What does one get with 86-degree temperatures and 80% humidity? A very sweaty motorcycle ride. Large storm clouds loomed overhead, but the sun showed up enough to keep our ride on the toasty side. But we are now officially in summer, and with July and August still to come, I should expect triple H rides from now on (hazy, hot, and humid).
Due to the summer swelter, we mostly cruised to keep cool air flowing. But I did execute two great on-street U-turns. And I worked a little bit on zooming and diving into S-turns.
The wildlife wasn’t like last week; I barely spotted a squirrel munching a nut by the side of the road. However, there were some butterflies out enjoying the cone flowers and brown-eyed Susans that are now blooming alongside the roses, day lilies, begonias, magnolias, and gardenias. For some reason all three butterflies I spotted during the ride were black which I find an interesting color for butterflies.
The first one I spotted was unmistakably a spicebush swallowtail due to the white markings at the base of the wings. The other two went past so quickly that I can only surmise that one may have been a pipevine swallowtail and one may have been a red purple admiral butterfly. While it is fun spotting butterflies from the seat of a motorcycle, sometimes it can be a little frustrating as I zoom by in one direction while the butterfly flutters off in the other. I can only hope for more sightings in future rides especially while stopped.
Flutterby Biker 