Though I still have a lingering cold and I've neglected my front yard shaming my neighborhood I decided I had to go on this ride. I threw on my warm cloths with long johns underneath, rubbed my dog Puck on the head and jumped on my motorcycle heading towards the meetup spot.
Often on days like this as I ride away from my house I'm thinking whether I chose the right gear; leather jacket instead of the textile armored jacket, a zip up fleece, armoured over-pants, thick gloves (but tossed the lighter ones in the saddlebags just in case), and the 3 quarter helmet instead of the full faced helmet. Typically, 15 minutes from my house I remember I left my ear plugs at home. I've recently promised myself I would start wearing them because I really like my hearing a lot and statistics say riders loose their hearing after prolonged exposure to the wind and exhaust pipe noise. And my exhaust pipes are very loud, proudly I annoy the neighbors at 6:30 am when heading out for work due to those same pipes. As any biker will tell you, loud pipes make safer riders. Cars are more aware of you due to those pipes.
The group was meeting first at a Starbucks up North and then we'd connect up with more of our riders at an eastside Starbucks.....hey is Seattle, what do you expect? At the first gathering there was around seven of us but our final count on the eastside would put us at 20, nice size group for a ride.
We hit back roads all the way to the eastside, through nice twisties. Twisties are those twists and turns you get on the country roads of Washington. They are the lifeblood of the motorcyclist, getting your adrenaline soaring as you slide through the curves. Some part of the roads still have moisture on them if still in the shade so you have to be very careful your aren't hitting the turns too fast or you can loose traction. I can feel my tire slip just a little so I have to let up on the throttle and apply a bit of brake. Every time I go on these rides I know if just the slightest miscalculation on my part and I can get very hurt. You're in control of your bike but not the road, so it becomes the unknown factor and creates the excitement.
As any of my friends can tell you I'm a control freak. So I like having control of the bike and testing my skill against the imperfections of the road. You just never know where there might be some gravel, leaves, a bump or ditch around the next corner. So you have to always be looking far enough ahead. As I've heard said before, if you are looking down there is no way to stop or make corrections because you are already there.
We picked up the rest of the bikers, some men and some women, several cruisers and a few sportsbikes. All are made welcome. Back on the roads I am always fascinated by the beauty and rustic scenery I see zipping past. Multi-colored leaves on large old trees, weathered farm houses and Norman Rockwell barns, rolling hills with horses and cows, tractors, cars and ATVs lining front yards. In front of us Mt. Rainier is in the distance. As a boy from Arizona where cactus is all the rage this kind of landscape is still foreign and breathtaking to me. I love Washington State and specifically Seattle.
After riding for an hour and a half we stop at a very small bar that tends to cater to motorcyclists. Today there are many out on the roads taking advantage as we are. When riding past each other we make the customary hand signal, a two finger peace sign point downward. Motorcycling is both solitary and communal. You ride with yourself, in your own thoughts but share the road with others who have your passion either in passing or in groups.
The bar is filled with people and our group orders drinks. Now I have no problem with drinking alcohol but I try not to drink and ride a motorcycle. First, I'm a lightweight, one beer will have me very buzzed even though I'm a 200 lb guy...ok maybe 208 lbs these days, I'm working on loosing that. Anyway, secondly managing a motorcycle takes all of your concentration and so I don't like to be less then my best when riding. So with another rider, a woman, I don't know, we decide to hit the cafe across the way and have hot chocolate. Man it was good after riding in the cold. I got to make a new friend and have chocolate, that's perfect for me.
After the group finishes their drink we get back on the road heading back to Seattle via those back roads again. We lost much of the group as many went on their own to head home. Those in my now small group all are heading the same way. So with the Fall Back daylight savings time in effect it's getting dark out. Riding in the dark with wet and dry roads is more scary then daytime riding because you really can't see what you're up against. Caution is the keyword here. It's gotten a lot colder and I had on my thinner gloves which I found I was regretting. With thicker gloves you gain warmth but loose the finer sensitivity to your hand controls and grip. But does that really matter if you can no longer feel your fingers as I was starting to develop.
Riding back there is a full moon, it's amazing to see as the light starts dissapearing. At this point I'm ready to be home and having dinner. But still the leader of the group takes us through a route only he seems to know. We trust he knows where he is going as we follow and focus on the road.
Eventually we hit a main highway I recognize and I know we aren't far from home. At a specific stop light I wave my goodbye and gun my engine shooting out ahead. I get home and of course forgot to leave any lights on. My poor dog is laying in the dark house wondering when he'll get fed.
It was a nice day, nice ride and a nice relaxing evening with Pad Thai Chicken, 3 stars and a fireplace roaring.
Nite!
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