It amazes me that as cold as it was last month, that it was over 70 today.  In November.  El Nino is messing up our weather patterns big time.  Not that I'm complaining.  Turning the furnace off in November is always a reason to celebrate.

My friend Greg and I took the day off of work today and headed out on our Gold Wings for a ride around the central part of the State of Missouri.  Today our goal was Sedalia, home of the State Fair and the Wheel Inn, home of the Guberburger.  Which, contrary to Facebook belief has nothing to do with Mayberry or goobers.  It is a famous concoction is what it is.  It is your basic All-American Hamburger, with Lettuce, Tomato, Mayo and Peanut Butter.  I don't like the mayo, so I ask them to keep to themselves.  (The photo is of the old location that closed a couple of years ago...it was reopened by new owners earlier this year...)

They are wonderful.  Absolutely wonderful treats.  Since I like, love peanut butter, this seems like an ideal match to me.  It makes me kinda/sorta think of Thai food...sort of.  It's the whole peanut thing, I'm sure.

Say, it also makes me think of Mary Jane's candy!  Oh, Nom Nom Nom!  My favorite part of Halloween season!  Elaine always buys me a bag of those peanut butter and molasses candies.  Sheer sugary bliss.

The trip over was on some of my favorite motorcycle riding roads.  Hills, curves and such.  Lots to look at, and the sky was just the deepest blue, and it wasn't too hot.  Then, we got to California (MO....really!) and got onto Highway 50.  Which they are in the process of slowly turning into another boring 4 lane highway.  So, construction slowed us down for a little bit.  But, I did have a good laugh.

There's this little spur road that is probably about a quarter of a mile long, if that.  It's from the original Highway 50, as some years ago they moved the road alignment and straightened this part out.  So, the old part is marked Old Hwy 50.  Which made me wonder when they finish building the 4 lane section of 50, will they name what is now Old 50 and if they do, will they then name Old 50, Ancient 50?

You think of the damndest things when you haven't got anyone to talk to.  Especially on a pretty day, on a motorcycle in November. 

After hitting the Harley shop in Sedalia (Greg's other motorcycle is a Harley...and did you know that HD doesn't really stand for Harley-Davidson?  That's right, it really means Hundred Dollars because that's what most everything will cost you...Hundred Dollars...), we headed for home.

When we got to I-70, the wind was blowing from the South.  Which is important to note as we were heading East.  I failed to mention that the wind blowing from the South was blowing HARD!  Passing a semi was more interesting as a result.  The minute we'd pull away from the truck, *wham!* goes the wind, and you feel like you're going to fall over to your left.  It doesn't happen, but it made that last part of the ride more like work and less like fun.  Still, a great day to not be at work and out goofing off.

Which is exactly what I did.  YaY for days off!

So, I went to the dentist's office today for the thrice yearly experience of Marty shoving barbaric tools into my mouth, and scraping all manner of built up crud from my teeth.  Said experience is so much more enjoyable than sitting in the other chair in the next area over and having my face numbed and hand sized jack hammers breaking solidified crud from my teeth and below the gum line.

Let this be a lesson to you, Boyz and Girlz...brush and floss daily!  And go see the nearest equivalent to Marty near you.  Then have a Dentist poke around for a couple of minutes, tell you a bad joke and go on your way.  If you're lucky, you'll be able to get the orange vanilla flavored paste for the final polish.  It tastes like orange sherbet.  It leaves a zingy, gritty taste and feeling in your mouth.

It also makes me want to kiss my wife.   So, since her office is just down the street....

And after all that was taken care of, I threw my excess "stuff" into the back of her car and headed for a short motorcycle ride.  I went on the Boulevard today, and riding without a radio to distract you (the Gold Wing has a radio and a refrigerator (ha!)) means your mind is free to wander and think over many things.  Which I did.  Which I will not write about here.  '

But I did notice a few interesting things today and first was that at this time of year when the sun comes out from behind the clouds it makes life warmer.  Or seems to, at any rate.  Beats the look of low hanging clouds which reminds me of an old, lumpy pillow that slipped out of its case.

I also noticed an over abundance of dead skunks on this ride.  Which is better to notice on a motorcycle than it is when riding in a car.  Why?  Oh, I am so glad you asked.  The aroma of a dead skunk gets in your car through your vents or windows, then bounces around for a while in the car because most people ride with the windows closed year round with either A/C or heat running.  If you're on a bike, whizzing through the countryside as I was, and pass a dead skunk or the vicinity where a dead skunk is all dead and all, then you take one whiff, exhale and the smell is gone because there is no interior of a motorcycle for the stench to bounce around in.

However, when it rains, the roof on my motorcycle leaks some, so I do get wet.  Which it didn't do today, but that chance always exists.

I spied a couple of young people, most likely no older than 6th or 7th grade, walking home from school in Fulton.  A boy and a girl and they were holding hands.  It was quite cute and made me go 'awwww' then I had to pay attention because Fulton thinks that brick roads in their 'historic downtown' area are a good thing.  Which they are, if you drive a tank.  I was not driving a tank, which made it not the best idea in the world.  Some of the bricks in the road appear to be WWI vintage...and the road does as well.  It's all brick road-y and such because it isn't smooth, it's sort of paved chaos.  Looks great in pictures but rattles your freshly cleaned teeth when you're on a motorcycle.  Heck, I bet it rattles dirty teeth just as well.

I took an access road home rather than drive down the stretch of Interstate that is Formally referred to as I-70, but which I lovingly think of as "OMG! IT'S THE BACK STRETCH OF DAY-FUCKING-TONA" because everybody, bless their hearts, wants to drive like Columbia native, Carl Edwards.  Two lanes each direction, East/West between St. Louis and Kansas City, speed limit of 70 MPH in most places and an average speed of 9,000 MPH with dipshits and idiots yammering away on their cell phones.

Nope, an access road looked like a good bet to me.  Safer, less traffic, slower, more rolling, closer to the corn (no children in the corn...) and nobody was confused as to where they were.  Heck, I was the onliest person on the access road for the most part.  It does my blood pressure good to ride that road.

I took Elaine out to Cracker Barrel for dinner. Dinner with my favoritist person and Country Fried Steak after a dental checkup and a motorcycle ride seemed like the darn near perfect cap to a nice afternoon.  It will also give me something pleasant to think about when I go to work tomorrow.  

Somebody, who shall remain nameless (right, puckbunny87?) was lamenting the lack of moniez to buy a Harley-Davidson.  The chrome is all shiny and pretty.  But is it worth 20 Grand?  I dunno.  I got this for much, much less.  It is also shiny and pretty....






































That, my friends, is a 2005 Suzuki Boulevard C50 motorcycle....

7:30 am gently nudged me awake.  I ignored it and rolled over, immediately back to sleep.  Next, 7:45 poked harder.  I ignored that as well, but the Bladder couldn't be ignored so I got my lazy arse out of bed to greet the day and take a whizz.  Showering, dressing and stumbling about followed.  I finally got my poop in a group and made myself ready for the Poker Run.  After kissing and hugging Elaine, I headed out the door to the nearest Waffle House to fortify myself for the adventure ahead.  Sated by the awesomeness that is a Philly Cheesesteak Omelette and raisin toast, I was ready.

Sadly, only 12 bikes showed up.  So, while I had a good time and enjoyed the heck out of the ride, the Camp didn't make a lot of money.  They appear to be undaunted and were asking questions about how they could improve things for next year.

I found some roads in the county I didn't know about before and will be exploring them in the future and OMG!  The scenery was marvelous.  So green and lush.  Some of the fields looked like velvet, the crops were so young in their growing lives.  There was a multitude of hawks that were gracefully gliding in the air currents until they found something yummy.  Then woe to their meal as they bullleted down to dine and dash.

I didn't win the Grand Prize, which was half a hog.  A fellow named Lamb won half a pig.  Funny, no?  I thought it was.  I'm still giggling...

I won a neon sign that says "Cocktails" and in shaped liked a Martini Glass.  Just what I wanted (not!).  I've got friends who have parties every other week who have a party room for said activities.  It would look marvelous in their home.  I am going to give it to them this evening.  It will look terrific and they will be quite happy.

Here's a link to see what it looks like.

Anyhow, it was a nice ride and I'm glad I got to go.

Today's Writing Prompt: Change  (from the One Minute Writer)

If you could change one thing you did in the last 24 hours, what would it be?

-----------


I would have worn my 3/4 face motorcycle helmet to allow more of the aroma of Spring to reach me on the Gold Wing riders Dinner Ride last night.

I also would have known where we were going before we departed!

There is a local chapter of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association that gets together on Friday evenings for what amounts to a dinner ride.  It's kind of an adventure because you never really know where you're going to go to eat on a particular evening.  It might be across town or two counties over.  Most of the time the choice is based on the number of people that show up at the meeting place. 

I show up on occasion, but not on anything like a regular basis.  Half the time I forget about it, to be honest.  So it was last night until I was on the phone with Elaine.  I was in our driveway and she was at the grocery store.  I mentioned that I thought I'd go with the Gold Winger's the next Friday and she told me to go last night.  The reason I mentioned to her something about next week is that it would help me to remember wanting to go.  Sad, no?  I can't even remember what I want to do for fun!

Off I went. And off we went.  There were close to 10 Gold Wings which made for around 18 people or so.  Most of the bikes hold couples, which is really sweet and fun.  These people are just terrific people.  The rides are nice, but the people are the reason to go, as far as I'm concerned.

So, they start forming up to take off and I don't even know where we're going.  Not a clue, but I'm not worried.  I just follow.  And follow.  And follow some more.  Seems whoever decided where we were going got a map that showed the way around Robin Hood's Barn to get there (My late grandmother used that expression "Round Robin Hood's Barn" to describe going in circles or taking the loooonnnnggggg way).    As a result, I'd get an idea in my head that we were going to The Catfish Corner.  Except we weren't because we rode right past it. 

It went along this way for quite a while.  We ended up going to Sturgeon, and I thought we were going to The Bee's Cafe (or whatever it's called) except we rode right past it.  As an interesting aside, there was a Basset Hound sitting on the side of the road in Sturgeon watching us as we road past.  I'm sure he was thinking Basset Hound thoughts.  One of the wives barked at him as she went past.  All she got for her trouble was a Basset Hound glare.

More wandering brought us to a state highway I knew and another destination I figured was the place to eat.  I couldn't have been wronger than Wrongy Wrongerson, friends.  We kept going.  Right up Highway 63 to Moberly.  Which is around 30 miles or no North of Columbia.  To get there, we went closer to 45 or so (I think, I forgot to look at the odometer) and through various and sundry towns and such.  It was a nice ride.  However, I was disappointed that we went all that way to go to a Golden Corral.  There was one right across town...(LOL)

The weather was almost perfect for a leisurly ride.  Warm, but not suffocating.  The sun was heading to the horizon, which only presented a problem when we headed West.  Which wasn't much, thank heavens.  The ride home in the moonlight was quite comfortable.  A slight coolness in the air that was invigorating and not chilling.  The Cardinals were beating the Cubs on the radio (and in St. Louis, I might add) and plenty of the scents of Spring were in the air.

Including a poor dead skunk in the middle of the road:

Glad you asked!

Saturday, I gave my old friend, the Suzuki Boulevard C50 Limited a much needed bath.  Out in the driveway, with the Mizzou/Texas baseball game on the radio.  When I started, it was cool, around 50 degrees or so.  I was wearing a hoodie to stay warm.  After some time, I had to take it off as I was overheating a bit.

In order to do as thorough a job as possible, I had to take some parts off.  This made finishing up more difficult than getting started.  So, with my bucket of warm soapy water (SimpleGreen soap) and my microfiber scrubby pad, I went to work.  And I've got to tell you that washing a motorcycle is harder than it sounds.  Harder than washing a car, as far as that goes.  Because there are so many more nooks and cranny's than on a car.  Cars being all slab sided and what have you.  Hose them down, slop the soapy sponge, rinse and dry.  

I had to wash the bike in sections so that the soapy water wouldn't dry on it.  Makes rinsning much more difficult.  And time consuming, and with the parts needing to be put back, I already had enough on my plate.

Once the bike was clean, and had dried in the sun for a while, I took her on a short ride to a small pond near the house.  I parked her on the side of the road and proceeded to take a bunch of photo's.  I needed the pictures so I could list her for sale on Craigslist.com

It's time for me to sell the bike.  She sits in the garage, not being ridden much.  I tend to use the Gold Wing most of the time.  Paying property taxes and insurance on a once in a while motorcycle seems silly to me.  I mean, at the root of it, owning a motorcycle is sometimes a hard thing to rationalize in the first place.  Owning two is even moreso.

After I did this, I sort of became melancholy so I sat around watching stuff on the DVR (recorded episodes on NCIS, the 1976 movie 'Network' and some other stuff) reading, and working on the seemingly never to be finished formatting of the 2008 LJ posts...

Such was the weekend experience for me.  All in all, a nice weekend.

There was frost on the pumpkin
There was frost on the windshield
By the time I got to work, there was frost on me.

I rode the Gold Wing to work this morning in anticipation of a trip south to the Capital this afternoon for work.  It will be in the low 60's by then, but the ride this morning was nippy to say the least.

Ok, so I can actually hear the "WTF's" going on in assorted people's minds.  Good.  Keeps you on your toes....

I belong to many Yahoo Groups.  Have for years.  One that I am particularly fond of and enjoy the most is KirbyKomics.  It's mainly a bunch of guys my age (give or take) who share many similar interests.  Comics, cars, food, family, bad jokes, pop culture, literature and "spirited discussion" about topics like Religion and such.  They really are one of the finest collections of men I've ever run across and I count myself fortunate to count these guys amongst my friends.

As you might expect, there's a lot of give and take on this list.  As in, giving and taking loads of sh!t.  Putdowns, insults, and general guy stuff.  Saying things to each other we'd never say were our wives around, or any other Lady present.  Mean, nasty things like Dr. Tom Lammers ending up with the nickname Dr. Botany!  Protector of Plants and what have you (it's a bunch of old comic geeks!  What on earth did you expect?!?)  And since I love the game of baseball, I got stuck with the nickname (mean, I tell ya...) of Baseball Boy (I'm actually one of the younger members of this group).

Tom and his Undergraduate Assitant, Laura (code named The Sprout) are working at the Botanical Gardens in St. Louis, working on some hyper secret project that I'm sure will have dire consequences for Mankind As We Know It!  Actually, he's working on veryfying findings on a collegues paper and he gets to hang out in St. Louis for a month.  During the hottest time of the year, to boot!  He leads such a charmed life...

So, I called him and challenged him to lunch at 20 paces.  He accepted and we agreed to meet at a Steak 'n Shake in Wentzville, MO.  I rode the Gold Wing in the blistering summer heat (felt like the inside of a blast furnace outside yesterday...heat index over 100) 80 miles one way.  Tom walked in to the eatery, and after the customary and overly used battle between heroes due to confusion, we finally agreed to attack our common enemy:  Lunch!  (we won!)  In person, Tom is exactly as he appears online.  Nice, polite, witty, self-depracating and genuine.  I am glad we had the chance to meet in person.  His assitant Laura was a nice young lady and enjoys the work that they are doing.   What was refreshing was that her eyes didn't glaze over and roll back into her head as us Olde Guys talked Olde Guy stuff.

After a nice visit of about an hour and a half, we took pictures to immortalize such an auspisiouc occasion and agreed to do something similar again when he returns to Missouri in January.  So, astride my trusty Gold Wing (wishing it had A/C) I returned home to my lovely wife.  We went out to dinner at the HuHot and enjoyed a wonderful dinner.

So, there ya have it.  The first Titanic Meeting between Dr. Botany (And The Sprout) & Baseball Boy (who needs a more adult name...)

A couple of photo's from the historic and epic meeting!








Mark and Tom














The Botanical Duo!
The Sprout (Laura) and Dr. Botany! (Tom)

I don't have a real good picture of my first motorcycle.  It was a 1987 Kawasaki KZ 305 LTD.  It was one of the spiffiest bikes you could buy for $500 back in 1995, the year I bought it.  I added a windshield, but it essentially looked like this example.  I really enjoyed that little motorcycle.

This is something lots of people do in the privacy of their own cars.  I've done it for years...mainly with the windows up so I don't get arrested or shot.  Or both...

However, I have found myself singing along to the radio whilst riding on the Gold Wing.  There ain't no doors on that thing, nor any windows...

Fortunately, nobody has thrown anything at me.

Yet...

This is in response to puckbunny87 who asked;

Name something that gives you an incredible "high" and describe why. (besides your bike, because you already blogged that one ;-))

I've sat on this question and given it some serious thought over the past couple of days.  Mainly because I don't have massively high highs and the flip side of that is that I don't have overwhelmingly low lows either.  But there are a few things that make me happy, and give me a real sense of accomplishment when I do them.   Here's a list of some as follows:

• Finishing a particularly good book.
• Completing a poem with which I am pleased.
• finding a particular comic book I've been looking for.
• Discovering new music
• Being at a baseball game with my wife.  Especially when our team wins.
• Having friends or family over to our house.
• Hearing my nephews laugh or the noise they make when they burst out of the door when we get there.
• Prayer
• Holding my wife's hand.
• And hitting a curve at just the right angle, hitting the throttle and speeding out of it at the right speed on the bike.  ;-)

The song "Favorite Things" comes to mind as I write this.  It is appropriate to think of these things as giving me a high.  Mainly, it's the little things in life that I have learned to appreciate as I get older.  Things I was too busy or short-sighted to see when I was younger.

Sister called this evening and we were talking.  That's what you do on the phone, isn't it? 

I asked her about her husband's new hawg.  Rising gas prices have dictated a change in transportation to and from work.  And since I got my bike last year, I guess they were inspired to be more like me.

Sis sent me a picture of her husband (CLICK HERE) on his new hawg, which he bought at the local Harley-Davidson shop.  I can't wait to travel with him as we explore the highways and byways near his home...

    Quite a day today.  Rode to the local breakfast eatery for some breakfast (novel idea, that).  Once finished, I rode home, after a stop at the Subway sandwich shop to purchase a sandwich (yet another stellar notion!), and I rode on home, full of breakfast and sandwich in tank bag (which was not wishing to fly) for my wife (what?  You think I'm some sort of pig?).
    After she ate her sandwich, and I answered some email, we left the house and headed to Rocheport.  A small river town about 15 miles down I-70 to the west.  I passed the exit twice (going out and coming back) yesterday.  Sorry, I digress.  Well, this time, I took the exit and down into Rocheport we went.  We didn't go on two wheels, but rather we went on four.  And all four were stopped when I out the van in park in the parking lot near the KATY Trail, which is the reason we went to Rocheport in the first place.
    Well then, there we were in Rocheport, having driven there so we would be there, and there we were!  I like it when a plan works out so well.  Don't you?  So, we get out of the van and commence to walk down the KATY Trail, heading in a westerly direction.  I would not have enjoyed riding a bicycle on the trail today as the ground was firm enough for walking, but the tire tracks of other people who did ride bicycles (proving, as if there was any real need, that I am far smarter than they) were much deeper than you would expect on a walking and biking trail.  However, we've a lot of rain/snow/freezing rain/sleet and general cats and dogs falling out of the sky and littering the landscape and so the ground everywhere is pretty soggy.  More rain and snow in the forecast for tonight through Tuesday.  That's going to be a huge help in drying out the KATY Trail, isn't it?  Again, I digress.
    There is a tunnel, the only on from the days of the MKT Railroad when they owned and operated the rail line.  The construction is pretty interesting, if you stop to take a look.  The east entrance looks just like a domed cut out.  Sort of all rough and like that, with soot stains from the passage of old steam locomotives.  The west entrance, on the other hand, has a stone face, and the arch is filled with the same type of large stone, and for part of the way, the ceiling is covered with bricks.  Why it was built like this, I have no idea.  The other interesting fact about this tunnel, is the movie "Sometimes They Come Back" which is based on a Stephen King story, was filmed in Boonville (a nearby town with a pretentious attitude).  The scene where the car comes after them?  That's the tunnel.  It's niftier to look at in person.
    It was a lovely day out.  Temps in the upper 70's and strong winds.  It was great to be outside, walking along this sort of sloppy trail, yet not getting all gross and stuff.  It was great to out in nature, but with winter unwilling to loosen its grip, everything was essentially the color of winter, which is gray.  Naked trees are gray, the rotting leaves have turned gray, the sky was sort of gray (except where it wasn't, then it was kind of blue.  Come to think of it, that's sort of close to gray...).  It just seemed without much change in the color scheme that everything was sort of two dimensional.  Now, I don't want to give the idea that it wasn't wonderful outside, it was.  It's just that it was all a big tease.  A promise of what is yet to come, but not yet.  Not quite yet, kiddies.  Enjoy it while you can.  I could have confused the winds howling through the trees and the tunnel with some sinister laughter if I went in for that sort of thing.  Which I don't.  But, if I did...well, you get the idea.

    So, where was I?  Oh yeah, we amble around for a while, then we amble back to the parked van.  After unlocking the van and getting in, we head for home.  That, of course, assumes that you know without my telling you that I actually started the thing up. Right?  Right.  Good...

    After being at home for a while, we discussed that since I had devoured the last of the salad, if we were going to have more with our dinner, we needed to get some lettuce.  They sell that at the grocery store, and I was wanting to get my wife to go on a motorcycle ride with me.  So, I told her we were going to go to the grocery store to get some lettuce and peppers and dressing and such.  And go on the Gold Wing.  She asked if that was all?  If we were going any further than that and I said no.  Just the grocery store.  In Centralia (We live in Columbia.  That's 15 miles away from where we live).
    Now, I have to digress (yet again.  I checked my calendar, and somewhere, it's National Digression Day.  You mean it's not?  Damn!  Oh well, this is my LJ, and if I want to digress like a book junkie at Half Price Books, that's okay fine) because you probably don't know that my wife isn't nearly as fond of motorcycles as I am.  In fact, you could probably go so far as to say she's not real fond of them.  Period.  However, she does go for short rides around town with me on the Gold Wing (which I particularly enjoy) from time to time.  She hadn't been out with me yet this year because it wasn't warm enough for her.  Fair enough.  78 degrees today was warm enough.  Going to Centralia wasn't.  But, after some discussion (and pouting and whining on my part), she caved in just to shut me up and away we went.  16 miles there to Prenger's and 16 miles back from Prenger's.  We got our lettuce, I got my wife to ride with me on a pretty day, we went for a long leisurely walk on the KATY Trail, and we have a funeral to go to tomorrow and a snow storm is coming.
 

    Those words occured to me this afternoon on an off ramp.  My buddy Greg and I were exiting I-70, and it was windy as all get out.  I have a tank bag with some strong magnets.  Didn't matter, as the wind almost ripped that bag off the gas tank twice.  That would've have been bye-bye to my cheap cell phone, my all important Moleskinne and a Mickey Spillane paperback.  I've no idea why I had a paperback with me on a motorcycle ride, but I did.  And it was in the tank bag that was trying to fly off my bike on I-70.  That's never happened before.
    Which is why I realized that even if you go down the same road multiple times on a bike, it's never the same ride twice.  Unlike riding in a car, there are more things to keep track of when riding a motorcycle.  What's on the road, for example.  Roadkill is more than just something that stinks, it can kill you if you're not careful.  There is also the problem of gravel on the road, which can help you really meet the road.  That causes serious rashes.  Road rash...(shudder)
    The other thing that can affect a ride is the weather.  It's more than temperature, it's all the other aspects of the weather.  Rain is no fun, even with a rain suit.  That makes it barely tolerable, not fun.  High heat and humidity makes wearing protective clothing uncomfortable, but I'd not ride without it.  It takes a special sort to ride in the snow and sub freezing temperatures.  I am not that special.
    Today was beautiful.  Partly cloudy and mid 60's.  Not the middle of January mid 60's where you have strong indications of winter, like the odd breath of cold air, but hints and whispers of spring that are in the air as winters grip loosens.  Today was also quite windy.  Hence the attempts at flying by the tank bag.  After riding 10 miles on I-70 with one hand on the throttle and one hand on the bag (couldn't lose my paperback), we stopped and I shoved the whole thing into a saddlebag and away we went.
    Greg and I rose close to 100 miles together.  We wandered down quiet 2 lane country roads, soaking up the day as we rode through it.  We passed a couple of aromatic hog farms, and a dead skunk but also saw some geese and grazing cattle.  There was also quite a few other motorcycles out and about today.  The cabin fever and P.M.S. (parked motorcycle syndrome) was being cured, if only for a while today.
    Up and down, and round short and long sweeping curves we rode.  Listening to the music of the wind whipping past our helmets and the rumble of the exhaust of both bikes.  A spring symphony of mechanical freedom.
    I spent most of the afternoon either riding the Gold Wing home from the shop, or out on the C50 with Greg.  It was almost like Summer.  Of course, first we have Spring to look forward to. 
   

    My wonderful wife spent the afternoon doing something she enjoyed.  She went shopping.  I got a couple of new ball caps out of it.  And she was smiling when I got home.  Which is better than anything else.  All around, it was a good day.

Hooray!  Finally!  Yee-stinkin'-hah!!

I get to get the Gold Wing out of the shop tomorrow and ride it!  Ever since I put it there, the weather has been awful.  Dreadful, to be honest.  And there's a call for snow showers on Monday!  After 70 degree weather on Sunday.

This has been the most unreal, surreal, bizarre winter I can recall here in Central Missouri.moto

    Last weekend, my buddy Pat and I went to Jefferson City (Capital of Our Great State) which is 30 miles or so south of here to look at motorcycle helmets and a bike for him.  I already have two of each, and don't need another of either (Not that I need the ones I have, but that's a discussion for another time.  Maybe), but I was there to help in any way I could.    He ended up choosing one of each for him, and he took along the brain bucket, leaving the bike there to think about it, check out funding and a call on Tuesday. 
    Tuesday finds a "Sold" hung on the bike, funding has been secured and we wait until Friday to go and get it,  He works Sunday through Thursday, whilst I took the afternoon off.  Before I joined him and his wife, I went to Fuddrucker's for lunch with some other friends, two of which are having birthdays this month (yay for birthdays!). Much laughing, munching and hilarity ensued.  Then I left.  I've no clue what happened there after that, but I went home, put on an extra pair of socks (remember?) and got the rest of my cold riding gear together.
    Last Monday (don't you just love skipping around in time?  Think of the paradoxes!)  It was around 73 degrees, so I took the afternoon off to go riding my motorcycle.  I hauled out the Wing, and headed out on the highway.  About 20 miles in, I blew a fuse.  I changed it, and got about a mile and the same fuse blew again.  Frustrating?  You bet.  Especially since it was the back running lights.  I didn't have anymore fuses of that type in the saddlebags, so I headed for home.  Bummer, dude.  I was going to haul out the other bike and get some miles on it, but I was too tired and irritated.  So, I punted that idea and waited until my wife got  off work so I could pick her up from work.
    I have a draggy brake pad on the front wheel, or at least it sounds like that, and I had all the front "tupperware" (the plastic outer shell on the front of the bike.  See the picture) off the bike last fall so I could change plugs and air filter and when I got finished, I couldn't get the reverse lever (Reverse?  On a Motorcycle?  Thing weighs 900 pounds.  You back it up a small hill with your feet) back on, and it needs a state inspection.  So, since I was going to be at the shop to ride Pat's new bike home, I figured I'd take mine there to get repaired (Don't you love when a story comes together?).
    It was overcast, windy and 47 degrees when I left home.  I met up with my friends halfway to Jefferson City and they followed me to Larry's Motor Sports.  It was chilly, but not horrible.  It threatened to rain, the windshield got wet a couple of times, and I considered putting on the rain suit.  However, it stopped and I didn't.  I took care of my business, Pat took care of his, and off we went.
    The ride to his house was quite different than the ride there.  Namely because a Gold Wing GL1500 is a luxury touring bike.  It's essentially a Fairing and Luggage with a cushy seat, two wheels, and a six-cylinder engine.  Heck, I can listen to my iPod without much trouble.  Pat's Honda Shadow, which is a great bike and quite like it, ain't a Gold Wing.  It's a metric cruiser.  Knees in the breeze and the whole ball of wax.  So, I was getting hit with wind.  Lots of if.
    Still, for all that, it wasn't a bad ride.  Wouldn't want to take that bike or my C50 from St. Louis to Kansas City without heated britches or a pair of chaps, but the 30 miles back to his place wasn't bad.  My toes got cold, even with two pair of socks, but not uncomfortably so.  Actually, the biggest problem I had was my riding gloves cutting into my wrist.
    I never thought I'd ride a motorcycle with temperatures in the mid 40's, under overcast skies and a chance of rain.  Hardly ideal conditions. But I wasn't the only nut out there.  I passed 4 other riders today.  I'd do it all over again, and I'll be they would too. 

    After I killed the battery on the Gold Wing, I decided I needed to go to Sears and buy a small battery charger, which I did.  After running the charger all night, and rolling it out, I decided to slow down the process this time.  After setting the choke, I flipped the throttle three times, let it rest a moment, then hit the starter.  It fired right up the first time.  I left the bike running as it really needs to warm up a bit.  It's a bit on the cold natured side, so I just have to coddle it a bit.
   
    I got my boots on (good socks this time), rounded up the usual bike stuff, and headed out.  I got a bit of gas, put a cassette adapter in the player (whoever thought of a tape player on a motorcycle was onto something), hooked up the iPod to it, selected an episode of CBS Radio Mystery Theater, and headed North.  I went in a big circle, but I don't care.  As the old show played itself out, I rolled on down the road.  I stopped, created a playlist on the go, and headed along with the Marshall Tucker Band blaring from the speakers.  It was pretty exhilarating, to be honest.  For the most part, I stayed on fairly straight roads, but ended by riding back towards town by riding one of my favorite roads between Fulton and Columbia.  It's a nice road to ride on a motorcycle, but I sometimes get swept away by memories. 

    Like the time I was heading to class at MU when I was living in Fulton, and there was a house on fire.  I saw the owner running around with a garden hose trying to put it out, and stopped to help.  Sadly, his house burned completely and all he saved were the family photo albums.  That seemed to be the most important thing to him, so for that I was glad for him. 

    I also remember a mad drive at 1:30 in the morning or so on an April morning driving my ex-wife to the hospital so she could deliver our baby.  It was a wild ride in a 1988 Festiva at a speed probably much higher than it was made to handle.   I'm still not sure what was alarming my ex-wife more at the time; my driving or the labor pains.  Or that I would just fall apart like the dithering idiot I was on the threshold of becoming.
 
    I also remember the first time I rode that road when I got my first bike years ago.  And how I was going to fast in one of the curves and would have ended up off the road if I hadn't come to an almost complete stop.  Fortunately, there was nobody behind me and the only thing hurt was my nerves.  It was an object lesson in not going too fast into curves.  One I've kept in mind every time I hit that stretch.

    I saw a few things that made me smile while I was riding today.  Kids out throwing a football around, an old man burning leaves, a little girl walking with her father, birds on the wing, clear sky, familiar places, and some new ones as well.   I rode down many familiar paths today, and saw many changes.  I guess that reflects life in us all.  Things may appear to stay the same, but they change and grow.  

    The day dawned bleak and gloomy.  Gray overcast skies caused me to roll over and sleep a bit more.  As the morning progressed, the clouds scudded to the east, leaving behind a glorious blue sky.  The icy grip of winter was being relaxed for a couple of days, and I figured it was time to make hay while the sun was shining.
   
    I started rummaging around, getting the leather jacket out, boots on and heading for the garage.  I rolled the Gold Wing 1500 out and proceeded to start it up.  Turned out, it was a non-starter.  So much so, that I killed the battery in the attempt.  So, back into the garage it went, and out came the Suzuki.  That one fired right up, and I left it to idle for a few minutes and warm up.  I grabbed my camera, notebook, cell phone and headed out for a ride.  As the temperature was around 50 or so, it wasn't ideal, but it was wonderful to be out on two wheels.

    I've been riding around two lane county highways across the county since I bought the C50 last spring, and I was looking for new roads to explore.   Sadly, every one I started down turned into gravel before I'd gone very far.  So, it was turn around and go back the way I came.  Which was still traveling on two wheels on a winter's day.  That was still a good thing.

    However, I learned something.  Never underestimate the power of a stout pair of socks.  I was reminded of this in a theoretical sense, as I crossed small bridge and saw some ice still over part of the stream.   I was reminded of this in a practical sense when my feet started getting very cold because I wasn't wearing solid enough socks under my boots!  So, after 25 miles, I headed home and some heat.   

    It was great riding, even coping with the winter still in the air.  There's something different about 50 degrees after days of below freezing temperatures and 50 degrees as you are heading into winter.  I don't know how to explain it, but there it is.  I was also pleased to see a couple of other riders out enjoying the rare winter treat.