Philip's Ravings

I had my eyes lasered yesterday (3/12/2009) to correct my short sighted vision (myopia). I had an astigmatism and both my eyes were around -4.

I decided to get it done mostly because of my motorcycling. I can't wear contact lenses on a track, because the forces keep pulling them off the centre of my eyeballs, leaving me blinded for 30 to 45 second or so. Have you tried approaching a corner, braking hard, and then almost loosing all vision? You have to do the rest of the corner ...

I was riding over the AHB from the North Shore to Central Auckland this morning around 9am. The traffic was unusually heavy for that time, and while I was at the bridge apex it came to a complete stand still.

What a bonus. The view was great. But the wind - it was very blustery. While the bike is moving it doesn't seem so bad, but being stationery at the top of of the bridge was very notcable. The bike was being pushed from side to side.

Now I think I can appreciate ...

I was keen to go for a ride today, but alas my normal riding companions all had something on.

So I checked out kiwibiker, and saw there was a normal Sunday ride starting just north of Auckland from the Caltex on SH16.
I'm always a bit cautious about riding with new people, as I'm a bit risk adverse when riding. If someone wants some fun I'd rather they take off ahead, and I'll catch up in my own good time.

So I headed over and met up with yachtie10 and outforaduck. ...

Well I decided to take the plunge and start doing simple servicing on my bike, a Honda CBR600.

The first step was laying my hands on a service manual. This tells you what needs to be done when. The Honda manual also identified stuff by difficulty, so I've decided I'm going to start doing the basic stuff, and only use a bike mechanic for those difficult jobs, or those jobs requiring expensive specialist tools.

So this weekend I set about changing the oil and oil filter. ...

I went for a ride from the North Shore of Auckland out to Port Waikato today, for no other reason than I haven't been to Port Waikato before.
Port Waikato is at the head of the Waikato river in the Franklin district on the West Coast.

Although a little cool the weather was perfect. The initial trip out on the motorway was your normal motorway trip (yawn).

However the fun starts at Pokeno. The road, while not maintained to the same degree as city roads, was ...

For the first time in ages the North Shore of Auckland was enveloped in a fog for the entire day (Saturday 27/6/2009).

I had to do a job for work early in the morning (5am, ahhhh), then I helped a friend shift. Next decided it was time for a nap.
When I woke back up around 4pm the fog was still about, so decided it would be good to take the bike out.
Visibility was limited, so I decided to wear a high-viz vest. It is always good when you come back from a ride with ...

My jacket and pants are about 10 years old now, and in need of replacement. But trying to decide what to replace them with has been challenging as their are so many options.

First I decided what I wanted the gear for. I mostly ride on the streets, and want to go to track days and be safe.
So I decided I wanted a two piece that can be zipped together. Because I do mostly street riding, and New Zealand being what it is, I also want something that will keep be dry for at least ...

Went for an early morning ride this morning.

It was really foggy, and I could see a layer of frost over the lawn. I was thinking there may be thin patches of ice on the road as a result.
I wondered why the fuck I was going for a ride, and then I remembered, I really like riding.

Anyway I set off, and then something unusual happened. The *outside* of my visor misted up. I had to give the outside a wipe a few times. I have a pinlock visor, and although it did ...