Hibernation Comes to an End

A fifty degree day in February really brings things to life. All bikes that can run have now been ridden and their tanks filled with fresh gas. They are alive again and I am happy to be back in the slipstream. Today you could have seen the little Yamaha TTR 90 (normally dedicated to the pleasure of visiting grandkids) ripping around the field with a big gray-haired oaf burdening it's meager power plant. Actually it climbs the hill pretty well with a 220 pound load. The TTR has the "magic button" but needed a little help from the kick start lever and a lot of throttle blipping to to wake up. Vicki's Savage needed a jump from a car battery to rouse it's lumbering single cylinder. Even with frequent charges from the battery tender, winter is hard on these small bike batteries. I can relate. It's hard on riders too.

Ride 2 on 2/1

Living to see February roll around on the calendar is definitely a milestone worth celebrating as we survive a long, and unusually cold Northwest winter. Day dawns with a cloudless cerulean sky. What to do today? Drag wife down to a new gym for an exploratory workout. Check. Make sausage and eggs. Check. Take care of some profitable business. Check. Do a few runs on the ski hill. Check. Soak in the hot tub and then roll in the snow before climbing back in the hot tub. Check. Take the KTM and the DR650 out for a short ride each. Check. It's cold but it feels good to get the throttle back in my hand. Filled the DR with a fresh tank of gas. I could have ridden road bikes but there is still some slush on the road in shady places. Don't dare ride something heavy with slick tires. I wonder what the groundhog will bring us tomorrow? I'm getting an itchy clutch finger.