Some of us were willing to brave the cold so Rick put together a last ride of 2010. (I link his blog in attempts to get him to write something). We bundled up to tackle the near freezing temperatures riding 40 miles north to Salem and introduced some friends to Sushi Kyo.
I wasn't bothered by the cold but for cold toes as I have heated gear and finally some fairing, handguard and windscreen protection I lacked on the America. Trobairitz wasn't so fortunate and following her I knew she was suffering as she wouldn't sit still and was constantly shaking her left hand trying to get feeling back to her fingers. I told her several times on the radio to pull over but either not hearing me or just being stubborn, refused to pull over until I passed and cut her off onto the shoulder. I radioed Rick to go ahead and that we would meet up with them at the restaurant.
Stopping the bikes, pulling off our helmets and gloves to lay bare the cold breeze despite the bright sunshine that had lulled us into a false sense of warmer days of summer. After a few minutes with gloves stashed into the engine area to warm up and warming her bare hands on the engine case of her bike we were ready to move on. A fellow rider and friend QCD rode by, slowing down to make sure we were okay, I gave him a wave of thanks and he proceeded on his way as not to let go of his heated grips I'm sure.
We made it to Salem and had hot green tea and miso soup waiting for us when we arrived. After a great lunch and warming up it was time to suit up again and make our way home.
Rick offered Trobairitz some extra hand warmers he had in his trunk and we stuffed them into her mitts to add some extra warmth to her heated grips. We rode down the east side of I-5 through Turner, Marion and Jefferson where we started to head west into the sun. I broadcast a bit of trivia over the radio about ice crystals in the sky forming a halo around the sun producing a Sun Dog, but we already knew it was cold. Too cold to stop for photos so I had to pilfer a photo from the interweb.
We made it home for a hot bath, hot coffee and Carolans Irish Cream to warm up. Trob finally admitted to understanding the merits of owning a heated liner, if I had known this is what it would have taken I would have froze her solid long ago. She even asked about hand guards for her bike, so I told her that the BMW G650GS comes with hand guards and a charging system heavy enough to handle all kinds of heated gear. (I do what I can).
First Ride of 2011
Needless to say she turned down the invitation to the Polar Bear Ride to the coast for chowder yesterday. I went to Saturday morning coffee and we all waited for the sun to come up and warm the valley as best it could from so far away. It was somewhat warmer than Friday, I believe it got up to 35˚F or so. Four of us rode straight out Hwy 20 to Newport to Bobskoot's favorite place and warmed up with a hot cup of chowder at The Chowder Bowl.
As usual whenever we leave the sunny valley the coast is cloudy or fogged in. It wasn't long before we headed back, taking a quick scenic ride along the bay through Toledo and back up to Hwy 20 home. Both days and both trips were about a hundred miles each, a good way to mind Auld Lang Syne and ring in the New Year.
May 2011 bring everyone health, wealth and happiness.
Happy New Year friends.
P.S. - I've never tracked my annual mileage as others have so that can be my resolution for 2011. Yesterday's ride was 120 miles, subtracted from my current odometer reading of 24,156 makes my official 2011 odometer login reading of 24,036.
I can, however, calculate the 3198 miles I put on the Tiger since I purchased it on 9/22 with 20,958 miles on the clock. Which means I averaged 31.6 miles per day, not bad for buying a bike on the first day of autumn eh? At that rate, I would average 11,557 miles per year, but a more realistic goal would be putting my 2012 odometer reading well into the 40K mile mark.
Of course, buying Trobairitz a new bike may alter my calculations some, hehehehe.
-
Nice way to end one year and welcome the new. I have family in this weekend from Virginia and Michigan so I missed out on our Polar Bear rides. I get my first ride tomorrow. It will be 21F when I leave, but will be in the low 40F's when I ride home. That said, it will only be a 9mi or so ride each way and I won't get up over 45mph and then for only a short time. There will be lots of stops and starts, so it can't compare to your, in comparison, epic distances and speeds. It will be good to get the first ride over.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the Tiger is working out so well for you. I suspected it would, but still it is nice to see the proof in the pudding. It will be interesting to see what bike Trobairitz will end up with. I think it was a very good thing that she had this experience. It will provide some really good input into that selection.
Thanks for the report and letting me tag along virtually.
~Keith
I'm envious that you get in a ride...too much snow here. And heated gear IS heavenly! :)
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! Glad the weather cooperated and allowed you to get out. That chowder place sounds great.
ReplyDeleteNot to hijack the thread, but +1 on the GS handguards for Trobairitz. I installed the 1200GS guards on my R bike, allowing me to wear my summer gloves into the high 30's. Didn't know the 650's offered power! Nice.
Hope the coming year is good to you both!
-Lori
Forgot to mention...that is a great header image!!
ReplyDeleteGreat way to end the old year, and usher in the new. The weather these past few days has been spectacular compared to all the rain, rain and more rain.
ReplyDeleteNice job on the mileage, especially with it being autumn mileage. And frankly our autumn felt more like winter, so double thumbs up!
A great way to start out the new year. The next time I'm down there I need to check out that sushi place. You seem to really like it. I think our temperatures beat yours on New Years Day. We got all the way up to 39°F.
ReplyDeleteRichard
The best way to start a new year, and kudos to Trobairitz for participating in cold weather riding. If I can help convincing her to go for an F650 let me know. With the touring windshield, hand guards and heated grips I still use my summer gloves with silk liners, and no other heated equipment.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
PS: I like the new layout of your blog, especially the header pic.
It always seems to me that the cold ride to someplace is kind of exciting. The ride home seems more like a chore.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I finally wired Elvira for electrics. I'll admit it is nice to be a little warmer. It will help keep me limber for window tapping.