Winter blues....

[RockRash]

So, I have not ridden my bike for almost 3 weeks now... to say that I am going through the winter blues is an understatement. I want to get out riding it more now than ever.

I have owned this particular bike for 8 years now. Up until last year's 20+ inch snowfalls, I have managed to ride the bike 12 months of the year. Given the 10-15 inches of snow in my yard currently, I suspect that my "ride 12 months of the year" is not going to happen this year as well. It is not that I am afraid of a little sand/muck on the road so much as the 200 yards of glare ice that I would need to cross prior to getting to semi-open road. Oh well... I may be a 'die hard', but I don't need to die hard or rather, hit the ground hard.

On a more cheerful reminisce, I managed to to ride alot this past summer, including trips to Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Wyoming, South Dakota, and all over Colorado. In fact, I rode the bike more than I 'wheeled last summer (and I still 'wheeled quite a bit).

Mog416 was a good boy for Christmas and got a new scout fairing for his BMW and I am "Jones"-ing hard for a new gas tank (6+ gallons) before next summer's riding time.

So is it summer yet?

[Budman]

i was just getting ready to make this same post. My bike is 5000 miles away in my basement on the lift. I can't even go polish it.

[MrC]

I feel your pain. I went down in late July, so I have not been able to ride. A web site I hang out on was having a sale so I ordered all the parts to get my bike back up on the road. I?m hopping to be able to ride this spring or ASAP. My wife told me that I better not get cabin fever with all the parts I order. Time to get a heater in my garage.
It?s nice living here in Colorado. Most of the time you can ride better that 300 day out of the year. If anybody makes it for the Brass Monkey Run have an extra bole of chilly for me.

[ZappBranigan]

I last rode on Dec 4th, so I'm holding out hope that Jan 1st the roads are decent enough to ride. But I do feel your pain. Every time I go into the garage and look at my bike I just wish I was able to get out and ride. But hey, at least I have a garage - last year my Thunderbird sat in an open carport with a cover on it!

[CLYDE]

Dont feel to bad guys, I got to ride once this year, and that was early in the summer, then work kept me away from the scoot, and then I got hurt in july:mad: I have no clue when I will be able to ride again, it will be a long time I suspect. Went out to fore it up the other day, batt is dead as a rock, and I am not about to try kicking that old shovel thru with it cold like this.

[Warrlord]

Yup, I got the blues too. My wife says I get a little grumpy in the winter because we can't go on the weekend road trips that we do during the summer. I can't explain why riding has the appeal it does to me, all I know is, I really miss riding everyday when it's winter. I'll ride it to & from work in the winter occasionally but it's just not the same thing.

[RockRash]

Well, I started the 'ol bike in the garage this morning... snow flying, about 5 degrees outside, garage door open, to just run a little gas through the 'ol girl. It was a little cold blooded, but started up and purred none the less.

They sell chains for motorcycles.... hmmm. Chains on a street bike? Probably not.

[ZappBranigan]

Well, I started the 'ol bike in the garage this morning... snow flying, about 5 degrees outside, garage door open, to just run a little gas through the 'ol girl. It was a little cold blooded, but started up and purred none the less.

They sell chains for motorcycles.... hmmm. Chains on a street bike? Probably not.

Nah, just put some bolts through the tires like the ice racers do! :eek:

[jaidmaster]

Yeah - lots of ice on the side streets still. I've seen/heard a few bikes out this past weekend, and it got me a bit anxious... The charger has been on the past couple of weeks...
Looks like a little more snow on the way too. Oh well, the snow wheeling this weekend got my mind off of it! :)

[projectAviator]

I actually got to ride on Fri. Took the bike about 1/2 mile to the dealer. I am getting a recall done along with some performance.

Tim

[ZappBranigan]

Had a nice ride for about 3 1/2 hours on Sunday. The snow in the street melted enough for me to be able to get out and of course the main roads were fine, just a little bit sandy.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z256/ZappBranigan/Kawasaki%20Spectre/Readytorideinspiteoftheice.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z256/ZappBranigan/Kawasaki%20Spectre/LookingWestatthemountains01.jpg

I have a nice mental "collection" of near-town rides that I like to do when it's too cold to go further. Since the temps hovered around 40-45 degrees most of the day, it was too chilly to ride for very long, even with all my snivel gear on.

The photo above was taken East of Parker. There are some nice paved roads in the area off of Smoky Hill and heading South. In fact, you can go all the way down to Elizabeth or Franktown on some great paved roads out there. I didn't go that far, but instead cut off through Parker, then over Crowfoot Valley road to Castle Rock. At CR I had a late breakfast at Waffle House, then headed up Wolfensburger to Perry Park Road, turned right and took Perry Park (CO 105) back to Sedalia and then back to Englewood on 85. Nice ride, though not a particularly long one.