeeeewwww), three inches of
running water, dodge Hamakua road rocks (BOY am I glad Ernie gave
me extra offset cones practice), and use the engine for a personal space
heater. Mostly it was misting from Hilo to Honoka`a, and then pouring
from Honoka`a to Waimea. Hawi side of Kamuela Town it
would be misty again.
Thursday it was POURING from Hilo to
Hawi. By Friday the romance was starting to wear off, and I was
kind of dreading yet another day of playing Rider of the Storm. But Laupahoehoe to Honoka`a was to make angels sing and I
got mostly dried out in the warm wind. The storm had scrubbed everything
clean, each blade of grass was catching the light in shimmering dew
drops and throwing rainbows in the air. The ocean was shining such
a bright blue it almost hurt my eyes, and the sky was even brighter. How
joyous!
August
9
I now have my OWN motorcycle! He is a Honda
Nighthawk - CB450SC. Purchased him from Kaiser Honda in Kailua and drove
him home today. His name is `Io-i-ka-po, Hawk in the Night.
August
15
I'm
sooooooooooooooo happy!
I
can start from an up-hill stopsign without falling over or killing the
motor. I'm sooooooooooooooooooooo happy!
It's
the little things that count.
August
17
Wow!
It sure has been fun commuting on two wheels instead of four! But I
don't think replacing a 4WD high-luggage-space vehicle was really what
motorcycles were designed for. At Keola Beamer's conference earlier this
week I came in for some teasing showing up with the bike loaded
down with rolls of lauhala, ti leaves for lei making, baggies of
feathers, etc. Had to take the class materials in stages. Fortunately a
friend with a van took the tools, leftovers, etc. at the end of the
conference and hauled it all back to Hilo for me, so I only had to carry
a couple of bags back.
Had fun
riding the Old Red Road Roller Coaster. The Nighthawk's suspension
didn't feel like it would be good to take airborne, but `Io and I did
have fun seeing how CLOSE we could get to zero-G while still
maintaining contact between tires and asphalt!
My
log book says I'm now averaging 100 miles per day since I bought
`Io. Yesterday was out to Kapa`au to meet a client - 187 miles RT from
my hale. Fun, fun, fun going from Waimea to Kawaihae! I was a bit
concerned, however when I went through a couple of spots of strong
crosswinds. I was kind of wishing I was back on the Seca. I think
another hundred pounds down low would have helped. It's kind
of a strange sensation to be leaning so far over and not turning. Also, I'm
more ma`a to drifting sideways across water than across a street -
a bike is NOT a canoe. And,
I kept worrying that the wind would suddently STOP! Wind died down by
evening, so coming home was more comfortable.
August
24
I danced with my motorcycle! I went up to Pu`u Huluhulu
this AM to practice yesterday's lessons. Struggled all the way up -
right hand corners were coming along, but left handers were AWFUL! Tried
to stay in the right-hand tire track at a steady 50, but was all
over road as well as the speedometer. Got to Pu`u Huluhulu and
practiced tight figure-8s at varrying speeds on the dirt and
pahoehoe. I figure if I can master them there, I can do them on asphalt.
A ways to go, but only felt a need to stick my foot out once.
Coming
home, continued to (slooooooowly) improve my right hand curves, but the
lefties remained a problem - Then I got distracted by the incredible
beauty I was driving through, took a deep breath and kind of forgot I
was doing something new, difficult, and scary. WOW! What an
incredible feeling! Am I weird, or is
this is why people get addicted to their motorcycles -
All
of a sudden it was as if I could see farther down the road, even where
it disappeared. And it seemed like I just KNEW where the bike and I were
in relation to the environment. It was as if I could feel what the
road was going to do, even more than see it, and it felt as if my body
was echoing the turns of the road. There was an incredible fluidity and
lightness, but at the same time, I had more control of the bike than
ever before. For a few brief moments, it was as if all conciousness of
the distinctions between myself, the motorcycle, and the environment slipped
away, and to be anywhere on the road, all I had to do was be there. I
didn't have to think "look," or "lean," or "roll,"
or "press," or anything. Head, hands, hips, knees,
bar, weight, wheels, all were one wholistic entity delighting in
dancing with a strip of time and space in incredible beauty.
Does
that make sense? Or do I sound like I had an intense brush with
hypothermia up there? My hands are only now starting to warm up.
August
31
OK, I figured it out. If I put my jacket over the instrument
housing and use it for a pillow, I can put my feet on the luggage
rack and take a nap on the bike.
Also learned that for cross-island
hauls I can just pull over, stay sitting on `Io, cross my arms on
the bar and put my head down for 5 minutes and I'm ok for another 45 to
an hour.
But now that I have actually gone out and purchased
(OUCH!!!) saddlebags, I can travel in luxury, taking along my
sleeping bag and a ground cloth. If it's raining, I'm back up on the
bike and the drop cloth goes over BOTH of us. There are times when I
really miss the Cherokee. Trailer will be a little while - new chain,
etc. has priority.
Got
$100 for the Cherokee, best of three offers:
#1
wanted me to pay $45 for him to come get it.
#2
would come get it and not charge me.
#3
gave me $100 cash. He has a couple of others at his lot. His son
will turn the three into one functional Sout Point Surf-mobile. I guess
mine has the best tranny, one of the others has a decent motor, and the
third actually dosen't have too much rust. I was really glad I got down
to Bayfront 15 minutes before he arrived - Had to add fluid, pump up the
clutch, bleed the lines, and futz with the wires. After he agreed
to pay me, he climbed out of the car to give me my money, and the door
fell off. It was like something out of a Three Stooges movie. Hey - I
gave him three boxes of spare fuses, spare belts, and a box of clutch
and power steering fluid. That's $50 right there!
September
2
The
ride from Hilo to Kona was BEAUTIFUL - left my home about 3:00 a.m., broke above the clouds at about the 15 mile
marker. Deep blue sky and hard pointed stars behind, a milky moonlit sky
ahead. At the lava flats, high altitude clouds drew two perfect
concentric moonbows about the moon, circling her with bands of
opalescent color.
The cold, though, was biting, and I had to warm my
hands on the engine as they kept going numb - and that was WITH my
Kevlar-and-Thinsulite gauntlets! When I got lower again, I stopped and
pulled out my thermos of coffee and watched the clouds cross the moon as
I drank, warming my hands on the hot cup. I un-Velcro-ed my gauntles,
and wrapped them around the pipes, and sat with my socks up against
the housing so that I would have warm hands and when I started
again!
I came
over for the Motorcycle Rodeo, a fundraiser for Toys for Tots. Very
fun day - I had never done any such thing before. Much different than I
had anticipated or been told to expect. Very family, and I will have a
couple of new hula students join the Kona contingent of the halau.
After
we were pau cleaning up last night, the rest of the crew stayed at the
old Hilton, but I decided to go
home via Ka Lae, forging Saddle Road as I was not wanting to get
so cold again within 24 hours. I drove by friends' homes, but they looked like they were already
into their plans and I did not want to disturb them.
WOW! Went down to the point and headed out over one
of the old roads until I felt too guilty to keep using `Io for an
Enduro. Parked behind a kiawe bush and pulled out my sleeping
bag. The moon was so bright it was hard to see her features without
hurting your eyes. Shadows were hard and sharp edged, each blade of
grass and twig of kiawe defined by black outlines. `Io stood
like a pony in an old western, faithful and enduring, waiting for me in
the moonlight. I slept maybe an hour and a half, but the moon was so
bright and beaconing I could not waste such a perfect night by
sleeping.
So home we ran, taking the most interesting possible routes.
As one mechanic friend says, the Honda 450cc is a "happy"
sounding engine - when we pass cut-aways or solid banks of trees it
has a throaty chuckle, and in wide places it sings with laughter.
Had to go on reserve at the top of Mt. View and just made it into the
Kea`au Shell station. (Thank goodness for cell-phones! Worst case
scenario - I'd have had to pull over and phone my road-side assistance
plan and have them bring me a jug of gas. ) Walked in the door to my
hale and looked at the kitchen clock - 3:00 a.m. - I had left at 3:00
a.m. the morning before.
September
18
It's amazing how fast one's perspective can
change. I've been without the Cherokee for almost two months now, and been
riding a motorcycle as primary transportation for about 40 days. My friend
Rod came
over for diner and then offered to drive us down to Kosmic Cones for
dessert. I was AMAZED at how thrilled I was to be able to RIDE in a CAR!
It was such a TREAT! Wow! It's dry and warm, carries lots of stuff,
and dosen't fall over if you do something wrong! You don't even have to
put your foot out when you stop!
The other evening, after hula practice, I
asked a Japanese friend who is a Honda mechanic to listen to `Io because I was hearing a strange hissing
sound. He said, "Oh, that is kamuchen."
Kamuchen - I know it's a Japanese bike, but even still, people generally
refer to the parts by English names. I've read my Clymer cover-to-cover
over and over. I cannot figure out what it is, a "kamuchen."
Suddenly I realize, it's a "cam chain." Duhhh.
October 1
It is a full moon tonight. I continue my love
affair with moonlight riding.
Coming down the Saddle the trees were drawn in
black ink on dust-grey silk. The clouds formed a sea of undulating opal. I
dropped into the clouds, and they parted and swirled around me, almost
tangible, chill breath in my face, then misted away. Coming around a
bend, my headlight swept across a pale owl which lifted on silent wings
and paced me, left wingtip almost touching my right hand. When the
road curved left, my friend banked right, leaving me with an
afterimage of grace.
October 31
Happy Halloween!
"Like
a true nature's child, I was born, born to be wild!
Bo-o-o-o-o-orn to be
wild!"
It's not the heat that gets to you, it's
the fleas.
 Ummmm,
yes, it really is Hula Rider.
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Learning
to get comfortable with your bike