Tag: cherry-blossoms

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Rain, Wind, and Riding

            The forecasted rain arrived Friday evening and stayed past noon on Saturday.  I was bummed even though I was sure we’d be able to ride on Sunday.  So in order to mitigate the wait time from Saturday to Sunday, I decided to go check out the 2024 BMW R1300 GS.  As luck would have it, by the time we headed over to the BMW dealership, the roads had mostly dried out.  But I had set my sights on seeing the new motorcycle, so we headed over.

            When we arrived at Adventure, they had over 15 motorcycles outside on display including the 1300 in the GS Trophy edition.  This edition is in a red, white, and royal blue color pattern that looked good on Youtube, but for me the colors didn’t quite fit on the motorcycle that well.  Because they had a large inventory of bikes, I was able to sit on the 1300 and then sit on a 1250 to compare.  On both bikes I was on my toes, but when we went inside, I was able to sit on a Triple Black edition that featured the adjustable seat height.  I was happy to see I could flat foot the bike and have a bend in my knees, close to my position on the R Nine T.  The adjustable seat height is a feature that automatically lowers the motorcycle’s suspension as the rider slows down to stop.  Harley-Davidson introduced this feature with their adventure bike, the Pan America, and it is a very smart feature that, should it gain increasing popularity, will make motorcycling open to more riders.

            When I expressed disappointment at not seeing the 1300 in the Aurelius green metallic, Rick, the sales manager, told us he had one in the back and led us back there to see it.  I’m glad he did because between the Trophy colors and the green, I much prefer the green.  The lines on the tank are smoother and Bill likes that the frame is black not white.

            Because of the recent rain, and because Rick was helping us not Clayton, there was no offer of a test ride.  I would like to go back and test ride the green one, but I have to come to grips with reality.  The green bike, known as the Option 719, is an upspec motorcycle with a ton of features and would cost, before dealer fees and taxes, $28, 545, so over $30,000 once the additional fees are added.  It is amazing how much the motorcycle has increased in price.  The 1250 GS would have run around $23,000 with added features.  I may have to wait for some used 1300s to show up on CycleTrader to make it a reasonable dream.

            Of course I really can’t complain.  I have the beautiful R Nine T to ride, and ride I did on another windy Sunday.  I remembered to check the wind chill, so I was dressed appropriately in my full leather jacket with the liner, warmest shirt, and Rev’It Factor 4 pants with the liner.  Because of the chill, I wasn’t expecting to see any butterflies never mind as many as I saw last week.  But I was surprised; there was one cabbage white fluttering around before we left, and I did spot one brave little guy as we rode.

            As we turned around on at the end of the curvy road, I was watching a pair of Canadian geese in someone’s yard when my eye was caught by movement in the sky.  High aloft the bald eagle was cruising on the strong winds.  I stopped to watch, but Bill, who hadn’t seen the eagle, had ridden ahead.  It was one of the few times I’ve wished we had a communication system.

            Leaving the curvy road, I continued looking up in hopes of seeing the eagle again, but half a mile away and he was gone.  Shortly after, though, Bill and I spied two osprey fighting over a fish in the sky.  I was happy Bill got in on these raptors, and I began to have a hope of maybe seeing the golden eagle again.  I didn’t, but I did see lots of crows.

            I also saw more azaleas beginning to bloom and more tulips flowering.  The cherry trees had reached full bloom but, due to the heavy rain and strong winds, their blossoms were not as full as they could have been.  But the cherry blossoms in their transience remind me of my rides; the rides are wonderful while they last, but they are over all too soon.  Of course, like the cherry blossoms, they return.

Blossoms and Butterflies

            I had some of the luck of the Irish on my ride Saturday.  Not only was the weather a lovely, sunny, low 60s, but the cabbage whites were out in force and my favorite blossoms, the cherry trees, were beginning to bloom.

            There was no blessing from a butterfly before our ride, but I had seen several on the drive over and was hopeful to spot some as I rode.  It didn’t take long; half a block down the road, I spotted my first cabbage white dancing about.  It turns out that one female of this species can produce millions of offspring, so I shouldn’t be surprised that I saw 17 on this early spring ride.  I also learned that the cabbage white is an immigrant from Quebec, Canada, and prior to that was only found in Europe, Asia, and North Africa.  Someone in 1860 brought the little critters to North America, and they have spread throughout the continent.

            They make for lively entertainment during my motorcycle rides, and I was nearly head-butted by one on this ride.  The butterfly flew at my fancy Arai helmet, probably drawn in by the bright colors, but it got smart about a foot away from collision and veered up and over my helmet.

            On this ride I saw four weeping cherry trees in full bloom, and I saw multiple Yoshino cherry trees beginning to bloom.  I’m hoping to see full blooming cherry trees on next week’s ride.  I even spotted the first tulips of spring in a few yards as we rode.

            My ride was great—mostly.  We took the curvy road which is always fun.  I enjoyed the feel of the counter steers into the turns.  As we headed into the ritzier neighborhood the I rolled on the throttle and felt a good deal of the 119 Newton meters of torque forcing me back on the seat.  I laughed and recovered my seat and found myself slowing down suddenly as Bill turned us into a cul de sac we hadn’t ridden down in a while.  I’m glad he did as it let me see a little boy enjoying the beautiful day zooming down the street in his mini dragster.

            My turns continued going well on street and in the gravel lot.  I did try the turn between the large wooden blocks but only halfway.  If I’m feeling good about my turns next ride, I will go full into the wood like I was supposed to.  I think I hesitated because things were going so well, I didn’t want to mess up.

            Not too long after my fun in the gravel lot, I stalled the motorcycle.  We were stopped waiting to turn back onto the zoomy road.  We had to let three cars go by but, before we could turn, another four came up the road.  I think the unusual amount of cars keeping us at the stop sign longer than usual distracted me enough that when I went to take off, my feel for the clutch was off and the bike conked out.  I recovered with Bill only having to slow down to wait for me, and I also recovered my good ride by improving my sudden stop-go drill.  And I had the fun of seeing 17 butterflies throughout my ride.  Were some repeats of ones I had spotted before?  Possibly.  But I try to only count them as we enter a new, unridden road, so I think my 17 is close to the actual count.

            I love seeing the butterflies and the cherry blossoms.  The butterflies remind me of how free and capricious riding a motorcycle can be.  The cherry blossoms remind me to enjoy the beauty of the ride while it lasts because, like the blossoms, the time is fleeting.

Yoshino cherry blossoms