Commute thoughts and impending vacations

it’s good that i’m easily amused.
My commute today was slightly longer than normal, thanks to my fellow drivers who decided that the best use of everyone’s time would be to smash into one another. This, of course, caused a multi-lane clusterfuck for about 10 miles.

Traffic was moving at that super-annoying speed that’s too slow to upshift into anything comfortable, but too fast to lanesplit. Probably around 10-20mph. So I used the time to see how long I could go without touching either the clutch or brake. It makes me nervous to ride just above idle; the SVS shudders a little at about 2000 RPM, and apparently I think that if I don’t pull in the clutch, the entire bike will explode. So I practiced using the engine to slow down to right around 2000 RPM without panicking and grabbing the clutch.

I was doing well until an older-middle-aged white man in a suit (driving a black Mercedes, naturally) decided that he was Important and could therefore be in my lane despite my being there first. So he got the brake (and the horn, and a nasty look that was sadly wasted through the tinted visor).

mmm, pto.
I walked into my boss’s office yesterday and dumped a stack of Personal Time Off requests on his desk. Fortunately, I’d forewarned him that it’d look worse than it was — most were one day requests here and there.

The spring/summer schedule as of today:

• Sometime in late April: A few of my friends are going hiking at Point Lobos, so Kim and I are thinking of making a ride out of the trip down

• May 7-9: My annual birthday ride; this year, Peter and I are going to the Paso Robles Inn at Friction Zone’s recommendation

• May 20-22: The 2005 Sport-Touring.Net West Coast Regional Meet in Fortuna, CA

• June 4-5: Wind Dancers destination ride to/around Reno, NV

• July 7-22: The Hug the Curve Great Northwestern Adventure Tour

Not a bad summer. 🙂