Officially the start of fall is September 22 when the autumnal equinox occurs, but already signs of its approach are evident. Fall and spring are the best seasons for motorcycle riding, though on my hot Ducati, winter is also pretty good. I love the colors of autumn, and saw the first shades on this ride.
The temperatures have not shifted into autumn mode, though our ride was in the low 80s. We kept to cruising mostly to help keep me cool. As I began the ride, I noted some magnolia blooms high up in a nearby tree, marveling at how these trees have flowered all summer. Heading out onto our long road, a Japanese beetle didn’t quite get out of my way and bonked against my right shoulder. I checked my jacket expecting a smear stain of what was left of the bug, but I was pleased to see no marks and assumed he bounced off and continued on his way.
I was concerned about not getting the slow speed practice in for a second week. But Bill led us into the large gravel lot and we did some figure 8s and U-turn practice. I did fine on all but one tight turn where my thoughts were more on my burning thighs than my navigation. For that I had to dab my left foot to complete the turn.
We rode by one of the houses that had been under construction and I noted that it was complete. Someone was hanging a basketball net for kids to play with. I noted among the cherry trees in particular some of the leaves had turned yellow. And as we headed into one court, leaves fell down upon us. I only saw one gaggle of Canadian geese, which surprised me, though perhaps they are migrating further south for winter. And I noticed several yards with sprinklers running to water the fall grass seeds.
A few butterflies are still about. The first one I saw was a bright yellow Canadian tiger swallowtail fluttering among some crape myrtles. Soon after I saw a black swallowtail, and I caught sight of some kind of duskywing, but it and I were moving too fast for me to figure out which one. I was pleasantly surprised to see a lone clematis blossom. But I’m still not seeing any fall mums; maybe next week as people take advantage of the Labor Day sales.
No R Nine T practice this week. School starts Tuesday for the kids, so the parking lot was full of cars as teachers worked to get their classrooms ready. I noticed during the ride how comfortable I’ve gotten with using the rear brake for stops. I’m doing OK with checking the mirrors as I come to a stop, but I am not consistent yet. I worked on turning the wheel at stops in the direction of travel. This week’s ride was almost all right turns; I only got to practice once to the left, but I remembered to dab my feet longer to maintain the turn.
As we returned the motorcycles to the garage, I looked out to see a cabbage white butterfly flitting about. I smiled even as I realized the butterfly sightings will become fewer and far between before stopping for the winter. As an experiment, I touched the seat of my Ducati and then of the R Nine T. Mine felt as warm as a heating pad; Bill’s was cool to the touch. So as the weather turns cooler, I have heated seats to look forward to. And as the seasons change again, the riding doesn’t stop but keeps getting better and better.
Flutterby Biker 