Ranting…

Posted by Rashmi Tambe on Apr 19, 2006 in Motorcycling | 0 comments

You know it’s going to be a lovely day when you drop your shiny, new bike in the frontyard when you are leaving for work. Fortunately, it didn’t exactly crash – I just lowered it onto the ground when I felt it falling down, and it was on some soft grass, so no scratches or things breaking off.

After I got it up though I was horrified to find out that the screws fastening the front seat to the bike were missing!! They weren’t anywhere to be found on the grass (and I’d have been very surprised to have seen them there). I know I fastened them pretty tight when I replaced the seat a month ago, so it’s either some screw gnomes that took them, or they weren’t tight enough and had fallen off while I was riding it. Can that even happen?!

Either way, I should be relieved that I found out sooner rather than later. I can imagine it’d be quite dangerous if the seat slipped around under me or even slid out or something while riding. Now I’m going to have to find the right gauge screws for it before I’m able to ride it again. Trip to Sears hardware then?

Good thing I had another bike to ride to work, although it felt almost like a toy bike after a week of riding the SV. So low and so… puny! I felt like a right idiot riding it, and it took some guy riding a red Hayabusa waving at me enthusiastically from some crossstreet to cheer me up again. :) *grin* Wow… hmmm… let’s revise the part where I said that biker guys don’t do anything for me anymore, shall we? ;)

Oh, and I had at least two feckin’ idiots in cages trying to race me. The speed limit is 35mph and I’m going 40mph in the left lane, and they *still* overtake me from the right. WTF? I thought this only happened when I rode the SV, but apparently morons find even a little 250 bike threatening. I mean really, are you an idiot? What the hell do you want me to do? Go 55+ mph on a 35 mph street in peak hour traffic?

Not to mention the fucking idiot in the minivan yesterday… I decided to take the long way home and rode by Lake Sammamish, which is normally a pleasant non-eventful, less traffic-y route where I pass lots of bikers. What I get is this giant, blue, ugly fucking minivan tailgating me for the entire length of the ride. Keep in mind that this is a very narrow street with only one lane going either way. There’s no way I can pull away to let him through. To my left is the lake, which is not an option, and to the right is just steep, uphill private driveways. What the hell is one to do? I just rode the entire way feeling hot and bothered and pissed off as heck. What I’d give to have had a gun, stop, and shoot his tires out under him. Yay for road rage!

Okay, so I thought I had calmed down from this morning’s fiasco, but I obviously haven’t.