Clarksville, TN – One of the best things about sharing this journey through my blog is the INCREDIBLE people I’ve met and will continue to meet. I LOVE hearing your stories and suggestions about YOUR biker journey.
Living in the south presents a different kind of winter. We have days we can ride, but we might go weeks before we get a couple of days to do so. Some of the brothers and sisters I meet here live in parts of the country where the winters are BRUTAL!
So what do we do during these cold winter months?
One of the things I hear most often is bikers doing annual maintenance on their bike. Some of you have told me that you will take your motorcycle completely apart, clean and shine each piece, then replace fluids and check brake pads and so on. I TOTALLY admire those of you who can do that. After all, where you live you are NOT going to do any riding during the winter.
In fact, SOME of you tell me that your winter is so harsh, you wrap and store your bike. NOW THAT’S SOME COLD ASS WINTER!
Some of you have shared that you live in parts of the country where you can ride year round. Now THAT’S what I’m talking about. I love hearing about the places you go and the sites you see, and it’s the middle of January. I would LOVE to live in that part of the country.
I had one brother tell me that during the winter, he rearranges his garage, does inventory on his tools and supplies, then helps other bikers do maintenance on their bike. The one pattern I see in all of this is that we MUST be near the motorcycle at all times or we just get a bad case of the “winter doldrums!”
I realize that there’s a million ways to stay busy when you can’t ride, but it does get a little frustrating, (for me at least) when you can’t ride for days until the weather breaks.
I’ve finally come through a nasty cold I’ve had for a couple of weeks, and just today as I was running errands (not on the bike) I noticed several brothers out riding. It was a beautiful sunny day, 38-44 degrees. If I weren’t worried about a relapse, I would have been out too!
I’m not a mechanic, but I have OCD, so my area of the garage is clean as a whistle. My “beast” is also shiny as a new quarter. My towels are neatly stacked. My cleaning solutions are perfectly arranged and so on.
That’s the best I can do.
What do you do during the cold and snowy winter months? How do you fill the void that’s missing when you can’t ride? I would love to hear your stories.
Be sure to follow me on Facebook I’m also on Instagram @dodgetheroadkill.
Thanks for following my journey. Let’s all be thankful for the Christmas season and the REASON we celebrate. Hug your loved ones. Be an encouragement to others and remember, love one another and enjoy the ride!
***(Photo Credit to Kimberly Kotzen)
