tagged motorcycle
Two 50+mile trips on the odo, this moto-cycle breaths the petrol-laden mix of highway fumes & hot Texas spring air. I breath it also, issuing a gentle touch on the handlebars, the balance and squeeze and twist. The wonderment of freedom of light & sound & feel of her resonance at the frequency chosen by the angle of the wrist [the twist] and the angle of my waist with thighs squeezing her frame, holding on. "Is there a seat belt on this thing?" Ha! Funny you should ask! I think not.
I've had a full week of fluid city practice on my SV650s. The machine is running beautifully. I'm figuring it out, always eager to learn from the experience.
I just got back from a neighborhood ride. Besides getting my moto-buzz on, I practiced stopping:
- Feeling out the back brake alone in stops, for it's relationship to overall stopping power.
- Finding balance between front & back brake pressure in a hard stop.
- Learning how to maintain balance and get a grip back if traction drops in a stop.
The reflexes that make me quick & nimble on my bicycle must be tuned for the 520-lb creature that is me on Suki. On the bicycle, I can crank down on the brakes and stop fast. But if I unleash those same reflexes on Suki's brakes, I slide. Grace on the brakes. This is a whole different way to move. A sensitive, powerful extension of my human form. Constantly learning to release tension, to accept & understand the cycle's connection to the ground and myself. I think this calls for a yoga class tomorrow night, which I know will help me center and release.
There is a delicate edge on a motorcycle. No doubt. My bicycle feels completely different now; I definitely squish its suspension around more than I used to, and I come to stops, dropping my feet swiftly to balance, as if my bicycle would fall over!
So, the motorcycle has taken over!
Her Name is Suki, with a boyish scar upon her right cheek bone.
Most of the conscious energy that I have remaining from programming Ruby on Rails & general life-n-love, I've been pouring into my new obsession: a motorcycle (a 2006 Suzuki SV650S, to be exact.)
