We don't usually get a lot of two wheel time in November. We often get years where the snows start at Hallowe'en and don't let go, but not this year. Temps in the teens had me out exercising both bikes with their new winter-oil change in before they hibernate.
Winter's never an easy season for a motorcyclist, and even less so in Canada where riding in it is a near impossibility. Soon enough we'll be buried in snow and minus double digit temperatures, but I'm not feeling the weight of it like I normally do. A positive change in my working life, an old-bike project in the workshop and a good year of riding have me in a positive place as this riding season draws to a close. I saw a bit of prose by Milne recently that hit the target:
"Yes, I can face the winter with calm.
I suppose I had forgotten what it was really like
I had been thinking of the winter as a horrid wet, dreary time.
Now I can see other things—crisp and sparkling days, long pleasant evenings, cheery fires.
Good work shall be done this winter.
Life shall be lived well.
The end of the summer is not the end of the world."
I got a lot of miles in on both bikes this year, but the Tiger takes it for a couple of reasons. FIrst of all, after some satisfying maintenance over the winter, it's better than it's ever been with new sprockets getting me close to 60mpg and the ultrasonically cleaned fuel injectors that have completely resolved the stalling issues from last year. When the Concours got a flat just before the biggest ride of the summer, the Tiger stepped up and took on that cross province trip without missing a beat. Love that bike!
This is why the Tiger still adorns the header on the blog even though several bikes have come and gone in the meantime.
Evening rides and changeable weather as the summer ends...
The Concours/1400GTR hanging out in a graveyard at sunset... as you do.
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I've been playing with some design concepts for the WW2 historical fiction novel, Under Dark Skies (coming soon!). I'm currently working on dividing the original manuscript into three young adult sized novels.
I'm always looking for period bike images. Never know when I might be able to use them for a reference on an original drawing. I've been up to those too, creating scenes from the novel:
t-shirt transparency
Sketched variation - I might have put my face on that subconsciously.
... and some sketched (pen and ink) scenes from the novel:
Here's a mock-up book cover concept based on a 1940s comic book style:
I've been monkeying around with the blog logo too:
... and may eventually put a t-shirt out:
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We managed an afternoon at SMART Adventures before the end of the summer:
It's never a bad time, but I went in the 'expert' group which consisted of a dad who wanted his son on a bike that was too big for him. The kid came off it so often that it became tedious, so we rode back to base and he switched to a smaller bike and then fell off that a lot too. We still got some good trail riding in and our instructor (Louise) was fantastic, but 'expert'? Not so much. We spent a sizable portion of our very short 3 hours picking this kid up or riding back and forth for his various equipment change needs. His finally move was to ride into a massive puddle and drop the bike in the middle of it, causing us to spent 20 minutes getting it out and then following him and his dad as they two-upped back to the office.
I'm not sure how to address that as I've been going to SMART for a long time and I did have a good afternoon, but when I'm paying quite a lot of money for three hours of riding and almost a third of it is taken up with catering to what was clearly a non-expert rider, I'm left feeling (for the first time ) like I didn't get my money's worth.
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We went to Stratford yesterday to Perth County Moto's 5th anniversary. T'was a good time. If you find your way to Stratford, Ontario at any point, look them up, they're right downtown:
I haven't been spending much time in the garage beyond upkeep and maintenance on the two operational bikes. I'm saving the Bonneville project for the cold months when I need to keep my hands busy and riding is far away, though I did start re-assembling the frame (seemed like a logical place to start).
The oil filters came in for the end of year oil change (I always put in fresh oil and filter and run them through before the big hibernation). It's a depressing delivery, but I've still got another six weeks or so before the snows fall. With the filters I got some tank pads to stop myself sliding around on the Concours.
Next week we're aiming for the Wine y Cheese Rally on September 24th. We're going to head down to St. Catherines on the Friday and then be up and at it by 7am on Saturday morning. This is the only rally we've been able to line up this busy summer, so I'm looking forward to it. We've been fettling the Concours to make it as functional and capable as possible for this long haul. We finished our last one on the Tiger last summer, so I'm not even super concerned with finishing so much as I am just having a good time with it. Signups still seem to be available, so if you're looking for an excuse to ride and ride next weekend (cooler temps but the weather looks good), then give it a go.
Gotta get time in the saddle in before the snows fall!
The oil filters came in for the end of year oil change (I always put in fresh oil and filter and run them through before the big hibernation). It's a depressing delivery, but I've still got another six weeks or so before the snows fall. With the filters I got some tank pads to stop myself sliding around on the Concours.
