gatorcast from paul smith

Here I am this morning at East Lake Tohopekaliga near St. Cloud, Fl.

Yesterday I went down to see my uncle and test drive my cousins Honda Shadow. 

I figure, my uncle Bob taught me how to manual shift in his white stationwagon ford escort in the parking lot at the Cutler Ridge Mall back when I was 16, he should be the one to certify I knew what I was doing on a motorcycle.  My uncle has been riding most of his life. 

I remember as a very young boy taking rides around the grove sitting on the gas tank and holding on for dear life.     It was important for me to experience this with him.  Plus I consider him the most experienced rider I know.  

I got there about 4pm yesterday (as the Gators beat OleMiss) and took a spin in the neighborhood practicing breaking and shifting.  When comfortable, we took it on the highway.   

It was such a thrill !!!  There is something about shifting, balancing, breaking, the wind, the sand, the bugs, the traffic and even the sound of the engine that came alive yesterday.  

I particuluarly like shifting and breaking and the concentration neccessary to coordinate everything together.  I found this bike easier to ride and shift then the 250 I trained on.   I think the Honda Shadow is an 850.   I now understand the difference between a scooter, a 250 and higher.   Basically you need to have some weight and speed to navigate through traffic.   I’m pretty sure anything smaller than what I rode today would not be easy at speeds between 50-60 mph. 

On the first ride I was “in the pocket” as my cousin Bobby pointed out later at dinner.  I had Uncle Bob on the Motoguzzi in front and Bobby III on the BMW cruiser (with the hip-hop on the bike radio).

The Motoguzzi

The Hip-Hop BMW

My ride, the Honda

We drove straight out of their neighborhood and hung a left on Boggy Creek Rd and then to Fortune Rd, hit the lake and followed E Lake Shore Blvd around.

This is the route we took.

This is Bob’s favorite route.   He says its got everything, low speeds, medium speeds, higher speeds (on the end) and some traffic but very light 2 lane roads. Very little side streets.   It was very scenic.  Most speeds were about 35-45.  The stretch on the east part of the lake (Narcossee Rd) was 55 mph.  

I must say it was pretty  excilarating going 60 mph.  I was not affaid as I had imaged.  As I am writting this now,  I think I may not have let myself think too much before riding.  Being safe and really trying to pay attention to what I was doing was enough to think about.    The ride went perfect.  Except I did stall once at about my second traffic light and could not get the bike started.   The battery was dead so we had to jump start it.   No problem:  Bobby and the Hip-Hop BMW came to my rescue.   

The ride lasted about 45 minutes for about 28 miles. 

  :> I Googled Mapped the route and Bob you were right!

After we got back it started to rain a bit so we decided to call it a night for the Bikes.  Later we had a great dinner.  Bridget, Mike, Linda, Bobby, Bob and I were there. 

This morning Bob woke me at 7:30 am.  We had coffee, got our gear on and took another lap on the route.   

We did it a little different the second time.  First of all, I was not in the pocket, I was the one in the back.   Its interestng on how close cars will come up behind you.  There is definately an art to creating space between you and other cars.   This morning was cooler and there was less people and cars.  I also decided to try out a full face helmet instead of a half size from the day before.  I think I like the full face.   As Bob pointed out, they are both different rides.  The half size you feel the sand, bugs, the wind and you can’t hear much.   With the full face, you can close the lid and really feel and hear the bike more.  I image people have music, or communication devices so they can chat while riding.

After we made the loop, we decided to go down highway 192 in trafiic a bit and go through downtown Kissimmee, then back towards the lake and finally back to his business to open for the day.  I was really starting to get the hang of it and getting better about coordinating all of the moving parts.

By 9:30 am I was back in my car, which seemed very different all of a sudden, and headed North to Gainesville.

Thanks Bob (and Bobby) for a wonderful experience.  And like learning to drive a stick shift 25 years ago, I will never forget it.

My view while sitting on the Honda.  [Notice the little green light, it is in neutral. :>]