This ride took place Sunday, October 17, 2004. It had been a long time since I last rode the Annapolis loop. David was kind enough to lead. I showed up with my bruised and battered ZX-6. We planned to meet at 10:30 and roll out at 11:00 to allow the temps to warm up. It was in the low 50's when I left home. This time I put a vest on over my leathers. That made a HUGE difference. First off, it didn't cut off my circulation. Secondly it kept the wind from going through my perforated suit.

    A couple of DC Sportbikers showed up; Mike on his GSX-R 1000 and John, who couldn't ride, but stopped by in his car. Jaseon and David were there, as well as my friend and coworker Andy.

    I remembered only parts of the loop, but it was a blast. Andy did well (no red jersey!) Mike split just before we stopped for lunch somewhere in Calvert County. I nearly dropped the Kawasaki twice. Apparently the right clip-on got pushed a little closer to the handlebar on my last crash. On 90° right turns, such as when leaving a parking lot, my hand would get pinched between the bar and the frame, making it impossible to either turn more or add more gas. I just hopped on my foot until I could straighten the bike up.

    This was my last street ride until my next track day, and my first ride since my last track day. Seems like the bike is OK. I'll take the two weeks to fit the race plastics, change tires, and ADJUST THAT HANDLEBAR!

    Hopefully I'll be able to better document this loop, as well as ride a few more times with the DC Sportbike crew.