http://www.motobroad.com Taking life by the handlebars Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:36:47 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Cataract surgery for the left eye was 10 days ago; it wasn't perfect (some difficulty getting all the cloudy lens out; a bit of scarring already — apparently that's not uncommon in younger patients), but there's still a huge improvement in vision (well, on one side, anyway). The blinding glare ... http://www.motobroad.com/?p=457 In a post about 18 months ago ("Blinded by the Light"), I described how blinding the setting afternoon sun was: I could see nothing else, and my eyes recovered so slowly from the glare that I couldn't handle the quick light/dark transitions. I thought it was just a combination of ... http://www.motobroad.com/?p=440 Holy cow, how did I live without this thing? The Gerbing jacket liner ($199.95) utilizes Gerbing's patented Microwire technology to smoothly distribute warmth throughout the liner, with no hot spots, and no bulky electronic components. It feels like a cushy windbreaker — nowhere near as bulky as my Olympia jacket's winter ... http://www.motobroad.com/?p=422 Sometimes a balaclava is just too much. Besides, it's a bit claustrophic (now, baklava, that's a different story). I was looking for a neck warmer that wouldn't require encasing my entire head for warmth, and I think I've found it. The Schampa Zip D'Zip (hey, I didn't name it) is a ... http://www.motobroad.com/?p=417 Surprise — it didn't rain! The day was perfect; it was cool and dry, and the course was not mud, after all. Some women were taking the class because, like me, they ride on the street and wanted to get a taste of riding on dirt. One mother brought her ... http://www.motobroad.com/?p=411 [caption id="attachment_407" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="This is a permanent condition, apparently."][/caption] My excitement about next Sunday's "Dirt 'n' the Skirt" dirtbike school is tempered by the forecast on weather.com: looks like it's gonna rain for the rest of the century. Explains why that guy up the street is building a boat. And ... http://www.motobroad.com/?p=406 [caption id="attachment_404" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="My country neighborhood"][/caption] The air today was flavored with the crispness of freshly-cut grass fields, with a touch of the impending rain. It's not cold yet, but there are pools of cool air at the bottom of dips in the road. Soon it will be time for ... http://www.motobroad.com/?p=402 Test your quick recognition of road signs, and — even better — your quick assessment of traffic situations with these great Motorcycle Safety Foundation online exercises. In the signs test, signs are flashed on screen for less than a second, and you must identify them by picking from a list ... http://www.motobroad.com/?p=399 Whee! I just signed up for the "ladies only" dirtbike class to be held in Alpharetta, GA September 27th at the Motorcycle Safety Foundation campus. I have no intention of wearing a skirt, mind you. But I'm really looking forward to spending a day playing in the dirt. I think ... http://www.motobroad.com/?p=392 Jeez! Just nearly got squashed by an idiot tow-truck driver. I'm in the left lane, with my turn signal on. He's behind me in the same lane. Light turns green. I start to pull away, and HE PULLS OUT TO THE LEFT OF ME, BEATING ME INTO THE TURN. If ... http://www.motobroad.com/?p=390