Best day of riding yet in my life! (So far!!!)

Okay, so I got my bike back from its first service yesterday. It was done earlier than I expected and Bob from work was nice enough to drop me off to fetch it. The cashier rang me up: $30 less than they cited me on the phone. Not too dang shabby! Flat Out motorcycles will definitely get my business again.

At Flat Out I bought a nice new HJC helmet in bright white. It has the flip-up jaw protector. Which might not hold up so well in a crash as well as a solid jaw type, but my glasses forced me to compromise on that issue. My brother Dave says I look like a Stormtrooper with it on. He's a dork.

I immediately headed for the highway, questioning my brain if this was wise as I was not dressed for the bike at that point. I was in micro-thin dress pants and my Pacers windbreaker. But, no matter! I pulled out on 465 and headed home. The new 6000 RPM limit is much more fun, though I still have to go higher than that by 500 RMP for 55 on the highway.

The helmet is interesting. I've never had a full-face helmet before, but I wanted one upon reading that 20% of the impacted area of helmets in mishaps are to the jaw. The helmet is great, it cuts the wind better. But it makes me feel more impervious to harm. I don't think this is a good thing. But I'm still being very mindful of my surroundings so I guess it's not too bad of a side-effect.

So when I woke up at 3pm this afternoon, I decided to go put a big dent into the rest of my 1000 mile breakin period. After which I can rev the engine all I want.

I putted down from the East side of Indianapolis to Cycle Outfitters on the south side. It's a nice store and I got to see a few bags I'm thinking of buying. The Tour Masters/Cortech Tri-Bag tank mounted bag is very nice, but a tad smaller than expected. And $169 for the magnetic mounting one, it's a bit spendy. I asked one of the guys at the counter if he had any helmet bags. He just out and gave me one and said I should have gotten one with my helmet. I think I'm going to stop back at the Flat Out place and complain that they didn't give me one. Then I'll have two since I'm sure I'll lose mine in no time.

From Cycle Outfitters I zoomed down Madison Ave until it met up with US31. I proceeded through Greenwood, Whiteland and Franklin on the way to Edinburgh. Pretty scenery, much more trees than around here. Although I really miss my nice Blue-Blocker clip-on shades, they make all the colors much more vibrant and somehow make my depth-perception much better.

On the way I passed a gas station whose signed declared "Now with PAY AT THE PUMP!". I couldn't help but think "Welcome to the 1990's!!" But honestly, I like the folks in the middle of nowhere, even though they tend to be trend-deprived. They're usually so much nicer. I try so hard to be friendly in the city, but it's hard when a good number of the folks around look as though they want to cut your throat. And those are the sales clerks that are trying to get your money! I really need to move out of this hood I live in.

So anway... I stopped in at the Outlet Mall in Edinburgh, going into the Hush Puppies store. The very cute brunette with the very, very short semi-see-thru skirt helped me pick out a nice pair of 10 1/2 EW brown shoes. (I have the hardest time finding anything to fit my wide feet!) I think she saw me checking out her legs and this may have prompted her to move behind a display. She leaned up against a display with it between us. But there was a nicely-placed mirror behind her. So with me on the floor, trying on my shoes and her leaning over I got to see even higher up her skirt. If I had moved forward a foot or so I could have seen what colour panties she wore. Very nice legs too. The kind you wanna suck on for a day.

After paying for the shoes I filled up my tank at Thornton's and headed inside for a drink. I almost ran over another cutie, this time a blonde with glasses. I said "Sorry" and she said "Oh, you're fine." I replied with my standard wiseass comment: "Well I know I'm fine." She laughed. And right there I thought of a better comeback. I should have said "Thanks, you're not too bad yourself."

I checked my cell phone back at the bike and saw 2 missed messages from my brother Dave. So I called him back and he asked if I wanted to catch the Da Vinci Code tonight. I said yeah. It was about 1745 at that point. I wanted to get some more riding in, but didn't want to cut things too close for the movie.

So, a little disappointed in a shortened trip, I headed back north on US31, but decided to take the really long way home. I cut over west on SR252 and intended to go over to Martinsville and head up SR37 back to Indy. I passed the turnoff for Camp Atterbury and came to a stop sign that had a sign saying "Prince Lakes". I thought: "Hmmmmmm.... lakes. Might be some pretty scenery." So I turned south and yanked the throttle open.

The road went up and down some hills, making some nice dips. I cranked it on the down sides, slowing at the tops to keep from going to fast over the blind. I was enjoying myself when I had to stop in the town of Nineveh.

I happened on a split that showed a dam on either road. I cut east. The dam was about a mile down the road. The road was actually the spillway, with the dam lake on the north (I think, not sure). But it was a little lame looking. Very small. So I headed back to the split and went the other way. About another mile and I came upon this lake:

The pictures are lame, I know. They were taken with my picture phone. The haze was quite high and I very much missed using a real SLR camera. The polarized filters alone would have made these pictures much nicer. I forgot my Fuji digital camera, but even with that I would not have had the results I wanted. Oh well.

I kept south and headed into some very nice turns. I gave it plenty of gas in the straightaways, and kept my cornering speed high. But I didn't go around any curves too fast to exceed my sight lines. And I only went over the yellow line once. That was on a road where I was setting myself up for the next turn. There were no cars coming and I could see that for sure, but I chatised myself for the error and made sure I didn't do it again for the rest of the day.

And I didn't, even in a harrowing hairpin curve that got my heart pounding in a good way. Actualy, in an AWESOME way. The 6000 RPM limit makes things much nicer. I could brake with the engine in the twisties and didn't touch the brakes for miles. I put my little Ninja into more turns today than ever before. I was hitting the lines I wanted and couldn't wait for the next one. And I honestly don't think I once rode faster than I could safely see. Which was hard, considering some of the huge hills, dips and turns that suddenly appeared in front of my handlebars. But I held off on the gas in the blind turns and did myself proud.

Bring on Deals Gap!