From chills to warm thrills, this week’s ride was on a day heading into the mid-80s. I had to remember to open up the air vents in my helmet for today’s ride. We headed out earlier in the day to avoid the full heat of the day and, while I was warm, I was comfortable between the ride wind and the wind gusts.
I think the gusty wind kept my butterfly sightings down. I did manage to spot five cabbage whites throughout the ride, including my first friend who I caught out of the corner of my eye and first thought was a dogwood flower petal. I also spotted another tiger swallowtail, my first black butterfly of the season which was either a black swallowtail or a dusky hairstreak. And when I got home from the ride, I saw the little Atlantis Fritillary butterfly.
As we rode, I realized Bill would lead us through more slow-speed drills to take advantage of the reasonable warmth. My on-street U-turns were great; the second one was tight enough to leave a foot and a half of road before the berm. We even went in the hospital lot to work on sudden stops for the first time in a while. My stops still need work, but I really am enjoying the lean of the motorcycle and the ease of balance control as I spin around.
One think I’m bad at is forgetting to mention some of what I see on my rides. For example, last week I spotted a small peony bush full of blushing white blossoms. And most of the flutterings in the air weren’t butterflies but those helicopter seed pods from the maple trees. On this week’s ride, I spotted my first box turtle sunning himself on a log in the river. Technically, it isn’t the first turtle I’ve seen, but the actual first one didn’t make it across the road (I hate mentioning the bad stuff).
The only birds I saw were some turkey vultures high up in the thermals, some Canadian geese, and an egret flying overhead. It always amazes me how I can spot a large bird in the sky and how quickly it can seemingly disappear in the vast blueness. On the drive over, a small kestrel zoomed right past the windshield.
The azaleas are holding mostly strong, but the dogwoods are going green. The Japanese maples add a lovely contrasting burgundy to all the green. I saw my first day lilies, but I thought they might be newly planted fresh from the garden store as they were pretty uniform—not that I care. I spotted a few Easter decorations including an Easter bunny driving a carrot mobile to deliver eggs and Snoopy dressed up as the Easter bunny. I know it’s a lovely weekend for Easter, and riding my motorcycle out among the rebirth of nature is a wonderful way to celebrate!
Flutterby Biker 