I’ve planned an Alps tour with a GF.
Links to Google Maps tracks…
2 Lienz to around the Sella Group
5 Landeck to Stanzach short way
6 Landeck to Stanzach long way
The idea was to allow ourselves some short cuts and extra roads to use, depending on how the trip goes. We may also take an extra hour to ride into Lichtenstein, just to say we were there.
I’m one of the riders who wanted my feet down on my first bike. I am not ashamed of this. It was some security and I needed it. Being able to put both of my feet down gave me confidence that I wasn’t going to tip over, wasn’t going to damage my bike, and was going to make the ride. When I found my lowered F650GS, I was ecstatic. Honestly, it’s been the perfect starter for me. It’s got a propellor on the side, I can get my feet down, and it’s Mandarin Yellow. It’s autobahn-friendly, dirt-friendly, and (grrr!) garage-friendly. And, if I didn’t mention it, I can get my feet down. With a slight bend in my knees! I spent a year and a half with it becoming a confident and reasonably capable rider. To that end, it served its purpose with distinction.
My confidence grew as I got proficient with the baby GS and I was starting to wonder what it would be like to ride a non-lowered bike. I was starting to only use my toes at stops. I was bending my knees so that my heels weren’t down. I was experimenting with not having my feet down by tripoding all the time. Due to some motor issues this summer, I made the decision to buy a second bike. The prospect of a vintage BMW floated by, but I dropped it due to not wanting two dead bikes. 
I wanted to try something sportier and smaller, but also, something that was a bit taller.
I went with a Honda CBR250R. Before I broke it in, I could sort of get my feet down, but not all the way. My heels had quite a sliver of air under them, depending on where I was on the seat. My feet came down in front of the pegs (gasp!!) when they came down at all.
Riding the CBR250R is a completely different experience from the GS, not the least of which is the fact that my legs are straight and my feet are mostly down when I am stopped. I tripod it everywhere, because both feet don’t go down on the ground like on the GS. And it is good. My increased confidence lends itself well to the higher seat and less foot contact. My improved balance makes handling the more top-heavy CBR much less of a challenge. And, frankly, having my down leg straight is really stable. Much more stable that I could have ever imagined when I started this whole riding thing. Now I understand those guys who look so cool and calm with a bike balancing against one leg, the other foot up on the peg. I can do that too now. 
Recently, though, I’d started to question my choice of the CBR, due mostly to the cost and the extent of the issues with the GS, partly due to the amount of back pain I’m enduring as I convert to the new riding position. I got the GS back on the road last night, and I now have a different perspective on the matter.
After riding the GS last night, I know that the CBR was not only the right decision, it was a good one and a very good one at that. Just as wonderfully good as the yellow GS has been. The CBR is teaching me confidence in a different way than the GS did. And honestly, the stupid GS pretty much rides itself. You tip it into a turn, it pops right back up. It’s so stable. The CBR wants to lean and lean and lean. Just going right to my dream bike, a 1983 R65, would not have given me a new view of riding like the CBR is giving me. I also wonder if starting low gave me a edge up on the going taller game – basically, I have something to compare taller to. I can from the get-go understand why the taller CBR is just fine and in some ways even more stable at a stop than my low GS. I can appreciate the CBR more because I know what it is not. Also, did I mention the GS is low. Like too low. What do I do with my legs low. I still love it, but now I think it needs a lift kit – I’ll find someone in the US to swap regular parts over for my short parts when I get home so I can put down a straight leg instead of a bent one and get some of that newfound stability.
I think that I can serve as the poster girl for starting with a lower bike and moving up. The low GS gave me the tool I needed at the time. It’s still a fantastic tool that I adore riding. But I didn’t stop there. I moved a bit higher, and I can now see an F800GS in my future. The seat height no longer scares me. I might not be seeing that if I was still fighting with a taller bike from day one. Just like your first bike doesn’t have to be your last one, it also doesn’t have to be te tallest one you ever ride. You can always move on up with the next one.
The answer to getting your feet down is do it if you need or want to, but stay open the idea that one day, you might find yourself pretty comfortable up in the air, sticking a toe out once in a while to touch down. It worked for me.
note – It was pointed out to me that the CBR is very light, and that is helping with the transtion. Yes. And there will be more transitions in the future, thanks to that.
It doesn’t sound too hard, does it, to buy a pair of coveralls that fit? Well, I am female….
Years ago, I purchased a pair of navy blue size 38 regular Dickies coveralls for use around the house and garage. They got about 10 minutes of use before they were ditched for old jeans and a ratty tshirt. Why? Remember what I said about coveralls that fit?
Admittedly, there aren’t quite as many women wearing coveralls as there are guys out there, so it’s no surprise that a decently-fitting pair is hard to come by. Add in that a fair number of the women out there who do wear coveralls aren’t built like Lauren Bacall, and you have a market that isn’t all that attractive to coveralls makers. Because it consists of about four total women.
The difference between coveralls for men and coveralls for women is easy to spot. Women’s coveralls have room for boobs and butts. They also have shorter back-waists – the distance from the collar to the waistline. Mine went into the bin-of-things-we-don’t-know-what-to-do-with because minus the boob and butt room and being too long on the top, I was spending more time adjusting them than a Major League Baseball player spends adjusting his you-know-whats.
Last summer, I was going through that bin and pulled out the coveralls. Hmm, project? Sure! I’d already re-sized and significantly altered a two-layer Nomex suit for racing cars, how hard could a pair of coveralls be? The good designers at Dickies were a lot more serious about these things staying together than peeps over at Speed Sport Racing! The coveralls took me over eight hours simply to dismantle to the point that alteration could begin. Adding to the mess was the most complex elastic waist I’ve ever seen, one that requires a special machine to properly install. I got the bulk of the fitting done over the next few weeks, but the elastic waist and its complexity beat me, and I put the project on hold for a while.
Until today.
Alterations are typically bread and butter work for a seamstress. Relatively simply even when complex, and rarely requiring more than a few pins here or there to set up seams. Occasionally, you get something over the top, and you have to resort to machine basting. At the very tip-top of annoying and difficult seams come the ones you have to hand baste – sew by hand before you sew them properly with a machine. I had set aside the annoying elastic waist when exuberant pinning did not solve the problem. Sometime in the winter, I took a stab at it with machine basting. Today, I sucked in a lot of air and got out the pin cushion and thread: I would hand baste this thing and finish it off. Four hours later, three spent out in my garden in the sunshine, and I was rewarded for my effort with a pair of very stock-looking, properly fitting coveralls.
They look completely off-the-shelf. I like that. I just wish they had been off-the-shelf to begin with!
Nordic skiing has a lot more to do with Alpine skiing than skateboarding does with snowboarding.
I traveled to Willingen, a town in the Sauerland area of Germany, to further my skiing abilities, and for the first time, skied fully in parallel, executing pretty stem turns and schussing down a moderately steep piste. Four hours of lessons produced a recognizable and functional technique that could get me safely down the slope with good control. By the end of the weekend, I could ski comfortably, avoiding oncoming traffic and the hundreds of Dutch children covering the bunny hill. I even ventured up the Seilbahn (gondola lift) to take on the big hill. I fell once, sliding due to a bit of fear (my survival reaction is to lean backwards, a quick way to lose control), but no harm done. I seemed to have learned how to properly fall in the process, too.
The instructors both made a good point: I was not a beginner skier. Unlike instructors in the US, who pooh-poohed my hundreds (if not at least a thousand) kilometers of Nordic experience, the Germans were quick to describe each Alpine technique in Nordic terms. This was a confidence boost and made it easier to adopt the new technique of pushing the tails wide (stemming).
I expect I’ll be skiing through the summer, over at the Skihalle in nearby Neuss. Yes, it’s a bunny hill, but I see no reason not to own it, too.
One of the few real contributions I have been able to make to the MkI VW community, who have helped me with countless problems, is a manual for repair and replacement of MkI convertible tops. Co-Authored with Brian O’Connell of the152, it will save your bottom end when leaks invariably wander in.
I purchased my Passat in March of 2000 from Devon Hill VW in Devon, PA- they are good guys! I took delivery on the 24th, and I have been enjoying the ride ever since.
It is Indigo Blue with a grey velour interior. It has a five speed manual transmission with the 1.8 litre turbo engine. It came with the luxury package of a sunroof, rear tonneau, and Adelaide wheels (I like them!!). I also purchased the CD-6 changer to go with the Monsoon head unit. I got the CD-6 as a peace offering to my spouse since he wanted the Tip! I also have the VW roof rack crossbars.
My first mod was a customisation. I replaced the shift knob and boot with a gobKnob bubble ball and a custom boot which I made myself. I have a pattern and instructions for those who wish to make their own boots, too. The shifter shaft is an unusual thread- 12mm, 1.5 thread pitch, so you have to get a special tap! Dad machined out the stainless steel fitting which screws onto the shaft. I am planning a surprise *upgrade* for this spring to this knob system. Keep checking the forums at clubB5 for more on this!
2/01 – I recently swapped out the rear interior light for the switched version. This is the same reading light that is found over the rear doors in the cabin. The part cost $22, and the install took about 2 minutes. This is very nice for late night grocery runs with the kids- you can turn off the light and let them sleep!
4/01 – The AlienWindow remote window controller is an excellent modification to make to your car. It allows you to control the windows from your VW switchblade remote. I just did it, and it’s great! It took me about one and a half hours to get done and was a good afternoon project. I took some pictures of the install while I had the car apart.
5/01 – My Euroswitch has arrived from the Pottermen! What nice people out there in CA, they sent me M&M’s with the part. Order from www.parts4vws.com. I have installed it, now I must run the wires for my rear fogs. I also explored the underside of the dashboard – kind of a pain to get into, but there are many goodies underneath there! Including relay 173. I expect to be removing that soon, when I finally convert to clear corners and those fabulous PolarG blue bulbs!
Rear fogs are in! I had some trouble with the wiring, You must go up and over the hatch in the variant, something I did not anticipate when I soldered up my wiring harness. You need 20′ of wire, 13 feet from front to back, and 7 feet from side to side. I have caught some flack for wiring up both sides, but I think that it looks better. I am also thinking about slaving the brake lights into the fogs with the dual diode arrangement, so I need the wire over there anyway. I also hooked up the dash indicator. This was a bit difficult as I had trouble with the plug in the back of the tachometer. It was difficult to get out. But, done and over with, so I am happy.
I added the sunglass holder also this month. Unfortunately, the dealer was only able to get the Passat (3B0) part, so I am stuck with the chrome strip. It doesn’t look as bad as I thought it would in my otherwise chrome-free car.