SAY HI TO ROGUE

I had a hard time making the decision to sell Spectre (my 2016 Africa Twin), but where I’m living now has more dirt roads than pavement and it seemed a smaller, lighter, off-road bike would be more suitable.  So I kept Night Fury for road-tripping and sold Spectre, which allowed me to switch to the new bike with no extra money out. 

Rogue is Night Fury’s new little brother.  He is a Yamaha XT250 with the digits 666 prominent in his number.  Clearly, we were made for each other!  😊  We went on our first logging road adventure yesterday and I had no idea it would be SO MUCH FUN!  Settling into the groove of the gravel road quickly, I soon felt like I wanted to tear around and be a menace out there.  However, I am new to the dirt game, so I kept my impulses in check.  Still, when I saw a pretty spot for a pic and hit the brakes, Rogue promptly skidded to a halt and kicked out his back wheel a bit and the little kid in me went “COOL!” 

I’m looking forward to signing up for a dirt course somewhere to shorten the learning curve and learn the techniques for managing obstacles and being safe off-road.  In the meantime, my first “dirt-day” self learning included these reminders that are important for riding generally but appear to be critical for off-road.    

• Eyes up and forward always - gotta see what's coming.
• Don’t let my core get sloppy. Engaging the core helps big-time with balance and control.
• Relax the arms, shoulders, and grip. Guide, but don’t resist and the bike will take me where I want to be.
• Directionally challenged people (i.e. me), should not be out on logging roads without a back roads map or gps….