The heat was hot and the ground was dry.

Not sure why that lyric from America’s Horse with No Name floated through my brain as I sat down to write this post. Perhaps it was the heat of the past two days. Or the humid air flowing in the windows as the clock leans toward 2am. Regardless the reason, one thing’s for sure — riding when the thermometer eclipses 90F is unpleasant. For me.

And now I remember fondly a misty morning ride of a week ago. Nothing quite as pleasant as riding in rain during summer.

Morning Rain

An early appointment at Kissell Motorsports to have the rear brake pads replaced on the Vespa scooter had me on the road in a light rain with the temperature in the low 60s. Rain all night had cleared the roads of the oil and grease that seems to accumulate in summer which makes traction a bit more positive. Not that my laid-back riding style or the lightly traveled routes face challenges from the rain. Mostly there’s a flowing movie of misty landscapes that feed my imagination and create adventure in my head.Continue Reading