An ounce of prevention ......

I picked up a tire repair plug kit for tubeless motorcycle tires today. Do you think it will prevent all future punctures?

Arctic Brigade

To hell with this endless winter baloney. If you give into winter you're just a quitter. As temperatures blasted into the low 40s, I and two compadres decided we'd had enough and we ventured out into the "semi-arctic" conditions. Jim has recently sold his Bonneville, sacrilege, and is interested in a hooligan bike of epic proportions. This led to the brilliant idea of ride to Augusta by way of Oakland. We postponed our departure by an hour because the radar suggested snow and freezing rain would be encountered en route.

With the one hour delay we had no issues except wet roads, rare ice and sand and gravel. The Oakland dealership was well stocked with Honda and Suzuki motorcycles. Jim and George dutifully perused them and I urinated in the upstairs bathroom. Then on to Blouin Performance center in Augusta. After a cup of coffee and quite a bit of gawking, I took a Tiger 1050 (used) out for a ride. Quite a machine. Considerably lighter than my Bonneville and significantly more horsepower. Let's face it, it was a beast.

Jim rode a brand spankin' new Street Triple that weighs 400 pound fully loaded with gas and oil that peaks out at 105 horsepower. Yikes. I'm not sure it was enough as he wants a go on a Speed Triple. Double yikes. Alas it will have to be the next visit because with temperatures falling it was time to head home. We blasted up the interstate and arrive home as the wet roads were turning to black ice, just in time!

Endless Winter

Today is March 6 which by my calculations is only 14 days away from the first day of Spring. For the last week our high temperatures have been running about 15° below average and the low temperatures have been below zero, cold even by January standards. These frigid temperatures have caused extensive frost heaving of road surfaces and potholes are the worst I’ve ever seen. We have a considerable snow pack and because of all the snow the roads are covered with a not so thin layer of sand, gravel and salt. The National Weather Service is predicting significantly colder than average temperatures for March.

This begs the question, will there be a motorcycle riding season this year. If one uses logic, the answer of course is yes. However empirical evidence doesn’t support that conclusion. Cabin fever is at an all time high.