02-05-2025, 06:39 PM
Well guys, it's been a minute. The learning curve with the new job has been beyond vertical (I have to learn new things after twenty years). Haven't had much time to post here or do much of anything else like ride, unfortunately. But, I did try riding the new commute for the first time last Friday, as I had brought enough large stuff to my new office to allow me to just worry about my computer and lunch from now on. On my desk, I have my helmet spot set up with charging cords at the ready for my GoPro, earbuds and Brake Free light.
Keep in mind, I'm only doing this new 60 mile-each-way commute one or two times per week. While I did the first few times in the car, I was paying attention to the temperature reading on my dash, and noted that the morning was around 40-45 degrees (F) this time of year.
I took the Bonneville for the inaugural commute, armed with my best insulated touring jacket, neck gaiter and my heaviest gloves. I was warm enough, except for my hands, which got progressively colder along the way. There is no significant traffic on my freeway route, so I wasn't shifting or touching the brakes for most of the ride. That meant lack of hand movement and once my freeway offramp eventually came up, mine were pretty dang cold and I had an "oh crap" moment when I had to get them to operate the brake and clutch.
I'll miss my indoor shop space but I can park under a carport, which is nice and will keep the Inland Empire summer sun away.
Along with the Bonnie, I also took that newly acquired Givi E45 top case that I had always wanted. I documented it in another post, but it's long out of production, I snagged an old one on FB and completely refurbished it. It's very light weight for a large Monokey box that can hold a helmet and is devoid of Givi's usual fake taillights and trim frippery.
Here's where things go off the rails a bit. Being the first time I had suited up to make the ride home from the new office, I don't have a routine established yet. And I need a good suit-up routine to make sure I don't forget anything important. But, to the best of my knowledge, I was ready to head home.
I got most of the way home, and pulled off of the freeway for a planned stop at a Costco. I wanted to pick up something that was on sale (hence the choice of the big tail box) and had not fueled up earlier, knowing that I could gas up at the Costco and have more remaining fuel in the tank when I got home. A perfect plan.
It was fully dark when I parked at Costco and opened my top box to grab my wallet and put in my helmet. Only problem was, no wallet. I had left it in my desk drawer, confirmed by a call to the one person who was still there working late. Again, don't have that routine down yet. Not enough gas to go back to get it, but enough to get home. And Mrs. G would have to front me some cash to get me through the weekend to today when I went back to the office. (BTW funny how much more conservatively you can drive knowing you don't have your license handy.)
When I was pulling my helmet back out of the box to head home, I noticed something shiny reflected on the ground. Complication number two... when I disassembled the box to refurbish it, I cleaned and lubed the lock and latch, which were sticky and binding. A C-clip snapped on to the end of the lock and latch keep them together, and apparently I didn't click that clip in fully when I put the whole shebang back together. The latch fell out and landed behind the bike. My flashlight was bright enough, thankfully, to locate that tiny little pavement-colored C-clip which luckily had just rolled a few feet away.
I was able to get the lock and latch secure enough to hold for the rest of the ride home, but the fact that I was clearly showing forgetfulness due to the bewilderment of the new job made me realize that losing the one key that the box came with might be a bad thing. I jumped online and picked up a set of three locks with six matching keys, so I can key my two E-series boxes alike and have five spare keys!
Saturday morning, I woke up super early, so I decided to take a sunrise ride to the local car and bike meet-up in Huntington Beach. Still super chilly, but I tried some liners in my heaviest gloves which provided more warmth. I also wanted to check my fix on the box to make sure it'll hold together till the new locks arrive, and test-ride some new, heavier pants I had picked up over summer. I was saving them for colder riding, so this was their first tryout.
Here's where the Great Riding Gods in the sky played one more little trick on me. Those new pants have a small coin pocket on the right, over the normal pocket, like most mens' pants usually do. That's where I always tuck the keys to my top box and helmet lock. I know where they are, it's a routine, and they can't get lost. Except that when I got to the donut shop to check out the scene, I dug in and could not find the key. Right after I thought "Can't lose this one, ya don't have a spare!"
I had my finger in that tiny pocket furiously fishing around for several minutes, which, due to the pocket's proximity to other, ahem, areas, must have looked peculiar to anyone observing. Turns out, and I've never had a pair of pants that do this, that little pocket extends all the way forward to the zipper, and the key had made its way all the way up in there. Whew. Weird, but whew.
The rest of my ride was uneventful, thankfully, but I'll rest easier when those new locks get here.
Keep in mind, I'm only doing this new 60 mile-each-way commute one or two times per week. While I did the first few times in the car, I was paying attention to the temperature reading on my dash, and noted that the morning was around 40-45 degrees (F) this time of year.
I took the Bonneville for the inaugural commute, armed with my best insulated touring jacket, neck gaiter and my heaviest gloves. I was warm enough, except for my hands, which got progressively colder along the way. There is no significant traffic on my freeway route, so I wasn't shifting or touching the brakes for most of the ride. That meant lack of hand movement and once my freeway offramp eventually came up, mine were pretty dang cold and I had an "oh crap" moment when I had to get them to operate the brake and clutch.
I'll miss my indoor shop space but I can park under a carport, which is nice and will keep the Inland Empire summer sun away.
Along with the Bonnie, I also took that newly acquired Givi E45 top case that I had always wanted. I documented it in another post, but it's long out of production, I snagged an old one on FB and completely refurbished it. It's very light weight for a large Monokey box that can hold a helmet and is devoid of Givi's usual fake taillights and trim frippery.
Here's where things go off the rails a bit. Being the first time I had suited up to make the ride home from the new office, I don't have a routine established yet. And I need a good suit-up routine to make sure I don't forget anything important. But, to the best of my knowledge, I was ready to head home.
I got most of the way home, and pulled off of the freeway for a planned stop at a Costco. I wanted to pick up something that was on sale (hence the choice of the big tail box) and had not fueled up earlier, knowing that I could gas up at the Costco and have more remaining fuel in the tank when I got home. A perfect plan.
It was fully dark when I parked at Costco and opened my top box to grab my wallet and put in my helmet. Only problem was, no wallet. I had left it in my desk drawer, confirmed by a call to the one person who was still there working late. Again, don't have that routine down yet. Not enough gas to go back to get it, but enough to get home. And Mrs. G would have to front me some cash to get me through the weekend to today when I went back to the office. (BTW funny how much more conservatively you can drive knowing you don't have your license handy.)
When I was pulling my helmet back out of the box to head home, I noticed something shiny reflected on the ground. Complication number two... when I disassembled the box to refurbish it, I cleaned and lubed the lock and latch, which were sticky and binding. A C-clip snapped on to the end of the lock and latch keep them together, and apparently I didn't click that clip in fully when I put the whole shebang back together. The latch fell out and landed behind the bike. My flashlight was bright enough, thankfully, to locate that tiny little pavement-colored C-clip which luckily had just rolled a few feet away.
I was able to get the lock and latch secure enough to hold for the rest of the ride home, but the fact that I was clearly showing forgetfulness due to the bewilderment of the new job made me realize that losing the one key that the box came with might be a bad thing. I jumped online and picked up a set of three locks with six matching keys, so I can key my two E-series boxes alike and have five spare keys!
Saturday morning, I woke up super early, so I decided to take a sunrise ride to the local car and bike meet-up in Huntington Beach. Still super chilly, but I tried some liners in my heaviest gloves which provided more warmth. I also wanted to check my fix on the box to make sure it'll hold together till the new locks arrive, and test-ride some new, heavier pants I had picked up over summer. I was saving them for colder riding, so this was their first tryout.
Here's where the Great Riding Gods in the sky played one more little trick on me. Those new pants have a small coin pocket on the right, over the normal pocket, like most mens' pants usually do. That's where I always tuck the keys to my top box and helmet lock. I know where they are, it's a routine, and they can't get lost. Except that when I got to the donut shop to check out the scene, I dug in and could not find the key. Right after I thought "Can't lose this one, ya don't have a spare!"
I had my finger in that tiny pocket furiously fishing around for several minutes, which, due to the pocket's proximity to other, ahem, areas, must have looked peculiar to anyone observing. Turns out, and I've never had a pair of pants that do this, that little pocket extends all the way forward to the zipper, and the key had made its way all the way up in there. Whew. Weird, but whew.
The rest of my ride was uneventful, thankfully, but I'll rest easier when those new locks get here.