Finally!  Despite rain late into last night, the roads dried off, the sun came out, and we had a day to ride.  It’s been three weeks since I rode and a month for Bill, so we were extra happy that the weather forecast was right and the day was nice.  There was some wind keeping it cold, but with the bright sunshine everywhere, it felt warmer.

            And we weren’t the only ones out enjoying the prettier weather.  We passed a small group of Canadian geese (6) driving into the neighborhood.  And once I was out on the Scrambler, I passed another smaller group of 4.  It felt great to be back on the motorcycle, though it was a bit like my first-time riding.  I realized that my last ride was on my G310 and on different roads, so I was relearning the feel of my Ducati and relearning my practice routes.

            The roads were fairly quiet which made my practice easier.  The gravel parking lot at the neighborhood park was free of cars, allowing me to loop through it several times.  I even rode my little dirt track, though carefully as there was a lot of mud from last night’s rain.  My focus was on the feel of the bike, shifting the gears in my thick Rev’It winter gloves and keeping my left foot up.  So I only did a few U-turns and only one fast stop as the gloves are stiff.  I’m hoping that with some more winter rides, the gloves will wear in and loosen up some.

            I slalomed through the bus lanes at the elementary school, riding by the house often as I expected Bill to be waiting so he could ride too.  After about 20 minutes, there he was, geared up and ready to go.  So we went and picked up the R NineT and headed out on our neighborhood cruise.  Since we hadn’t ridden these roads in a month, we found some road work in the neighborhood—more gravel.  I was watching the road and watching Bill as I always do when I caught sight of the bald eagle soaring above us.  So not only was I thrilled to be back riding my motorcycle, but I had the added excitement of seeing the bald eagle coasting through the bright blue sky. As I watched the beautiful eagle, I realized that my sensation riding the motorcycle is as close as I will get to an eagle soaring aloft in the sky.  I rode with a smile plastered on my face.

            The smile turned to a laugh when we cruised by the first group of geese.  Several of them were crossing the road, so we had slowed to a crawl as the stragglers made it across.  As they cleared the road and we rode by, the big goose in charge chased after the stragglers, honking a reprimand for their slow progress.

            The birds continued to entertain us on our ride.  We passed more geese playing in a puddle.  A mockingbird flew right in front of Bill.  And, as we paused for our chat on the gravel lot, we watched four turkey vultures flitting about in the tall pine trees.  I had some issues shifting from second to third during the ride.  I would pull in the clutch and lift the shifter, only to look down and see I was still in second.  I believe that is part of getting used to the gloves and the feel of the clutch.  I was able to easily find neutral two out of three tries, which was a pleasant surprise as I was sure, after not riding the Scrambler for a month, I would lose the progress I had made in finding neutral.

            Next weekend is looking to be a warmer ride, so I will get more practice in shifting and finding neutral and, hopefully, another chance to see the bald eagle in flight.