b-b-b-b-b-brrrrrrr

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.