How do birds of prey stay in control on wildly windy days? This question occurred to me as, at the end of my ride, I watched a marsh hawk coasting above and being blown about in strong winds.
The weekend was nearly a washout. A storm off the coast brought strong onshore winds, a coastal flood advisory, and rain. So Saturday we bundled up and rode the bicycles in the blowing rain, having a great time warming ourselves up with the exercise, and we crossed our fingers for a better motorcycle riding day on Sunday. Some of the roads were still damp as we got up and moving Sunday morning, but we were in luck as we arrived in Virginia Beach and found dry roads—a benefit of the strong winds.
But the wind presented a new challenge for me as a rider. The wind was strong enough for me to feel the bike being pushed on the curves. I was surprised to realize I wasn’t frightened by this, just nervous enough to recognize the need to slow down and be ready to straighten up and stop if needed. I became comfortable riding into the wind, albeit realizing I was riding at 25 mph and it would be a very different feeling at higher speeds. I was chilled by the cold temperature and the wind. I had to stop to pull up my neck tube over my chin; I closed the vent on my helmet and rode the whole day with the visor down. I even had to ask Bill for warmer gloves. He obliged by bringing out his 1972 Harley Davidson leather gauntlets; wearing these, I was completely comfortable and could enjoy my puttering around.
I stalled twice out of stops—once on my own and once following Bill. On my own I stalled because as I was moving out of the stop, I went farther forward straight on than I had expected when I meant to turn. Pretty much the same thing happened on our joint cruise. As I once wrote, one step forward, two steps back. I am not overly worried about the stalls as they were out of stops and I can work on them.
The signs of autumn increased on this cool weekend. I saw fewer geese, none blocking the road, no butterflies, and plenty of beautiful leaves. My fingertips grew numb on our joint ride as I had surrendered the gauntlets for my Klim gloves. For sure the gloves are well ventilated. I have to wait for Christmas to get my winter riding gloves, but we’ve worked out a substitute double glove system until then.
Watching the hawk today, I felt a better understanding of its relationship with the wind having been blown about on my bike. Fighting the wind is useless; enjoying the wind is the way to go. Despite the cold hands, I did enjoy the windy ride and the feel of the bike being buffeted about under me. I did learn that I really love riding in autumn.
Flutterby Biker 