Into the sunset
It's that time of year again, *sigh* Time to put the bike away for the winter. I took advantage of some moderately nice temperatures today to ride Bluebird to my doctor's appointment. The air was clear; the sky beautiful. Most of the leaves have fallen, but there were still spots of color on the trees along my way. I know it'll sound kind of silly, but I'm glad I had this ride alone. It was kind of a bonding/good-bye kind of thing. I waved to a few other hardy folks out. I think I scared the guy on the cruiser, since no one really expects a "sport" rider to be out in other than perfect weather. ;)
At the doctor's office I scared a few people waiting, made one kid's eyes light up, and browsed my Motorcyclist magazine. After my checkup, my doctor had one question for me - "How's that [my hair glove] stay in your hair?" :P I showed him the hidden hook and hair band. He thought it was cool. When paying for my visit, the office staff all thought I was cool and shared stories about relatives with bikes. As I was gearing up, the one staff person saw my bike and exclaimed "That's a BIG bike! I didn't think you had a BIG one!" hehe! As engine sizes go, my bike is nowhere near "big", but we appreciated the comment :)
I stopped to fill up on the way home and added the required amount of fuel stabilizer to the tank. Bluebird was happier for the fresh gas. On the ride home I found myself reminiscing about previous rides on that route (Bus.6 to Layton Rd. to PA247 for the locals). One of my first few rides was this way. I remember a big tree all covered with yellow leaves. I remember taking one of my first solo rides this way, so that I could go down the "scary" hill all by myself. By the time I got to the road our house is on, the sun was just starting to turn the sky pretty colors. A fitting end, I thought - riding on into the sunset.
I arrived home a little happy, a little sad, a little hungry, a little cold, and 120 miles short of 6,000.
At the doctor's office I scared a few people waiting, made one kid's eyes light up, and browsed my Motorcyclist magazine. After my checkup, my doctor had one question for me - "How's that [my hair glove] stay in your hair?" :P I showed him the hidden hook and hair band. He thought it was cool. When paying for my visit, the office staff all thought I was cool and shared stories about relatives with bikes. As I was gearing up, the one staff person saw my bike and exclaimed "That's a BIG bike! I didn't think you had a BIG one!" hehe! As engine sizes go, my bike is nowhere near "big", but we appreciated the comment :)
I stopped to fill up on the way home and added the required amount of fuel stabilizer to the tank. Bluebird was happier for the fresh gas. On the ride home I found myself reminiscing about previous rides on that route (Bus.6 to Layton Rd. to PA247 for the locals). One of my first few rides was this way. I remember a big tree all covered with yellow leaves. I remember taking one of my first solo rides this way, so that I could go down the "scary" hill all by myself. By the time I got to the road our house is on, the sun was just starting to turn the sky pretty colors. A fitting end, I thought - riding on into the sunset.
I arrived home a little happy, a little sad, a little hungry, a little cold, and 120 miles short of 6,000.