And done...

It seems early, really early, for me to be putting the bike away. In truth, it is. I could conceivably get another month out of the season, possibly more, but I'd be really risking it. If we did happen to get a big snowfall that stuck around, I wouldn't have a way to get my bike to storage. Considering my storage area is now about 30 minutes away through back roads, riding there once the snow sticks is out of the question.

Last stop of the season.

A friend and fellow riding buddy was nice enough to offer me winter parking if I couldn't find anything better. So now she is squirreled away in a shed sharing lots of space with a Harley dresser.

Once parked, it was time for a comparison.

Pulled out of storage March 4th, 2011.

Stored November 26th, 2011.

So yeah, crappy season over all. 3254 km for this riding season, very disappointing.. I was really hoping to roll fifty thousand this summer, but I guess I'll have to wait until after winter is done with us again.

And that's it, it's a wrap. She's covered, stored and the battery is out. It was hard to put her away, but it's nice to have somewhere for her to sleep.

Still going...

More still...

And so it starts...

Last Run

I had a really good last run with a couple of guys a couple of weekends ago. Put on just over 300 kms of straight riding. I'd never been riding with them before and didn't know what to expect. We rode from Saint John to Sussex for a stop and then it was non-stop to Moncton. A few stops in Moncton at some shops and then a quick stop for gas. After that, it was a straight out run all the way back to Saint John. No stops for coffee, cigarettes or bathroom breaks...straight out run. It was great and something that I always love. It gives my mind plenty of time to wind out and break down things that have been clogging up the works.

That was the last run for both of them. Stablizer had already been put in their tanks and the bikes were to be stored that very evening. It was pretty much the last run for me as well. I lose my heated parking spot at the end of this month and I'll have to move her to a friends house for storage. I hate thinking that my bike will be so far away, but at least I know she'll be safe.

My plan is to get her there this coming weekend, but it looks like Mother Nature is tossing in the usual curve ball. Tomorrow is supposed to be bringing 25-35 cm of snow and 30-40 km/h winds. I'm really hoping that it doesn't stick around, but it doesn't bode well. I don't need to be trying to resource a trailer to move my bike.

November Riding

Well, the first snowfall was October 30th. Couldn't have been happier to have the Jeep when we visited my parents that weekend. It didn't stick around long considering the whole day was snow or rain or both. Fun driving through it all with the Jeep though. Winter is going more fun this year then it ever has been.

Right now we are having some very unseasonal November weather that's keeping our temperatures in the teens. It's making the rides to work very nice, but there isn't a lot of recreational riding going on. I have to keep things limited due to a very limited front tire. Not a whole lot of rubber left there and I'll definitely have to spring for a new tire in the...spring...

Nice to see

Being able to ride home with just my hoodie at the end of September is real nice. Easily over 20 C at 9pm.

The Usual Hangout

 

All of my riding is solo again. My riding buddies have drifted for one reason or another away and I dropped the riding club that I was part of. It wasn’t fun anymore, it wasn’t about riding anymore, it was about politics and that’s not why I ride a bike. I ride to get away from that shit and it was starting to feel like it was following me everywhere I went. So I dropped it, stepped out completely. I gotta say, it was a huge weight off my shoulders.

So now I ride solo, back to the way it used to be and I still enjoy every minute of it. I go where I want, stop when I want, leave when I want. No schedule, no ride route and no one else to worry about. I do like riding with buddies, but this is the way I learned to ride and this is the way I’ve rode for years.

Oh shit…

Well now, it's been a while and here we are in September. I've thought about posting, but I don't like using this space as a woe is me area. I’d rather just hide away for a while and deal with things on my own. Suffice to say a lot has been going on and not all of it was good.

This summer has been absolute crap and a lot of my biker buddies have run into problems or have found other things to do, so I haven't gotten a lot of riding done. I still ride to work pretty much all the time, but weekend rides got stymied due to personal problems.

On the plus side, I finally got something that may make winter a bit more tolerable. I picked up a second hand Jeep and did a few modifications to it. Now the snow storms won't be so much of an issue.

Here she is the day I brought her home

Yeah, there is still snow on the ground there. These pictures were taken a bit before summer and it’s when she was completely stock.

 

So, little by little I added things like a lift.

Then tires.

New Jeepin by Al upper control arms.

And lastly (definitely not finally) a new paint job.

 

I’ve still got a few other things to do. I need a new spare rim and tire and I need new badges to put on her as well. Those plastic bits need to be painted black too. All in all, I’m quite pleased and she is very fun to drive. Winter may actually be tolerable this time around.

On that note, the bike isn’t away yet and I’ll be riding for as long as I bloody well can!

Getting there

Well, I think it’s about that time. I just have to pick up an oil filter so I can change the oil and I’ll have my rolling therapy machine on the road once more. I should be able to get that done this coming weekend and may very well be riding to work the next week.

I Have Become Hermit…

Avoider of the white death.

People are beginning to think I’m dead or have just simply vanished, but I have not. I’m just really really tired of all this snow and I would very much like for it to all go away.

I hit up the annual bike show the weekend past and even that was a bore. Same stuff as last year. After one tour of the place I was ready to go home. Not only that, but I’m finding that there’s nothing out there (bike wise) that really interests me. I’d still like to have a Sportster 48, but as “cheap” as it is I can’t justify the cost.

I guess I’m “stuck” with my baby. Which is no complaint at all, considering that I think it’s the last great cruiser made by Honda anyway. What’s up with all the Fury model crap they are putting out? Turns my stomach.

Well, at least we are more then half way out of the dark. Soon enough I’ll be putting that battery back in and cruising down the road. For everyone else feeling the same as I do, hang in there…it’s almost over.