Yamaha RD350

So I turned 40 years old this week. For my birthday, my awesome boyfriend got me a 1975 Yamaha RD350 (also, according to the frame sticker, manufactured in 10/75 so it's even more perfect!).

I first rode an RD a few years ago when Aaron's brother brought his to Bandcamp. I loved it.

It fits me well, is light and nimble and quick. It's a two-stroke, so it goes well with my scooter addiction. I finally rode it a tiny bit last weekend, and I am going to love it. There are some things we're going to do as preventative measures (nothing wrong with it, totally unmolested bike). As evidenced by this video, its only real problem is that it doesn't have rearset pegs (YET):

Because it's so original, we're not going to mess with it much, at least not anything that would make it impossible to return to stock. So the fenders will not get any holes, no repainting (except for the oil tank because the left side is ruined). I'm looking at cafe seats, and we'll put lower bars (not clipons, though). And my much-needed rearsets. Hope this winter is short!

Weekly Planning

Oh, how the weeks just go so quickly. Last week's mileage was pathetic, but otherwise, the week was okay:

MONDAY: 5-mile trail run, 30-minute weights session
TUESDAY: yoga, 2-mile walk
WEDNESDAY: 6-mile run with the hill from hell + trail, 2-mile trail hike
THURSDAY: 40-minute weights session
FRIDAY: off
SATURDAY: off
SUNDAY: off

And so here's this week's plan:

MONDAY: 5-mile trail run
TUESDAY: yoga, something else if time permits
WEDNESDAY: 6-mile run with the hill from hell + trail, weights
THURSDAY: 2-mile trail hike
FRIDAY: 10-mile run
SATURDAY: off
SUNDAY: off

We are out of town again this weekend. We're heading down to Parkersburg for some scooternerd time -- although it's looking like we'll be on Triumphs. As long as the weather holds, we're riding down on the bikes and meeting our friends in Athens at the lunch stop (no desire to ride down there Friday night via the highway in the dark; plus this way, we can run after work).

We haven't really done any riding on the big kid bikes, so I'm looking forward to it. There's a 40% chance of rain here on Sunday and a 20% down there. I don't really feel like riding back in the rain, so I guess we'll see. If the weather looks too shitty, we'll just drive down Saturday morning.

I don't want a repeat of last year's horrendous ride back from Athens.

Last year's Triumphs getting all wet

Retro Bikes

On Saturday, I headed up to Cleveland Moto (POC's motorcycle sibling) to try out the Moto Guzzi V7. I was really, really afraid that I would love it and that I would be trying to figure out how to juggle payments on the Subaru, van and motorcycle.

Eh, not so much. The bike is beautiful (and the V7 Race is cool as shit). The size and weight are perfect. It handles nicely. It sounds like a purring kitty. But it's slow. I was prepared for slow, but I thought it would have more torque. Honestly, what I was thinking is that there is nothing the V7 does/has that's better than my Speed Four.

Aaron and I went out on the V7 and an old Thruxton that the shop had taken in on trade. We stopped to swap bikes, and I was so, so eager to hop on the Thruxton, even though it was pretty rough. I've been wanting one for a while, but the weight deterred me. (It's definitely heavier than the V7 - 80 pounds or so - and the seat height is higher and it has clip-ons.) I've riddent a Bonneville before, and the power was fine - but I hated the seating position. The Thruxton has longer shocks, so it's taller, but I think that makes the weight distribution more comfortable for me. And the rear sets, oh how I love you.

I hate mid-mount or foward pegs. Stupid, stupid location for feet, but I suppose one could argue it's better than using the passenger peg... which leads me to my one issue with the Thruxton that really has nothing to do with the bike in general. The spring that keeps the peg down was broken, so every time I shifted gears, the peg would go up and I'd have nowhere for my foot. I was using the passenger peg at first because I thought the peg had fallen off.

Regardless, I really liked the Thruxton, and now all of those thoughts of a custom Thruxton are back. This one isn't for sale yet, but it would be a good candidate. The bike is in rough condition cosmetically, but mechanically, it seemed rather sound. I'd like to get a Thruxton and powder-coat the frame, paint the bike, get a trick exhaust, etc. The aftermarket for Hinckley twins is fantastic. As much as I love my Speed four, it would be really neat to have a motorcycle that isn't an orphan.

But I'm not buying anything right now. I don't want to take on another payment and don't want to start another project. The VBB is still in the pipeline, although I still need to get a title, and the smallie needs its new top end and whatnot. Aaron's working on a motor for a friend, and then he needs to get into the P200 so he can sell it.

But still, that Thruxton is very cool bike. Somehow it's a bike that fits both me and Aaron. It's like magical traveling pants, traveling pants that will travel to my garage someday.

The giant van

Maybe I should say a little more.

We've been looking for a cargo van for quite some time. Everyone says they're inexpensive, easy to find, etc. I call bullshit. If you want a ragged out, windowless van with a gas-guzzling engine, maybe they're easy to fine, but if you're looking for something that was well-cared-for, it's a little harder.

Last Saturday, Aaron said he wanted to check out this van he saw on eBay. It was at a used car dealership about 10 minutes from our house. It was raining, so Aaron looked at it while I played with my iPhone. I can't tell you how many vans he's looked at.

He actually wanted to test-drive this one. I knew chances were good that we'd get it.

This van started life as a passenger van, hence the windows. OSU owned it (silver was probably on purpose) and removed all of the seats, essentially converting it into a cargo van. It's a 2003 with only 44k on the odometer. And - the biggie - no rust!

By Tuesday, it was officially mine. (The fourth four-wheeled vehicle in my name. Pontiac Grand Am, Mercury Topaz, Hyundai Elantra, Ford Econoline.)

We have some stuff to do, but things like tires, brakes, heat, etc., are all good. We need to get a first row of seats (already found some places that sell those for pretty cheap), a spare tire, track for the floor so we can tie down the scoots and a hitch so we can also tow. (Cocoa Beach is gonna be awesome! And I am so happy to be able to haul the scooters in the winter without getting them covered in salt.)

We found it!

It's spring!

First day of spring, first ride to work. Thank you, Speed Four, for being reliable! (Aaron actually had to take the Laminar Lip off the Speed Four last night. On its maiden voyage a couple of weeks ago, it was vibrating pretty badly. It's okay - I'd wanted to try riding it on the highway without it because I think it might be directing air at me instead of over me.)

The smallie still has a broken exhaust, so I can't ride it yet. That's going to have to be fixed soon because the Corsette is quickly approaching!

And last night, I unearthed the Stella from the garage. It started easily, so I took it to the gas station to get air (because I am stupid and couldn't remember how to use our air compressor) and took it for a ride. Until it developed an air leak, which forced me to cut my ride short and head home. Gah!

Oh well. I have the Triumph, and my pollen report says it's definitely spring!

It's the weekend wrap-up!

No complaints about this weekend.

Friday night: Stayed in, made tortellini with homemade tomato sauce. Drank a beer and went to bed early.

Saturday morning: 8-mile run with the group. The best thing about this is that I took it easy, had negative splits and felt like I could have kept going.

Saturday afternoon: The Ohio Pinball Show. Not really somewhere I thought I'd ever go, but we had friends from Columbus who were coming up for it, so we figured we'd stop by. And then we ran into another friend (from Pittsburgh, this time). Who would have thought so many people were into pinball? Also, there was a ton of BO in that place.

And Aaron played the biggest pinball machine ever, the Hercules.

Saturday evening: Dinner at Old Carolina (finished off the gift certificates I won from there) followed by a couple of beers and the watching of OU beat Akron to get to the NCAA tournament. Woohoo! (I was in an Akron bar watching the game, so I felt a little alone in my super-cute Ohio University retro-style t-shirt.

Sunday: Up early to get the Triumphs out of hibernation. It was beautiful out! We ate lunch at Earth Fare, rode out to Brunswick to look at a van, got coffee at Nervous Dog and then headed home. We helped a friend move a couch, I bought two more dresses from Revival (this one and a resale one) and then met Aaron's dad for dinner at PF Chang's. Then we followed that up with a trip to Menchies. Such a nice day.

The only thing lacking this weekend was some really good beer. Friday night, I drank an Ithaca Cold Front, which is really tasty, but Saturday, we slummed it with cheap Miller Lite. At least we followed that up with Delirium Noel when we came home. There won't be much beer this week - gearing up for Saturday's half-marathon - but there will probably be plenty of beer afterward on Saturday. It is St. Patrick's Day, after all.

Wrapping Up

This weekend, we went to Durham for Freeze Your Balls Off. For the second year in a row, we went sans scooters. Boo. But it was chilly, and I was glad to not be riding at night! (However, if we'd had scooters, we wouldn't have drank on Friday night and getting up Saturday morning to run would have happened. Lesson learned.)

As I've said before, this month has been a disaster as far as working out goes. I ran 11 miles last week (that's two runs) and did two strength-training sessions. I'm feeling better, and I don't have any trips - so this week should be better!

Monday: run 4 miles, strength-train (check!)
Tuesday: yoga
Wednesday: run 5 miles
Thursday: yoga or strength-train or rest
Friday: run 4 miles (+ strength-train if Thursday is a rest day)
Saturday: rest
Sunday: run 9 miles

Nothing crazy there, so we'll see how that works out. I think about rewarding myself, but any rewards I really want cost money - and I need to be a little more careful with my money. I have a big project in the VBB coming up, and I need to finish up the C70 (but hopefully I can sell that and make a little money on it). Right now I'm having a little battle about my wisdom teeth removal, but that *should* be rectified without issue.

Luckily the Stella, smallie and the Triumph are pretty much dialed in and working okay. The scooters both need a few things, but I've already have those items. Triumph is rock-solid now.

Then there's the smartphone I want to buy (probably a 32GB iPhone 4S) and the added cost of a monthly data plan. See? Lots of money, and we haven't even considered a summer trip to Denver and a winter trip to Phoenix. And tires for the Subaru. And a windshield for the Hyundai. And various house things.

So no vintage motorcycle in 2012. No new/additional motorcycle at all. 2013 might be the year I sell the Stella, although it's not like that would be a huge money-maker.

And I should probably closely evaluate any races or rallies I want to go to. Things are never as inexpensive as you think they'll be. (I'm getting over my "fear of missing out" so that's helpful as I try to stay home and stay in more.)

This is depressing.

Endurance

I've been all about endurance this summer! Let's see...

• I learned to run longer distances.
• I rode the smallframe from DC to Wildwood, NJ via backroads.
• I took two trips on the Triumph.
• I rode the Stella to Columbus via backroads.

How nice that all three of my bikes got to go on longer trips.

But still no marathon or Iron Butts in my future!

Bull City Rumble

We are back from the Bull City Rumble (and back to real life - working and training), but let us remember the fantastic weekend!

When we arrived in Durham on Friday, we immediately got to celebrating Dr. G*! While there was some High Life, the spotlight was on the champagne.

Then we ate some authentic Mexican food and headed out for night 1 of the Rumble. Those motorcycle people are much more "scheduled" than scooter people. The itinery was followed pretty closely throughout the weekend. We took it easy on Friday because we knew Saturday was going to be a long day.

Aaron, Ali and I started the weekend with a run (GREAT decision, even if it wasn't the best run in the world). We witnessed a car accident (lots of auto damage, but luckily the people were basically okay). Aaron and I got in 8 miles and then headed back to Margaret's house to get ready for the bike show.

Once we got there, we quickly found some food (lunch at Parker and Otis). Before shopping for vintage clothing (no luck for me, unfortunately), I took some pictures.

Click it to see more pictures - there were some beautiful bikes.

And we saw a V7, which is likely to join my stable one day.

There were a couple of Speed Triples and one Street Triple, but no Speed Fours. Guess the streetfighters stayed home.

Afterward, we headed home to get ready for Saturday night. Vietnamese for dinner, and then we were off. We largely missed the bands and burlesque - too busy socializing, which is also why I have hardly any pictures. But I do have this pretty one:

And lots of Pippin!

Sunday was spent hanging out, riding, eating Thai and just generally enjoying Durham. I love it there.