i really hate winter. i'll be the first to admit that i have a mild case of SAD (seasonal affective disorder). when the nights grow long and the days get cold you can notice a big difference in me. i get moody, sleep too much, but never feel rested, and everything just seems to be too much trouble.
but i'm not going to dwell on my personal issues here. i'm just going to say that's it damn cold out! the car didn't want to start this morning or yesterday morning. it's currently -19 C (-2 F) with a wind chill of -29 C (-20 F). yesterday it was a balmy -34 C (-29 F). notice that the two scales are getting to the matching point of -40.
i'm used to this type of weather, i just hate it. i spent 23 years in Labrador City, Newfoundland and i got real used to sub zero weather. i'm not lying when i say that school wouldn't be cancelled until around -70 C (-94 F). winter would stick around for eight months and the snow amount was just crazy.
i do have it easy in new brunswick though. winter didn't really set in until mid january and our snow fall has been next to nothing. all i have to do is stick it out until march. it will still be cold, but at least the worst of it will be over and i'll be riding again.
and it's done
it finally happened. it's officially too cold for me to ride. there's something about -10 to -25 degree (14 to -13 F) weather that makes it really hard to mount up and be comfortable. Selene spent the better part of a week at the shop because two days after i dropped her off the weather took a turn. we don't have a lot of snow, but the cold weather is making it stick around.
i have to hand it to Eldridge's Harley-Davidson, though. they were nice enough to deliver Selene right to the storage place at no charge to me. here is a shot of the truck pulling in.
once we rolled her inside, i started her up for one last ride. it was quite a treat to navigate the hallways between storage units and i had several tight turns to negotiate.
finally she was backed into her new home and here is joey actually tucking Selene in. who says your wife and your mistress can't get along. ;)
all that took place on thursday the 18th and i hated to leave her there. the only solace i can take is that it's only a couple of months and i'll have her on the road again.
in the meantime i've got things to do with her. sunday i spent several hours cleaning her up, but only got about a quarter of the way through my list. i still have a lot of cleaning and polishing to do along with the removal of her wheels. i can't do that without my jack though and that will require a trip to my parents house where the jack is stored.
sunday was very relaxing. i took a coffee with me, my mp3 player and something to snack on. that day i picked up a folding stool so i didn't have to stand over the bike all the time. i had the entire place to myself while listening to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.
as a list to myself, this is what i have done so far:
- waxed the tank and fenders
- checked the air filter (and almost lost the screw)
- removed the backrest for cleaning
- cleaned the tail light (dusty inside)
- cleaned under the seat
- polished the mufflers
- polished the rear fender rails
i still have a long way to go and one big part of that is cleaning the aluminum rims...they are a real mess. the job should be much easier once the wheels are actually off though.
so right now it's all maintenance, watching biker buildoff and american chopper. please let winter be over soon...
funny thing...
the whole way in to work i kept looking at the roads thinking, "i could ride in this. all i have to do is stay in the path cleared by the car tires."yeah...i think i'm insane...
oh crap...
the real kicker is that Selene is still at the shop and now i have no way of getting her. not to mention that i'm paying for a storage place that she hasn't even set one wheel in yet...ugh.
well
if i can't store her away, you can be darn well sure i'm going to ride. yesterdays snow melted (due to heavy afternoon rains) and this morning the roads were pretty much dry...well, aside from the ice. ice can be considered dry...right? it was 2 C (35 F) this morning with 33 km/h (20.5 mph) winds...it took me a little longer then usual to decide to ride. i finally opened the veranda doors to see just how chilly it would be. seconds later...i was gearing up.
the only problem with riding today was the wind. it seemed to be a perfect day for transport trucks to transform into massive wind monsters. everytime one passed, i was hit with a wall of wind. it usually doesn't bother me, but during this part of the season the wind is mixed with rather copius amounts of dirt. thankfully i was fully covered.
it's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow morning, so i'm guessing it'll be another few days before i can ride again. i can't complain, this winter has been treating me really well. i'm just hoping for clear skies and roads for friday.
the only problem with riding today was the wind. it seemed to be a perfect day for transport trucks to transform into massive wind monsters. everytime one passed, i was hit with a wall of wind. it usually doesn't bother me, but during this part of the season the wind is mixed with rather copius amounts of dirt. thankfully i was fully covered.
it's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow morning, so i'm guessing it'll be another few days before i can ride again. i can't complain, this winter has been treating me really well. i'm just hoping for clear skies and roads for friday.
all geared up
it was certainly a beautiful (if not chilly) day to ride.
this shot was taken at fort howe in saint john, new brunswick. as you can see, i'm fully geared for the ride. i'm even sporting my new (for xmas) leather over pants. wow, what a difference they made. my hands were numb, but my legs were all toasty warm.
here is a shot of the monument at the top of the hill. fort howe overlooks all of saint john. you can get quite a view up there.
and finally, one last shot of Selene in all her glory.
stay safe and warm out there.
yeah... so storage...
it was 6 C ( 43 F), a perfect day to get out and clean Selene up to get her ready. the plan was to clean, head down to the storage area, leave the car and both of us would take one last ride. this would give joey a relatively "warm" ride and give me a chance to test out the new leather over pants i got for xmas.
it was windy, really windy. i ended up cleaning Selene while tucked underneath the veranda. not the first time i've done that, but it is a bit cramped. i knew i couldn't get everything cleaned up today, but once she was in storage i could work away at my leisure without worries of weather getting in my way.
once i was finished up, joey grabbed her gear and i pulled out some old flannel sheets for Selene to snuggle into while she was in storage.
the first stop was gas. i was already on reserve and i would still need more for friday. i have a maintenance appointment for friday, weather permitting. i get wide eyes and smiles whenever i tell the guys at the Harley shop that i'm still riding.
from the gas station it was a short hop to the storage place. i figured we would park the car behind the gates and then joey could gear up. well, that was not meant to be. i pulled up to the code box and punched in the numbers. a little green light flashed telling me to try again...so i tried again. *flash flash* and again... *flash flash* after about the sixth time i swearing i could hear that little green light laughing at me. there was no way that gate was going to open. joey checked the sheet that listed our code and it was identical to what i was punching in. by this time i was fuming and i really hoped there was a hammer in the trunk of the car to assist me in my final try.
with the code not working and the main office closed, we resolved to go home. there was a whole lot of cursing going on under my face mask on the ride back. i was not a happy biker. what really irked me is the fact that they tested the code and said it worked.
with my swearing done and most of my ire revved out on the way home, we decided to go for a ride anyway. no sense in loosing a good day to ride.
it was rather chilly, but for the most part you could ignore it. the sun was out so whenever we made a stop it was easy enough to warm up. sticking my gloved hands on the engine also helped out.
it was nice, but i really would have liked to get Selene into her new home.
well, wish me some weather luck for friday. as it stands, it's the only day i have coming up that will give me a chance to get out again.
it was windy, really windy. i ended up cleaning Selene while tucked underneath the veranda. not the first time i've done that, but it is a bit cramped. i knew i couldn't get everything cleaned up today, but once she was in storage i could work away at my leisure without worries of weather getting in my way.
once i was finished up, joey grabbed her gear and i pulled out some old flannel sheets for Selene to snuggle into while she was in storage.
the first stop was gas. i was already on reserve and i would still need more for friday. i have a maintenance appointment for friday, weather permitting. i get wide eyes and smiles whenever i tell the guys at the Harley shop that i'm still riding.
from the gas station it was a short hop to the storage place. i figured we would park the car behind the gates and then joey could gear up. well, that was not meant to be. i pulled up to the code box and punched in the numbers. a little green light flashed telling me to try again...so i tried again. *flash flash* and again... *flash flash* after about the sixth time i swearing i could hear that little green light laughing at me. there was no way that gate was going to open. joey checked the sheet that listed our code and it was identical to what i was punching in. by this time i was fuming and i really hoped there was a hammer in the trunk of the car to assist me in my final try.
with the code not working and the main office closed, we resolved to go home. there was a whole lot of cursing going on under my face mask on the ride back. i was not a happy biker. what really irked me is the fact that they tested the code and said it worked.
with my swearing done and most of my ire revved out on the way home, we decided to go for a ride anyway. no sense in loosing a good day to ride.
it was rather chilly, but for the most part you could ignore it. the sun was out so whenever we made a stop it was easy enough to warm up. sticking my gloved hands on the engine also helped out.
it was nice, but i really would have liked to get Selene into her new home.
well, wish me some weather luck for friday. as it stands, it's the only day i have coming up that will give me a chance to get out again.
wow
it's january the fourth and i was able to ride my bike to work. this morning i uncovered Selene and got her ready while the thermometer read a cool 0 C (32 F). the unfortunate thing about it is i work for 12 hours and it's currently 8 C (46 F) out. i'd kill to go out for a ride, but a half hour just won't cut it. besides...i do get hungry.
on the plus side...this weekend promises to hit the double digit temperatures! i may actually be able to get out for an extended ride! i can't wait! i'll probably use the time to clean her up and get her ready for storage though. so far we've had a non-winter, but i don't want to push it. i could wake up some morning and find Selene buried under four feet of snow.
on the plus side...this weekend promises to hit the double digit temperatures! i may actually be able to get out for an extended ride! i can't wait! i'll probably use the time to clean her up and get her ready for storage though. so far we've had a non-winter, but i don't want to push it. i could wake up some morning and find Selene buried under four feet of snow.
the year's past
wow, another year gone and so much has changed. this year has seen it's fair share of ups and downs, believe me.
the year started in the middle of my marrige spiraling downhill. i was in a slump, a bad one. one of my worst by far. it happens to me every now and then and most times i can squash it, but that time...i needed a change and if i didn't get it, all hell was going to break loose. i shunned the people closest to me, i took so many days off work that i ran out of sick time before the end of january and i was generally self destructive. it wasn't a good time for all involved as you can well guess. this was all carried over from last year and joey can attest to the type of ass i was being. i guess the experts would have called it a "mid life crisis", but i'm not much into the experts. i refused to see anyone (that's normal for me) and vowed to figure things out myself.
things that didn't help me out were:
living in an apartment that was below ground
joey had a depressed time and clung to me
the two of these issues made me feel trapped and i don't like feeling trapped (not like anyone does, really). i couldn't really go outside because we had no back yard and going out in car meant that joey wanted to go as well. yeah, it was a bad time for me. so i found other escapes...one of them being world of warcraft. i won't say i got addicted to that game (i'm a gamer, i love games), but i will say that it was the perfect escape for me. so everything else got ignored.
near the end of february i started coming out of my slump and thoughts of divorce were in my mind a bit less. around that time, joey started pushing me to get a bike for my own transportation. so i guess my "mid life crisis" was squashed by a little out doors time. after that, things got steadily better.
in the summer, we moved and the new apartment was great. we got a veranda, a view, and a really quiet area. it was pretty much perfect.
after that, things steadily got better. i invited joey to a trip that i had intended to take myself and it ended up being quite a bonding experience. there's really nothing like taking a motorcycle trip. just two riders and two wheels. i really don't think i could have made it without her. having her share the experience of almost running out of gas, riding with a nail in the rear tire, riding in the rain, freezing to death trying to find a hotel...any hotel. an experience that i would have traded for nothing and hope to do again.
keep in mind that was a short synopsis and i haven't gone into detail about everything, but it covers most of the bases.
thank you 2006 for bringing so much change into my life and giving me the guts to do what is right.
here's to changes, good or bad and the company of people who love you.
Happy New Year to you all.
the year started in the middle of my marrige spiraling downhill. i was in a slump, a bad one. one of my worst by far. it happens to me every now and then and most times i can squash it, but that time...i needed a change and if i didn't get it, all hell was going to break loose. i shunned the people closest to me, i took so many days off work that i ran out of sick time before the end of january and i was generally self destructive. it wasn't a good time for all involved as you can well guess. this was all carried over from last year and joey can attest to the type of ass i was being. i guess the experts would have called it a "mid life crisis", but i'm not much into the experts. i refused to see anyone (that's normal for me) and vowed to figure things out myself.
things that didn't help me out were:
living in an apartment that was below ground
joey had a depressed time and clung to me
the two of these issues made me feel trapped and i don't like feeling trapped (not like anyone does, really). i couldn't really go outside because we had no back yard and going out in car meant that joey wanted to go as well. yeah, it was a bad time for me. so i found other escapes...one of them being world of warcraft. i won't say i got addicted to that game (i'm a gamer, i love games), but i will say that it was the perfect escape for me. so everything else got ignored.
near the end of february i started coming out of my slump and thoughts of divorce were in my mind a bit less. around that time, joey started pushing me to get a bike for my own transportation. so i guess my "mid life crisis" was squashed by a little out doors time. after that, things got steadily better.
in the summer, we moved and the new apartment was great. we got a veranda, a view, and a really quiet area. it was pretty much perfect.
after that, things steadily got better. i invited joey to a trip that i had intended to take myself and it ended up being quite a bonding experience. there's really nothing like taking a motorcycle trip. just two riders and two wheels. i really don't think i could have made it without her. having her share the experience of almost running out of gas, riding with a nail in the rear tire, riding in the rain, freezing to death trying to find a hotel...any hotel. an experience that i would have traded for nothing and hope to do again.
keep in mind that was a short synopsis and i haven't gone into detail about everything, but it covers most of the bases.
thank you 2006 for bringing so much change into my life and giving me the guts to do what is right.
here's to changes, good or bad and the company of people who love you.
Happy New Year to you all.
MBI riders choice awards
Nominations for the 2007 MBI Riders Choice awards are now open.
Each year we conduct the MBI Riders Choice awards program. We invite riders around the world to participate by nominating and voting for the awards. New motorcycles or related products, services, events and actions by an individual or organization are eligible for awards in one of several categories.
if you feel so inclined, hop on over to check it out.
Motorcycle Bloggers International
