A friendly chap from the PSB forums agreed to shadow me down to Freo. We rode down the coast roads. Bit of traffic but nothing too bad. Had a nice little dinner in Freo; I had to have lemonade with mine since I'm on L plates. Bah.
Started giving it a bit on the way back. I had to give it, since the bike wasn't giving anything. There's nothing to give. It's the same thing with cars -- if you can push your foot to the floor coming out of a corner, and not get scared, then you know it's not a very powerful car. Same thing here. Except my bike sounds like a whipper-snipper.
Anyway it will do for the next 12 months, then I'll be able to upgrade.
Less than 2 weeks to my test.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
[Bike] New Gear
Yesterday I went and bought a helmet and jacket. The helmet was $200 after discount, the jacket was $160. Brilliant! The helmet looks kind of cool; sort of reminds me of a Shoei helmet, but obviously 1/5th the price :) It's a HJC one. Now I must save up for some special jeans called "draggins" or something, which stop your skin being grated off in an accident.
Also my test is booked; it's 2 weeks away. Time to practice my U-turns!
Also my test is booked; it's 2 weeks away. Time to practice my U-turns!
[Bike] First group ride
Hit the road with the PSB folks on Tuesday night. I have no idea where we started, rode, or finished. The word "Guildford" came up a lot, and I assume that is some 60-year old suburb to the East of Perth. Anyway it was lots of fun! I was concentrating so much on riding safely while keeping up, I had literally no idea of where we were heading. But we ended up at a food shack called "Alfred's Kitchen". Alfred was absolutely loving it! Lots of customers.
I was up the front with the other L-platers. I can tell you, there was more false starts than a lawnmower. We had more feet touching the ground than a marathon. We had more shaky turns than a geriatric on the dance floor. No, I'm joking, everybody was fine.
Apart from the couple of times when my bike pops into neutral after I stop, but doesn't show the green light so I don't realise until I try to move off! Argh! I will be having a service in a few weeks so maybe they can look at that. In the meantime, everybody assumes I'm stalling it or something.
Somebody hit a Roo apparently, I didn't see it though. Wasn't hurt which is good. This is further evidence that the Kangaroo is evil, and should be exterminated from the entire continent! <clenches fist> Anyway, I'll talk more about that in a later post.
On the way home the weather turned bad and it got pretty unpleasant. Sitting on the freeway, riding into a strong headwind with the single-cylinder engine struggling to get above 100kph was even less fun than it sounds. But such is the price of riding a bike I guess. I'll have to get some wet-weather gear ...
Anyway I ended up getting about 4 hours of riding time which was brilliant!
After work today I should be heading down to Freo with a guy from the Perth Street Bikes forum. More awesomeness for me! Yay!
I was up the front with the other L-platers. I can tell you, there was more false starts than a lawnmower. We had more feet touching the ground than a marathon. We had more shaky turns than a geriatric on the dance floor. No, I'm joking, everybody was fine.
Apart from the couple of times when my bike pops into neutral after I stop, but doesn't show the green light so I don't realise until I try to move off! Argh! I will be having a service in a few weeks so maybe they can look at that. In the meantime, everybody assumes I'm stalling it or something.
Somebody hit a Roo apparently, I didn't see it though. Wasn't hurt which is good. This is further evidence that the Kangaroo is evil, and should be exterminated from the entire continent! <clenches fist> Anyway, I'll talk more about that in a later post.
On the way home the weather turned bad and it got pretty unpleasant. Sitting on the freeway, riding into a strong headwind with the single-cylinder engine struggling to get above 100kph was even less fun than it sounds. But such is the price of riding a bike I guess. I'll have to get some wet-weather gear ...
Anyway I ended up getting about 4 hours of riding time which was brilliant!
After work today I should be heading down to Freo with a guy from the Perth Street Bikes forum. More awesomeness for me! Yay!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
[Bike] First lesson
BAM! Not as hard as you would think. Next lesson on Tuesday, we're going to look at emergency stops and more U-turns. Hopefully I can get somebody to shadow me for a proper ride soon.
Friday, April 22, 2011
[Bike] Bought my first
A 2008 CBF250. Not the fastest 250 but it's comfy and should do me for the 12 months until I can upgrade to a bigger bike.
It's got indicators on both sides, a muffler, a cool digital display including fuel gauge ... What more could you want??!
First lesson on Saturday morning. Although I already took it around the local roads yesterday for a few minutes with no problems.
It's got indicators on both sides, a muffler, a cool digital display including fuel gauge ... What more could you want??!
First lesson on Saturday morning. Although I already took it around the local roads yesterday for a few minutes with no problems.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
[Bike] What to buy ...
Sold the Barina 2 days ago. About 3 hours after putting it online.
Now I'm looking for a bike. Going to the dealerships tomorrow night with my bike-riding friend. Hopefully I can buy something on the spot. I'd prefer not to wait until after Easter. I'm just impatient by nature.
My goal is a VTR250 for $4.5 or less. I've also seen a Yamaha FZX250 "Zeal" for only $2,500 with gear, but I'm worried about it mechanically. I don't want to be fixing it and paying for parts all the time.
I want a sports bike but I figure I'll start with more of a comfy, easy-to-ride bike, get my license, and then switch it up to a Ninja 250 later in the year.
-Gray
Now I'm looking for a bike. Going to the dealerships tomorrow night with my bike-riding friend. Hopefully I can buy something on the spot. I'd prefer not to wait until after Easter. I'm just impatient by nature.
My goal is a VTR250 for $4.5 or less. I've also seen a Yamaha FZX250 "Zeal" for only $2,500 with gear, but I'm worried about it mechanically. I don't want to be fixing it and paying for parts all the time.
I want a sports bike but I figure I'll start with more of a comfy, easy-to-ride bike, get my license, and then switch it up to a Ninja 250 later in the year.
-Gray
Sunday, April 10, 2011
[Bike] Detailed the car
Got down and dirty with the Barina yesterday, scrubbing the bumpers with Jiff to remove the bugs, hell I even polished the number plates to a shine! Fixed the rear wiper, fixed the CD player, re-installed the rearview mirror, washed the red paint off the ceiling light ....
Should be ready for selling in the next week or two. I haven't decided what to ask for it yet. Honda's 2011 CBR250 looks pretty decent when it comes out. Cheaper than a Ninja? Somebody hit me with some knowledge in the comment section (one of you 2 people that actually read this blog...)
Cheers cheers!
Should be ready for selling in the next week or two. I haven't decided what to ask for it yet. Honda's 2011 CBR250 looks pretty decent when it comes out. Cheaper than a Ninja? Somebody hit me with some knowledge in the comment section (one of you 2 people that actually read this blog...)
Cheers cheers!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
30 second Bar Review - Ocean One, Scarborough
Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I ventured here last Sunday for what the locals call a "Sunday session". The first shock came when I passed the bouncer at the front -- and he smiled at me. I felt like I was stepping into a crazy, backwards dimension where up is down, day is night, bouncers are friendly, and girls actually want to talk to me.
This place is clean and classy, and the walls feature surfing motifs, surfboards, photos of people surfing, surfing equipment, photos of girls in bikinis, and other wholesome goodness. It immediately conjurers to mind Jack Johnson music. Unfortunately, this music is completely drowned out by the live band playing covers of nothing but Bob Marley. Fortunately, they're very good!
ATMOSPHERE: Superb - not a single guy with a tight t-shirt, tattoo sleeves or a rat's-tail haircut. Pure friendliness throughout. +1 point.
MUSIC: Brilliant - relaxing and enjoyable. You can have a little dance to it too! +1 point.
DRINKS AND SERVICE: Wow! You can actually get served within 2 minutes of reaching the bar! Drinks weren't any more expensive than your common suburban pub, really. Also they serve cocktails I think. +1 point.
PATRONAGE: Amazing - hot, sexy women (who actually smile!), and friendly dread locked surfer-types. Couldn't ask for a better mix. +1 point.
To think of the hours I've wasted in noisy, stinky pubs in Joondalup, sitting outside at dirty, sticky tables, surrounded by 20 year old males with bad tattoos and artificial muscles, and 20 year old females with too-short dresses, singlets, hairy necks, B/O, over-priced beer, bad music played too loud, filthy toilets, and aggressive bouncers ... Ocean One is the complete opposite. +1 point again! BAM!
FINAL SCORE: 5 out of 5. BOOM! Hashtag "WINNING"!
This place is clean and classy, and the walls feature surfing motifs, surfboards, photos of people surfing, surfing equipment, photos of girls in bikinis, and other wholesome goodness. It immediately conjurers to mind Jack Johnson music. Unfortunately, this music is completely drowned out by the live band playing covers of nothing but Bob Marley. Fortunately, they're very good!
ATMOSPHERE: Superb - not a single guy with a tight t-shirt, tattoo sleeves or a rat's-tail haircut. Pure friendliness throughout. +1 point.
MUSIC: Brilliant - relaxing and enjoyable. You can have a little dance to it too! +1 point.
DRINKS AND SERVICE: Wow! You can actually get served within 2 minutes of reaching the bar! Drinks weren't any more expensive than your common suburban pub, really. Also they serve cocktails I think. +1 point.
PATRONAGE: Amazing - hot, sexy women (who actually smile!), and friendly dread locked surfer-types. Couldn't ask for a better mix. +1 point.
To think of the hours I've wasted in noisy, stinky pubs in Joondalup, sitting outside at dirty, sticky tables, surrounded by 20 year old males with bad tattoos and artificial muscles, and 20 year old females with too-short dresses, singlets, hairy necks, B/O, over-priced beer, bad music played too loud, filthy toilets, and aggressive bouncers ... Ocean One is the complete opposite. +1 point again! BAM!
FINAL SCORE: 5 out of 5. BOOM! Hashtag "WINNING"!
Guitar/Surfing/Diving/Motorcycle - BAM!
Bought a nasty $40 guitar from eBay yesterday - it's only 3/4 size but I'm getting a full size one later today from a friend.
In the meantime, I have completely disregarded learning chords and scales, and I've jumped straight to learning popular songs via YouTube instructional videos.
As a result, I can now play the first few notes of several tracks, including Californication and REM's Everybody Hurts! As you can see, I'm well on my way to becoming the next Jack Johnson.
Also as part of my Jack Johnson-esque strategy, I hope to soon start surfing lessons with a mate who can already surf. This is the same mate that just did his Diving course, can play guitar, and rides a motorbike -- so I am literally riding this guy's coattails into a NEW IMPROVED GRAY!
Stay tuned for excitement in the coming weeks. I hope to sell my car and buy a Ninja 250 as soon as I can.
In the meantime, I have completely disregarded learning chords and scales, and I've jumped straight to learning popular songs via YouTube instructional videos.
As a result, I can now play the first few notes of several tracks, including Californication and REM's Everybody Hurts! As you can see, I'm well on my way to becoming the next Jack Johnson.
Also as part of my Jack Johnson-esque strategy, I hope to soon start surfing lessons with a mate who can already surf. This is the same mate that just did his Diving course, can play guitar, and rides a motorbike -- so I am literally riding this guy's coattails into a NEW IMPROVED GRAY!
Stay tuned for excitement in the coming weeks. I hope to sell my car and buy a Ninja 250 as soon as I can.
Monday, April 4, 2011
30 second Restaurant Review - Jimmy Deans, Scarborough
AMBIANCE: Not bad. American theme with music and shit all over the walls, etc. +1 point
SERVICE: You have to order your food at the counter. What is this, McDonalds? -1 point.
Food took about 20 minutes to come out. -1 point.
FOOD: I paid $28.50 for a "Sirloin Steak"; they should call it the "Coles $6 steak". I've cooked steaks at home that tasted better than this. I've eaten stale bread rolls that were easier to chew than this lump of gristly meat. I've had burgers from Hungry Jacks that had better quality beef than this 2nd-rate slab of cow. -1 point.
I'm not a Chef, but I've had Pepper Sauce with every steak I've eaten in the last 20 years. I've found that a key ingredient is the pepper. This watery, white liquid tipped all over the steak had absolutely no taste whatsoever. -1 point
Total Score: -3 out of 5
JIMMY DEANS IN SCARBOROUGH -- BOYCOTTED
SERVICE: You have to order your food at the counter. What is this, McDonalds? -1 point.
Food took about 20 minutes to come out. -1 point.
FOOD: I paid $28.50 for a "Sirloin Steak"; they should call it the "Coles $6 steak". I've cooked steaks at home that tasted better than this. I've eaten stale bread rolls that were easier to chew than this lump of gristly meat. I've had burgers from Hungry Jacks that had better quality beef than this 2nd-rate slab of cow. -1 point.
I'm not a Chef, but I've had Pepper Sauce with every steak I've eaten in the last 20 years. I've found that a key ingredient is the pepper. This watery, white liquid tipped all over the steak had absolutely no taste whatsoever. -1 point
Total Score: -3 out of 5
JIMMY DEANS IN SCARBOROUGH -- BOYCOTTED
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