Leathers ‘n’ Things
I went for a brief ride today with a few of the 530riders. Well… I say “brief”, and it was just to The Corners and back, but it still took just under two hours, all told. It was an uneventful but fun ride for me, at a decent pace (for my crappy skills!), with no oh-shit moments and no crashes. We stopped briefly at The Corners and had a little chat about the June 8th trackday at Thunderhill, and then we went our merry ways.
My new(ish) Alpinestars leathers were worn for the second time, and they held up just fine. I had issues with the pants the first time I went out with them, but I think between better-fitting underwear and the leather starting to break in a little bit, they worked better today. In fact, I sat around at the Silo on the UC Davis campus for about an hour, waiting for a lunch date with Alice and friends, and they were remarkably comfortable. Getting them on and off is still and issue, and I really hope they stretch a bit more before settling in, but they’re perfectly workable.
The rest of the suit is doing pretty well… The jacket, which I wore without the liner today, fits well and doesn’t impede movement, even though I thought it was just a touch big for me before. At least while I’m on the bike or doing other things, the jacket seems fine. I’ll probably appreciate the extra room when it gets cold again and I need to wear things under it. One thing I noticed, though not exactly a downside, was that the thinner material on the inside upper arms surprised me a few times during the ride, because when a bug or small rock hit me there, I would FEEL it. Nothing terrible though, so oh well. The gloves are doing great, though they’re complicated to put on, and the same with my new Gaerne track boots. I guess I’m all kitted out then, as far as safety gear goes… next up is moto maintenance, and then rider training!