On not riding.

Okay, so the whole point of this blog is about riding a motorcycle year round, and particularly in the winter. I live in Wisconsin, and it gets cold here. And it snows. These are things that I already knew when I got rid of the car.

As I mentioned, a big snowstorm passed through Wisconsin at the end of last week, and the temperatures have been below freezing ever since. Brr. On Saturday I had some errands to run, so I was going to take the bike. As it turns out, my errands were similar to the ones to hers, and so we took the car. It was a bright sunny day, and as good a riding day as I might have hoped for this week.

But I didn't ride. Could've, but didn't. An important part of riding in the winter is to check your ego. I know I am a good rider, I don't have to prove it to anyone by riding out of my snow and ice alley in temps in the teens.

I will be out again. Maybe even tomorrow, and almost certainly on Wednesday, as the BMW should be ready for pick-up then. I will make sure to post something about it.

Well, I hadn't planning on posting again so soon, but since Mother Nature decided to dump a whole lot of snow on Milwaukee last night, I figured I would share.

The snow started here at about 2am. By 3am the roads were already treacherous to 4 wheeled traffic. I was working in our dispatch center, which was good since that meant I could walk home, but we were hearing about things like white-outs, and a snowplow that had blown over.

That picture is of the road on my walk home. No sign of a plow yet. Maybe it was the one that blew over.

A few hours of sleep, and it was time to get up. I helped my Fiancee unbury her car, and get it onto a plowed road (Side streets still weren't plowed, and it is still snowing as I type)
Our side street. I will have to ride down this to get out. Later, though, and it might be plowed by then.

Her car got moved, and I decided to spend some time getting the bike freed up.



The alley, doesn't look too bad, actually.


















A few minutes with the shovel, and it looks like I can get the bike out. Now I just need somewhere to go. Oh, and the side streets clear. And maybe some salt down.

Well, tomorrow is another day. And I hear it is not even supposed to snow.

Over the last year, I paid more in parking tickets on my car, then I did for gas. I have 3 motorcycles, and they are, by far, my preferred mode of transport. Still, I live in Wisconsin, and going without a car at all seemed, well, kind of foolish.

So this, then, is my winter of foolishness. In August I got rid of my 86 Audi, and am now just going to pass through the winter with the 3 motorcycles. This is not actually as foolish as it might seem. I can walk to work, most days, and my Fiancee, for the first time since we met, isn't spending winters 300 miles away. She has a car, though our schedules conflict to the point I will not really be able to use it.

So, this blog, then will, follow (with some amusement, I'm sure), my attempt to get through a Wisconsin Winter, without owning a car. Sounds like fun, huh?

Two bikes, one Soul

I have the two xs11s. One is a standard, all set up for touring with hard bags, music, CB, a comfy seat, extra lights, more wind protection, etc etc. And I have a couple of road trips coming up, so the standard is a natural choice.

I also have the factory Special, or just Special. It has really no weather protection, cumbersome music, no extra lights, a stiff suspension, and a tiny gas tank. Not really a design touring bike.

And yet I find myself thinking, on my upcoming road trips, I should be taking my Special, instead of the standard. I mean, I just got the standard last year, and before that I traveled with the special and had no problems. I rationalize, saying I can ride mostly during the day, so the lack of extra lights means less. I can pack less. The list goes on.

In the end, there is a simple truth. The standard is the bike I got for touring, and set up for touring, and should be touring on, regardless of my sentimental feelings towards the special. Yes, it used to be all I needed, but I used to pee in the bed too, until I discovered the bathroom was much better. The standard is better. Anything else on a long, long trip is like peeing in bed.

The Beemer

I have a 1985 k100RS. It was going to just be a temporary bike to get me through the winter, since both my XS11s were ill with mechanical or electrical problems. Obviously winter is over, and I still have the beemer.

I am really hot and cold towards it. Sometimes I think it is a great bike, and I think I would be able to get rid of the xs11s and just run the K. Then a few days later I hate it, and think I am going to stick it in the front yard with a for sale sign.

The last two days I have been riding it. No real reason, other than my Special has a dead battery, and I wanted the locking luggage. Locking luggage on a bike is a great thing, even more so when you are going to a lakefront where there will be several thousand drunk party goers.

Anyway, before these two days, I was very cold to it. To the point of mentally composing ebay ads. Now I like it again, and am glad of the money I spent on new tires. I want to figure out why the brake warning light flickers, and work on the intercom wiring.

The K bike. It is like a old girlfriend, who you hate, but every now and then find yourself in bed with. It is good, and you like it, but you always wonder when whatever happened that mad you hate her will resurface, and you have to change your phone number.

So I got engaged. It is nice to be engaged. I think. Actually, the promise was made a while ago, and so now it just must be kept. Unless one of use releases the other, I guess. I am not sure I can see that happening. Still, tomorrow is promised to none, and each day is a new discovery. Discovery about her, about me, about us. We have to keep discovering, or else we diminish in some way. Every day must be an adventure, faced without fear, but respect. And a bit of a smile.

Misery and Suffering

I have 2 xs1100s. When I got the second one, it was kinda confusing to my significant other, now my fiance, as to which was which. They looked different. One was a standard, and the other a special, but those words were meaningless to her. So I decided to name them. Misery was the special, a facotyr custum with a small gas tank and no fairing. I added an aftermarket windshield for some wind protection, but that was it. Misery, since you would be in misery if you got caught in any kinda of bad weather.

Suffering was the standard, a full dress touring bike, which woul dhave to suffer through all our road trips. The rule was simple, more than 100 miles one way, and we would take Suffering.

Both bikes broke last fall. Suffering blew and engine. Misery a wiring harness. Both have been fixed, though I got Suffering back first. Lately I have been riding Misery more. Misery was my first xs11. It is loud, with an aftermarket exhaust. A sharp note. Fast too, or seems it, the wind blowing by. I wonder sometimes why I got the other bikes. I do remember, though, when it is time to go somewhere, and the lack of luggage becomes a problem. Suffering's hard bags then seem so inviting, so perfect. but I wonder if I am missing something, behind the big windsheild listening to the xm radio and talking with my passenger with ease. Something viseral that Suffering shields me from, and Misery does not. Something about the feel of the road, and my place on it. Something that makes it all come together....