Day 22: July 24, 2015

Mileage: ~540 miles

Reflective tape on helmet!! :D

With and without flash
Yay more safety :3

Day 20: July 22, 2015

Mileage: ~510 miles

Getting a bit lazy on this blog again
Well I'll just rant a tiny bit about drivers

Had somewhat of a close call a couple days ago. I was in the middle lane and about to switch lanes to go right. I turn my signal on, go to the right most position of my own lane, turn my head to check, uh oh a car's coming... better stick to my own lane and just turn down the road instead. I sway back to my lane and get greeted with a nice beep. I turn to my left and there's a car honking their horn at me. Please drivers... stay in your lane... don't pass motorcycles until they're completely in the other lane.

Emergency vehicles... holy shit they're stressful. I've had a firetruck zip right by me. Wasn't too sure where I was supposed to go for the firetruck since I was at a light by the median. I kind of just hugged it, but the first firetruck zipped quite close. After that I noped out of there since more trucks were coming.

Ah today... ambulance right behind me. I was in the middle lane of a three lane road. I had plenty of room to move, so I'm inching right. I try to make eye contact with the driver, since I was positioning my bike pretty much in front of her. On her fucking phone. X_X. Light turned green. Noped right out of there. Almost passed the ambulance... then I realized that would probably be an illegal speed...

AH holy shit left turners at intersections. Twice now that me slowing down has saved me from left turners. Scary ._. Remember people slow down and look at every intersection. Doesn't matter if they're wrong, if you're on the ground dying.

I should get a GoPro. So much shit on the road when you're hyper aware of your safety.

Day 17: July 19, 2015

Mileage: ~415 miles

Added over a hundred miles in a weekend
So tired
Wrist hurt
Much like a normal weekend
Hur hur
Zzzz....

Day 15: July 17, 2015

Mileage: ~290 miles

Came upon a thread, "Why do you do it?" My response:

I've been through depression for years. I've had a couple suicidal episodes, panic attacks, etc. When I first got my bike and my friends asked why, I jokingly told them, "well, I already want to kill myself, so why not? It'll be a fun way to go!" With that you might think I just have a case of reckless abandon, fuck-it-all, and squid it up. However, these past couple weeks I've been incredibly diligent about what gear I buy, and every time I ride I'm cautious and careful as hell. Riding reminds me that I DONT want to die. It's been an incredibly therapeutic obsession. When I'm out there, my life's problems no longer bother me. It becomes about me, my bike, and not dying. How will I approach this intersection? Is this guy turning left? Can this truck see me? And then... man, those long stretches of roads. I know it's meager, but these last 250+ miles have been liberating.

That... and 60+ mpg. Holy shit, you really can't beat that.

Got home safe
It was a good day

Day 14: July 16, 2015

Mileage: ~260 miles

“Faster, Faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.”
-Hunter S. Thompson

First time on the highway tonight.
Peaked at about 70mph, but tried to stay within the speed limit when there were more cars
So cold and so loud.
Big trucks passing me on the left were so scary D:
I ordered some nice noise-isolating headphones today. Cant wait!

As for the gloves... I returned them, but now I have some pretty uncomfortable ones : /
I'll review it later.

Got home safe
It was a good day :D

Day 13: July 15, 2015

Mileage: ~225 miles

I guess I should do a little review of my gear so this miniblog has actual sustenance.

Today's gear: The Sedici Ezio Gloves

I bought these gloves the day I took the MSF course. I was completely ignorant about brands and I think I jumped the gun. Fortunately, they were only $50 and fit quite comfortably. Unfortunately... this is what my left glove looks like after only riding ~200+ miles:

There's a bit of a tear in the fabric, but there's no real damage to leather. This damage is likely due to the fact that I'm still riding on the clutch. One of my riding friends says its fine, but I'm going to get more opinions on /r/motorcycles to see what others think. Will edit when I get responses. Either way though, I'm not too happy about the tear.

Edit: consensus was, get it exchanged. One guy said it was still technically ok... but I should still exchange it. Got some Rev'it gloves, but exchanged them the very next day for some nice Dainese gloves :D.

Overall, they're pretty comfortable, but I'm now questioning their integrity if I happen to fall. They're probably worth the $50 I spent, but looking back I'd probably go with a more well known brand.

Bonus story: When I bought these, I had no idea how tight gloves should be. I asked the guy helping me, and he looked puzzled and said, "well... uh... it should fit like a glove." I replied, "I... don't normally wear gloves..."

Day 10: July 12, 2015

Mileage: ~180 miles

These past couple days were filled with browsing /r/motorcycles, watching motorcycle videos, watching Durarara! because of Celty, and researching gear.
I literally ironed some clothes because I could just listen to this random motobloggerGoing places is no longer a commute
One motoblogger described it as therapeutic and I'm totally getting it
If I'm thinking too much about something, it's nice to go out and clear my mind from other stuff and just think about staying alive.
Got home safe
It was a good day

Kids/Chicks/Dudes Count: 
Kids: 1 
Chicks: +1 (nice old lady gave me a thumbs up from her car! I'll take it. Not the demographic I hoped for, but w.e. ^_^)

Dudes: 3

Day 7-8: July 9-10, 2015

Mileage: ~150

First tank of gas, $7.50
And it was the fancy kind
Feels good
Makes up for all the gear I'm buying
Adding some pants and boots to my collection
~$100 a piece, but worth it
ATGATT!
So far... ~$700 on safety
Worth

Also bought a high vis vest for night time
I am a beautiful traffic cone
Got home safe
It was a good day

Kids/Chicks/Dudes Count:
Kids: 1
Chicks: 0
Dudes: 3

Day 6: July 8, 2015

Mileage: ~115 miles

Bonded with coworkers yesterdays over motorcycles
Quick mid-day rides are fun
Early morning ones are too
Joined /r/motorcycles
Found out what a squid is
My coworker is a bit of a squid ._. ...
ATGATT everyone!

There's a bit of roadwork near my home
Swerving to avoid the road hazards was pretty fun
Got home safe
It was a good day

Kids/Chicks/Dudes Count:
Kids: 1
Chicks: 0
Dudes: 1 (+2 coworkers, liked the snazzy new bike in the parking lot)

Day 4: July 6, 2015

Mileage: ~76 miles

Bought snazzy new jacket with pads
Safety is great
Dinner with friends
Sorry lady, the sexy sexy revving wasn't me trying to get your attention... it was me fucking up and holding on to dear life X_X
Boston driving is scary D:
Night driving is even scarier!
Pay no attention to the honk... I just fail at turning off my blinkah
More practice needed...
Got home safe
It was a good day

Kids/Chicks/Dudes Count:
Kids: 1
Chicks: 0
Dudes: 1

Day 3: July 5, 2015

Millage: ~25 miles

Bought juice
More practice
Got home safe
It was a good day

Kids/Chicks/Dudes Count:
Kids: +1 (Yo kid, I'm glad you think it's sick; no touchy)

Chicks: 0 (This one is never going up; calling it now)
Dudes: 1

Day 1: July 3, 2015

Mileage: ~20 miles

Got motorcycle
Accidental wheelie
Got home safe
It was a good day

Kids/Chicks/Dudes Count:
Kids: 0
Chicks: 0
Dudes: +1 (Old dude at grocery store told me about his Ducati and to be safe. Cool guy)