Winter Solstice Almost No Ride

After the afternoon we had trying to ride our motorcycles, I did some research on the winter solstice wondering if it brings bad luck. I found instead beautiful thoughts on how the winter solstice marks the rebirth of the sun and the rebirth of hope. So it wasn’t the solstice working against us. Instead, we encountered a confluence of circumstances that nearly cost us our ride as the shortened day grew shorter.

The first circumstance was a seemingly simple favor for my Mom. The weather had turned colder with strong, gusty north winds knocking the temperature down into the low 40s. A piece of border siding on the house had come loose in the wind, and my mother was afraid it might blow off the house. The favor consisted of asking Bill to hammer in a couple of loose nails. The problem was the wood underneath was over fifty years old and eaten away; the nails had nothing to purchase on.

So the simple repair became a nightmare of solving the problem with inadequate tools. My Dad’s tool supply, once a respectable collection, now long depleted by my brothers “borrowing” through the years, made the task onerous. The two o’clock sun lowered as it became the three o’clock sun, and Bill was still tinkering with what he could find. He was able to locate a small piece of wood that, with some shaving down with a screwdriver instead of a chisel, allowed the nails to find purchase.

With the strip of siding secured against the wind, our next challenge was locating the motorcycle keys. The key bag was nowhere in sight. Bill was certain he had the keys getting out of the car, but after that his focus was on the repair work and the keys were forgotten. I helped search, looking around the garage, checking under the car. There was no sign of the gray bag the keys are in until, quite suddenly, the bag appeared on the floor of the garage in a spot I had walked by five minutes earlier. In fact I don’t see how the bag could have been there when I walked by and we first began searching; the bag seemingly appeared out of thin air.

It was an eerie experience and began my wondering about bad luck at the winter solstice. But the keys did reappear, so it seemed we were set. Bill, however, predicted the next mishap would be the Triumph Rocket refusing to start. His prediction came true. For a moment the light came on, but then it flickered out and would do no more than flicker at each start attempt until Bill had removed the seat and taken sandpaper to the battery cables. The sun was now at its four o’clock height which meant it was obviously beginning to set on this shortest day of the year.

However, once we took off on the motorcycles, our luck took a turn for the better. The sky was nearly cloudless so, even with a lowered sun, visibility was still good. The sun, though, was beaming right into our eyes as we headed south, so Bill led us around to avoid riding straight into the sun as much as possible. Most of the ride went extremely well and I was having fun despite my frozen fingertips (the Klim glove liners do not provide additional warmth). I did have a nerve-wracking moment during my first U-turn when my front tire slipped on a hidden pine cone, but the balance of the R Nine T is so good, that I was quickly able to recover.

The rest of the ride was smooth but short as the sun was lowering and the temperatures were falling. But the ride did put smiles on our faces and lifted our solstice spirits after the rough start. Hopefully, the last ride of 2024 will go much smoother than the solstice ride as we head into our winter riding.

white egret flying across cloudy sky — A white egret heading home for the night; I took this picture coming out of the gym, but I have been seeing a lot more egrets lately including one in the water during our ride.

Gray Skies Ride

Our weekly weather pattern is warm, wet air moving in during the week to clear out and cool down for the weekends. At least the sun comes out to ensure dry roads by the time I’m ready for my Saturday ride. But today, the clouds lingered and quickly covered up the sun at the beginning of the ride. It made for a colder ride than I was expecting, but I had finally remembered to wear my tights to keep my legs warm, and it was a good opportunity to test out my new Klim glove liners.

I ordered a size medium as that matched the size of my gloves. But I wonder if I need a small because they feel kind of loose. The liners made my gloves feel a little tighter, but I was still able to preload the front brake and roll on the throttle. However, halfway into the ride, the fingers on my right hand became numb. My thought at first was the liners don’t work and don’t bother to gift Bill a pair. But then I began thinking it through, and I compared my left hand to my right and realized that hand was fine. So I realized the numbness was the usual numbing effect I’ve been getting in my right hand since I began riding the R Nine T as my main motorcycle.

So the liners do help provide additional warmth, but I do wonder about the sizing. Usually, I would order an extra large for Bill, but I’m wondering if the large would suit better. Luckily, they aren’t too expensive, and I could order both and send one back. I managed to hide them from Bill. Putting them on was easy enough; I was geared up long before he was because he had added air to the tires. But I did worry about when I dismounted. I park my motorcycle, dismount, unhook the Helite safety vest, and move away from the bike as Bill pulls in behind me. I figured he would see the liner gloves when I took off my main gloves to unhook the vest, but the liners helpfully came off with the gloves and were hidden inside.

The ride was successful on that front. It was also our first time back on the curvy road and I was loving my time counter steering through the curves. I hoped perhaps to spot a bald eagle over the river, but all I saw was a flock of Muscovy ducks gathered in a lawn. The gray skies seemed to dampen down the wildlife as I saw only a few crows. I spotted a great blue heron in flight as we arrived at the garage, and during the ride, I spotted two snowy white egrets in flight. It was only around two in the afternoon, but with the sun blocked by the clouds, the birds may have felt the need to go home to roost. The only Canadian geese I spotted were a few in flight.

Later after the ride, Bill told me my stops were improving as I was arriving more quickly even with him. I did a better job maintaining a good distance throughout the ride. The week ahead is a replay of this week weather wise—warm and wet, then sunny and cool. I don’t mind the cool and am happy the roads are staying dry for us. Next week’s ride marks the first ride of my winter holidays, so I am really looking forward to that.

Still Not Quite Ready for Winter Riding

Most of the country has been blasted by Arctic weather pushing south this week. A warm up is coming next week with rain (so no snow—bummer), at least in the beginning of the week. Temperatures will fall again into the 40s for next week’s ride just as they were there for this week’s. Perhaps by next Saturday, I will remember my leggings, and I will be trying out liner gloves underneath my medium weight Klim’s.

The BMW R Nine T comes with heated grips and hand guards. Despite these additions, when I preload the front brake, my index and middle finger eventually become numb from cold. The heated grips do not extend to a heated brake lever. However, I’ve developed the habit of preloading the front brake, and it is a weird sensation to grip all four fingers on the throttle grip. I tend to grip briefly for warmth, but it is never long enough to fully defrost my fingers.

So I went shopping on Revzilla and found Klim glove liners. If these work to keep my fingers warm, I’ll have a Christmas gift for Bill as well. I do have the heavier Rev’It winter gloves, but those are difficult to move freely in. I much prefer the medium weight gloves. Hopefully, I’ll be able to give the liners a good review after next week’s ride.

As for my cold legs, I didn’t even think about the leggings until my Mom was asking me if I get cold when I ride. I’ve put the leggings on top of my pants in hopes I will remember. But I am very happy with the Schott’s leather jacket. My core is toasty warm.

I distracted myself from most of the cold by focusing on my ride and on the scenery. I paid attention to my engine braking, keeping the downshifts smooth. I did have to mis-shifts into neutral, but my boot kept slipping off the peg during shifts. I didn’t feel cold in my feet, but maybe my toes were getting a little numb. We even went into the hospital parking lot to practice quick stops. Bill pointed out it was good to practice sudden stops with cold, numb hands.

The scenery of late autumn was mostly shades of brown. When we turned back up the beautiful autumn road, the gumball tree with all the colors of fall last week was nearly denuded of all leaves. Most of the colorful scenery came from the Christmas decorations. My favorite decoration was Kevin the minion standing next to his minion snowman. Bill actually led us up to the decorations because he wanted to admire the blow-up Santa helicopter.

There were many birds about taking wing. I spotted an osprey as I sat on the bike waiting for Bill. And there were turkey vultures about as usual. The crows were flitting about, and two mockingbirds were tussling. There was a large flock of ducks congregating on the river, and we still passed several groups of Canadian geese mucking about. I suppose the birds were making the most of the late afternoon sun.

Bill had to be creative in our route as the low sunlight beamed through our visors. I was happy when the clouds finally drifted over the sun to block it momentarily. A few more weeks and the sun will begin its climb back up higher in the sky. Until then, I will keep riding into the winter.

Painful Ride

My entire motorcycle ride was done in pain. The pain wasn’t due to the cold; this ride was the first in the forties for the season. Many more to come before spring gets here. But I was well insulated in my lined leather jacket, lined winter riding pants, and my warm mid-weight gloves. I even managed to fully close the chin vent in my helmet to eliminate the little bit of cold air blowing in. No, my riding pain was self-inflicted and had to do with my hairstyle.

I’m sure it is evident in these blogs that I am not vain nor concerned with my appearance on the motorcycle. While I do have amazing, high-quality gear, I have an abundance of safety gear that makes me look like a barrel on top of my bike. I’m about safety first and then comfort on the motorcycle. I extend the safety and comfort to my hairstyle usually. My first care is to make sure my hair doesn’t get into my eyes. My second concern is that my hair is not a knotted mess after my ride that will take long, painful hair brushing to smooth out. I have tried different styles including using a hair wrap (these fall out on the ride), braids (fine for the length but not the short layers of my cut) and today, a segmented ponytail.

I used four hair elastics to create the ponytail. The first elastic was to hold back the shorter layers and, as I wrapped the band around my hair, I did wonder about the impact of my helmet on this top band. I figured it would be a learning experience and continued with the segments of the ponytail. And sure enough, as soon as I set my helmet on my hair, the top ponytail bump dug into the back of my scalp. I tried to adjust the helmet to relieve the downward pressure, but it was to no avail. I rode the entire ride with a non-stop chorus of “ouch” playing in my head.

I didn’t, however, let the pain ruin my ride. The sun was out with only a few wispy clouds in the sky. As we headed up the road to complete on on-street U-turns, the sunlight lit up the crimson leaves on some Japanese maples to stunning effect. I also had a second chance and a third to ride up the brilliantly lit road with the array of fall colors spectacularly laid out. Bill led us up the road twice to enjoy the stunning scenery making sure to point out the beautiful gumball tree with all of the colors of autumn on display.

Due to the cold, there were no butterflies about, and the only flutterings were from falling leaves. There were some ducks chilling in the river and some Canadian geese about. The only large birds I saw circling in the deep blue sky were turkey vultures.

My ride went really well including my emergency braking. I was noticing some small rose bushes in bloom when Bill decided to turn suddenly in front of me. Luckily, I was far enough back to brake quickly as he cut across in front of me. Funnily enough, five minutes earlier I had been pondering the best distance at which to follow Bill. If I’m too far back, cars will cut in between us; if I’m too close, I run the risk of tipping the bike as I try to avoid a collision. Clearly on this ride, I had found the ideal distance.

I’m in for more cold rides, probably for quite some time, but I don’t mind. I’ve already decided to try a barrette in my style next week for better head comfort, and I haven’t begun to add all of my layers for warmth. No matter the temperature or the hairstyle, I certainly will enjoy my ride.

Awesomeness and Annoyance

A Saturday afternoon ride in the autumn on a beautiful, mostly sunny day in the mid-50s is an awesome ride, mostly. Unfortunately, riding at 3:30 in the afternoon in late autumn is also a ride of annoyance because the sun is a late afternoon, low in the sky sun. Because sunset is now at 4:50, the sun is low enough to beam right into my eyes when traveling south. What made it annoying was my sunglasses, which I wore for extra sun glare protection, kept slipping down my nose and off my eyes. I spent a third of my ride lifting my visor to adjust my glasses, not a very relaxing ride.

My ride, however, when I could focus on it, was fantastic. Everything went smoothly and I nailed both on-street U-turns. The BMW R Nine T motorcycle is so well-balanced that during one set of turns, as I was following Bill, I needed to slow to almost a stop, and I marveled at how there was no wobble in the balance as I slowly let out the clutch to increase the speed. I also hit zero on the footless stop and, as the bike lurched to one side, I simply rolled on the throttle and released the clutch and let the motorcycle recover its balance.

I did mostly enjoy my ride. As we turned up one road, the sun-dappled the leaves and created a beautiful tapestry of greens, golds, reds, and oranges. I wanted to stop and take a picture, but since I was wearing my leather jacket for the cooler ride, getting my phone out is a more complicated process. Instead, I resolved myself to follow the Japanese proverb: Ichi e, ichi go, which translates to one moment, one memory. The visual was so stunning, I decided to leave off mentally complaining about the sun glare and sunglasses and appreciate how the angled light brought out the autumnal colors in a beautiful way.

Other than the foliage, the natural world was rather muted. There were some small groups of Canadian geese, perhaps the slower migrating ones. The only large bird I saw was a turkey vulture circling above. I didn’t spot any butterflies, and I wasn’t expecting to. The squirrels weren’t as active, just a few among the trees. Except there was one super crazy squirrel who decided to cross in front of Bill’s Rocket just as he came around a turn. I saw a large motorcycle wheel, a bundle of fur, and held my breath. Luckily, by kicking his back legs and tail underneath him, the squirrel managed to escape the massive motorcycle and live on.

Next week, I’m hoping we get out to ride a bit earlier. Maybe not, though, as the highs next Saturday are forecasted for 45 degrees. It’ll be time to get out the winter pants!

Late Season Monarch Spotting

Another cool, perfect day for riding greeted us Saturday after rain late in the week. I was better prepared for the cooler ride with my thermal overshirt, mid-weight gloves, and warmer neck tube, but I needed to wear tights under my pants. Perhaps I felt cooler on my legs because the rest of me was so warm.

A second fix I need to make is wearing my sunglasses under my visor. The late autumn sun is low in the sky when we headed south, and I had to tuck my chin to lessen the sun’s glare in my eyes. But I was happy to have the sun out to highlight the muted colors of fall. More leaves lay by the curb and on the road, and as we rode, we left leaf wakes from our back tires. Though more of the road was covered in pine needles. I find it interesting that pine trees are considered evergreens, and they are covered in green needles, but they have clearly found a way to shed loads of brown needles while replacing them with new green.

Bill led us around in a loose, comfortable ride, with mostly large U-turns. On my own I did some tightening of my turns, but I mostly enjoyed the free ride. In fact Bill stopped off for a little visit and I went off on my own for a bit. It was during my little independent cruise, while I was heading to the forbidden school lot, that I spotted the monarch butterfly landing on a blossom on a taffy butterfly bush. She stayed opening and closing her wings, so I was able to pull out my phone and snap a photo. She’s on a lower blossom over to the right, and I was very happy to see her. I know I won’t be seeing too many more butterflies until next spring. But I will enjoy the cooler rides until the warmth of springtime returns.

taffy butterfly bush with lavender blossoms and a monarch butterfly

Back in the Saddle Again

After two weeks of recovering, I finally felt strong enough for a ride on the R Nine T and spent half the ride with a goofy grin of happiness on my face. I missed hearing the roar of the boxer engine, the play of the motorcycle beneath me, and the cool wind rushing against me. And cool air it was. The temperature was in the low 60s; I had the foresight to wear my flannel turtleneck expecting the chill, but I forgot to get my mid-weight riding gloves. So halfway through the ride, I turned on my heated grips.

But I didn’t let the chill cool my spirits. I loved how readily my riding skills returned. My engine braking has really smoothed out to no jarring at all, and my counter steering felt natural as I headed into turns. We kept the ride loose and easy doing wide, looping U-turns and nothing trickier than the footless stop. I played some with using the clutch to adapt my speed on the looping turns.

The scenery was the lovely time of autumn when all the colors are evident. Trees showing all the colors—green, yellow, orange, red, and brown; a beautiful burnt umber shade on the leaves of a gumball tree. More mums in planters were about and I saw my first pansies planted for the upcoming chill. Some roses were blooming again, adding vivid fuchsia and bold red color to our ride. I even saw someone setting up their Christmas decorations. It’s a little early for that, I believe but it is a holiday weekend, and people need to make the most of the time they have.

And that’s how I felt on my ride. I was given this time to ride, and I’m so happy I’m strong enough to ride again. Now I just need to make sure I’m dressed warmly enough to fully enjoy my ride.

Fingers-Crossed for Next Weekend

I woke up Saturday wanting very much to ride my motorcycle, but I knew it wasn’t going to happen. Earlier in the week, I stayed home two days from work and, when I did return to my job, had to take breaks due to overwhelming fatigue. As much as I wanted to spend a beautiful partly cloudy mid-60s Saturday cruising on my bike, I knew I lacked the strength to do it. So the best I could do was pay a visit to the R Nine T as Bill gassed them up, and listen to the engine turn over, but I couldn’t go anywhere.

And I realized I made the right decision because our short trip to the grocery store nearly wiped me out. My treatment ended on Tuesday, so I’m not even a week out into my recovery. I am hopeful, though, that another week of recovering will allow me next week enough strength for a short ride at least.

The best I could do as far as riding goes was ride vicariously as we watched Zack Courts’ latest “Daily Rider” episode. He rode the Kawasaki ZH2, a supercharged inline 4 that looks like a fun bike to zoom on. Of course watching someone else having a fun ride on a bike is no where near as fun as riding myself. But riding a motorcycle does require both physical and mental strength. One doesn’t need to be a powerlifter to ride a motorcycle, but there is strength needed to recover a motorcycle that’s near to tipping, and there is strength needed if the motorcycle does tip over to pick it back up.

But mental strength is even more necessary on a motorcycle. I’ve written about the need for awareness on the road when riding a motorcycle. In a car a mindless drift into the curb can be an inconvenience, but on a motorcycle, it can lead to a crash. Even a little drift onto the verge on a motorcycle can end in a crash if there’s a surprise ditch or a large rock that slides out under the tires. So I recognized the need to let another beautiful riding weekend pass me by sans motorcycle.

Meanwhile, this next week I will work on my recovery; I don’t want to let another beautiful fall riding weekend escape me!

No Ride This Weekend

The illness won this weekend, wiping me out with tummy troubles and fatigue, so despite the cool mid-60s, I couldn’t ride. It’s funny but when one is sick, one often gets frustrated and depressed. The best cure I know for both frustration and depression is a cruise on my motorcycle. But the weakness of my body and the need to have my wits about me on the motorcycle kept me off the bike.

I tried to convince Bill to go ahead and ride on his own, but he didn’t want to ride alone. I appreciated him keeping me company since misery does love company. I am hoping to do some recovery this week and be able to ride again in November—hard to believe, but next weekend will already be November. Soon the skeletons will be replaced by a few turkeys and pilgrims, but mostly, I’ll be seeing the Christmas decorations pop up. I wish we allowed Thanksgiving to be its own holiday separate from the holly and trees of Christmas. Maybe if we allowed for the full Thanksgiving, we’d start celebrating Christmas through the Epiphany and enjoy a long season of peace and goodwill.

I Forgot My Terrific Title!

I started off the ride fully geared and fully zipped because it was cool—high 60s. I even added my neck scarf to keep my neck warm, and I needed it. But with the right gear, the ride was pleasant though I can feel the need for my turtleneck coming soon.

As I mounted my motorcycle, I noted the odometer was at 1998.4, so I planned on stopping in 1.4 miles to snap the big 2000 shot. But as we set off cruising on this beautiful day, my mind wandered, and I totally forgot to get the picture! Instead, I was feeling the road beneath my wheels and the wind against my body. I was looking for more change in the foliage spotting some more bursts of red and yellow among the green leaves of the trees.

But for some reason during this ride, my mind wandered to the Tim Allen movie Wild Hogs. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it as a funny glimpse into the yuppy trend of buying Harley-Davidsons and becoming riders. Tim Allen’s little group of four call themselves the Wild Hogs, and they head out for a weekend ride to escape their daily grinds. That’s what my mind was musing on—the healthy escape and spiritual recharge riding motorcycles provide.

I’ve been dealing with some health issues recently, yet I won’t let them keep me off my motorcycle. Luckily, my health hasn’t curtailed my ability to ride, and I’m grateful for that. I can forget about any pain and feel the joy of my body and my bike working together in the ride. So I really leaned in on the counter steers during my turns, but I realized during my U-turn practice that I have not been using my body fully. I haven’t been applying pressure with my foot on the outer peg from the turn, so I haven’t made that a habit of my ride yet. More to work on.

I did spot a cabbage white butterfly during our ride, and there was even a small flock of ducks sitting near the lake where it comes up close to the road. And the Canadian geese gaggles are getting larger. There were tons of squirrels out running in front of us and running off on the grass as they gather their winter stores. Bill had a near run in with a mockingbird flying low and in front of him, but the roar of the Rocket chased him off. All in all I needed this ride to escape the worries of the week, and I look forward to next week’s ride that lets me escape those worries.

As for the title of this piece, early into the ride (probably around mile 2000), I thought of great title. But by the ride’s end, packing up the gear, running errands, and getting home, I no longer had that amazing title in mind. So one negative about riding is it isn’t great for writing down brilliance (ha!).