Chilling

I just got back from doing a weekend over in Vermont, visiting family. Saturday was the day I left when the temperature was in the low 60's and knowing that Sunday could turn for the worse, I decided to take the car. I arrived after wondering, and not for the first time that day, that I had made the wrong choice. The evening was starting to get cool and fast, as it usually does in the mountains. Wind had picked up and the fog rolled in. Mountain weather can be tricky on a good day, but the forecast was for rain, wind and cooler weather. I can do, wet, can do cold, can do windy. But, wet and cold? Nothing is more uncomfortable than wet leathers on a long ride. Chaffing is not a hobby I would like to take up. Wet and windy? I decided to take my chances in the car. I think I would rather be chilling than chilly this early in the year!
See you on the Road!

March on

The joys of early riding in New England comes after the geese start returning, or just about the same time. I enjoy about a week or two of riding in mid March of every year and think it is almost perfect to ride in that pristine air, knowing that summer is not all that far off. But, yes, there is a but in there, also remembering the dangers of ice and sand that may be lurking just around the next bend. Us early spring riders (we are also the hanger on'rs) know to stay on the major traveled roads for the time being, knowing a side road will take us farther into our travels and those of us who are brave (silly) enough will turn onto one eventually and then remember after about the fiftieth pothole, frost heave, snow pile or dodging a branch WILL remember not to do it again, until the next time we go out. I have gotten my first 100 (or two) miles already knowing that this early spring weather can go sour anytime and/or turn into the dreaded rain and mud season we can be so famous for. The joys of riding both with my visor up and jacket open will come soon enough as this year does March on!
See you on the Road

New Members

I talk to several people a week about motorcycle riding and most seem responsible off the road. But, we all know that when a mood stikes us, we, all of us, can instantly become something other than we usually seem. A new member to the motorcycle community is the easiest to identify, as a wobbly, forgetful intrusion to those of us, who have ridden for years. These new members usually do not identify themselves outside a cage, where they learned to drive. The fastest bikes are normally bought by these members, flashiest colors found on earth can be seen under one of them. The strangest helmets are usually worn by these members, many colors also found on their heads. As I look in my mirror this coming season, I will wonder if it will be the 18 wheeler or the new member who will give me my first scare of the year. Which one will come by me screaming with speed and tossing dirt and pebbles my way? Doesn't matter the age of these new members who will challenge most of us, but I do thank those who have the patience to instruct these members on the rights and privileges of the roads and will hope to see them ride another day and not become another statistic to be found. As to those of us who have ridden many years, I said when the mood stikes us, usually without notice, we can and will act like a new member on the road.
See you on the Road!