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| Pt. Mugu on the PCH Northbound |
Always
make sure your rubber is up to the task.
How
are your tires? Are they good for taking the long way home with the few twisties
you like? Always take a peek before you throw your leg over, make it part of
your own circle of safety as you walk around your bike to make sure there are
no loose ends and everything is shipshape for your ride. Planning a long trip?
Do more than peek, inspect everything. Who needs to be halfway between Bass
Lake and Yosemite when a tire goes or your battery gives up the ghost?
The last few weeks I’ve been planning a 1500-mile ride that includes, a run up the coast from Santa Monica to Cayucos, over to Walnut Creek to visit my best friend Jim and take in a Giants game with him, then ride through Yosemite to stay in Lee Vining before riding through Death Valley to Pahrump (a scene visit for my book) before heading home.
I made a checklist for myself:
- Q Check battery and replace as needed
- Q Ensure tire wear is in line for a 1500-mile
ride
- Q Inspect helmet, replace if it is time
(okay, I’ve wanted to make a change anyway)
- Q Check brakes, belts, electrical cables, and
nuts and bolts
- r Wash the bike, especially the windscreen
- r Change the oil and filter
- r Check tire pressure
The
battery was a no brainer because I suspected it was at its end. The helmet was
easy too simply because I’ve wanted to make a change and upgrade my helmet
cam/communications unit anyway. Brakes, belts, and such I do regularly. The tires
on my Victory Cross Country? I needed help. I suspected the rear tire needed to be
changed because it appeared close to the wear marks. The front tire I thought might
be okay for my trip. The receipt from the
last tire change was not to be found and I wanted to go back to the same place.
They were/are very good and being a repeat customer is a good thing to be. There is something comforting about having someone you trust work on your bike.
My friend Jed gave me a recommendation and bingo, it was the place. Jed was
likely the person who sent me to M-C Tire Works in the first place.
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My
grand plan for the day of the tire change was to arrive promptly when they
opened at 9am, kill time while they worked their magic with a little reading and
writing, and then ride up to Santa Barbara via the coast route to catch my
grandson’s freshman football game. It was a brilliant plan that needed a bit of
tweaking with Jeremiah’s game being pushed back a couple of hours. It turned
out I would need the extra time and extra tweaking.
I
was a few minutes early and was there to watch Tony open up the shop for the
day and greet the technician who would work on my bike. Tony and I walked around
the bike so he could assess my needs. It turned out that I really needed his practiced
eye. My front tire was due, there was no maybe about it. The rear tire had some
miles left on it and Tony said I could have the 1500 miles left on it but couldn’t
make anything certain as every bike and rider wear tires in their own way. I opted
to go with the safe and secure option. Finding a lift and getting a new tire in
Death Valley at 120-degrees with a blown tire is dicey thing, we’ve already
lost a couple of riders this year to the heat out there.
They
were done with the work at just under the estimated time and I was ready to
roll out by 11am or so. This is where I found the need for more tweaking for the
ride up to Santa Barbara. Tony reminded me that the new tires are slick and
need 100 miles of careful riding. I remembered the slick part, just not the 100-mile
recommendation. I had to watch for water, tight turns, and be mindful of my throttle.
He pointed out a sign on the counter warning about the slickness, the 100-mile
recommendation. The sign ended with, “Too much gas and you will be on your ass.”
I
am a big fan of M-C Tireworks! 5 of 5 ês!
I
took these things seriously and altered my route to use as much surface street mileage as possible from North Hills to Malibu Canyon. Traffic wasn’t bad, thankfully.
I left plenty of space between me and the next guy and maintained a good safety
bubble. I made the most of the ride up Venture Blvd. When I was a
Communications Technician for the phone factory I had offices all throughout
the valley and good memories accompanied me along the ride.
Malibu
Canyon presented the big challenge and was a cause for some clinching and I’m
not talking about my teeth. I thought it would be okay since there would likely
be traffic to hold me in check and I was correct. Traffic up PCH was reasonable
with only one or two cagers trying to run up my tailpipes. I had enough space
on the 101 Highway from Oxnard up to Santa Barbara and simply bided my time until
I got off the highway at Cabrillo Blvd. to ride along the coastal part of Santa
Barbara. I came to a stop at Milpas and Cabrillo and hit the 100 miles dead on.
Now, I didn’t immediately start slaloming through Santa Barbara traffic and
hitting the gas on every turn. Not my style. However, I breathed a bit easier.
I
made it to the game to watch an improved San Marcos High Royals’ team play with
my grandson at center, the prize at the end of the ride. This made it a night
ride home which was fine by me, though it had been a while since I’d taken a
long one at night.
As
an epilog of sorts to this post, I took my wife’s car in for a quick oil change
and added on a change of break fluid while we were at it. During the process to
change the fluid the tires were removed and I was treated to their technician
rolling a tire over to me and pointing out some damage, pictured here. At some
point, one of us hit something sharp and we were close to having a blowout at
any time. Too close.
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| Inside edge of an otherwise healthy tire... |
My
takeaway from this is whether bike, car, truck, with or without a trailer – check the
rubber and make sure it is up to the task.
Keep
the iron side up my friends!
Jerry
‘Shakespeare’ White
