Start Part Three:
Fun in the Dirt.
Joss returned the throttle to idle and let the bike glide as it slowed, placing her left foot down just as the bike stopped and pressing the rear brake peddle with her right. It was truly a gorgeous day with blue skies that held a few white clouds and birds gently soaring on thermals hidden from view. She could see the leaves lazily moving back and forth in a light breeze. It's a great day to go for a little ride.
Joss had stopped the bike at the top of the access ramp that lead to the bunker's underground garages. Once sensing that the access ramp was clear, the bunkers computer system, Wade-A, had started closing the "Garage Door" and Joss watched it as the last of the ramp disappeared as the door finished sliding into place leaving no sign of the underground complex. Joss turned her head back so she was facing forward and contemplated the intersection she found herself at.
Off to her right was the drive that would lead her to the ranch's own small airport system that her dad had started to have built after she had "officially" started, with Wade's help, BlazeIT. Then it was just a single runway, but after Slim had asked Betty to marry him, and she said yes, Slim had started expanding it so that it could handle anything that Global Justice flew, officially and unofficially. It had a number of hangers that held a number of planes, including one of Betty's JumpJets, two of the BlazeIT jets, and two of the Team Possible jets, just to name a few.
On the left was the drive that would take her to the front of the ranch. This would lead into a number of roads on the ranch, including access to the main road from the ranch into town and to a number of the ranch's corrals.
Straight in front of her was the main trail head that would take her to the riding trails that were on the ranch. The trails lead to almost every part of the ranch, interconnecting with each other to form their own kind of roadway system on the ranch. All could be ridden on a horse or even a Mountain Bike, but a few where reserved for dirt bikes and ATVs. An unwritten rule that everyone followed was if the trail was a "community trail", like the main trail before her, everyone behaved themselves and rode with respect to other riders, unless there was an emergency that required one to ride "like a madman". This was important as the ATVs could damage a trail with just a little "acting up."
However, Joss did know that one of the more "fun" trails made just for ATV's and motocross bikes was just a 3 min ride from where she was. And after all, she was out here for a "fun" ride.
She gave a small twist of the throttle as she released the brake and the bike started forward again. She drug her foot just a few feet before returning it to the peg as she started her way onto the trail head.
As she rode, Joss could feel the bike adjusting to the ridding conditions smoothly. The SIS V10 was running so quietly that she could almost forget that she was moving if not for the trees moving past her and the motor making a faint rumble that she could just barely hear. She just keep the speed at around 15 to 20. And, in about 3 minutes, she came to the branch in the trail that led off to the ATV trail.
Taking the trail, she went a little farther until she came to the start of this circuit where a clearing had been made that would allow a number of people and their bikes to gather, rest, and get ready to start the trail or head back to the ranch.
"OK, let's see what this thing can do," she said as she started down the trail to the right of the clearing with a large twist of the throttle. When the bike took off more quickly then she had expected, Joss found herself recalling the first time that Ron had rode Tornado:
"Hop on Master Ronald and let's ride" Tornado said as he knelt for Ron to climb onboard. Ron mounted, put his feet in the stirrups, and grabbed the reigns. After Tornado stood back up, he asked in a perfectly genteel tone "What speed would you like Sir? Walk, Trot, Gallop, or Hell on Wheels?"
"Hellonwheels?" Ron said with questioning tone of voice.
"Very good, Master Ronald" and Tornado took off just like "Hell on Wheels."
Joss gave the same reaction on the SIS V10 that Ron had on Tornado that day in the past:
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Joss managed to equal Ron's feat with Tornado that day and hanged on to the bike as it rapidly gained speed. She regained control in time to setup for the first turn on the trail.
She eased up on the throttle for a heartbeat to slowdown for just a second then applied more power from the motor with a flick of her wrist and leaned into the corner, just like she had been taught to ride dirt bikes. But she was reminded as the bike spun 180 degrees and started back to the starting point that this was not a "normal" motorcycle.
Joss brought the bike to a stop after she had released the throttle and applied the brake for all she was worth. The end result was that she had unknowingly placed the bike into a skid that ended with her pointed in the direction that she had started out in.
Taking a deep breath and with her feet firmly planted on the dirt track, she muttered "I think that I might be the wrong mode here."
Before she could blink, she heard bike's female voice over the ear-buds:
"SIS V10 is currently in Normal riding mode. What mode are you requesting Joss?"
"I think Off-Road is needed here," Joss replied with a whole lot of sarcasm in her voice. But the V10's computer voice did not seem to notice as it calmly stated:
"Please stand-by."
Joss could feel a whole lot of her Montana "smart-ass" fire boiling away at her insides and could not help herself as she opened her mouth while she looked down at the bike. "And while you're at, what's with this olive gray color anyway? How about something a little more colorful, say a Hot Bubblegum Pink with Purple flames and with my name done in Neon Chartreuse; something fancy I think would do very nicely."
Again, she heard the female voice over the ear-buds:
"Color change request confirmed, please stand-by."
Joss was just about to really let go with a serious stream of Montana smart-ass when she heard Jim's voice come over the ear-buds.
"Joss, you have asked for a reconfiguration from Normal mode to Off-Road mode while still. The SIS V10 can change modes without stopping…just thought you should know."
Then the female voice that Joss now thought of as the V10's voice spoke.
"Initiating Reconfiguration to Off-Road mode now."
Joss didn't really know what was going to happen, but what did took her by surprise.
She heard the faint sound dirt clods shifting before the faint rumble of the V10's motor that she had become used to increase slightly. Then she felt much less saw the bike change around her.
The front tires were moving apart, increasing the gap in the hub until it could not really be called a gap or even a crack, but two completely separated wheels. But not only were they moving apart, they were also moving forward too. As she watched, the wheel hubs and supporting structure were exposed. What had started as two tires and hubs that were only maybe two inches apart where now over six feet apart and over three feet in front of the bike. As the tires moved, Joss could also see the odd tread pattern change on the tires as they took on a more aggressive appearance like those on true motocross bikes.
The clear windscreen part of the fairing started to lower itself into the main fairing bodywork until it completely disappeared leaving the handlebars exposed. She watched as the area that it had disappeared into seemed to close up like a wound closing in a time-lapse video she had watched this past semester, but here there was no signs that the wound had ever happened.
Suddenly, she felt her feet left off the ground. Spinning around, Joss could see that the rear of the bike had duplicated the front. And now the whole vehicle was lifting itself upward until she could no longer reach the ground again.
Finally she felt it stop moving completely and took a look at the bike that now looked like the world largest Quad bike. She just faced forward again when she heard the female voice informed her:
"Reconfiguration to Off-Road mode now complete."
There was a pause, then the Bike continued with:
"Color change initiation starting now."
Joss forgot about the bike changing shape just moments before as she watched the front of the fairing start to change from the dull olive gray to a hot bubblegum pink that matched the color of one of her class notebooks. As she watched, the color seem to flow from the leading most tip of the fairing and spread slowly toward the back of the bike like someone had spilled a can of paint and it flowed down from on high. As it made it's way she could see, faintly at first but growing more clear and distinct by the second, purple flames appearing as if from a lit fire that was hidden somewhere. As the colors moved to the tank area, she could see her name start to appear just behind the leading edge of the color changes as if some artist was signing her name in neon chartreuse using calligraphy letters from some long-forgotten time.
As the last of the grey faded away to be replaced with pink, Joss again heard the bike's voice:
"Request for color change now complete. If rider is unhappy with current configuration, rider may make modifications using a combination of verbal commands and the touchpad."
Joss looked down at what she had thought of as some kind of sophisticated LCD or LED display that had a built-in scanner, but now knew was a complicated touchpad and saw a display of the bike in its current mode in both a side and overhead view. There was also a box at the bottom that said "Current Color Configuration Correct" and had it had inside it two more boxes, one labeled "Yes" and the other labeled "No".
She touched the button labeled "Yes". The side display of the bike disappeared and the overhead view enlarged and filled most of the screen. Then it changed to a basic line drawing of the bike that now included a figure that she guessed represented her. On one side of the display was a column that was scrolling some kind of status on the bike's systems.
Joss once again looked at what had started out as a grey motorcycle and was now a hot bubblegum pink quad bike with purple flames. 'Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it' she thought to herself 'right down to the lettering in calligraphy that you asked for in a fit of "Prissiness". Guess I'd better watch my big mouth.'
Then a female voice spoke, but not the one that Joss had become used to hearing. This voice she knew quite well, the voice of Olivia Roberts, Jim's girlfriend.
"I thought the addition of the ability to change colors on the bike might be useful. So I spent some time convincing Jim that it was needed. As you can see by the current configuration, it can be used for just the fun of it, but it can also be used to help camouflage the unit, or the reverse: to make it stand out. There are defaults set for specific modes: for now those defaults can be superseded by the rider.
"Access to the Color Change Systems is done by either use of the touchpad system or by requesting a change verbally. That can be done by a simple statement like "Change color to blue." To request a more complex color configuration, more detail it needed."
"That's good to know," Joss mutter, looking back down the trail she said in a low voice, "Alright, let's give this another try." And giving the throttle a gentle twist with her right hand she started to move forward slowly.
She completed one lap around the trail at what felt like a snail's pace. She looked at the display quickly over and over and kept adjusting the speed so that she remained under 5mph. After two laps, she increased the speed to 10mph and continued around the track. This time around, she managed to watch the front end work as the bike circled, the front tires moving with the needs of the track and keeping the body of the bike steady and level as she moved along. After two more laps, Joss increased the speed again.
Joss soon lost herself to what she was doing. The feel of the wind blowing around her, the smells of the surrounding area that include freshly turned dirt and the faint vanilla smell of the Ponderosa Pines that were all over the ranch mixed with the smell of maples. The raise and fall of the bike under her creating a rhythm that she fell into like the natural cadence of riding horses that she had done all her life and came as naturally to her has breathing. And with every trip around the track, her speed increased, little by little.
She may not have been born in the wilds of Montana, but this is where she was raised and here is where a part of her heart and soul stayed no matter where she went. Even living in Middleton with Wade and Kim, something about this place called to her in a way that she could not understand or did she really try to.
Letting the rhythms flow, she rode without thought, circling around and around the track going faster and faster.
Suddenly, she felt the bike move in a way that was not right, some instinct felt the bike shift in a way that she knew was wrong. Reflexes kicked in born of genes and honed to a sharpness that could cut a hair falling in the breeze as she released the throttle causing the bike to slow as it reached the top of the incline that made up a ramp for one of the jumps and correct the bike's slide at the last second and launched into the air at the right attack angle that let her fly straight and true.
As the bike took to the air, she had just enough time to look at the display and notice that she was traveling well past the posted maximum safe speed for this trail. There was almost no feeling of landing as the bike's suspension took the impact of the landing. Quickly, she brought the speed down to something that was more acceptable. Joss kept slowing until she was below the posted safe speed for the trail, and finished the lap. At the point were the trail connected to the rest area, Joss turned and rode into it stopping dead center of it.
'If I had been on one of the ranch Quad bikes, I would have been making a trip to the doctor after that last jump. That is, after someone found me.' Joss thought as she shifted the bike into neutral. She expected to hear the computer voice inform her of the change of the bike status, but it remained silence.
She replayed the jump in her mind and watched herself cross the complete width of the track in the air and land at the edge. There really wasn't any danger as there was a large safety area there just incase someone did just what she had almost done and miss landing the jump. She had managed to land on the trail, but it was a close thing.
After a few more moments setting there, Joss reengaged thetransmission into forward. And gave the throttle a twist with her right hand and the bike sprayed dirt and dust into the air as she finished crossing the rest area and headed back toward the mail riding trail. As she turned she let the rear of the bike slide a little before she brought the speed down and as she made her onto main trail. In just a few moments she was right back at the trail head were she started from. Turning to the right, she started down the drive that would connect to the main road system of the ranch.
End Part Three:
Fun in the Dirt.