Sunday Ride

The weather was beautiful today. The grandkids came over to play in the backyard around lunch time, and I managed to get some minor chores and repairs done around the house - you know, little things like adjusting the gate on the fence, pruning some dead limbs from the birch trees, adjust the track on the sliding screen door. When it was nap time for the grandkids though, I took advantage of the nice weather to take the MP3 500 out for a ride. This time, I took a camera with me as the main reason I bought the bike was to support my photography addiction. I also wanted to practice riding during a time when there was little traffic on the roads and on some hills and curves.

I stopped first at the former location of the Sweet Oregon Grill. I say former because the restaurant burned to the ground a few years ago and for whatever reason, the owner never rebuilt it. That's a shame because it  was a very nice little place with live music on the weekend, and cozy bar with a big fireplace, and lots of local Oregon products in their little store. The food was good and hearty fare, but the grill caught fire one night and the whole place, with the exception of a few out-buildings burnt to the ground. The fire was still burning the next morning as I passed by the site on my way to work.

The fireplace still stands and, of course, the concrete slab for the restaurant is still there, but the site is now weed infested and full of scattered trash. I've toyed with the idea using the spot as a glamour shoot location. There are a few issues associated with this:  it's located at a high traffic intersection (not conducive for glamour photography), the trash and weeds make it slightly hazardous for walking through the area in bare feet or legs, and the area is posted "No Trespassing".  Still, it would be fun to shoot a model there early one weekend morning if I can get permission from the owners.  There are lots of useful textures and structures on the site that wold make for a wonderful shoot.

After my stop there, I headed west on NW West Union Road. Traffic was fairly light, but there were lots of two-wheel riders out - both of the powered and non-powered kind. The bicyclist were definitely enjoying the warm weather and sunshine and the motorcyclist were out in droves. I didn't keep count, but there I saw scores of riders on my little one our jaunt.

From West Union, I turned north on Helvetia Road to practice on the hills and curves. Helvetia Tavern's parking lot was full of both cars and bikes and lots of people were out on the patio enjoying the tavern's enormous burgers washed down, I'm sure, with many pints of cold brews. I didn't stop, but I got a few interesting looks as I slowly cruised by the place.

I took the scenic route up to Jacobsen Road and when the road intersected with West Union Road again, I headed west again, this time to North Plains. Since the bike is still in the break-in period, I varied my speeds considerably during the ride. My intent was to practice riding the curves, braking, starting from a stop on hills (tricky when you have no clutch), and just generally working on my riding skills.

In North Plains, I stopped at the Hitching Post tavern for a Diet Coke. A group of motorcyclist standing outside the tavern looked at me with interest as I came riding up, but frankly my camera, a 5DMKII with a 24-105 f/4L lens and the 580 EXII flash got as many looks as the MP3 500 did. In fact, the first question/comment I got was about the camera rather than the scooter, though many question about the scooter did follow.

As you can see from the image to the right, there were more than a few bikes lined up in front of the tavern and lots of guys and gals in leather riding gear hanging out both inside and outside the bar. They were all having a good time and were enjoying the day. I stayed only long enough to drink my soda and grab a few photos. A couple of guys that were asking me some questions inside the bar came outside to watch me ride away. They were really interested in the hydraulic system that locks and unlocks the MP3's dual front wheels, and I overhead one guy telling another in the crowd how the bike worked in that regard. I made a semi-graceful exit from the parking lot - at least, I didn't hear any loud laughter as I rode away.

My final stop took me to an active rail trestle that I've often used as a photographic setting. The trestle spans a couple high ridges and towers above the road below. The large, rough beams make a great contrast for soft skin tones, and the road is not well traveled at all, so there is some degree of privacy available for shooting. Over the years I used the spot for glamour photography, senior photography, portfolio photography, and just as an interesting backdrop for portraits. I'm not sure how many different models I've photographed here, but it's been easily a dozen or so.

It certainly makes an interesting backdrop for portraits and the light hits the road just right a couple of hours before sunset. The lovely, young lady to the right is my daughter's friend Christine. They met in college and as Christine was an aspiring model, I help her build her portfolio over a couple of year period. She loved shooting near the trestle and we went through several outfit changes while we were shooting here.

We also shot under the trestle and in the field next to the right of way. We were totally undisturbed during the entire shoot. Christine got quite adventurous, climbing up on the fence and up into the beams of the trestle as well. I'm sure I'll continue to bring models to shoot here in the coming years, and who knows, it may be on the scooter.

Belize to keep her happy!

What a Beautiful Day

What a beautiful day to commute to work on a scooter. Although it was cool enough to frost this morning(44 degrees by the temperature indicator on the bike), the sky was clear and the air was calm. The ride in to work was brisk and I got a bit of practice managing the morning work traffic. The traffic spot that concerned me the most was the spot where the west bound Highway 26 traffic exits and then merges with south bound Cornelius Pass Road, but even though traffic was pretty heavy, the mirrors gave me a clear view of the traffic lane and I was able to easily merge into the right lane so I could make my turn a short distance from the intersection.

After a 3 hour meeting, I headed over to Hillsboro Vespa at lunch to have my new windshield installed. Kara managed to get it on pretty quickly, though I had to help her a little bit with one screw that kept wanting to strip at the head. The quick install left me time to stop by the post office to mail a CD of images to one of my recent models, and to grab a quick bite at Red Robin.

By lunch, the weather was gorgeous. The temperature was up to 67 degrees and it was quite sunny. If I hadn't had a full afternoon of meetings ahead of me, I would have been tempted to just keep on riding. Being the dedicated employee that I am, though, I soon was back in the office and logged on to the computer.  I'll have to say, the windshield made the ride quite a bit less chilly and when I got to Red Robin, I folded up the fleece I was wearing under my riding jacket and put it away.

I'm looking for many more warm and sunny days to ride. Practice makes perfect, after all.

Mobile Blogging Test

Test of mobile phone blogging. Sending this from Chandler, Arizona where Harley-Davidson's are in abundance, but safe riding gear is not.


Very cool, it works. I set this up last night because I thought it would be a cool way to post to the blog while I'm on the road, then add images later during the editing process. I took a walk this morning and during my stroll I saw probably a dozen riders or so out riding on this beautiful Saturday morning. I saw one guy on a Harley Electroglide in full riding gear, but most of the others were wearing t-shirts, shorts, sneakers, and only a couple wore helmets (Arizona doesn't have a helmet law). Seriously, you won't catch me riding like that.

The image above and to the right was taken a few years ago on a business trip to Arizona. The flower was blooming in a small man-made pond in Desert Breeze park. It's probably not too likely that I'll ever ride in Arizona, but I like to include an image with every post as this is primarily a photography blog.

First Commute

I rode in to work today. I hadn't really thought about it ahead of time, but the sun was out, there was only a few clouds, and no falling rain, so I decided that it would be my only opportunity to ride this week as I am leaving for a trip to Arizona on Friday and won't be back until Tuesday evening.

I geared up remembering AGATT, and eased the bike out of the garage. My backpack with all my work gear fit easily into the top case which was great. It meant that I could easily use the scooter for commuting without having to downsize my backpack.  I set the parking brake, started the engine to let it warm up (I've still got several hundred miles left on the break-in period), and just as I was putting on my helmet, my daughter drove up blocking the entire end of the driveway.  I had set the bike at a bit of an angle when I rolled it out of the garage and she didn't give me any extra room to maneuver as I left.

The ride to work was fun, but cool. I didn't mess with the hydraulic locks for the front wheels, instead I focused on familiarizing myself with the bike's weight and balance at each of the stops. Later on, when I'm much more familiar with the bike and it's low speed attributes, I'll use the hydraulic locks for stops.  I varied speeds considerably as suggested, but the bike easily handled the commute both to work and back to home. It will be much nicer when the windshield is installed though on Wednesday thought.

I took a different (and longer) route home than normal so I could bring the bike up to a higher speed to learn more about the handling capabilities. I hit at least 60 mph on the way home with plenty of throttle left in reserve. The mirrors gave me good rearview vision, and the bike was stable and comfortable (except for the cool wind) even on rough patches of the road.

Of course, when I got home, the entrance to both garages were blocked by Wanda's and Talitha's vehicles. So, I had to park the bike at the curve, set the brake, then get Talitha to come move her mother's car so I could get the bike in the garage. One thing I learned from this is that the scooter is quite cumbersome to maneuver a very low speeds and with a tight turning radius. I'll need to consider that for future rides.

This weekend is supposed to be sunny and warmer, but I will be in Arizona for a business trip and won't get the chance to ride. That's quite alright, though, as I will get an opportunity to visit with my youngest granddaughter whom I haven't seen since December.  I'm really looking forward to that.

Big Smiles

More later, but this was at the time of the bike delivery - Ryker sure enjoyed visiting the shop. His mom and his Auntie TeeTee brought him along when they took me up to the shop to take delivery of the bike. Kara, the saleslady, thought he was quite cute and playful.  He tried to play on all of the scooters, but I did tell his mommy and his aunt that if they let him knock over a scooter, it would be their responsibility. After that, they kept a much closer eye on him. He still enjoyed his visit to the shop and tried to help his mommy pick out a ride as well.

I delayed picking up the ride until the mid-afternoon since the weather was supposed to improve to at lease partly sunny and mid-60s for temperature. Unfortunately, just as we headed out the door for the shop, it started sprinkling rain from the light clouds blanketing the sky. It was still better that be strong gusts of winds and bouts of hail we had yesterday, but I had hope for a little better weather for the ride home.

Nevertheless, when the time came to wrap up the paperwork and head out, it was still sprinkling.  The temperature, according to the thermometer on  the MP3 500 noted the outside temperature at 55 degrees fahrenheit - not the best weather from riding home, but since is was only about a 7 mile trip it wasn't much to worry about.

Kara took me through the basic mechanical controls of the bike again before we rolled the bike out of the shop. I confirmed my appointment to have the windscreen installed next Wednesday and I asked her to look up the price of an extended warranty for me (since I won't want to do much mechanical work myself, it seems a reasonable additional expense). Once outside, I dressed in my protective gear; armored jacket, full face helmet and gloves. Then, of course, I had to pose of the bike for a few more images for the girls.  While gearing up, I took some advise from an experienced cyclist who had dropped by the shop and offered me his congratulation. He advised me to start slow, be paranoid about other vehicles, and enjoy life. Good advice it seems to me.

The ride home was quite fun. I did a loop through the neighborhood next door to the shop to regain the feel of the bike. A trio of young men playing with skateboards right in the middle of on of my turns was a bit of a surprise, but easily handled a low speed. Back at the shop, Talitha and Tanith were finally ready to go, and so we were off.

It's pretty much a straight shot from the shop to my home. Straight north on Cornelius Pass Road to NW West Union Road, crossing several major intersections, then east on NW West Union for just a few mile, then a left into my neighorhood, around a few curves, and then up to the house where the bike fit easily into my side of the garage.

It was a slightly moist and cool ride, but quite fun nonetheless. Had I the extra time, I would have loved to keep riding for a while, but as it was I needed to get back to a meeting that wasn't an option.

Tomorrow's the Day

I'll call the insurance agent in the morning with the VIN, write out the check, and pick up the bike around noonish. I've been reading about the dealer PreDelivery Inspection and other items I should double check when I go to the shop. Obviously, Wanda isn't terrible thrilled about the purchase - that's a bit of an understatement. She'll eventually come around and I hope enjoy riding with me at some point. I'm getting a helmet for her in any case, and when she's ready, I'll take her in to get a jacket and the other required riding gear.

I talked quite a bit with my son, Jeremy, today about riding safety, the Team Oregon Basic Rider Training and recommendations for riding gear and modifications. Later I learned he had a long conversation with his mom to assuage some of her concerns. How successful he was, I don't know, but I hope he had some success in convincing her that I'm doing everything right and have the requisite degree of paranoia to ride safely.

I certainly plan to take my time to learn the scooter's strengths and limitations, remain on low traffic roads at moderate speeds for the first few months of riding, and only move to more significantly traveled thoroughfares once I have gained sufficient experience and confidence in my riding abilities. I intend to be supremely safety conscious and conservative as I learn to ride and I'm definitely not going to take any risks.

I am excited to get the scooter though. I've wanted to ride for many years, but have conceded to Wanda's point about motorcycles. The MP3 500 seems to me to be an excellent compromise of safety, stability, and a riding experience and I certainly intend to make as much use of it as possible during good weather, and I hope to be able to ride well into the fall months until it gets too cold and wet to comfortably and safely ride.