Earning my Rounder stripes

Living in Florida, it's easy to be a Rounder.   According to their website a Rounder is:

The Rounders are men and women who enjoy their motorcycles so much they ride them year round. The group was founded by a bunch of Mid-Westerners (inspired by a Kook on the East Coast) who ride them even when the temps are below freezing or above hot. The object of becoming a Rounder is to have fun, promote safe, responsible motorcycle use on a regular basis for as much of the year as you can. In the spirit of fun we have concocted the following levels of Rounderhood following the Fahrenheit temp scale:
100's+ Red Hot Rounder
90's Sweating Rounder
80's Half Baked Rounder
70's - R&R (Rounder Relaxing)
60's -Jr. Rounder (Just Riding)
50's - LOTF Rounder (Looking Over The Fence)
40's - FOTF Rounder (Fringe of the Fringe)
30's - Half Rounder
20's - TQ Rounder (Three Quarts)
0-20 - Rounder
Sub Zero - KHOF Rounder (Kook Hall of Fame)

Members can proclaim themselves to be in the various categories based on the truthful telling of their riding conditions. If you lie, then a pox be upon you and may your valves need constant adjustment.

To be a True Rounder, you have to ride every month of the year.

If you have a motorcycle and like to ride it, then you can be a Rounder.

I have ridden my bike in 90 degree weather, I have ridden my bike into the low 20's here in Florida.  It has been miserable to ride in sometimes, with rain so hard that I have been soaked to the bone in.  Winds so fierce that I felt I was leaning at 30 degrees just to keep the bike up straight.  

Photo from Redlegsrides.blogspot.com

These idiots ride in the snow.  

I want to be one of them.  

It's only in the last few days that I have truly felt like belong to such a honored group.   Over the past few days here in West Central Florida we have had rain and wind gusts up to 30 miles to hour.  At night, when I ride home from work at 1 AM, the temperature's  dipped to freezing or below.  

I feel like one of them because I was one of a handful of bikes on the road.  Even during the day when the temperature was in the mid 50's...I counted maybe a dozen bikers.  Here I am on my little scooter doing what "real motorcyclists" are afraid to do.  I am out nearly every day riding, in all types of conditions.

I'm proud of that.  I am also amazed and impressed by the insanity of taking a bike out in "less than ideal" conditions.  Of course, if I still lived in Pittsburgh, would I feel that way?   I have to say that yes, I would. I don't get to do much recreational riding. But when asked what I like about riding...I said the following "I think it's something primitive. Just you, the machine...no distractions. Your fully committed to keeping yourself and the bike safe...because the road below you is unforgiving. It's being on that edge...not being stupid, not being foolish...but connecting to the world around you. Smelling the flowers as you pass, feeling a stone as it kicks up and strikes you. Your fully alive.  Your fully engaged."

Now that being said.  I'm not stupid.  I'm not going to ride if I don't feel I can't handle the circumstances.  There have been times when I just didn't want to ride in because it didn't "feel right."  So I guess I'm hooked.  I guess I'm a "Rounder."

To read more about the Rounders see this article from Rider Magazine.   

September has always been a sad month

As far back as I can remember the month of September has always been a month of transition.  It meant shorter days and longer nights, cooler weather, the leaves losing their green wholesomeness and falling, falling down. 

It meant going back to school, sweaters and football games, kissing my girlfriend to "keep warm" and running through piles of leaves the colors of stained glass and hearing that satisifying crunch.

In the back of my mind however it also meant winter was waiting just around the corner.   Snow, endless nights, cold and ice.  I hated the winter.  I hated all that it stood for.  All during college and even going back to high school I made it perfectly clear that I was moving south.  Towards the warm weather, following the sun.  Winter was death.

After college I lived outside Charleston, SC briefly and then in Charlotte, NC for ten wonderful years. A decision to take a management position took me back to Pittsburgh, PA for another ten.  I would still be there, if the economy would have held up and things had gone as planned...but life has a tendency to go all wonky when you least expect it.  So I moved to Tampa, Florida and life has been wonderful since.  I loved living in Pennsylvania, expect for the last few years where, I am not joking here, we had 36 inches of snow.  After the third year of sub zero temperatures and miserable days behind a shovel...it was time to go.

I've not been home to Pittsburgh for any length of time since.  At the end of the month I'm spending ten days there.  I will not have my bike but I'm still hoping that a few friends of mine will be willing to let me ride theirs.  Three years ago the idea of riding the back roads on a bike meant using a bicycle.  It's funny how things change.   I am unsure if I'll be able to ride, but I think my gear just might find it's way into the back of my car for the drive up.
It's funny that now I am looking forward to the cool, dry air of winter.

Winter here in the south allows me to sleep with open windows, eat dinner on my lanai and ride much more comfortably.  I normally throw a light sweat shirt on under my jacket and that is all I need.  I've an old pair of orange hunting gloves that I might wear at night, it's been as low as 32 degrees (0 C for my European friends).  For once September doesn't seem to be a last gasp of warmer days.   It seems like a new beginning.

Well at home I'll be visiting old friends, visiting the Riverhounds new stadium site, drinking some Iron City well sitting at the famed Primanti Bros. Restaurant in the strip.  It will be good to be home.

Maybe September isn't such a sad month after all.

Thinking of buying a scooter? Want advice?

I write this blog because I am still new to the joy and the art of motorcycling.  I have questions and concerns and hopefully someone just as new or newer than me stumbles across my pitiful attempt at being helpful.  If they gain some new knowledge or somehow avoid making a mistake that I made then wonderful.  


So with gas getting close to and, as your reading this, probably over $4 a gallon I thought it best to give a little run down on what to look for if your thinking about life on two wheels.  I’m not going to say Brand X is better than Brand Y, that’s not my job nor the purpose of this entry.


Basically, if you were to come up to me on the street and ask me for advice on buying a scooter my answer might surprise you.


1)         Do not buy a scooter based on gas mileage alone.

Buddy's all in a row.

Okay, so you want to get somewhere between 50 - 100 miles per gallon.  You want to save money I understand that.  But do a little research first.  For example what is the speed limit on the majority of roads you drive on?  Is that speed limit more wishful thinking or is it accurate.  If you’re driving a little 50CC over 50 miles round trip down the highway with cars zipping past you at 75 miles per hour…it may be time to reconsider your choice of scoot.


That being said, buy a motorcycle or scooter based on what you want to do.  Don't buy something that is to powerful for you either.  You don't need 1200cc between your legs to make you a man if your not comfortable with that type of power.

What do you plan to use your Scooter for?  Commuting?  Touring?  Errands?  I was very surprised to find that, over time, my riding changed.  I started as a simple commuter, and now I would rather take the bike out than the car.  Your mileage may vary.

2)         Get endorsed and Gear Up

To make it as simple as possible, this might save your life.  It will also break you of some bad habits.  Well motorcycles and scoots are great fun and a form of cheap transportation the truth is that jackets, helmets and other things are not.  A good “cheap” armored jacket might run you $125.  A really good helmet about the same.  Gloves vary in price and frankly I'm not sure why.  Find a pair that fit and your comfortable with.  Boots can be found cheaply (for example I got mine at Wal-mart), just make sure they are waterproof and have oil resistant soles.


These are a one time expense.  Wear them all the time.  Hence the term "ATGATT" which stands for All The Gear, All The Time.


Scooters and motorcycles are dangerous, have a lower profile than your car and don't react like a car does.  Preparing for that moment when something goes wrong, and it will go wrong, just makes common sense.




3)         Are you a gearhead?

I’m not a gear head but I learned a few things because motorcycles and scooters can be expensive to work on.  For example an oil change in your car can be done by your local mechanic for roughly $20 US dollars.  An oil change on your bike might be twice that.
You can go through life not ever learning how to do something, learning to change the oil and other basic maintenance is just part of owning a bike.  Motorcycles and scooters are not that common (yet) and frankly your local mechanic may not be qualified to work on your ride despite the fact he's worked on your car for 20 years.  Learning how to do basic maintenance is a requirement of owning a bike.  If your not willing to do that consider public transportation.  


4)  Are you willing to suffer?


You will be hot.  You will be cold.  You will be wet.  You are exposed to the environment and have to make a choice to accept that.  


5)  Are you willing to have a smile on your face for the rest of your days?


Because you will.  


If your willing to take some advice, then I think your going to not only save money but have a hell of a good time doing it.  

Cold weather challenge

I live in Florida.   Land of Sunshine.  Orange groves that stretch on forever and a day, home of the mighty Kumquat.   At our most southern point we are only 90 miles from Cuba.  In theory it should be warm.

Original photo by Ryan Robinson.

Every year the grey and blue tufted snowbirds come from the north to escape the cold weather and miserable white stuff that is considered a four letter word by your friendly author.  Now sadly due to several reasons I've not been able to ride as much as I would have liked over the last two weeks or so.

When I've been able to ride, it's been a bit...well shall we say freaking cold.  Over the last few days the temperatures have varied from in the mid 50's to as low at 19 degrees.  It's put me into an interesting position and something I never really considered.  Riding in the cold.

It's easy to forget that we do have cold snaps here.  I am originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and still don't consider anything below 40 degrees or so "cold" but I also lived in Charlotte, North Carolina for about ten years or so, so I know my blood will eventually "thin out" and what was once "cool" will become cold.  Then  freezing and finally freaking cold.

Yes, you actually see this in Florida.

Luckily this cold snap only lasted a few days.  Still though it was long enough to see the natives break out the parka's to go along with their flip flops.

So I did what all geeks do.  I turned to the internet for research, reading that it's not so much the cold that will get me as the wind chill.  That made perfect sense considering I'm buzzing down the road open and exposed to the elements.  About warming my hands on the headlights, which is a little tough to do due to the design of the Burgie.   About how to protect my exposed skin from the wind.

I ended up taking my car in most of those cold days.  I felt more than a little embarrassed by doing so, after all I am planning on letting my bike replace my car. In fact, one of the reasons I settled on the Burgman was because it was designed for commuting and touring.  In my mind at least that means riding it every day to work and to the store no matter what the weather.  Cold and rain be damned!

Actual reading at 8:45 AM one morning.

OK, maybe I'm being a bit to hard on myself.  In the end it's all about safety for me and although it was unlikely to deal with ice on the road it was a possibility, and yes the temperature was low enough in some areas to allow it to happen.  I have to be at work in business attire most days, do I really want to drag sweaters and long underwear to work?  Do I really want to change in the bathroom just to drive the bike home on a 32 degree day?

The day will come where I will have to deal with cold weather.  Understanding and preparing for it just makes sense.

EDITED:  A nice little chart dealing with wind chills and ambient air temperatures. Something to consider when you ride brought to by the nice people over at Keep the Rubber Side Down blog.  What's interesting is that 10 additional miles of speed does not really effect the "cold" your feeling that much.