The last ride of the season occurred on a blustery and cold Saturday and was my longest ride, so far. Bundled up with multiple layers and waterproof mitts over my gloves, I set out with hubby on a two hour ride to Leamington. Our destination was a downtown restaurant and our goal was to meet a group of riders all coming from different directions, specifically for the ride and to eat, a Ride-To-Eat or RTE. (I'm learning all kinds of jargon with this motorcycle thing.) This particular RTE has been scheduled for the first Saturday in November for many years and was "on" despite the weather.
Leamington is west of our home and our route took us south toward Lake Erie, then west and yes, right into the prevailing wind. This wasn't my first ride on a windy day but it WAS my first ride on a 90 kph highway straight into the wind coming off the lake. So here's me, on my dinky little bike with no windshield being repeatedly buffetted from the front and side, watching for traffic coming up behind me, hunched over, wondering what the HELL was I thinking!
By the time we reached Blenheim, about 90 minutes into the ride, I was stiff both from the cold and from trying to make myself less of a target for the wind and I needed a bathroom break in a bad way. I just had to stop and pulled off into a Petro-Canada station, parked the bike and waited for hubby to realize I was no longer behind him. It didn't take him long and as it turns out, he was just about to pull into a Tim Horton's a little further up the road. Good. Better choice, anyway.
Coffee for T and a hot chocolate smoothie for me (you gotta try those - they're absolutely delicious) and bagels with cream cheese all around. Warming up and sipping my drink, I had a decision to make. Had I had enough of the cold and wind or did I want to slog it out and make it to the lunch? Hubby wondered the same thing. I felt a lot better after the break and decided I felt good enough to give it a go. I could always turn around if I couldn't fight the wind anymore and at least it would be at my back on the way home.
It wasn't much further to Leamington and pulling into the restaurant parking lot, I was happy I hadn't abandoned the trip. I certainly had my doubts about continuing, though, when it began to hail in the Tim Horton's parking lot just as we got ready to leave!
We were the last of the group to arrive but were still in plenty of time for a hearty lunch and conversation and a chance to rest and warm up. I even managed to be awarded a prize of a two-piece rainsuit for being designated the newest rider. What a pleasant surprise!
We made it!
Why is it that any ride home seems to take longer than a ride TO somewhere? Our ride home was no exception and the last 20 minutes or so were pretty tough. The sun was going down steadily and the cold was creeping in and I was sorely thankful to see our last turn appearing around the corner. My feet were numb, my fingers stiff and my body felt cold and abused and I realized fully why my husband has every possible mode of electric heat hooked up on his own bikes! AND, oh man, was my hynie aching! There was no comfortable position to be had for the last 45 minutes of that ride. Scootching forward didn't help. Tilting backward didn't help. Sitting up straighter didn't help. Gritting my teeth, I had to wonder how on earth riders survive 1000 mile DAILY rides for 11 days straight competing in the Iron Butt Rally (ironbuttrally.com) but that's a whole other story!
1 comment:
Your blog is a great read. (I found it from Chuck C's "second year of discovery") I've been riding modern bikes for a few years now and can fully understand and remember much of what you are describing. Motorcycling is an addictive (and expensive lol) hobby.
Enjoy many miles and as the Harley guys say, "keep the shiny side up"
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