New Rider is Rolling Along!

In the last four weeks the young rider (my son) has gained some great riding experience and some superb maintenance knowledge.

He got his license on June 13, 2012 and on Friday June 15th he rode on his first "breakfast run" as a biker.   A lot of friends and McKinney CMA members surprised him at Bill Smith's Cafe for breakfast.

Breakfast with friends

After breakfast the group gathered around Richard and the Ninja for a bike blessing - asking God to watch over him and keep him safe.  It was a special time.  Afterwards some of us went for a 45 mile loop through the country.

14 bikers (not counting Richard and me) showed up to surprise and support the new rider (3 not pictured)

 After getting back from the morning ride we packed the bikes and rode 50 miles (mostly farm to market roads) from McKinney, TX to Denton, TX for my family reunion.  On Sunday we took the busier and more direct route back home.  We continued to add up the miles over the weeks.


Saturday July 7th we took in another breakfast at Bill Smith's and were honored with Ninja 250 Guru "Doc" Yeager (check out Doc's Blog with some great info).  Russ, who's 15 year old son has a ninja, and I asked Doc to give us and our sons some lessons on Ninja maintenance, we bribed him with a high quality breakfast.

Doc & Russ getting ready.

After breakfast we rode to Russ' garage for a day of wrenching.  Doc got the boys busy quickly.  He taught the basics of a 4 stroke engine, how and when to lube the chain, etc.  After the basic lessons it was time for valve adjustments.  Doc had the boys taking off the fairing and getting things ready to check the valves.  

Naked bikes!

Doc instructs Richard on how to check valve clearance

Father and son working on the bike

Getting his fingers dirty

After both Ninja's valves were adjusted Doc helped the boys add power plugs to the bike so they could charge cell phones, etc when on trips.  The boys learned a lot.   Thanks Doc!

With the Ninja serviced, the boy licensed, and some miles in the saddle the time arrived for the big summer trip - McKinney to Orlando, FL!  We left the house at 6:08 AM and headed east.  282 miles later we enjoyed lunch in Natchitoches, LA (a post about Papa's Bar & Grill will be coming later),

Taking a break in Logansport, Lousiana

Prior to lunch we enjoyed overcast skies and cooler than average temps.  After lunch we rode through off and on rain, mostly a light drizzle.  After 510 miles our day ended in Brookhaven, Mississippi.

He rode like a rider with a lot of miles under his belt (I may a little biased, but he did not make any noticeable mistakes).  

Today was a great day and I am looking forward to tomorrow as we head to Valdosta, Georgia and many more miles with my son.