Finishing a work phone call on the motorcycle

Temps in mid-50s, cloudy and dark.

Of course it was dark, it was almost 8PM! I was at work doing a change, which went very well, and I was still participating in the teleconference that was part of the change as they went through the end portion checkouts related to the change.

I am a network engineer and we make changes to the network during off-hours so as to not impact customer's data traffic. This change was actually happening at a decent hour, usually we have to go in after midnight to do other changes.

My part was done minutes before so I got my riding gear on and headed out to the parking lot at work still listening to the call. I started the motorcycle up to warm it up a bit, got everything but my helmet and gloves on and still the call dragged on.

The road beckoned, there was snow forecasted to start in a couple of hours and still the call dragged on.

Heck with it, I had been listening to the call via my bluetooth headset since I had to be out there on the computer floor doing my portion of the change, so I went ahead and tried donning the helmet with the headset still attached to my right ear. It actually fit and I only felt a slight pressure against my right ear.

Got on my motorcycle, rode off heading for home, and still the call dragged on, but at least now I was moving. I asked if they could hear the motorcycle's engine noise and the others on the call said they couldn't but that I sounded slightly muffled. Since my portion of the change was done, all I had to do was listen while riding, kind of like listening to music only boring.

About ten minutes later the call ended and everyone hung up, I could not of course since I could not reach into my helmet to turn off the call via the headset. This had to wait until I was waiting at a stoplight and I could reach into the tankbag where the phone was and hang up the call there.

Interesting experience, worth a try but I know better than to make it a habit to use the cellphone while riding. Once I get a GPS that gives voice directions via bluetooth however, that's another story.

The ride home was uneventful, I still don't like riding at night that much and I also discovered the anti-fog visor insert I'd recently put in causes some added reflections of the lights from cars and other things on the road. Not safety-related but annoying, hopefully I'll get used to it.