Knees in the wind

There's been some decent riding weather this past week, especially for this time of year. Many days have been sunny, with high temps in the 60s (and close to 70 on Friday!), but I've been too busy with work these past few weeks, so riding has taken a back seat, so to speak. The night time temps have averaged in the low or mid-40s, which is too cold for pleasant riding, so lately, the only day I've ridden is Sunday.

This Sunday morning, I just had to ride my Yamaha Virago to church; I was having withdrawal symptoms from not having ridden in a full week, so I just had to get my "knees in the wind," as another biker and fellow blogger wrote.

Apparently, my bike was having withdrawal symptoms too. She started no problem, but kept wanting to stall unless I gave it some throttle. The choke did not help. But, by the time I hit the first stop light, the engine smoothed out, and the 13-mile ride to church was enjoyable as I banged through the gears and leaned through the turns. Yep, all was good again! I wore my half-helmet, so even though I had not drank much coffee at home, the brisk air hitting my face woke me up quite well, thank you.

Motorcycles are increasingly scarce on the road this late in the season (or I guess we're in the post-season now), so they tend to stand out a lot more. I passed what appeared to be a black Sportster on Route 1 north (I'm not certain it was a Sporty, because I was traveling 65 mph at the time and didn't want to take my eyes off the road too long). On the way back from church (I took a longer, scenic route home), I passed an on road/off road bike, and later, a sport bike (or, as I like to call them, "crotch rockets"). We all waved as we passed each other. I think because there are so few of us riding in late November, there is an even greater camaraderie. Whether you ride a Harley, metric cruiser, crotch rocket or even a dirt bike, it sure feels good to get your knees in the wind, even if the wind is brisk.