As New Years day approaches I end my first full month of what we in
Wisconsin consider winter. Apart from one week the weather has been
delightfully mild, and I am looking forward to a weekend of riding with
friends.

This is the first year my fiancee will be able to ride her own bike in
the Mil Vin Moto groups annual ride, so we got her bike out of storage
so she can rack up some miles before hand. That means the Beemer has to
go back outside, but I got it a nice new tarp.

I developed the hapbit of riding to work, even though it is only a block away. Makes the day start better, and gives me something to look forward to at the end of the day. There are day I need that.

This morning it was a balmy 25 degrees. I didn't get the Heated Gear for Christmas (It was the only thing on my list too, lol), but I did get a lot of fund towards it so maybe at the end of the week.

So long since the last post. Not my fault, really. After the bitter cold and knee deep snow, the weather as turned a (for December) balmy 40s and sunny, so I have been riding. There are still other bikes out too, so I am not even alone. If it stays like this, there will not be much point to blogging, since riding all winter will not be that big of a deal.

The Beemer came back from the Shop on Friday, and I have about 200 miles on it since then. I have to ride it now as much as I can, so I am used to it again when the weather is less agreeable. Odd how strange it felt, after not riding it for more than a month. Still, I am getting the hang of it again, and am not too worried for when winter returns.

I will have to go and take some pictures of Christmas lights. 'Tis the season, and all that.

Finally, Saturday, I had some time to go and look at Christmas lights. I headed downtown, since there is a nice display at Pere Marquette Park, next to the Milwaukee Historical Society. I know that, before the snow storm, it would be easy to get the bike up on the curb, and take some pictures.

Unfortunately, Milwaukee plowed the roads, and the sidewalks, resulting in a huge ridge between the two.


This is a picture from across the river, on the Riverwalk. Not as cool, but I need some snow to melt.


Little photo with the temp on it. The bike didn't show up so well, but you can see it. And I was off the main road, so it was probably the safest picture I took.

The Beemer is done, by the way, but the Shop, where it went for repair (It really is called the Shop, too), is still trapped by ice and snow. 4 wheeled vehicle are having problems there. I said I would pick it up anyway, but they want to take it for a test drive first, and I can't blame them for wanting the roads to be better.

Milwaukee is getting rain and above freezing daytime temps all week, so I have some hope again. We will have to see.

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.