Today was the last 'Bank Holiday' of the summer , so I've had two dawn rides in a row , not another soul on the road and though it was a great couple of days , I was kinda' sad as well 'cos the season is changing .

You can feel it in the air , Autumn has come early this year , a few leaves have already fallen and there'll be plenty more to follow.

This morning the roads were a little wet , as there had been rain during the night and having ridden so many dry miles at all out speed (for the road), I wasn't relishing the idea of slippery roads . So I decided to take it real easy and explore some different routes . Concentrating on getting things right and really think about what I was doing on the bike rather than what my pace was like .

I tell you I had a great time , boosted my wet road confidence no end and easing off the pace gave me time to examine my position on the bike . By the end of the morning I was knackered but was having so much fun , went home the long way which took me through part of my usual 'circuit'. The roads were partially dry now , but I'd practised so much I fairly blasted through the lanes and caught up with a couple of bikes that must have had a ten minute start on me I had become 'the biking god'

Won't be that disappointed next time the roads are wet , will give me more time to think in the corners , but I will miss the early mornings . As the days draw in these dawn raids are becoming shorter and my evening ride tonight was almost in the dark.

 

And here I was hoping that fall would come early. The current 90-100(F) degree temps are tolerable, but I can't deal with the swarms of gnats and mosquitoes that engulf me everytime I go outside. In addition, the lovebugs will be out soon enough to splatter on the windshield everytime I take a ride. We're also in the late-summer afternoon thunderstorm cycle, so little chance of an afternoon or evening ride. The winters are pretty mild for us and the bugs disappear, so I say "Bring on fall & winter!!"

 

42 degrees (F) this morning on the way to work. On the bright side, the old girl ran cooler.

 

58 (F) here on the way in to work this am.........refreshing
compared to 96 (F) 9 days ago

72 (F) coming back........very pleasant ..........my new volt/clock/temp
meter I put on over the week-end works like a charm

 

One man's Autumn signals another's Spring . While you lot on the top side of the planet have been living it up, I've been freezing my **** off down here . Actually we've had the mildest Winter I can remember in the 20 years I've been here, but I'm still ready for Spring. I hate riding with Winter gloves and all that other cold weather gear. Soon it'll be away with the winter jacket and out with the leather..and the jacket !

Do they still put rock salt on the roads in Winter? Man, that stuff chews through metal..better than black ice though.

Anyway, I realise it's self centered of me but, bring on your Winter 'cos it's our turn again

 

93 today. Schwetty Bawls.

 

My temps today were almost identical to sprocks. It was kinda nice.
I was getting tired of the 90+ heat, too.
And the old girl loves to gulp that cool air...

Fall is my favorite season, but it is kinda depressing that winter will be here soon and the bikes will have to stay inside a lot more.

I hear ya, hawk.

 

Dave ..............I'll send ya bucket of each and ya can pretend you
live in Maine and by the way apparently you Guys are headed for 110
days of fry your *** off heat ......Bring on your summer ya better
stock up on a good supply of coopers and factor 50

They do put plenty of salt and sand down from Nov/Dec so if the black ice
doesn't do ya in the the sand does as good, and the salt tastes crap when
you kiss the pavement.

Right around mid Nov I put her into hibernation.........but this winter
I plan on taking her top off for a cct job.........after MichealParks
makes all the screw ups doing hiz first .... ...........Ha hah ya
reading this Mike LOL

Anyways there ya are.

 

Yep, we get the salt mess here, too.
At least they don't lay much anti skid anymore. I never understood that chit anyway...... "We don't want you to slide, so here's some fresh gravel!"

 

Sprock. Always got a good supply of Cooper's! . Where I live is the "coldest" place in Queensland (850m above sea level) so it rarely gets too hot. Maybe a couple of weeks all up...scary when it gets dry and windy though! Total fire ban at the moment. It only takes one **** to chuck a butt out of the car window and the **** hits the fan. There's still the odd nutter around too, who lights a fire on purpose...they must be seriously ill up top!

I remember the damage the salt used to do to my Z650. I polished the cases 'til I could see my face in them (not a pretty sight), then one dose of salt on the road, if you were caught out too late, and it'd all be furry again. Only other option was not to ride...like that was going to happen.