It wasn’t the coldest day for our ride, but it was in the low forties.  The day before the high temperatures were in the mid-sixties; tomorrow, the temperatures would again be in the mid-sixties.  But for our Saturday ride, a cold north wind blew winter back into our lives.  So how do I stay comfortable riding on cold days?

            I’ve mentioned my Rev’It Trousers Factor 4 winter pants, which I was wearing with a pair of winter leggings on underneath.  And I’ve discussed my Rev’It gloves and leather jacket.  I’ve added some other gear for warmth.  I found a flannel turtleneck on Amazon that I wear under an Eddie Bauer thick thermal men’s shirt.  Wearing these under my Alpinestars armored jacket and my Schott’s leather jacket with the lining provide plenty of warmth.  The only place left where I felt the chill was my face.  Bill solved that by bringing over an old balaclava he had but didn’t use that had ventilation at the nose and mouth.  This head wrap, though it does make my helmet a little snug, keeps my cheeks warm, and helped keep me comfortably warm on our ride.

            Despite the cold temperatures, signs of spring greeted us.  Daffodils were blooming as were ten sugar magnolias.  I saw a plum tree in bloom as well as some crabapples.  The sun shone brightly on our ride, making the colors in the flowers pop.  The birds were busy flitting about possibly working on their nests, and the Canadian geese are pairing off.

            I noticed on my ride the difference in my U-turns and circles when I’m following Bill versus when I’m practicing on my own.  When I follow Bill, I have to keep an eye on where he is in the turn.  His Triumph Rocket has a much longer wheel-base making his turns wider than what I can do on the R Nine T.  So I worked on turning as tightly as I could before widening out to keep out of Bill’s path.  When we were in the hospital lot and I was working on my own, I did my tightest U-turn to date.

            But even as we practiced, I was uncomfortable.  My right hand was going numb.  I thought it might be because of my pre-load position on the throttle and front-brake.  But when we stopped momentarily, I realized my clothes were interfering with the circulation in my right arm.  As this had never happened before, I was a little confused as to what had happened.  After our ride, as I took off my gear, I realized my flannel and thermal shirts had twisted up on the arm above the elbow.  During the ride, the twisted fabric tightened enough to impede the blood flow and cause the numbness.  So I now know to make sure my clothes are straight especially when I’m layered up for a cold ride.

            Monday is Presidents’ Day and may give us the opportunity for another ride.  I certainly hope so; the more rides, the better!

After a week of worrying about rain on Saturday, we found ourselves waking up to sunshine and temperatures in the 50s; perfect weather for riding.  Yet we almost didn’t get to ride.

            My Mom’s toilet has been on the fritz for two weeks or so.  My brother replaced the fill valve, but the tank either didn’t fill or kept running.  Knowing we would be heading over for our ride, Mom asked if Bill could install whatever part the toilet needed to work.  We stopped at Home Depot and picked up the complete toilet repair kit, the one that says it takes only minutes to install.  It didn’t take only minutes.

            For one thing the flapper attachment wouldn’t disconnect from the tank, necessitating Bill take the tank off and saw it.  Then there was the disintegrated rubber that created a black slime that got everywhere.  Additionally, the part of the handle that the chain connects to had broken off, so I had to run to the Taylor’s to pick up a new handle.  The Korky repair kit said “Easiest install,” but that claim must presuppose one is replacing newish toilet parts.  The repair took two hours, so we didn’t head out on our ride until almost 4:00.

            By that time the sun wasn’t shining as brightly, though it was still out.  We headed out for a short ride, and I again found myself marveling at how well the R Nine T rides.  I enjoyed leaning into the curves and feeling the bike accelerate beneath me.  I was better able to do my tight turns as I wasn’t frozen.  In practicing one of my turns, I went to full lock and felt the bike start to dip out from under me; my reaction was just what it should’ve been—let out the clutch and give the bike more speed.  The bike stayed upright and my practice continued.

            I was especially pleased at my automatic reaction.  Earlier in the week, Bill explained the difference between our current riding practice and riding in traffic.  As you may have noticed, I am able on our current route, to think about my riding and the reaction of the bike.  In traffic my riding skills would need to be automatic as my focus would need to be on everything around me.  That’s not to say that I ride now oblivious to cars and obstacles on the road.  But because we are cruising through neighborhoods, we are dealing with far fewer cars than if we were out in traffic.  In our discussion Bill pointed out that my riding skills need to be automatic; I can’t be focused on what gear have I shifted into, am I counter steering, did I look in my mirrors as I came to a stop.  These skills need to be what I am doing while my mind is paying attention to the traffic around me.

            In order to reach that level of confidence with my riding skills, I need confidence in my handling of my motorcycle.  I am amazed at how quickly I am gaining confidence in my riding skills on the R Nine T.  I rode the BMW G310 GS for seven months, and I rode the Ducati Scrambler for almost a year.  Both of these motorcycles helped me enormously develop my riding skills, yet I feel most comfortable on the R Nine T.  Now that I’ve developed the feel for the dry clutch, I really like how it handles.  I had a moment where, if I were riding one of the other bikes, I would’ve stalled, but on the R Nine T a little more throttle kept me rolling.

            I’m lucky to be able to take my time learning the motorcycles and learning my riding skills.  Would I like to ride more?  Yes, of course.  There are days when I leave work and I think how wonderful riding a motorcycle home would be, to let the engine roar and wind blow away residual stress from the workday.  But then some crazy driver cuts me off or tailgates me, and I realize the motorcycle ride home would be even more stressful.

            For now I will remain content with my Saturday rides.  It’s clear that spring is fast approaching, and hopefully the toilet will continue to work, so I can have long, fun rides on the amazing R Nine T.

We have a rule against riding in the rain; slick roads are difficult to navigate on four tires let alone two.  We also don’t ride when it’s in the twenties (or lower).  Bu today’s weather was forecasted as sunny and a high of thirty-five, so we headed out after 1:00 to enjoy our ride.  The R Nine T throughout the ride told me it was too cold.

            I mentioned in “Riding in the Snow” how Bill’s Triumph Rocket displayed a cold weather warning message.  During today’s ride, instead of displaying the mileage, my display said “COLD” and flashed the temperature ranging from 34 to 37.  I noticed this change two minutes into our ride and thought it would eventually go away.  It didn’t.  Maybe it was too cold to ride.

            Despite the icy air, there wasn’t too much wind and lots of sunshine.  And there were lots of birds about.  As we rode down the twisty road, I noticed a raptor high above being harassed by crows.  A few minutes later, I saw it was a red-tailed hawk and more crows were harassing it.  But the osprey I saw was being left alone.

            Two days earlier the groundhog saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter.  And while the air temperature during our ride seemed to support that prediction, the flock of robins that scattered off the road in front of us suggests spring is very near.  I also think the Canadian geese sunning themselves down by the river are another indication of the vernal return.

            Because of the cold, I was wearing my Rev’It gloves, and I thought I would not be able to preload because of the bulkiness of the gloves.  Surprisingly, though, I was able to, not as easily as with my other, lighter gloves, but I did preload most of the ride.  I actually realized halfway through the ride that riding with my hand in the preload position on the front brake felt better than having all fingers on the throttle.  It was an interesting discovery.

            We rode the usual route with only two really cold wind paths.  I had on my Factor 4 pants with a pair of exercise leggings on underneath, and Bill had given me an old balaclava to wear.  I was mostly warm as I practiced my S-turns, U-turns, and trail braking.  I did great checking mirrors on stops and shifting in and out of neutral and first.  But I felt something was a little off.  Maybe it was that COLD display with the fluctuating temperatures, all in the mid-thirties, and the snowflake emblem on the right, but I sensed that my riding skills weren’t at top form.  My turns were wider than last week, but I didn’t try much to tighten them up.  After the ride, even Bill said the cold was affecting him.  Perhaps I should pay closer attention to my motorcycle when it warns me of the cold.