Sunday, April 7, 2013

A few observations

Last post I introduced you to Stella. Rachel and I took a rider education class together this spring. The objectives of the class were to a) learn how to properly ride a moto and b) help Rachel decide whether she wanted to be a rider or a passenger.

It took about 20 minutes of moto time for Rachel to realize she wanted to be a rider. Which meant just one bike was never going to cut it. So we started looking for a second bike--something with similar but complementary capabilities. After my first ride on dirt with Mark N, it was clear to me that it needed to be a dirt bike. Stella is amazingly versatile, including remarkable trail capabilities, especially for a 180 kg bike. But something lighter would be that much more fun.

Meet Marianne. Husqvarna TC 250 dirt bike to which I added an aftermarket light kit to make her street legal. Which led to an interesting discussion at the DMV when I went to pick up the plates and was asked for an odometer reading.

"It doesn't have an odometer."
"It has to have an odometer."
"No, it doesn't."
"Well I have to enter an odometer reading in the system, so just make something up then."

Today was the first ride in the dirt. A few observations:

1. Dirt bikes are insanely fun.
2. It's amazing what you can roll over with 12 inches of travel.
3. If in doubt whether you can make it up something, just twist the throttle, and you probably will.
4. The mountain biking near my house on the Salt Lake County side of the mountain is unbelievable. The dirt bike trails on the Utah County side are equally impressive. I love where I live.