Motorcycle Blues

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It has been several months since I've ridden a motorcycle and not been on the back. I find I am missing it. I am sure that will please Troubadour to no end. I don't miss it enough to ride the Ninja, but I do miss it.

I hoped the Ninja would sell prior to Autumn setting in and that by now I would be riding something different. Alas, things don't always work out as we plan.

I am still thinking of the Suzuki TU 250 and I am looking forward to the International Motorcycle Show in Seattle next month to look at everything and sit on a few bikes too. Although I love the Bonneville SE, I just cannot justify spending that amount of money on something that will more than likely be ridden only on the weekends. Mind you if I wait long enough there might be a good used Bonneville come up for sale in the Spring. I do not want to bite off more than I can chew however.

I find myself thinking of riding when I am driving around in the car. How would I handle this corner? Do I think I coud ride up there or down there? I think of these things too while riding pillion. I study the lines that Troubadour is taking and how he reacts to different situations. I can only hope to one day ride as smoothly as he does. For now I shall ride pillion and try and soak up all the kowledge I can in hopes of putting it to use come Spring.

Last Saturday morning we met the bike night crowd for coffee. It was sunny when the Triumph came out of the garage and starting to sprinkle by the time we arrived at Coffee Culture. After visiting and solving the world's problems for a few hours we took off. Troubadour and I decided that since the weather wasn't too bad we'd go off in search of the latest photo tag, which was at Fort Hoskins. Part way there the skies opened up and it just started coming down. We arrived at Forst Hoskins and the sun came back out. If you don't like the weather in Oregon, wait 5 minutes, it will change. Troubadour took the picture and we walked around a bit since we had never actually been to the old fort. You probably recognize the picture from Troubadour's blog.

Since we were already out in the weather and didn't have any particular tasks that needed doing we decided to take the long way home and see where a gravel road went. I must say Troubadour did an excellent job manouevering over the 9 miles of gravel to the next backroad. I think there were a few surprised hunters in the area too. Strange looks ensued as we rode by. It was a really nice ride with little to no traffic, just puttering along at our own pace. All too soon we were back on the highway and heading home. Gravel roads and rain make for a dirty bike.

Note the clean spot on the surface of the pillion seat. Can anyone guess what the back of my jacket and riding pants looked like by the time we got home? The front of Troubadours pants were the same. They have since gone through the wash, both the riding gear and the bike.

Good times.

- Au Revoir

"If you don't ride in the rain, you don't ride."~ Author Unknown

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