I had to go into town yesterday and I woke up to the unmistakable sound of water hitting the roof and slashing the palm fronds outside the house. It was a cool crisp day and Cheyenne had made the choice to ignore the open doors and lay on her bed snoozing full of breakfast and unwilling to get up. I checked the weather map and it looked like the rain clouds were breaking up. I pulled on my Frogg Toggs and set off on two wheels. The air was cool, the skies were gray and the traffic was slow. Great, but I was snug and enjoying my ride.
Much has been made on Facebook about the nastiness of 65 degree days combined with cold north winds and rain and it's true I did hesitate a bit before plunging into the shower especially as my feet have been cold for days but really its not hat bad. Maybe I am hardening up but I haven't even hunted up my woolen watch cap (though I have thought about it). This weather is all right, it's a change and it makes me feel like I am part of the great eastern freeze gripping the states Up North: 
And yes, I know some people enjoy the snow and the transformation of the countryside but all I can think is that some people leave their pets outside which thought makes me ill, and then too riding is impossible. I did ride to school when I was young and living an hour from a technical school I was enrolled in. I rode through the outskirts of London in snow because I preferred my motorcycle to train travel but in my defense I was 21 and stupid. But I managed without falling off and quite enjoy the daily adventure of truly foul weather, and darkness on the ride home.
Gray skies, uniformly cloud covered, and a break in the rain convinced me to stop to let slow traffic pull ahead and I wandered around for a bit around Mile Marker 13, enjoying the views and the flat waters. I had expected some white caps on the water but there was none to be seen.
The Bonneville is running nicely even though I have found a rather odd quirk in the starting procedure where the bike starts easily without a choke and just wants a little applied after it starts running. I was flooding the poor bike by pulling the choke out as one would normally and I was thinking maybe it needed new spark plugs. Nope, it starts fine and runs fine just as it is. I appreciate the ease of use and light handling of the Bonneville more and more especially after riding the 800 pound Indian Chief.
I am looking forward to sunshine but the forecast looks rather gloomy so I fear I may be a bit gloomy myself into next week. That and struggling to get Apple to approve 911buddy which is a profound annoyance as our first submission got one list of changes they demanded and I am sure more adjustments will be required as the process moves forward at a glacial pace. The whole process is Kafkaesque - the government has nothing on the faceless bureaucrats of Apple headquarters in Cupertino.
