Nippy

For those of you who hop by here, I'm still alive.  Not that you were thinking I was dead or something...at least I hope not.

I'm still going strong and riding whenever I can.  As you all know, I don't give up easily when the weather takes a turn for the nippy.  This morning was a whole 1 degree Celsius (33.8 F) and a tad on the windy side.  I've smartened up a bit though and switched from my shortie to the full face helmet.  The difference in comfort for riding in cooler temps is great and I should have done it last year.  Oh well, live and learn.  I use my leather face mask to wrap around my neck to keep the cold from diving straight into my jacket.

The only problem I'm having, and this is a carry over from last year, is that my gloves are crap.  By the time I get to work (15 minute ride) my hands are freezing.  I'm not willing to get heated gloves.  To me that's just too much trouble and money for such a short ride.

Oh well, I'm sure I'll find something sometime soon.  In the meantime, ride safe!

Happy Thanksgiving!

To all my fellow Canadians out there!

Un-fucking-believeable

Excuse my language, but this really bothers me.  You remember that accident a while back here in New Brunswick?

Motorist fined after striking motorcycle wedding procession

An Oromocto, N.B., man pleaded guilty Monday to charges laid after
he drove his car into a procession of motorcylists on their way to a
wedding in August, severely injuring five of the riders - including the
groom and his best friend.

Matthew Francis, 27, was charged last week with driving without due
care and attention, and driving without insurance. He entered the
guilty pleas on his first appearance in Burton provincial court.

He was fined a total of about $2,400, and his licence was suspended for four months.

Francis told the court his daughter in the back seat had distracted
him when he swerved across the centre line on Lincoln Road, smashing
into the motorcycle wedding procession.

The crash happened Aug. 9 as 10 motorcyclists were heading to CFB Gagetown for a wedding.

The groom, Frank Bouchard, and his best friend, Alain Belanger,
suffered serious injuries in the crash just 20 minutes before the
wedding was to take place.

Crown prosecutor Paul Hawkins told the court that witnesses agreed
that the red Ford Escort station wagon swerved across the centre line
of the two-lane highway, striking five of the motorcycles.

He said there was no evidence that speed or alcohol contributed to the accident, and so criminal charges were not warranted.

Chief provincial court Judge Leslie Jackson called it a "tragic incident" where "momentary inattention had grave consequences."

Francis asked for four months to pay the fine because he is unemployed.

Two of the injured motorcyclists, including one man who lost his foot, were in court, but declined to comment.

The motorcyclists, members of a Fredericton-area club known as the
Passchendaele Unit, which is part of the Canadian Army Veteran
Motorcycle Units association, had planned the procession as a surprise
for the bride.