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Dedicated to the memory of our Mentor, Uncle B.

A big thank you to Stickchick and kave for your selections from the entries this last fortnight.

Carbacca and Bull congratulations, I read both entries with interest: Carbacca it is always good to review your riding after attending a course and getting the tankbag, good on you.

Bull, as always a very informative write up, and knowing the Wellington region here, I always enjoy a ride around the bays, matter a fact was out Shelley Bay yesterday, practising my counter steering and body position/head and eyes.

I think a harbour and bays ride one Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning is not too far away.

Carbacca and Bull you will be the selectors for the fortnight 18 to 31 July.

Heads Up and Enjoy the following entries:

Originally Posted by kave

My pick for this fortnight is carbacca, for putting in some effort by going out and practising what was taught on the RRRS course he attended, and for getting confident enough to be able to pass on the open road.

Originally Posted by carbacca

07-07-07

its been bucketing in auckland all week and i was really starting to wonder if the weekend would clear out enough for a ride this weekend. it seems to have rained itself out thurs to friday night to reveal an overcast day on satruday, high clouds with not much chance of heavy rain, my prayers have been answered. sorted out a few things early in the morning then off i go.

couple of weeks ago i did the RRRS course. but for the next week i got the flu and was waiting for parts for the bike so i was out of action for two weeks, last week got a brief break and went for a run down the southern motorway but that was hardly enough to satisfy me. so this week really for me was to get out to some open roads to see if i can put the things i learnt in the RRRS course into practice. i knew some guys out and about in kaipara so off i go in that direction, bonus for me being that i knew the road pretty well (as much as you can from inside a cage i guess). another thing that i wanted to test was the new tankbag i got off trademe.

the ride itself was pleasant enough, being the first fine saturday in ages traffic was heavier than i would have preferred. all the way up i was keeping in mind the lessons on cornering and countersteering and putting those into practice as much as possible, trying to get a more instinctive feel for things. got my first open road passing victim (sorry silver toyota spacio) as well as passing a few other bikers on scooters and GNs and the like. got a lot of friendly waves from bikers going in the opposite direction too.

the thing i m most stoked about however is the tankbag; initial thoughs was that it would really get in the way of your arms on the handlebars but it really wasnt the case, 99% of the time i dont even notice its there. also found that because its a slightly stiff bag i can rest my chest gently on the edge of it to help with fatigue. the top map compartment is very useful too, i put all my phones and garage remotes and wallet into it and its very handy at service stations or buying food, no more fumbling about looking for stuff from a bulky jacket. whoever invented the tankbag should get a nobel prize lol

swung past motomail on the way home to look at the sale, but saw nothing i could sink my credit card into.

Originally Posted by Stickchick

Nice write up, good to have someone that is willing to put all actions into words, helps me thats for sure

Originally Posted by bull

After pretty much only commuting to and from work lately i was determined to get out for a decent ride.

So went for a ride today with Mickdarstadly - went into Wellington City and then out and around the bays from Miramar wharf to Owhiro Bay then back to Upper Hutt.

1440hrs - 1700hrs
Conditions: Rain, Cold, Wind Gusts, Greasy Roads and Sunstrike

Heading into Welly on Motorway...
Extended following distance to allow for the greasy road.
Road Surface Scanning to check for oil/petrol/diesel, manholes, potholes.
Indicating for 3 seconds and using headchecks when lane changing.
Keeping an eye on Mickdastardly who was following to ensure he was up with the pace and lowering of the pace to suit.

Through Wellington City...
Alot of oil on the roads, some very long slicks on the roads.
Lots of manholes in the roads, managed to avoid most where possible, especially in corners.
Made sure to check ground when stopping at lights to avoid standing in oil slicks and possibly dropping the bike.

Around the bays...
Road surface scanning
Smooth cornering
Right gear selection to adjust for coming around a bend into gusts, made sure was in low enough gear to be able to power through the corner still.
Looking through the corners with head not just eyes.
Slight body adjustments prior to corner to keep bike more upright whilst cornering in the wet.
Found sunstrike coming towards the airport, the rain droplets on my visor obscured vision so i opened visor and tilted my head downward to compensate.

Was a bloody good ride even in the weather conditions.
Definitely glad ive got good cordura gear to be able to ride out in the cold and wet conditions, and my latest purchase of REVIT Hyper Balaclava is brilliant in the cold, no more frozen neck when riding and it even doubles as a breath guard.