First Ride of ’25–a Wintry One for Sure

While mother nature does bless motorcycle riders with perfect days for riding, she also remembers the season and blows in wintry cold for our ride. We waited to ride until the sun had a chance to warm up the day as much as it would—upper 30s but with a wind chill into the twenties, but that meant riding into the low hanging sun. After several moments during the ride of near blind riding due to the direct sunlight, Bill and I decided it would be better to battle the chill and have proper vision.

Plus, for Christmas, I was given a pair of Snow Deer heated socks. They have three heat settings, so I tried the lowest heat setting for today. I also had my usual riding socks on underneath, but these double socks made for tight boots, and I did have a few missed shifts with the shifter. But my feet were toasty warm. And for the curious, the heating element is only in the foot part of the sock not up to the knee.

I also remembered my Rev’It winter riding gloves, but I didn’t remember how to wear them with my leather jacket. I struggled to take the gloves off because I had tucked the gauntlet part up under my jacket sleeves and couldn’t reach the Velcro closure or the zipper. After some awkward maneuvering with my jacket sleeve, I finally removed the gloves, and I relearned how to wear them. The winter gloves are gauntlets which means they have an extended cuff that should go over the top of my sleeve. But I’m accustomed to the Klim gloves which are just regular cuffed gloves that stop at the wrist. My struggles with the Rev’Its had my wondering if I’d even worn them last winter. I don’t think I did; I think the weather stayed moderate enough on our rides that the medium weight Klim with the heated grips were enough to keep me comfortable.

However, now that I’ve made pre-loading the front brake a habit of my rides, the heated grips with the Klim gloves aren’t enough for my fingers. The Rev’It gauntlets kept my fingertips from growing numb, so I solved the chilly hands issue. In fact with all my layers (five on my core), I was snugly warm everywhere but in my seat and thighs. I had worn my heavy duty leggings under my winter riding pants, but I need to break out the thermal for under forty rides.

Since it was so cold and so windy, there was not much natural scenery to enjoy amid the brown bare branches. The sky was a clear blue and made a beautiful back drop for the snowy white egret that flew over us as we made figure eights in the church lot. Mostly I saw seagulls soaring about, pushed inland by the wind over the ocean. I did spot the shadowed teal head of a drake in the lake, and I spotted one squirrel scurrying up a tree away from the motorcycle’s roar. But mostly the only movement was from fallen leaves bandied about in the breeze. A few spots of color were provided by the camellias and some pansies, but most of the ride featured brown and green scenery.

There were still a few Christmas decorations out, and I always appreciate the people who keep Christmas traditional and celebrate through the Epiphany. I understand the practicality most people have in taking the décor down before heading back to work, but it makes me a little sad to know the commercial interests are winning Christmas. How many people know that the twelve days of Christmas aren’t a countdown to December 25, but they are the twelve days from Christmas to the arrival of the three wise men?

Next week’s ride will be full winter with no holidays—unless people start decorating for Valentine’s Day (yikes!). Well, I’m assuming we’ll be able to ride. There is a large winter storm forecasted for this week, so please be safe readers. Snow is one of the few wonderful surprises that would make missing a ride bearable.

black and silver heated socks — My new heated Snow Deer socks.

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.

Wind Chill

Winter returned for this week’s ride but seemingly not too aggressively. Temperatures were in the mid-40s and there was sunshine amongst some clouds. But I didn’t check the wind chill as I prepared my riding outfit, and I paid for it during my ride.

In addition to checking the wind chill on cold days, I also need to check whether Bill added my liner for my leather jacket. I made a mistake in wearing my Rev’It leather pants with the liner and tights underneath, and I also chose my thermal overshirt rather than the flannel one rated for cold weather.

Because I was cold, I focused a little too much on my discomfort. My hands were cold enough even with the heated grips on high, so much so that I stopped pre-loaded the front brake several times to grip the handle with my full hands. During U-turn practice, I took advantage of only using the rear brake to warm up my right hand. Then as we cruised up stretches of the road, I released the clutch and gripped the left side. It worked enough to keep me from being miserable on the ride, but I was cold enough to learn my lesson about checking the wind chill.

I did see even more daffodils in bloom as we rode, though I knew there would be no butterfly to surprise me this week. I hope the little guy from last Saturday found some warm spot to hang out. I was surprised to see an apple tree (I think) in full pink bloom. I wasn’t expecting to see the fruit trees blooming already, but they are starting.

The fruit tree was in bloom along the stretch of road where we do the on-street U-turns. Today, however, there was a woman walking her dog along our usual stretch of road, so Bill had us do the U-turns in a different part of the road. On my first turn I had to daub my left foot and on the second, I went off well onto the berm. It occurred to me that I was unsuccessful because it was a different part of the road and possibly narrower, but to me that was just an excuse. If I can do an on-street U-turn, it should not matter which stretch of the road we are on to do it. Later, Bill told me it was a narrower part of the road, and I shouldn’t be surprised that I struggled. I did great later on my turns in the gravel lot to make up for the lousy street turns.

We didn’t get to practice our stops and immediate restarts because when Bill tried his first one, the Rocket cut off. We started our ride with the Rocket telling us it had a range of 20 miles, so we headed home on the fumes because no one wants to try and push a 648-pound motorcycle up a steep driveway! Next week, we’ll gas up the motorcycles and return to our scheduled practice. And I’ll check the wind chill as I prep my riding attire.

Random Thoughts Ride

While Punxsutawney Phil may not have seen his shadow, the temperatures are still more wintry than vernal, but we did have clear skies and bright sunshine, making for a very pleasant ride. We also had mostly smooth roads as the repaving was completed this past week. Of course, the workers are beginning to tear up new roads in the neighborhood, but our main travel roads are slick under the new asphalt. I was a little saddened by this as it means no need for our ride around; no more speed bump practice nor traffic-awareness practice.

I found my mind wandering all over the place as I rode. At first I was preoccupied with my cold chin. Somehow I had inadvertently opened the front vent on my helmet and had some trouble getting it closed. I eventually succeeded and was comfortable for the rest of my ride. As I zipped up the twisty road, I felt the beauty of the counter steer flicking the R Nine T from curve to curve. I also looked up into the clear blue overhead in hopes of glimpsing the bald eagle or at least an osprey. Instead, I saw some turkey buzzards high aloft enjoying the day.

I noted some yellow and burgundy pansies shining in the sunlight. Pansies are an interesting flower; they thrive through the cold winter, yet the word “pansy” usually means a wimpy person. I started wondering if what makes the pansy a “pansy,” is that it doesn’t like the extreme heat or cold. But that is true of most flowers, so why isn’t a wimpy person a begonia or an iris? I’ve always liked pansies because around here they bloom all through the winter, providing some color to the dull greens and omnipresent browns of winter.

I did see a bright snowy white egret hunting in the river near the road. That broke up the monotony of the black crows that were everywhere. Later in the ride, I saw three Canadian geese flying low over the river, and toward the end of the ride, I spotted pelicans. There were many squirrels about, but none crazy enough to jump in front of the motorcycles.

My on-street U-turns went very well, but I had some difficulty in the gravel lot with the right-side turns. My first two setups were off, so I had to loop through the parking lot and restart. I eventually got the right side as well as the left side turns and was pleased at how tight they are. The R Nine T is so well-balanced that I feel as though I could stop momentarily and it wouldn’t fall over.

I did have a bauble when Bill and I first turned into the hospital lot. To the right there’s a small, eight-car lot that sort of forces tighter U-turns. We went in and I turned so tightly on the first turn that I had to adjust to avoid running up on Bill. That adjustment through me off my line and I got in Bill’s way as he tried to circle around again. It doesn’t happen often, but it was a reminder to me that when I adjust in the turn, I need to adjust all the way through.

I was sorry to see our ride come to an end, but I was also hungry and ready for lunch. We had a glorious winter day for riding and, if old Phil is right, we’ll be into spring riding soon! Which reminds me, during my ride, I had to sneeze, and I couldn’t find the latch to lift the helmet’s visor. I’ll need to practice finding that if I’m to ride around during allergy season!

Yellow and burgundy pansies with blue pansies in the background. — Photo by Sszer L on Pexels.com