Finally, we managed to ride our motorcycles again! Despite some early morning sprinkles dusting the roads with moisture, the remnants of Isaias heading our way held off and the roads dried off enough for our ride.
The wind was strong, keeping me cool throughout the ride but not allowing for any butterflies. I had spotted a few sulphurs and monarchs during the week, but I knew it would be a butterfly-free ride. Though there are those second blooming azaleas flowering along with the mums everyone sets out this time of year to tempt the little pollinators.
The roads had piles of leaves for our tires to crunch over. At one point, the leaves fell in such a way to make it seem like it was snowing. The colors were muted by the gray skies, but it was still a beautiful autumn day. Of course, I was looking through happy eyes as I was thrilled to be back riding again.
I suspected there might be some rust on my riding skills, but it didn’t appear so. My two on-street U-turns were near perfect; perfection would’ve been full lock. I even had a great 2-spot turn on the gravel lot. I did fall into a booby trap. When the leaves are piled on the roads, they can hide objects. As we were turning around in a parking lot, my front tire slipped on some hidden trap causing me to put out my foot in case I needed to dab to catch the bike. But I was able to recover without the dab. I tried to see what I hit, but it remained hidden.
But my experience did remind me to be cautious when riding among leaves. Hitting a rock or a stick just right can shoot the front tire somewhere other than expected. But that’s why one of the many items motorcyclists need to keep aware of.
With the wind and approaching storm, I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t see much wildlife. There were three buzzards trying to navigate the wind, but I had just registered that I hadn’t seen any geese when we rode by the church field, and I watched as the flock took flight. I thought I spotted the great blue heron, but it turned out to be a spindly bush sprouting up near the river’s edge blown in the strong wind. There was a bright white egret enjoying the river’s low tide.
But the most prominent sites were the Halloween decorations. Since we went two weeks without a ride, more people have put up their décor. Popular this year are large spider webs that attach to the front of the house and have LED eyes. The wind gave movement to someone’s three little witches silhouettes and caused a skeleton to dance. One house has a skeleton rock band and a four skeleton audience. I think the Halloween decorations are helpful as well as entertaining; trick or treaters know which houses are participating in the great candy-a-palooza.
I hope to find even more fun Halloween décor on next week’s ride, and I hope for some sunshine so I can really enjoy the fall colors. But as long as I can get out on my R Nine T, I’ll take what I can get.
PS–We beat the storm easily as it seems to have fizzled out over land.
