Spring is coming, I know it!
The days are getting longer. I'm actually seeing the sunset on my commute home now. And we have had some beautiful sunsets in the last two weeks.
The major roads are dry. Of course, we haven't had a whole lot of snow this winter. Enough wind to take out several of my trees, but not so much snow.
The side roads are getting down to pavement in places. Of course, that 100' of clear pavement ends in 1" sheets of ice that runs for another few hundred feet.
I can see gravel in places on my driveway.
I've had to wash my car twice in the last week, and I'm using washer fluid like is is going out of style.
So, what am I going to do with Spring? Hmmm.... Let me think about this for all of 2 seconds!
I still have 8-10 weeks to read and reread Proficient Motorcycling, More Proficient Motorcycling and whatever else I can get my fingers on. In between, I'll pull out my copy of Ride Like a Pro for a few dozen views. The ABATE group won't be posting their schedule for a little while yet, but I'm planning to sign up for the ERC first thing.
For those of you who have been enjoying riding all winter, I envy you, but let me tell you something, you are not looking forward to your next ride nearly as much as I am! :)
Owlie
We had some of that "freezing fog" you had pics of!
We had a big ice/snow storm here in Oklahoma that started on Thursday, and overnight, some of that freezing fog coated many of the ice-covered trees. It's really interesting looking. I'm not sure how hard the Tulsa area got hit, but the southern part of the state got it pretty bad! Hang in there and indeed spring will have sprung, and you can hopefully cut down on the windshield washer fluid purchases!
2005 Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic
Lynn C.
My sweetie's mom sent some
My sweetie's mom sent some pictures of the ice fog. Absolutely beautiful.
NE Oklahoma got their fair share of ice and snow. My parents were out cleaning up the driveway this morning when I called.
Honestly, I think that Oklahoma has had far harsher of a winter this year than Alaska. We haven't had much snow at all. Just windstorms and ice fog.
I hope that the weather clears up for you soon so you can get back out on the roads. :)
I share your excitement!
I've been looking forward to the coming riding season with particular zeal myself. I shouldn't be complaining next to you (and I'm not); after all, we in Seattle can pretty much ride year-round. It's not that I haven't been riding, but there's something I haven't been able to do since the end of summer, and that's hit the track.
I am super stoked for track season this year. This is the first year that, thanks to my finishing school (forever...maybe) in the next five weeks, I'll have nothing to get in the way of going to every track day I can get my hands on.
But yeah, I definitely know what you mean in terms of eating up everything that gives you a glimpse of the riding experience. Like you, I read about the stuff I can't do at the moment...again, and again, and again... For me, though, my pre-season oggling also includes a lot of watching random motorcycle videos. I swear, YouTube will be the death of me.
Congrats on finishing school!
Congrats on finishing school! That is fantastic. I understand just how wonderful it is to be done with that kind of commitment. I am still reveling in my free time after finishing the CFA program last summer. :)
Maybe when I'm in Seattle in April, I can buy you a drink to celebrate? :)
Buy ME a drink?
Screw that...I'll buy YOU a drink, how about? I'm the one celebrating after all ;)
Congrats on becoming a CFA, btw!
Only if you get a big signing
Only if you get a big signing bonus for your high-powered job. Otherwise, I will consider you as recently-graduated-but-still-broke.
Hey, Eon! Wanna get in on the party?
If you two are competing on
If you two are competing on who gets to buy the drinks then yes, I'm in
So, you renting a bike when you are down here? You can even rent 3 wheel scooters here :) Just kidding. I guess you are not ready to get on a bike for the first time in months in the middle of a strange city. I sure wouldn't.
Ha!
Oh my goodness...this is the greatest smiley thing ever.
What eternal doesn't know is
What eternal doesn't know is that buying me drinks is generally pretty cheap. Unless y'all know of a good microbrew that does its own Root Beer...
No bike; I haven't even really decided if I'm going to rent a car. I usually stay with one of my friends, but I'll be in town six nights, so I might strike out on my own (her husband and I tolerate each other, but it doesn't go much farther than that).
After Seattle, its on to San Francisco! Whoo-hooo! I'm so ready for vacation. :)
Hey . .when I decide I am in
Hey . .when I decide I am in the mode for poison . . .Double JD's and a splash of coke . . figurer 20 or so will do as long as they are free. (-; Who was buying again? LoL
2006 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide
Sales, Peterson's North Miami Store
Right, so...
...I won't be buying YOU drinks for the night, though maybe a couple are in order ;)
Oh, you can still buy me a
Oh, you can still buy me a drink, it just depends on how you define it. :) Anyway, it makes it really cheap to take me out drinking, but hey, I'm buying you the drinks, so what am I saying?
However... looks like we'll all be buying Elwood drinks.
Elwood, you gonna come join the party? :) Something tells me that if we can't even convince you to go visit Munch, just a days ride north of you, that you won't be coming to Seattle...
Oh . . sooner or later Munch
Oh . . sooner or later Munch will suffer a visit from me. Me and Munch will get along just fine to be sure, and his is a hand I would much like to shake at some point. For now . . . Let me see, do I plead poverty in Miami, or Paradise that cant be parted with in Miami? LoL Truth is I just plain have no vacation time nor money . . just have to work on fixing those things is all. Not even going to Daytona this month and it's a hop, skip & jump . . .
If I learn this business and survive in it then I'll be in a dealer near Munch inside if 5 years. And . . . . dealers do offer vacation time, so if I can bank a few bucks . .a summer ride to Alaska and back, all those miles in less than two weeks . . . .sounds like a plan to me. (-; Cant think of anything I would enjoy more than a "real" ride for a change.
As for those drinks . .no worries. I dont pour that stuff much these days . .just lack the desire. Cold water or a Mountain Dew will do me just fine. (-;
2006 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide
Sales, Peterson's North Miami Store
Yea we will definitely have a
Yea we will definitely have a good time.... who's suffering who's company will be a debate to be had afterwards lol. Heck if the timing is there, might would even be interested in taking that hike to Alaska with ya!
No need for drinking here.... life is my high, my significant other is my passion and my bike is my escape, so a Mt.Dew is good enough for me.
I also agree with Elwood... Owlie and others on here are good people. May not always agree with everyone but that's what keeps living interesting. Owlie you are definitely a southern belle planted to far north. Sass, grit, toughness and eloquence ...yup southern belle for sure.
****Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but, rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy Shit....What a ride!!!"****
Yea, no serious girl in the
Yea, no serious girl in the picture lately. Just haven't found anything that kept my interest more than 5 minuets. (-; Work, kids and that beautiful granddaughter of mine is it for me. I have it in the back of my mind I am gonna wait out the move and find a woman with a nice "twang" in her voice and a little heart in her thinking. (-; Brother, I miss the girls I was meeting in NC. Grit is a good word . . all female, but rock solid.
That Alaska trip . . do it dirty, make it about the ride and the road and travel light and stay away from the "resorts" . . food, lodging and fuel . . bet it could be done fairly cheap. (Relative term these days, but bet a few grand would do it.) I just need a good run with the money . . . thats sales, money is real bad when its bad, but it can be REAL good when times are good. One good year would change my life right now, a good run like I had a few years back would put me back into a better place than I have ever been. I am living light these days and could be into that "extra" money to bank in a hurry these days. Never gonna have the big overhead again . . just isnt gonna happen. (-; Not what I want, and I wont be holding hands with any females that need that overhead again. Keep it simple, keep it real, look at whats important, its right there in front of ya. (-;
Hmm . . . would like to add a bagger to the barn. Having ridden them now . .I take back every "geezer glide" insult I ever made. That baby is the one to take to Alaska. (-; Might have to take this wide glide however just because she will look far more "easy rider" in all the pics from the trip. Might be worth the slight sacrifice in comfort. (-;
2006 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide
Sales, Peterson's North Miami Store
I'm not sure that lace
I'm not sure that lace petticoats and white cotton gloves make good safety gear, but I appreciate the compliment.
Got that all wrong, blue
Got that all wrong, blue jeans and halter tops on hot summer days. (-;
2006 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide
Sales, Peterson's North Miami Store
The image of myself in a
The image of myself in a halter top is somewhat disturbing. There is just too much meat around my middle to make that one attractive.
I much prefer the Scarlet O'Hara version of the Southern Belle. I bet that she would have ridden a Harley. :)
........side saddle.....
........side saddle.....
****Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but, rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy Shit....What a ride!!!"****
Funny, the girl who taught my
Funny, the girl who taught my BRC did the whole thing side saddle for us just to prove it was easy if we would just trust her and use those head turns. (-; She does that coarse on a Street Glide side saddle. (-;
As for those halter tops . .yea, probably like me trying to wear "muscle shirts" . . that spare tire just changes the whole picture. LoL Lose and untucked works well these days. LoL
2006 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide
Sales, Peterson's North Miami Store
Riding a motorcycle side saddle
Now that would have been something to see. I won't be trying that this summer! :)
Dude, I sure as hell hope
Dude, I sure as hell hope your instructor didn't do that. I'm totally not kidding.
Allen Dye
MSF Rider Coach
Track Day Instructor
Ironbutt Rally Finisher '03-'05
She did. (-; Her "assistant"
She did. (-; Her "assistant" was pretty amazing as well . . . going to be one of those guys who climb logs I think. Not like she was encouraging us to try it, but it did make an impression that "challenged" me. Not to do side saddle . .LoL . .but to understand that "understanding the machine" was more important than being big or bad . . just learn the machine. It was that little fun time break stuff that made me understand it was all about finesse. .not man handling bikes. It helped me understand the "direction" I needed to move in my learning efforts. I was extremely happy with her . .and would to this day very, very, very highly recommend her.
2006 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide
Sales, Peterson's North Miami Store
Hey kid . .just take it slow
Hey kid . .just take it slow and warm back up to that new machine of yours. (-; Should be a good riding season for you I should think.
2006 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide
Sales, Peterson's North Miami Store
Ah well, on my reading list
Ah well, on my reading list was to dig out some of my posts from the first few weeks of riding for a few sober reminders.
It was kind of strange reading that thread about new riders and "Self Control" and "respecting the bike" that was running a couple weeks ago. The dimensions that those two phrases take are incredible. What I really thought was missing was a proposal that those ideas apply to little bikes just as much as big bikes. Not that I exactly have a little bike. :)
(-; I struggled with the
(-; I struggled with the "weight" of my Sporty for a "while". I could have dealt with a Dyna, or more even in about the same time. Having ridden the bikes I have now . .I have to be honest . .I would have been open to even more weight . . . and at least in the world of the Harley BT . .even the extra power. Not sure it would have been any worse than the Sporty back then. Each would have been hard for a while. I think I would have reeled each in with about the same effort however.
Still, the one thing a 250 does is "forgive" well. (-; But, "well" is not the same as forgive ALL. LoL Your bike is not "big", but it has a bit more grunt than a 250. LoL Something I think you noticed . . and why I say if you cant "slow race", you are not in control of your bike yet! (-; If you cant go slow, you have no business on the street in my ever so humble opinion . . . back in my early days . .talked a LOT about the slow race. (-;
You dear girl are a trooper, true grit. Earned my respect to be sure. (-; You have proved you know how to dust off and get back up. (-;
2006 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide
Sales, Peterson's North Miami Store
Thanks, Elwood. Now I'm
Thanks, Elwood. Now I'm blushing. :)
You are good people. In the
You are good people. In the suck, that was the highest of honers. (-; Always earned the same way . .by getting back up. Knowing you stood next to someone who knew how to stand up.
As for the blushing . .well I always was a flirt. LoL Must be the comparing you to a "Marine" that got to ya. LoL What girl could resist such charm? (-;
Truth . .I dont know how folks learn with so much down time in an off season. I dont think I have gone 5 days in a row without riding since I started . . hardly go two. It is odd not to ride, and more often than not . .I am gaging time of day and traffic when I take the car, not weather. Hell, did a 60 mile round trip tonight just to have one beer at a bike night. (-; Cafe 27 . .not much of a destination. A truck stop on the edge of civilization . . but what a nice ride back . .in the glades, hardly any city lights, so many stars. No challenge to the ride, just a good sky away from city lights. In season . .probably easy for you to find.
2006 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide
Sales, Peterson's North Miami Store
I'm already on the edge of
I'm already on the edge of civilization, but that good sky away from city lights? Only happens in the winter...
Enjoy the stars for me, Elwood. Lay in the grass and look up for hours, or at least until the mosquitos run you off. Listen to the tree frogs and watch the lightening bugs. Those little miracles don't happen in Alaska.
Well . .that laying in the
Well . .that laying in the grass thing isnt in the cards. "Edge of civilization" is relative I suppose. (-; This place is on a road with swamp on one side and the full blow city on the other . .truly the "edge" around these parts . .even has a "rush hour". Truly a well defined line on a map. But a nice ride in any event.
Now . .when I had my boat . . . get 30 miles off shore, day or night, and you truly felt you had finally left the city behind you. Do it in a thunder storm, lighting so close it made our hair stand up . .that was as close to any "god" as i get. (-; Just beautiful.
2006 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide
Sales, Peterson's North Miami Store