After a few years of wanting a sportbike I took the MSF a while back and purchased my bike 2 weeks ago. I put about 300 miles on it around town and on some back roads around my house, just familiarizing myself pretty much. So this weekend I decided to take my bike on the road for some distance travel. I was heading about 90 miles away to a graduation and then another 100 miles to visit my mother for mother's day, and then another 90 miles back home. So I threw a change of clothes into a backpack and hit the road.
I had an absolute blast on the way up, but things got a little hairy today. Some of you might have seen the weather reports from Georgia, but basically there were some tornadoes and high winds, and also some heavy rain. I had planned for this, but the weather was a lot worse than predicted. I felt lucky when I woke up this morning and found pretty clear weather. I was able to make the second leg with no rain, just some debris in the road, but nothing serious.
This evening I set out on my last leg, and the winds really picked up about 20 minutes in. This was my first time riding in high winds, which I estimate to be around 25 mph in gusts. My bike was doing some pretty serious moving on the road, but I rode it out, taking it slow and just doing the best I could. I had to take a break about 2/3 through the leg b/c the winds got a little much so I pulled in and had a bite to eat before finishing up.
I was surprised at how much movement I was experiencing on the road, and although I don't think I was in danger of losing control at any point, I do admit that it was a bit unnerving. All in all, a great weekend though-I logged about 300 miles and had a blast. I'm looking forward to making a lot more of my weekend trips on my bike.
I had an absolute blast on the way up, but things got a little hairy today. Some of you might have seen the weather reports from Georgia, but basically there were some tornadoes and high winds, and also some heavy rain. I had planned for this, but the weather was a lot worse than predicted. I felt lucky when I woke up this morning and found pretty clear weather. I was able to make the second leg with no rain, just some debris in the road, but nothing serious.
This evening I set out on my last leg, and the winds really picked up about 20 minutes in. This was my first time riding in high winds, which I estimate to be around 25 mph in gusts. My bike was doing some pretty serious moving on the road, but I rode it out, taking it slow and just doing the best I could. I had to take a break about 2/3 through the leg b/c the winds got a little much so I pulled in and had a bite to eat before finishing up.
I was surprised at how much movement I was experiencing on the road, and although I don't think I was in danger of losing control at any point, I do admit that it was a bit unnerving. All in all, a great weekend though-I logged about 300 miles and had a blast. I'm looking forward to making a lot more of my weekend trips on my bike.