A Blustery Day

Last Sunday I went out to take care of some errands. I happened to peek out a window before leaving and noticed a lot of dust blowing our way. I did the smart thing, and closed the windows in our house before suiting up and getting on the Triumph.

Because a little dirt isn't going to keep me from riding when the temperature is this perfect.

A couple of blocks away from my house, I was able to see what looked like a proper duststorm gathering in the distance. Oops.

I rode on, and got to enjoy about five little drops of rain as I got onto the freeway.

The wind on the freeway was nearly constant, mashing the chinbar of my helmet into my face. This is about as comfortable as it sounds. There was enough wind that I couldn't hear the motor at all. It made me think I was going faster than I was, and I had to keep a close eye on traffic and my speedometer to make sure I wasn't going too slow to compensate.

Good times.

Of course, on the way home I had the opposite problem. The wind was still blowing just as hard, only now I was heading downwind. Suddenly it was very easy to ride too quickly.

Speed cameras have been set up all over the greater Phoenix area in the last couple of weeks, which are a real drag. Not only do they wreck the flow of traffic (not to mention increasing the number of crazy jerks who don't notice the camera and suddenly change lanes to pass everyone else who slowed down), but they're just not sportsmanlike at all. There should be an actual person who catches you, and writes a ticket, in my ever so humble opinion. On the one hand, I understand that police should be doing better things than catching speeders. On the other hand, if they're out looking for speeders, chances are they'll also notice drunks, reckless drivers, etc.

The cameras make me very happy the Triumph has powerful brakes. Without them, I'd probably have gotten a ticket or two when I noticed the cameras a touch too late.

Darn wind, making me drive all fast. I could explain that to an officer, but not to a camera. Ho ho.