It's Time to Ride

May in Colorado can be a tricky bitch.  (For that matter, so can March, April, June, . . .)  One minute it's blue skies and sunshine, luring you to sit outside with a cool beer, the next minute you have golf ball sized hail trying to brain you.  I love spring days in the Rocky Mountain foothills.  Really.  

I also love riding my motorcycle.  The combination of the two involves close monitoring of at least three different weather forecasting sites, sacrifices to minor deities, and keeping rain gear stowed in my saddle bags at all times.  Usually my hyper-vigilance pays off, and I enjoy the ride out to work and back.  Sometimes I have to decide whether to leave early/stay late to avoid the rain, or suck it up, gear up, and ride.  I like to think I'm not a wimp.  I don't leave the bike at home at the slightest chance of rain (I'd never ride at all).  I try not to do stupid, unsafe things on my motorcycle, but if it's not inherently stupid dangerous I like to think I suck it up and give it a try.  (Even though there was the whole "Hey, it's Danielle and I'm at the emergency room with Brian!  I just layed my bike down, but I'm alright.  They're telling me I can't ride for a few weeks until my ankle heals, but I need time to find a new bike anyway" incident.)  This means that if the likelihood of precipitation is under my threshold of 30%, I'm probably riding my bike to work.  

I could say it's because I'm trying to reduce my consumption of foreign oil and my bike gets 40 mpg, and that's part of it, but really I just love to ride.  I love straddling 680 lbs of steel.  I love the way I'm in control of all that power.  I love the way I can lean into the curves and feel the tires gripping the asphalt.  I love the way it requires me to be ENGAGED in the experience.  It's only a 15 minute ride to work, but I get to live a little more in the present for those 15 minutes.  Hopefully, I'm living dry.

2009 Victory Kingpin Low