emptysea
Road warrior
Thread starter
It's been a long "off" season.
Sure, I was able to continue my run of consecutive months that included motorcycling, but -24f in January, 4" of snow on the last day of April, and various and sundry other weather phenomenon, disproportionately striking on weekends, restricted my riding days to a mere handful since last Christmas. Then the text from Cheryl on May 3rd, "What are your riding plans for Sunday? I'd like to get out and ride". Her short note not only told me that the she wanted to ride, always good news, but implied that the forecast was for morning temps on that Sunday be at or above her magic number of 50. Yeah, yeah. I know. "She's missing out on so much riding".... "I thought she was tougher than that" ... "In Canada, we call that 'summer'". Thing is, that she'll ride when it's colder if she has to, but she wants to be comfortable. I don't want to ride with anyone who isn't comfortable.
We now had a riding date in need of a destination. I knew she didn't want to venture too far afield this being her first ride in 5 or 6 months.
"I know a restaurant, Sammy's on the Square, in Walworth that's not too far"
"Isn't Walworth where we stop for ice cream on rides?"
"Yes, Meggy Moo's, but a. they probably aren't open for the season and b. I was thinking breakfast"
"No, Sammy's is fine. It's supposed to be 50 by 8:00."
"Done"
I plotted out a non-highway route, made sure both bikes were ready to go; air, oil, fuel, cranking power. They're Hondas so yes, everything was just fine.
She started out with her heated gear. I opted for a fleece and a wind layer under my spanking new Olympia Dallas mesh jacket (review coming). Off we headed into the bright Illinois sky.
My lanyard camera did not work for most of the day. Still not sure why, but I was able to take some pictures from the bike after breakfast. I will have to keep an eye on that. Could be something wrong with the flash card -- it may have taken a trip through the washing machine a few weeks ago (ssshhh). The late snowfall and the copious amounts of rain following it turned fields into ponds and ponds into lakes. Readers will have to use their imaginations, though.
Made it to Sammy's by about 10:00. The restaurant is on the town square (thus the name). Wisconsin towns more often than not, have town squares. County seats usually have their courthouse in the middle of the square, but most squares are a lawn with benches and the occasional statue, monument, or gazebo. Many towns in many states and countries have town squares, but there seems to be a wonderful concentration of them in Wisconsin, hanging on through traffic changes and other development, to remind us of days gone by.
I had the breakfast special consisting of 2 eggs, Swedish pancakes and sausage. Cheryl had the 2x2x2. Delicious. We're both now on guilt-fueled diets.
After breakfast, we jettisoned our insulation layers. It was nearly 70 and wound up hitting 75 or so by the time we got home. Just the prefect day for riding.
We took a roundabout route home, but stopped at Moraine Hills State Park, a place we have passed many times, but never visited. That was our loss as this is a beautiful and expansive park located just barely on the Illinois side of the state line. We walked a little to shed a few breakfast calories and sat on a small dock and just admired the beauty of this Sunday in May.
We returned home early enough to get a few things done in the yard. Translation: I smoked a cigar and had a cocktail and Cheryl picked some weeds from the garden. Then we watched our Cubs beat the Cardinals 13-5.
From the departure temperature to the game's final score and the 170 miles in between added up to a marvelous first real ride of 2019. Well worth the wait.
Sure, I was able to continue my run of consecutive months that included motorcycling, but -24f in January, 4" of snow on the last day of April, and various and sundry other weather phenomenon, disproportionately striking on weekends, restricted my riding days to a mere handful since last Christmas. Then the text from Cheryl on May 3rd, "What are your riding plans for Sunday? I'd like to get out and ride". Her short note not only told me that the she wanted to ride, always good news, but implied that the forecast was for morning temps on that Sunday be at or above her magic number of 50. Yeah, yeah. I know. "She's missing out on so much riding".... "I thought she was tougher than that" ... "In Canada, we call that 'summer'". Thing is, that she'll ride when it's colder if she has to, but she wants to be comfortable. I don't want to ride with anyone who isn't comfortable.
We now had a riding date in need of a destination. I knew she didn't want to venture too far afield this being her first ride in 5 or 6 months.
"I know a restaurant, Sammy's on the Square, in Walworth that's not too far"
"Isn't Walworth where we stop for ice cream on rides?"
"Yes, Meggy Moo's, but a. they probably aren't open for the season and b. I was thinking breakfast"
"No, Sammy's is fine. It's supposed to be 50 by 8:00."
"Done"
I plotted out a non-highway route, made sure both bikes were ready to go; air, oil, fuel, cranking power. They're Hondas so yes, everything was just fine.
She started out with her heated gear. I opted for a fleece and a wind layer under my spanking new Olympia Dallas mesh jacket (review coming). Off we headed into the bright Illinois sky.
My lanyard camera did not work for most of the day. Still not sure why, but I was able to take some pictures from the bike after breakfast. I will have to keep an eye on that. Could be something wrong with the flash card -- it may have taken a trip through the washing machine a few weeks ago (ssshhh). The late snowfall and the copious amounts of rain following it turned fields into ponds and ponds into lakes. Readers will have to use their imaginations, though.
Made it to Sammy's by about 10:00. The restaurant is on the town square (thus the name). Wisconsin towns more often than not, have town squares. County seats usually have their courthouse in the middle of the square, but most squares are a lawn with benches and the occasional statue, monument, or gazebo. Many towns in many states and countries have town squares, but there seems to be a wonderful concentration of them in Wisconsin, hanging on through traffic changes and other development, to remind us of days gone by.
I had the breakfast special consisting of 2 eggs, Swedish pancakes and sausage. Cheryl had the 2x2x2. Delicious. We're both now on guilt-fueled diets.
After breakfast, we jettisoned our insulation layers. It was nearly 70 and wound up hitting 75 or so by the time we got home. Just the prefect day for riding.
We took a roundabout route home, but stopped at Moraine Hills State Park, a place we have passed many times, but never visited. That was our loss as this is a beautiful and expansive park located just barely on the Illinois side of the state line. We walked a little to shed a few breakfast calories and sat on a small dock and just admired the beauty of this Sunday in May.
We returned home early enough to get a few things done in the yard. Translation: I smoked a cigar and had a cocktail and Cheryl picked some weeds from the garden. Then we watched our Cubs beat the Cardinals 13-5.
From the departure temperature to the game's final score and the 170 miles in between added up to a marvelous first real ride of 2019. Well worth the wait.
