Some mornings there is no thought process involved in the decision to ride. I knew I would ride when I got out of bed. No weather checks, no thoughts of parking or things I would need to haul, I just went through the motions of putting on my gear, pushing the scooter out of the garage and starting it up. The only break in the flow was when I sat down in the driveway to make a picture.
The orange low fuel light came on so I had to divert for some Nascar approved fuel at the local Sunoco station. Fuel prices are beginning to creep back up. I’m hoping they stop before crossing the $4 mark again. I suppose I am in the internal combustion game for a while yet. Just spent nearly $3000 for two cylinder heads on my truck and all the associated stuff that goes along with that. Still cheaper to repair than buying a new one. Or even a good used one. But I would have rather put that money towards a Piaggio MP3. Or a trip across the country on the Vespa. Or anything else. Geez. But I digress.
I wondered whether the snow would be gone from the motorcycle spaces when I turned into the parking lot. A few warm days took care of most of it. The Vespa sat all alone today, none of the other riders are ready to come out and play. I didn’t care though. I was just glad to be back on the road. The only unexpected event was it started to rain in the middle of the day. I looked out the window and thought “how did I miss that?”. But then it’s just rain. Rain isn’t an issue for riding, just a variation in the day. I’m always up for rain.
Today’s commute to work consisted of light rain and 38 degrees. There was a small band of snow on the back side of the storm, but it was 50 miles away, and I knew I could get to the office before it got here. So I bundled up and made the ride with no incidents. My wife is sure that I am certifiably crazy.
The rain does not bother me as long as I am prepared for it. As we get closer to springtime I do worry about thunderstorms. We can get amazingly powerful thunderstorms around here, as evidenced by the tornadoes in Oklahoma yesterday. I would sure hate to be on the scooter in weather like that. I guess watching the weather and being as prepared as I can, with a little caution, all will be okay. I can always take the bus If I have to.
Again nice pics…did you ride to work or just went for a ride?
The rain doesn’t bother my riding either…I just get very agitated with icy roads. I slipped on ice with a Kawasaki 900 once and it wasn’t much fun. Luckily I didn’t get hurt nor did I hurt anyone but came very close to doing so as the bike stopped belly down just about 10 or 15 inches from a Pedestrian.
cpa3485: For most riders and non-riders alike riding in cold weather makes no sense at all. It’s like sailing in the winter. Runs against conventional ideas and is definitely an acquired taste.
It was windy here last week. Some gusts near 90 mph. I rode to work in it and was buffeted about on the road making lane position and anticipation of where the wind might break through important. But no tornadoes for me thanks.
Baron’s Life: I made the pictures on the way to work. If I had a big bike I definitely would not be riding in the weather I do, or with slippery stuff on the road. At least that’s what I believe right now.
Who knows what I would do once I was comfortable with a particular machine…
That’s really the key, you know. The statement you made in your comment.
Once your comfort level goes up, you’ll try about anything, even if you really shouldn’t. Try putting a hundred and sixty thousand miles on a bike like Sophie. Her and I could probably do about anything.
It would be interesting to see your journey if you switched up.
irondad: You’ve ridden a lot of miles. I’m just approaching 20K in my scooter riding, some on the LX150 and the rest on the GTS. I still feel like a beginner in a lot of ways.
By switching up I am assuming you mean moving down to a motorcycle? If so my first thought is I would ride less in my current situation. I don’t have a lot of time for long rides and all the motorcycles I have ridden aren’t a lot of fun in the manner in which I ride and photograph. They seem unwieldy in the constant stop and go pattern I can get into.
If I had time to ride at will, then that might be a different story entirely. Then I can see myself (perhaps) stepping down to a motorcycle. Not sure what though. The Triumph T100 is still high on my list and I will have one for a weekend when the weather warms up.
Hard to say what will happen. I can be fickle when it comes to machines. Mostly cameras but I could see it happening with scooters and motorcycles too…