Monday, February 16, 2009

First ride, 2009

The first motorcycle ride of the year, regardless of how short it might be, is always a big deal for me. Even if it is cold and miserable, it signifies that the winter is coming to a close -- perhaps not right away, but the end IS in sight.

I did my first ride of the year yesterday -- just a short jaunt over to my parents' house to drop off some things. I wasn't sure if I could get a bike out of the big garage or up our driveway (still pretty icy), but I managed. I took out the Piaggio MP3, the 250cc three-wheeled scooter I blogged about last year. I figured the extra wheel in the front would give me a little bit more stability on the slippery stuff, and it did.

It's still too cold to do much riding, and the roads are still very sandy. But it's nice to get out again.

I was hoping to get a photo during yesterday's short ride, but didn't, as it was late, and getting darker and colder, and I wanted to reach home before the ice that had melted on our driveway froze again. So I looked back a few years to another "first ride", and found this image from 2006. That ride (on a 250cc Honda "Big Ruckus" scooter) was a month earlier than this year's, a much warmer day (in January!), and quite foggy. I recall that the fog made for some lovely vistas as I followed one of the back roads in Hatfield along the Connecticut River.



I like this photo for the somewhat ghostly vision of the tobacco barn in the distance. -- PL

6 comments:

~ tOkKa said...

-->> ..can you determine or guesstimate at what elevation this was shot at ??

Anonymous said...

I'm jealous that you're able to start riding this early in the year.

PL said...

"~ tOkKa said...
-->> ..can you determine or guesstimate at what elevation this was shot at ??"

No, but I found the approximate location on Google Earth, and the coordinates are:

Latitude 42°24'24.44"N

Longitude 72°35'35.24"W

There's probably a way to get the elevation from Google Earth, but I can't figure it our right now. -- PL

Anonymous said...

One thing I do love about Texas is the year-round riding. It only really gets cold a couple weeks at a time, and seldom cold enough to make the roads terrible.

Anonymous said...

rock on. you are a real biker - good stuff. love the pic too. hope you are well.

b

Bookgal said...

This is lovely!