My Bike and I

I earned a science badge for my dedication...plz read...lol

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:43:40 GMT

LOL...
So, my good friend from grad school who works in ecological modeling sent me a link so I could receive my "broken heart for science" badge. It's earned when, "the recipient’s passion for science has led to their significant other leaving."

Here tis:

It's over...

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:00:17 GMT

It's official...this time of the year has been converted into the month of sucky events. My dad died an awful death a couple of years ago in December. And, now I will be signing my divorce papers in December. And I will likely be packing up my stuff, moving out, leaving my home, my dogs, my motorcycle behind... As my current life was planned around two people building a life together...i have things that aren't really mine...or can't afford to have any longer...or cannot take care of by myself...and memories that apparently were false...

It's alright, it's over. You can leave. Turn the blade.

Soundtrack as i walk a new path

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:52:11 GMT

I've been plugged in, literally, just going to work, coming home, and working on my various boxen (computers), droid phone, etc. I'm starting a web site to journal all my various projects. That in and of itself is a project... Time is moving somewhat slowly as I wait for the soon to be ex to move out. something both strange and beautiful...

Of course I need music to accompany this life event. A good friend suggested Pandora... The beauty of pandora (http://www.pandora.com/) is that it learns from your music preferences and suggests new bands. Most excellent! While not every suggestion works..of course...a number do. My favorite new band of the moment is Woven (http://www.wovenmusic.com/wovenmusic.html) a blend of hmmmm ambient, techno, rock, and a touch of gothic. Their music is a much appreciated soundtrack as I process and walk a new path.

if 1 + 1 != 2; then divorce fi

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:56:30 GMT

Ah yes.... What happens when you are too geeky for your spouse. When you and your spouses puzzle pieces just do not fit no matter how hard you try... When you are told that you work too much, that you'd rather spend your time playing with computers...When you are just too different... It's called divorce. It's what my soon to be ex-husband told me Friday night when he returned from his 3 week motorcycle trip where he re-discovered himself. Now, to be fair...I've known that we were very different people in some ways and that it was a struggle to make "us" work. Both of us had to change to make the other happy. This resulted in me not spending time hacking away at my hardware and software, not being intellectually stimulated (except via work...which apparently I spend too much time doing...ahhhh science you fn bitch), and floundering around trying to find activities that I thought were pleasing to my soon to be ex-husband. Additionally, I had been pondering severing our ties anyway (I too was in a state of contemplation while he was away). Wow... so, while the outcome...me being free to be true to myself is awesome....being a single woman again is intimidating (where is *my* mate?) and being in a large shell of a home decorated with the remnants of a previous marriage is uncomfortable. I guess it's a good thing I started attending hacker meetings and re-establishing old network connections. These are my people...unique...sucked into technology...refusing to be owned by technology (wanting to be the owner as it were)...quirky... I love geeks. I love being a geek. So, I guess it's time to actually find a mate from my own tribe. At least I won't have to pretend to be somebody else anymore.

Another birthday & thank you...OpenSSH

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:52:25 GMT

I would like to take a moment to thank the developers of OpenSSH...and congratulate them on developing an encryption tool that is still in use today.

http://it.slashdot.org/story/09/10/02/0225217/OpenSSH-Going-Strong-After-10-Years-With-Release-of-v53?art_pos=7

What would I do without you, OpenSSH???

Happy Birthday CPJ!!!

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:38:41 GMT

Hey CPJ... I hope your day goes well and you find some kernel of enjoyment in your B-day!

getting back to my root...w00t!

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:15:26 GMT

Well, I've returned to my techie roots so to speak. I'm a total geek, proud of it, and wouldn't want to be anything else. But, with my current job and the hours required...i let this side slide (the tech geek). I think it's been very bad for my psyche. ah well...onward and upward... I think I got snapped back to myself when I thought...hmmm...I need a smartphone. That just triggered an avalanche. Although I haven't purchased one yet (G1 -android, it's on my list this month), I did buy a new mac. If you don't know mac runs the darwin kernel. Of course during set-up all of my linux cells reactivated and the next thing I knew my linux books were pulled out of my cabinet. Hours are being spent perusing how-to-documents. I'm happy in this state. But, I'm also bummed that I let my skillz ;) slide for so long. The learning curve definitely isn't as steep, and I'm not a total noob...but I sure do feel like one... ugh...

Projects:

1) escape annoying monitoring of internet traffic at work...I value my privacy. I hate it that my activities are being logged.

2) hack my old xbox and turn it into a linux box... sounds like fun!

3) re-establish my network of linux boxes at home. Righ now, I have a network of macs. I've always enjoyed building linux boxes, connecting them, exploring them.

4) g1 phone...needs unlocked and rooted for ultimate fun...

5) load linux for powerpcs on my G4 powerbook (mac)

6) maybe learn R for my job instead of relying on closed $$ software

My bike...I've been riding about 3 days/week. Primarily, I've been riding my bike to work/store.

Science! Tweets = success AND EcoGeek fest

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:39:11 GMT

It looks like my students responded positively to the tweets. The average exam score was higher than usual for both classes. So, I'll keep sending them. :)

Tomorrow I'm leaving for a biological station up north. The national organization for my field is sponsoring a field trip for selected students. They asked me to be one of the mentors for the students. I said yes. So, over the next 3.5 days I will be modeling eco geekdom for the eco geeklets.

My brother just informed me that I should call them: Geekos... :)

weird dream in the early am...got root?

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:50:04 GMT

I stayed up last night. This is a funny statement b/c I've been forcibly turned into a pseudo morning person by my job. I hail from a family of very late night people. Due to my job, instead of staying up until 2:00 am, I now stay up to 10:00 pm. yeah...I know... Last night I stayed up until...wait...11:00+! ha! I was online reading about all things tech...like converting my old PowerPc G4 laptop into a linux laptop (ubuntu), how different cell phone technologies work, etc. So, the brain was swimming in tech topics.

Flash forward to the early am. I dreamed I had root access on my box doing whatever. But, I wasn't the only one with root access. LOL My dog also had root access and I was helping her learn (or something like that). In fact, I distinctly remember being slightly aware of the end of the dream because I was doing something with her paw (she had curled up tight next to me). LOL too funny...

core dump

Got Root?

rolling around in tech

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:51:49 GMT

I'm on my way to pick up a new box (computer) for the home base. It has to be one that the husband unit can operate. He is completely computer illiterate, so I need something that is a compromise between my wanting nothing but Linux boxes in my house and Winblows. I'm buying yet another apple computer (my first apple I bought back in 03). It's not open source, but at least it's running Darwin under the hood. This at least will let me have my way with it (kind of). I'm going to take my old PowerBook G4 and use it as a netbook. But, I think I'm going to try and dual boot Ubuntu (Linux flavor). Anyway, the new apple box will serve as base station for the other floating books in the house. sighh...

Off to geekland...the one store I actually act like I a kid in...the wonderland of geekdom... Fry's Electronics...

the tech generation

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:31:16 GMT

I should be writing, and I will, after this post. :) CPJ brought up a point about technology use and generational differences in a reply to my post about smartphones that was very apropos. At the moment I'm reading, "Grown Up Digital: How the net generation is changing your world" by Don Tapscott. You can read about it, and the reviews, here: http://www.amazon.com/Grown-Up-Digital-Generation-Changing/dp/0071508635

My brother and I are lucky in that we are an odd mix of Gen X and the Net Gen. We are both old enough to be included in Gen X, but we grew up in a household saturated with tech and so grew up using computers and the net before the vast majority of people even knew such a thing like the net existed. This fortunate situation arose because my Dad worked in military communications so we always had communications and other tech around the house -always. The only thing that differs between our experiences and the Net Gen is that we did not have access to the ubiquitous social communication apps that are commonly used by the Net Gen (& now us and others). Additionally, having grown up in the "early" days of computing and network communications we highly valued the ability to solve our own problems. Anyone reading this who was part of this mixed gen too will also remember comments like "RTFM" -read the fucking manual- you moron. Yes, we emailed each other, used IRC, etc. but we were not saturated by social networking. The speed of communications and cheap bandwidth coupled with cheap cell phones/smartphones has allowed the emergence of the ubiquitous social network. I don't feel "compelled" to twitter or check my social networking sites 24/7, like my younger peers. Hence, my lag between posts and replies to comments/posts. BUT, someone like my husband who was definitely a gen-xer and did not grow up surrounded by tech, feels no need whatsoever to use tech like I do. In fact, he really thinks my use is excessive and would rather me watch tv with him even though I'm in the same room with him. This attitude is definitely gen-x as pure gen-xers grew up watching tv 24/7. While for me, I get bored quickly and I want to DO something. Usually, I want to use my computer and "surf" the net, check my blog, social network sites, read the news, view utube posts, etc (if I'm not on my bike). Failing that...I'll read.

Anyway, while part of me finds the constant checking of social websites and tweet txts annoying, I'm also fascinated by this immersion and reliance on software to enable communications and relationships. But, I think I'm way too independent to become completely immersed in this sticky social web. I value my privacy. I don't want my friends, family, and strangers to know what I'm doing 24/7. My blog is enough (& it's anonymous..so not everyone who knows me reads it). I text when I want to tap my friends. I use the social network sites to let what we used to call "associate" friends, along with my friends, know what I'm up to...but only to a point. I also use them to find out what's going on tonight or this weekend. To me, the only value I see in twitter is to inform others about something I guess I see as valuable like some events but not menial events like, "I'm going to the store, I'm taking a shower, so and so got screwed last night..." etc. But, even that is subjective because what information I see as worthless may actually be worthwhile to someone else. meh...

What's also kewl... is that apparently, finally, for the Net Gen computing/networking is so ubiquitous that it's no longer "technology" it's just there...like your tv. They don't have to talk about technology, like we want too... I guess... But, then again, we are quite aware that technology fails, so we can't become too reliant upon it. We also watched computing/networking evolve from barely there and super geeky to something that is ubiquitous, that if you are not a participant then you have been (or are being) left behind. For me, I still love to talk about it, read about it, want to control it...

Anyway, this is a fascinating topic to me since our world is changing in such a revolutionary way (but, really, it always does). What do you think? What gen are you? Are you mixed gen?

OK, now I'm going be productive and work on my manuscript.

Need opinion about smartphones

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:12:48 GMT

Hey you guyz...

I'm going to purchase a smartphone this month. finally... I hate my stupid motorola nextel. It's only good as a phone, 2-way radio, and some txting. Plus, I've been craving a smartphone since they came out, but I wanted to wait until many of the bugs were worked out and they had apps for them. Hence...now... Of course I lust mightily for the beautiful iphone and all of the fun apps that are available. But, I asked a bunch of people at work and 1/2 of them stated that I should get one of the new blackberrys. Then, my good computer/linux buddy (we used to attend 2600 meetings back in AZ) said, "what? you need an android phone." Android is a linux based operating system for smartphones. Here's some info: http://www.androidauthority.com/
And, on the purportedly super awesome hero android sp: http://news.softpedia.com/news/HTC-Hero-Review-120958.shtml

Anyway, I'm looking for functionality, applications, and design. I will use it as a phone, txt device, web browser, email, file opener, mp3 player, camera, vid cam, gps unit...etc. Basically, I want star trek now.

What say you out there???

Some fun bike stuff.. happy husband lived after running off the highway

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:25:20 GMT

let's see...instead of jumping into how my husband almost bit the big one after running off the highway into the trees at 50 mph... I'll start with a nice little bit about this kewl gal I met the other day. Shirley... At the grocery store I parked next to this bike that was set up for a road trip. I passed this older gal on the way to her bike. When I finished shopping for a couple of things that would fit into my back pack I headed out to my bike where I found her still packing up her bike. I asked her where she hailed from, to which she replied, "San Diego." Now, that's on the other side of the US from GA. She was on a road trip to visit with her son. Super kewl... So we hung out for a little over an hour. Some dude on an older Yamaha rode by and we waved...so he stopped. Now there were three of us hanging out in the parking lot talking about bikes and riding. Really, Shirley deserved her props... I told her that I didn't have it in me to go on that long of a road trip. really... Anyway, we all headed out of the parking lot and down the road. Maybe I'll run into her again.

OK, my man...
This morning Rob headed out to the northern part of our state to visit a potential new client. On the way, the skies opened and rained heavily on him. Since he was on his bike, and the shower was unexpected, he took the nearest exit. While on an isolated on-ramp (in the rain), he happened upon a 90 degree bend on the ramp. There were no warning signs. As he tried to slow down his bike, the tires skidded, and he and his bike went off the on-ramp at 50 mph into the trees. He kept his bike up after he hit the tall grass, barely missed the trunk of a fallen tree, a large branch of said fallen tree scraped the entire side of his bike (he still kept the bike up), and he rode straight at the tall fence next to the ramp but stopped only a few inches from it. He said that as soon as he felt his tires skid that he thought he was going down in a bad wreck. I can't believe he didn't drop his bike. His bike has quite a scratch on it, and plants and pine cones in various places. Wow... I'm so very happy I didn't get a bad call.. Well, I wouldn't have received a call, because the on-ramp that was constructed for the Ford plant sees little traffic because the plant is closed. Even if he would have been in a wreck...he wouldn't have had any help for I don't know how long...

And, yes, he came home changed out of his wet clothes, jumped on his bike and headed north to complete his trip.

sigh...

Bear witness to Katrina

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 02:34:40 GMT

I don't know if you remember the bodies being dragged down the street, or sitting in wheelchairs, or the dehydrated babies that died while a population of poor New Orleanians waited for rescue. Sickening. Shameful. Disgraceful. I still cannot believe that happened. How could we, who lived in the land of the free, who sat at the top of world (at the time), have allowed this sickening act of classism to happen? Black. White. Yellow. all left to die... to die in filth... Do you remember this? The people who drowned in their attics trying to live through the floods. How could this have happened?

To hear that the federal government "just learned of this." BULLSHIT. To hear that the mayor didn't do anything. BULLSHIT. That we didn't storm New Orleans to drag people out. To do what we SAID we would do if we were actually decent people???? ALL OF US? BULLSHIT. I feel a deep shame, a deep sorrow. We haven't changed. We aren't anywhere near god, goddess, utopia, humanitarians...

While this was unfolding, my husband asked if we could load up our trucks and head to New Orleans from GA. I said, no. Because I believed the National Guard would be there...helping people... like what they're supposed to do...when the people who were supposed to have given the orders gave them. I thought we would be a burden to the people who were supposed to be helping extract people. After having witnessed how Katrina unfolded, I see that I was wrong. We should have at least tried. Then, we would have at least tried to be real humans, to have risen to the occasion.

We all witnessed a disaster. But, the disaster wasn't Katrina. The disaster was us.

fun bike stuff first...scary test stuff second

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:12:56 GMT

ok, I just got home from work. I rode my bike to work today. :) I loved it. always do...
But, on my way home from work (& you guys know what type of work I do) I came upon a young buff dude on a small scooter. As I approached him he turned his head and saw me. He then roached his little engine to try and stay ahead of me. SO FN FUNNY!!! Instead of trying to pass him I just stayed behind and watched his little balls retract. SO FN FUNNY!!! In fact, I can't tell you how amused I was watching him try and avoid me at all costs. And, really, he tried soooo hard on his little scooter and I just kicked back giggling on the inside. hee hee heee

The test...
Well, it wasn't "enjoyable" but then again I didn't think it would be... It lasted about 3 hours. I went up to the hospital (where they administered the test) exhausted from lack of sleep and asthma symptoms (from not taking my meds for 48 hours). The administrator of the test (heretofore referred to as she) thought I wouldn't last long (me too), but I did. Here's how it worked: inhale some stuff to aggravate your lungs in increasing concentrations, then breathe normally into an apparatus attached to a computer, then inhale, exhale, and inhale as hard as you can for as long as you can. First round, injecting an inhaler full of salty stuff and then breathing it in to see if I react to particle size (yep). Next round, methacholine 2 minute inhalations. Methacholine causes your lungs to contract. The severity of the lung "contractions" (shutting down of the lungs) depends on the concentration of the methacholine (which is increased in increments). sigh...not fun... I told her that I felt like I was on drugs as I couldn't get enough oxygen to the brain. By the end of the test, I was breathing the best that I could, which wasn't much (think shallow panting, but not being able to get enough oxygen because the lungs are contracted). She just held me up to the apparatus as I really was completely exhausted and light headed. I tried to relax and not panic as that would have made the whole scenario much worse (which she said happens, of course). After we were finished, I had a breathing treatment to reverse the reaction. I'll find out the results next Tuesday.

I love my bike. :)

night time asthma attacks...can't sleep at all...test tomorrow

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:14:34 GMT

ugh... So, I just got off the phone with the on-call pulmonologist (it's almost midnight). I stopped taking my asthma meds yesterday morning for my breathing challenge test tomorrow (see last post). I've been alright during the day, but at night I can't breathe at all. Last night I woke up probably 4-5 times having what I was just told were breathing attacks (asthma attack). I thought that maybe I had sleep apnea (don't know why I thought that), but my meds shouldn't have anything to do with that...so it makes sense that they are night time asthma attacks. Tonight...different story... I can't sleep at all because I keep having asthma attacks. I've never had so many in one stretch of time. It's fucking terrifying. In fact, during my last one (before I woke up) I dreamt that someone jumped in my convertible (which I don't have) and shot me in the chest. I always have vivid dreams that get right to the point. Anyway... I said fuck it and used my emergency inhaler and then called the on-call doc. I asked him, "what should I do? just stay awake all night?" I was told to do whatever it takes to not use my meds anymore as I could have a false negative on my test tomorrow (I just made it in the the allowable window of time for my emergency inhaler). And, let me tell you... waking up gasping for air to breathe repeatedly sucks ass. I'd rather stay up all night having much milder asthma symptoms than lay down to try and sleep. It's like I'm waiting for someone to attack me while I'm sleeping over and over and over again. not fun... been there done that...

Anyway... you might wonder why asthma symptoms are worse at night. Well, apparently... it's a lot worse cuz your body slows down your breathing anyway and in asthmatics your body tells you to really slow down your breathing. Then, some chemicals aren't sent out to keep the breathing pathways open...hence more shutting down and wham... you stop breathing. fun! I've had night time asthma attacks so bad that I've shot straight up in my bed and sucked in air as if I had been held down under water until I was about to die and then released at the last second. I guess that's kind of what's happening but the body then goes..."oh fuck...you'd better wake up and breathe."

This super fuckn sucks. Asthma sucks ass. This test better really show what's going on in my lungs and better not show a false negative or I'm going to be super pissed (like it matters).

damn...I'm so tired... maybe I'll try and sleep again...I did use my emergency inhaler after all...it helps..usually (sometimes not though)...

asthma and riding

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:23:10 GMT

Soo... I went to a pulmonologist today. Finally, after 1 year of suffering from retarded asthma and at least 4 bouts of bronchitis, my primary doctor sent me to a lung doc. I've been seeing an "asthma/allergist" doc, but I learned today that I was on the "typical" asthma regime and why hadn't I had these tests, and I should be taking these other meds. huh??? So, at least for now...I'm taking the max dose of advair every 12 hours, some other asthma inhaler 3-4 times per day, my rescue inhaler in case I'm in danger of cacking (that's death to you and I), singulair at night, veramyst, and nasasomething or other. Oh yeah, throw in a benedryl at night. You get the pic...I'm medicated up. poor lungs... I couldn't even get through my usual pulmonary function test with out hacking my lungs out forever. meh... My favorite though?? I'm going to stop taking everything this weekend and then go in for a 3-4 hour lung "stress" test. yeah... So, asthma without asthma meds... AND, they're going to spray some shit into my lungs to irritate them to get me to start having asthma symptoms and maybe even an attack. All this to actually measure the response of my lungs to irritants. tits! I can't wait! I'm so sure I'll blog about this test next week. sweet!

ANYWAY... My riding has been curtailed. I'm still riding probably 2-3 times per week, which is not my usual 6-7 days/week. It could be that my asthma is not so good right now so I don't have the energy nor the will for longer rides. It could be that my ass almost got smeared off this planet not too long ago. I dunno... But, I'm loving my rides and it's kind of nice not having such a bad fever over my bike. I can relax...which is nice too. ehhh... maybe it's just a pendulum...

Finally...knees in the breeze...briefly anyways

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:23:13 GMT

So, I finally made it out on my bike today. I finished most of the article I'm writing (well the good first draft) and left my office early. I decided that I *had* to get on my bike when I got home. I needed to just jump on it and ride down my driveway and out onto the road. I had a few items to pick up from the drug store and grocery store so I thought it would be a nice quick ride (although hot!). It was good... With all of my recent "experiences" with close calls or others getting mowed down I was...not nervous...just more respectful of the ride. All those cars on the road...so many people who just don't give a shit about anything but themselves (I *have* to take this call. I *have* to send this text message. I *have* to get home right now and screw everyone else. etc.). I've always respected the ride...but I guess having a close call and being near others that didn't make it (not like I knew them or anything) makes me... I think...appreciative. It's hard to explain.

My husband's attitude towards riding now (after 18 years) is to only go when he *really* wants to ride. That way if he doesn't make it home...at least he went down doing something he really loved and enjoyed. After almost 10,000 miles in my first year riding...I think I know what he means. Before I needed to ride all of the time because I wanted to get those skills down to muscle memory. Now that my skills are pretty solid (of course more experience and time in the saddle is always good) and with all these recent encounters I don't feel the need to ride 7 days/week. I mean I was riding just about every single day for awhile (not including all of my sick days). So, at least for now... I'm going to ride when I really feel like I need to ride or want to ride. hmmm... Before I felt that way every day. I think it has to do with the realization that you don't have control over every aspect of your ride. Like CPJ has stated multiple times...luck does have something to do with it. Like, luckily I didn't ride my bike out to that college at the time those bikes were mowed down yesterday (cuz I thought about it). Those motorcyclists couldn't have been prepared for some psycho driver that really didn't care if they killed people or not. The driver *obviously* thought that what they needed to do was more important than others right to live. THAT's what freaks me out. I have no control over those people...just me and my riding (which is why I practice and use my rider radar). I love my bike, I just hate all of those drivers.

Ehhh... Is anyone out there picking up what I'm laying down?

bad terrible bike wreck...not me...mental drain

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 20:08:38 GMT

So, I'm really having the "motorcycles will kill you" vibe thrown at me lately. Someone I met was killed later on that night by a drunk driver. I went to their viewing (open casket...not fun) and then myself was almost killed on the way to their funeral ride by someone who turned in front of me at the very last second.

TODAY: I was lucky enough to be far enough behind the accident NOT to see it but, but close enough that I was stuck in traffic for 2.5 hours on a 1.5 mile stretch of road as the police shut down the interstate in front of the accident and behind it (we were sandwiched right after it occurred). Two poor bikers were smeared all over the interstate. There's a big Afro-Am biker club rally down here (the South) and a bunch of people are riding through the worst traffic with the rudest drivers. When I finally made it to the only exit ramp (they were moving all interstate traffic off of one exit) I saw a large vehicle tow truck. In my mind I saw a trucker merging over two bikers. Traffic in and around the city is off the charts bad and people will just mow you over (and semis are everywhere). I even had a truck slam on it's brakes and move into reverse to try and hit me one time...on the interstate...why?...I honked at them cuz they pulled right over into my lane and I had to slam on my brakes to keep from getting hit...that bad...

Anyway, I didn't get mad at having to sit for so long in traffic. I could only think of the poor dudes smeared on the road. I hope it was instant. I hope they weren't tangled up in a semi. I mean we sat on that stretch of road for 2.5 hours and they wouldn't let anyone near the accident scene.

Here's what supposedly happened (I'm getting different stories from different news sources):

A tragic five-vehicle accident on Westbound I-285 in Georgia shut the highway down for two hours today leaving one motorcyclist dead, reported the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

This accident included an SUV, an 18-wheeler and three motorcycles.

Because of this accident, I-285 westbound west of Flat Shoals Road and I-285 southbound at I-20 were closed. The ramps reopened around 1:30 p.m.

Five people on the three motorcycles were injured and taken into area hospitals. One is in serious condition and four in moderate condition.

LATEST NEWS: The suv "merged" onto the interstate without slowing down at all and mowed down people. That's what I mean about the rude dangerous drivers around here.

:( :( :( :( I feel mentally and emotionally drained.

still sick

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:30:48 GMT

nothing new to report... cuz I'm still sick with bronchitis. I still have gunk in my lungs, so the doc put me on a more potent steroid regime and antibiotics. blech! Apparently, I have this to look forward to anytime I catch anything. it super sux... I haven't ridden my bike in 15 days. I woke up missing my bike this morning, so I might go on a short ride later just to get some wind in the kisser.

Update: I did not go on that ride... :.(

Bronchitis & boob ride

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:43:57 GMT

I hate bronchitis. Now with my asthma and as a precursor to my asthma I'm coming down with bronchitis 3-4 times per year. It's becoming clock work. I get exposed to something like a cold, I get the cold, then in a couple of days...bronchitis. The bronchitis kicks my ass. It's so draining. All of this gunk in my lungs and my body trying to expel it. blech! And, talk about no sleep... I lay down and it's nothing but hacking. I'm on the usual course of meds: steroid shot, oral steroids, antibiotics, and cough medicine w/ codeine to help me sleep without coughing. Apparently, those with asthma are very susceptible to getting sick. I'm living proof. Anway, it turns into a 2 freakn week ordeal while my body battles the bronchitis and fatigue. I missed the boob poker run today! For the second year in a row! I wanted to show up to ride with my boobs emphasized somehow... I mean it is a run for the boobs. (violins anyone?)

At least I'm reading a lot and working on statistics issues while working on research conundrums. But, it gets boring. Those of you who know me know that I'm such an active person that *needs* physical action of some kind. My brain demands balance!

Figured it out: hard braking at higher speeds

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:33:53 GMT

So, I headed off to an industrial area to practice hard braking at speed today. This is my usual spot as there's a long pretty clean seldom traveled street to ride. I spent maybe 45 minutes doing nothing but getting up to speed and braking. We all talk about not skidding during braking, but here's the catch. Yes, you can brake at higher speeds without skidding rear tires. In fact, the ONLY time my rear tire skidded today occurred when I was riding at 60 mph and tried to stop in a very short distance (less than the 120 feet indicated distance for traveling at 60 mph). So, yeah, my rear tire skidded a bit to the side, but I stopped in a very short distance. IRL sometimes you don't get the indicated distance to stop. When you don't you're not going to shrug your shoulders and NOT try and stop in the shorter distance. Of course you are... When that happens you brake harder and will probably skid. Hopefully, it's a controlled skid that you ride out. I'm talking about situations where you can't escape and either you try and stop or hit the object. If you think you can stop your bike in a shorter distance than indicated by the speed you're traveling without skidding...well then you're probably "breaking the laws of physics."

x-posted to Motorcycles

Really almost was super woman today...as in over car hood

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:44:24 GMT

Wow, what a week. First there's the person who drove down the middle of the road around a blind curve. THEN... this morning on my way to a funeral ride for a fallen vp of a local mc who was killed by a red-light runner late at night, a car at the very very last second decided to make a left in front of me. I mean... I was so shocked that someone would do that that late...meaning they really didn't see me at all... I don't know how someone doesn't see someone or hear them for that matter. Anyway, I always look at potential killers as I'm riding. I saw the first car pull out and a line of cars waiting to follow suit or for the person to make the left so they could continue on. I thought..."hmmmm... I hope the second car doesn't just pull out..." Well, as soon as I saw ...I don't know the wheel turn or the hood dive... I hit my brakes. I knew if they pulled all the way out that I would not have time to stop, but at least I would slow the crash speed down. At the same time I hit my brakes they saw me and slammed on their brakes. I lightened up on my brakes and wouldn't you know it my rear tire starts to fish tail. Or, it fish tailed during the braking maneuver. first to the left and then to the right... As this was going on I actually thought, "thank goodness my front tire is stable...and wow, keep my foot on the rear brake so I don't high side off my bike. I rode out the skid...which was the most severe I've ever experienced...I mean we're not talking about a little fish tail...but a pretty good one... one where you think if the bike doesn't stabilize you're going down. I then pulled over to a gas station to top off my tank and thought, "holy shit, I really almost got creamed" and "I really need to figure out what happened and if there's anything I could have done to prevent that bad of a skid."

I've been thinking about it... I think the factors contributing to the fish tail were:
a) last second pull out... I would never have stopped in time even executing the most perfect fast braking maneuver.

b) braking execution: I practice fast braking, so I know I didn't grab my front brake but squeezed with a progressively harder squeeze (my front wheel didn't dive attesting to this). I also did not hammer down on my rear brake so as to give most of the braking power to my much more powerful front brake. This is why I was surprised that my rear tire even skidded.

I think what happened was... because the driver slammed on their brakes (thank all the gods and goddesses and big bangs and their own brain for finally kicking in) I abandoned my hard braking which means I let up on my brakes SOME. BUT, I must have already had some good traction on my rear tire (or it had just started to do a straight skid -which is not a problem to ride out), and when I let up on the brake -but not completely- the rear end started to fish tail. For a second it wasn't really free nor did it have good traction. During the fish tail I made sure I didn't release the brake completely -which again would greatly increase the odds of a high side (the bike throwing me as the rear tire regains traction). OR, maybe I released it enough to cause the rear tire to fish tail.

OR, the rear tire was going to fish tail anyway, I maintained control, so no biggie. After all, it was a really fast braking maneuver at around 50 mph.

What do you guys think?

On a side note, our hook up for the ride split earlier than they said leaving us riding around trying to find them...leaving us late. So, we did not head up to ride as we did not want to be late. We rode about 1 hour north to meet a new gal who seems to be super kewl and ALL into it. All in all I rode all day long...

On a related note, the hubby almost did a superman today when a light changed from yellow to red quickly in the busy city with someone trying to make a turn on the changing light. He hit his brakes hard, slid almost to a stop (the driver stopped) and continued on. This all on the shittest road surface you can imagine (for asphalt)...completely wavy on all sides...

whew... motorcycles are fun!!! really they are!

Almost got creamed today

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:15:25 GMT

So, I went out to de-stress and almost got creamed today by an idiot. Luckily, I have idiot radar... I was riding around a super tight blind curve and a van riding almost in the middle of the road came right at me. I've been in the habit lately of riding in the right 1/3 of the lane (or in the middle) around curves. This saved my ass. As we went right by each other. I yelled at them all like, "what the f*ck?" and raised my arm at them to emphasis the "what the hell are you doing?" line of thought. Usually, I ride to the outside of the curve to get a better view of the road for a bit before I head across the lane. you know, the delayed apex approach... But, I've modified that in order to help decrease my chance of getting creamed by idiots who for some reason steal the other lane.

whew...

First twisties ride

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:03:28 GMT

Hi y'all,

The ride to Helen was great. My friend Joni and I met up with a new gal Tasha who brought along two other gals. So, we were five on this trip. Wow, we got a lot of stares, hoots, thumbs up, etc. Anyway, this was my first ride up in the mountains on the twisties. What fun! We rode in the same range as The Dragon so some of the roads were nothing but tight ass turns. Most of the roads were either sweeping curves or fairly curvy. But, we also rode a few roads that were so tight that driving 35-40 mph was pushing it. Let's see... I encountered tight mountain curves, tight hairpin turns, down hill hairpin turns, decreasing radius turns AND off-cambered roads (you know high in the middle). I definitely dragged something during a curve that wrapped around a hill. So, my bike's cherry got popped. ahhhh... What a special moment! I slowed down a little after that. I kept my rpms higher so I could easily back off and used a little front and back brake. I rode towards the back and let the gals who had more mountain experience ride up front. I was surprised that I wasn't that far back from the pack. hmmm... On one road there were a lot of tar snakes and my back tire felt a little unstable for a bit while I was leaned over. It was a really intense and fun experience. I was sooo tired when I got home (I was on the road for 12 hours with some stops here and there). An interesting note is that my back was *really* sore towards the end of the day. I took my usual 1/2 Vicodin, 1 glass of wine, but also 1/2 muscle relaxer. I think I must have unconsciously shifted my weight a lot during the ride as my arms weren't tired (my bike weighs 565 pds. so I really feel the weight when I'm only pushing with my arms), hence my back ache.

Anyway, I love riding the twisties...I hated that I didn't have "time" to look for deer as my riding required 120% of my attention. Here are a couple of pix from the ride...

Some of our bikes at a stop at a local preserve. The girl on the bike asked if she could have her pic taken on Tasha's bike (the pretty bike). ;)

All of us at the same stop.

Joni took this pic of me on my bike at "TWO" bike campground.