It's Sunday Morning 6am and I'm standing there with my coffee in hand leaning on the kitchen counter over looking the apartment complex parking lot. Its still dark and really I can't believe I'm us, I really just want go back to bed. I open up the map and start looking for an area where Mother Nature and the things of Man meet and a constant change of conditions and road surfaces. Well, the good thing is rain showers are expected, now that covers both Mother Nature and Road surfaces. As I look over the map the only place where there is a great blend of things is Hechsure Drive. It runs from 9A off the Dam's Point Bridge or North Jacksonville throuth Big Talbot and Little Talbot Island, on this stretch of road are grated bridges, dirt roads, gravel roads, trafific shifting sea breezes, traffic around the drive on beaches, aninmals, to A1A up to downtown Fernandina Beach with tourists. I think that will be a pretty good route. Kernan to Monument, to 9A, Alton Road, curvey slight hills, farm lands, new lush developments, to 17 north, to SR200 to the island, then around A1A to Hechsure Drive and back home..............Ok, that's the plan now to get ready.
I turn in into "K's" development and I have a good idea of what the day will be like. Navigating through the developments streets I think that it will be about the same as the first riding experiences. There will be name calling, temper tantrums, deniles, questioning sanity, and threats of taking the ball and going home. I'm not trying to push "K" over the limit, I want her to develop at her own speed however I want her to be proficient rider. Semi ready for anything that Mother Nature and Man can through at her, I say semi because we can't be totally prepared for everything. Like when a bald eagle on the side of the road decides to take off and smacks ya in the head with its wings, or losing your thongs along the way, perhaps fuzzy dead things in the road on a rainy night..............yea, now those things don't happen to everyone everyday so do worry about it. Really I don't want her to get stuck in the "I can't do its" or "I heard about that", Once you head out on a road there's any number of things that can happen, things you'll encounter like a 2x4 coming off a lumber truck and sliding across I75 in Atlanta, as it hopped and bumped around as cars and trucks hit the side of it ran it over.............but it was sliding for me and I had to do something and its important to do someing, change lanes, hit it head on, or prepare to be hit by it.................this is what I'm trying to slowly do as she works to improve her skills.
There she is waiting I can see her as I turn the corner on the street, "Suzie" the male orange cat is of course helpping wipe the bike down, as "Anna Banana" just screams welcoming barks...........I'm sure the neighbors love that at 8am Sunday Morning, the sound of a Harley, barking dogs and folks yelling, Where the hell ya been ya know?" Her one neigbor rides and I thought about asking him, however he kind of looks like he likes to ride from bar to bar to chill and right now "K" like it or not just ain't ready for that. I asked her if she been practicing her skills? and did ya do your pre ride saftey impection. "Yah, Yah, Yah is all I got form her. I said these things I ask of ya are important, I just want to see you a successful proficient rider that einjoys the ride and ends up to be better than me. I know I have practiced the tight truns, the eights bothways stopping and not looking at the controls cause your right that is important, besides I had to buy my neighbor a new bird house and mail box and I don't want to be replacing them anytime soon! LOL! I tell her the game plan, and there is huge protests right away. I knew there would be, we are going to take the Dam's Point ya can't avoid it forever and to get out of state for you that's the quickest route unless of course you like going hours out of your way. See the Dam's Point Bridge is a longer very tall bridge, so much so the carnival cruise like have a ship that comes and goes under the Dam's Point. There's also wind sheer there as well, but I wanted her to experience shifting winds so that she can learn to adjust very quickly to them for they do happen and in a turn if strong winds shift it can effect your turning ability if you are not ready or prepard for it. I explained my reasoning behind the decisiion to do that bridge and right now little traffic but if ya keep pitching a 7, the church folks will be trying to get home and since they just conversed with God its less likely they'll be thinking of you on your little rebel.. "Good Point" is all she could say.
We pulled out of the development and I could see as she was following me this time that she wasn't to sure of doing this part. Ya see she just wants to put the sleeping bag on the back of the bike and go like her ex's MC did years ago. LOL! different time and a different world but I do understand the romantic dreams and ideas we have from times of past. Once on the on ramp I hit the hazards and pulled over, I wanted to be sure she was ok with it and only repeating the fears she's learned from other riders...........she was just worried about the wind gusts, I can understand that after all ya can feel them in a car so ya know on a bike they're going to be there. I told her,"yes, your going to feel the wind gusts, put first as ya head up the hump ya gotta keep giving that little gal gas cause she's going to die out pretty fast with that one cyclinder of hers, then you'll feel the gusts they try to push or bobble you around, the idea keep it between the whites...........this is a lesson of small quick adjustments. Ride at your own speed, I will slow with you if I need to or speed up. Now, when ya get almost to the crest, just about to go over the hump that is when your really going to feel the wind shifts, also ya migh want to get off the gass here too, cause once ya go over the top your speed will pick right up." I could see her face she was less than believeing. "Remember believe in yourself and your machine, you can do this." I said as a reminder then added quickly " your asshole exhusband could do it so why can't you even give it a try." " fuck'em' is all I herd as I walked to go my bike and get off the on ramp of 9A before we become someone's personal hood ornament.
Off I went and up to speed, she's right there in the mirror, hit 9A acturally this was a great time to go no one really here easy to merge on to the road. I watched as we crested the Dam's Point, LOL! I had to slow way down wasn't sure if it was "k" or the bike but the speed droped way off, I'm thinking its the bike or aleast hoping its the bike, 40 on 9A is not a good choice.................I could see the two of the struggling a little with some of the wind sheer and I could also see Fantasia unloading her passagners from her cruise to no where. "K" move kind of across her lane but never crossed lanes, as soon as she topped the bridge, she was right up to speed, so it was the bike it was giving it all she had to give. We continued on to 17 north bound. This section of 17 is very busy area, its know as the Northside of Jacksonville or Oceanway. there was several stories so folks were getting up to get the shopping done, here that just dart about with out thinking. As we continued past the craziness, there was some road and building construction going on as a new shopping center was being built there, and a access road to Jacksonville International. I pulled into a gas station the interestection before all the construction. Why, well let her chill if she hadn't to ask questions before the I tell her about the next challengers. Yep, oh boy the Bridge didn't make her happy and no she didn't see no dam cruise ship, the thing was huge how can ya not? Never mind.
She smoked a butt, got something to drink, kind of started to dick around so I asked her what's up? She said this shit isn't what I had in mind at all. I knew this would be coming, blah blah blah as she registered her complaints. I said I know but these things you will encounter, if you do the work now, when you come acrossed them on a fun journey it won't be nearly as scary, or shocking to ya. The worlds not full with perfect riding conditions, and we need to know how to handle them. Experiencing them now will keep you from having huge fears later............have faith in machine and self. Ok, now that was over with we could begin to work on constructon sites and road surfaces. First I asked her to look ahead and tell me what see saw. she said orange signs cones. Good cause from here that's all I could see too. However usually there would be trucks, men noise, sand, mud, gravel grated surfaces, traffic congestion impatient people iit all adding up to one big blood stain for the motorcyclist if they are not aware. fist slow, and watch careful for signals, drivers attitudes, and since ya don't have a windshield or face screen on, then you might want to ride back off of cares for a little bit, they can kick up some good sized stones and fly at your face........its and owie but ya can't be distracted by that. Now, I road thruough here yesterday, one its easier cause their not working, the noise is very distracting with dump trucks bang there buckets, the men yelling and other equipement, and there is way less traffic, but there is a coating of dirt and mud, along with gravel then a lane shift and road grating then where they were pumping the water it statred overflowing, if that haven't changed that we will have to deal with the posibility of hydoplaning. Ok, mud can be slppery try to look ahead and around, make a decision which line to take to carry past it with getting stuck in the thick slippery parts, this is where the two roads cross here, then there will be big chunks of gravel, most off to the side but in the cross roads you'll see a pile in the middle of the road that means there will randon large chunks scatter over the surfface here. The gravel if you hitt it will make you bobble a little however since this is a low speed exercise for you you don't need to worry too much except experiencing that bobble, we won't be turning in it so its good, now what will happen after we cross through the intersection there will some nice smooth pavement for about a car lenght, then there will be a drop, do not panic just continue at the 30 they have posted, it will be a bigger bump than you've experienced so far just look ahead and let the bump happen. Right on the other sid of the bump is grated road surface, its not comfortable to ride on but its ride able, just let the bumb happen, then proced without trying to make any major corrections if you can, feel the shimmy of the front end, if ya had to stop then do it just like ya would normally, you will feel there's no control like your slipping, just breath, don't strangle the grips, experience the sensation if you need to turn you will be able to do so with some caution, but its just a shimmy, once ya get through the grated road surface there will be a very hard hit, it will jar you, ya migh want to rise very slightly off your pegs or slow down more to reduce the bang. Next will be the water, this we want to go slow through.................it will be ok. Man the protests, the bitching I again I knew this would happen but its things we encounter, since she trusts me I want to make sure she is able to experience a great deal of different things, before she takes off on her own or she rides with other folks that cause unbased fears of and ruin the riding experence for her and make her go out of the way and develop a personal fear of whatever it is on the surfaces or conditions. So, once she said all she had to say, I asked if she listened to what I had said earlier, and to remember these are about experienceing all the road contintions that are out there, have faith in you and your machine, do not listen to others fears. Like it or not grated roads happen, water happens, its a fact of road constuction, and the open road either experience it now or later your choice, but wouldn't you rather experience it now with low noise and traffic and when someone is here to help you with any questions ya might have? You can do this and it will be ok, really it will be just remember what I said each different experience might feel like and know that's just what it feels like...........ok let's go, it will be slow.
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