Without the gate and fence it is much easier to dance my bike out to the street. I was thinking of just warming up the engine, take a short ride and install fuel stabilizer. It was a chilly 3 or 4°c when I proceeded south and ended up here for a hot dog and beverage
at the local BMW dealer where they had their 1st Customer Appreciation Day. They had advertised BBQ, prizes and a visit from Santa, and everything in stock was at least 25% OFF. The BBQ was not hosted so I had to give a "Donation"
There are not many customers here but I arrived late and Santa had just left.
These were special hot dogs but a bit too spicy for me but I gobbled it down as I was hungry
I took the highway here and with the wind chill factor my hands were getting a bit cold but I still didn't turn on my heated grips, nor did I use my heated gear. It felt great to be on the highway and Nu2me didn't disappoint. The engine has very good grabbing power and I was up to the speed limit in 2nd gear, and possibly even up to 3 digits before I knew it. The ride was very smooth and the engine was purring like it wanted more.
I was actually looking for a new modular helmet but my eye got distracted with all the female sales persons
I am not a high end helmet user. The HJC felt good but it didn't have the inside sliding visor which I wanted. I don't want to stop and change out the visor manually, when you can just move a lever . . . They had some excellent clearouts on JR Alter Ego Ballistic 11.0 jackets marked down to $114. but they were all 2XL. I guess I should have tried one on just in case they were labelled wrong, you just never know
I got distracted again by all these colourful Christmas cookies so naturally I had to try one, or two, or
You could have a few of these bite-sized cup cakes. I did . . .
The parts department was across the parking lot and they now carry Motoguzzi and Aprilia
and all parts were discounted at least 25% on anything in stock. I spent a whopping $5. for a small bottle of fuel stabilizer. I had lots at home but it was easier to fill up and not have to make a 2nd trip to the gas station
On the way home I took River Road which is part of the Richmond Dyke system which I wrote about here. I take this road often as there is less traffic and scenic
The river levels are higher than normal but less than last week
This boat has been here for a few years now but I wanted a photo with Nu2Me
I was just riding at a scenic pace and enjoying the freedom that only 2 wheels can bring, especially when it is snowing in other parts of the country
The temperatures have risen a bit. By the time I reach home it is 5°C. With the wind chill factor of riding at the speed limit on the highway it must have been close to freezing. I am still wearing my leather summer gloves, my 8 year old JR jacket, with liner, and my Alter-ego JR pants without the liners installed. My AlpineStars* riding boots were toasty warm
Because of my bike cover incident I decided to cable lock the rear tire of my Vstrom to the carport support post
and the front tire of my Strom to the other support post. I have disc locks but I didn't put them on
Then I looped another cable through the frame and tire of Nu2Me, my R1200R Beemer and locked it to the cable of the Vstrom so both bikes are now locked together.
Both bikes are now secured and safely tucked away
It must be terrible to have to pack the bikes away not to be ridden for months on end until spring arrives. I sure am glad I live in a mild climate where we can ride all winter, no snow here to slow us down. I feel for you guys all the way up there in the bitter cold......
ReplyDeleteSteve:
DeleteI just can't imagine living somewhere, where you can ride all winter. We live in the best part of Canada and still we get freezing temperatures and sometimes, S-N-0-W .
Insurance is expensive here so I only keep one bike insured. It will cost about $1,500. per year to insure my Beemer, My Vstrom only costs $1,000.
Bob looks like it was a great ride & free goodies always a bonus! Glad you locked the bikes. Why aren't you wearing your TourMaster pants? Ty are awesome in cooler temps.
ReplyDeleteDar:
DeleteI really wanted to buy a new helmet, but I want the one with the built-in sliding visor, Not one where I have to stop and manually change the shield. The HJC felt good but I want what I want. The prices were good. I get much more wind buffeting with my "R" and I need the helmet for my trip this Summer.
OH OH, You caught me. Let me say that I LOVE my Tourmaster FLEX riding pants. They are everything, ALL IN ONE pants. But I didn't want to wear them out so I am still using my old JR Alter Ego, but without the liner installed. I am used to the cold and I don't mind just blue jeans underneath.
I am going to give away my; JR pants soon, along with a pair of slightly worn ICON Super Duty riding boots, and also my old JR Blue Jacket.
Bob how do people normally react when you point a camera at them while you are buying something from them? The guy at the BBQ looks a bit unsure ...
ReplyDeleteWow that's some security system, we normally just cable our bikes to each other if we are somewhere not at home, but finding a pole is a great idea.
Are your disc locks alarmed? We deliberately got alarmed ones for two reasons, one cause we didnt want to forget they were on there and take off, and the other reason is if someone is fiddling with the bikes then the disc lock alarms will give them a bit of a shock when they go off (they are very loud!). They do go off in a high wind too though :)
Brenda:
DeleteI have no problem to point my camera and click. I don't always look into the viewer/screen. Just be more aware of public places vs private places. Anything outside has "no expectation of privacy", but inside is a different matter. If inside I always ask.
They had these cable locks on sale a while ago. There were two buckets full and I managed to snag a few with the same key code so all of them can be opened with just one key. One bike by itself can be picked up and taken. It is harder when attached to a pole, and two bikes locked together is even harder. I have those Zena Alarmed disk lock(s) but being in the cold kills the battery really fast so I only use those when on a trip. My "R" has the optional factory alarm with key FOB.
Bob, you are a bigger man than me to be standing on cold concrete in bare feet at 5°c(41°F). Nice job on locking up the bikes!!
ReplyDeleteAnd if all you get is rain, what's the toboggan used for???
DeleteErik:
DeleteYou have to build up endurance, but after a while your feet go numb. I think it was the wind but since I have the cable locks doing nothing anyway, I thought that I should use them. I feel better knowing they are locked.
Sharp eyes you have. When our children were younger we used to take them to Little Mountain to toboggan down the slopes when it snowed, but we don't get much snow so it is like new and no one wants it. It is hard to transport (being so long) and we don't have our van or pickup truck anymore.
Glad you were able to get out for a ride even if it was chilly, at least it wasn't raining.
ReplyDeleteWe thought about a ride yesterday but due to the chilly cloudy weather opted for another hike instead. It is warmer walking that the wild chill at 60 mph.
Trobairitz:
DeleteI was on the fence about riding on Saturday but decided to since my insurance was expiring. I needed to warm the engine and put in the fuel stabilizer. It didn't feel that cold, but then perhaps I can take more cold than you. My boots were toasty warm and I only had reg socks on, not those thick winter ones.
. . . waiting for your hike post
You are always such an organized person. Very well done. Your insurance rates are ridiculous. The insurance on my scoot is only about $100 (USD) per year.
ReplyDeleteDo you happen to remember what model that "Guzzi" was in the picture? Just curious.
Turned really cold here today, didn't ride, maybe Wednesday.
Take Care
Jimbo
Jimbo:
Delete2 bikes and 2 cars total just over $5,300. per year. Not counting house insurance. and this does not include our new white Crosstrek XV. Our Yamaha Vino 49cc was $390. basic, no collision theft or comprehensive. Full coverage for the Vino was around $700. per year.
The Guzzi was a Stelvio, dual sport I think. Don't worry about riding in the Winter, it's just not worth the risk when the roads could be icing, and also tires don't flex correctly under 7°c as they are not winter compound
Bob, somethings I wonder how we can afford to have more than one vehicle with the insurance rip-off. I wish they would privatize it. In Alberta I did pay for my 650cc what I pay here for scooter insurance. And car insurance in not even half of what it cost in BC. ARGH!
DeleteI don't know Bob, this putting away of bikes for winter....surely you're now snowed in the entire time? Are there not periods when the streets are clear enough for two wheels?
ReplyDeleteHere in the Denver area, the hard part is escaping one's snowbound neighborhood before the snow there melts.....they keep the main roads clear pretty well and Mr Sun does the rest.
Then again, Brigitta isn't getting the riding hours she used to .....hmmm.
dom
ps: sidecar.
Dom:
DeleteMy Vstrom is insured the whole year. It's too expensive to have two bikes insured up here, plus my Strom has more aggressive Anakee2's. You can usually ride by noon during the Winter, but you can't commute due to ice early in the morning
I like your photo of the half sunk boat but is that a radar dome above the cabin? Seems to be an odd thing to leave.
ReplyDeleteThe way the Vstrom is double locked and the Beemer is locked to the Vstrom cable seems to be backwards. As it is more difficult to extract the Vstrom....
I still can't get over the cost of vehicle insurance down there.
Richard:
DeleteMaybe they needed the Dome as a navigational aid. Looks too new.
It is easy to extract the cables. I used to always secure both wheels and also put on a disk lock. The "R" has the factory alarm but I didn't turn it on. Once the insurance is expired on the "R", I plan to block it in with the Strom
I think insurance on the "R" is over $1,500./yr I have two policies so it will be just a summer bike. The Strom is closer to $1,100./yr and don't forget I still have two cars to insure. I am going broke with insurance expenses. They were going to insure "the Person" but it never happened. There are no discounts for multi vehicles. All have to pay the full rate even if they just sit there.
Untie those bikes... You are supposed to be practicing so as to get out our way!
ReplyDeleteBeen off the grid for a bit, but am back and happy to be so.
Let's get our conversation started again.
Ciao.
Mike:
Deleteglad to see you back and hopefully better than before, you know a NEW improved version. We were worried about the big storm, hope you faired well and came out okay.
Remember our deal ? We were supposed to meet half way . . . you know, somewhere near Arizona
Bob, I used to insure multiple machines but was frustrated that the company had a limit on the number of bikes on one policy. The past couple of years I've just been carrying Liability on everything and then it dawned on me and as I'm so often reminded, "you can only ride one at a time".
ReplyDeleteNow I keep the cheapest one insured over the winter. When I start using them, I get online, and insure whatever I'm going to ride that day, leaving coverage on until the next weekend or next ride. The tough part is keeping track of the VIN's but that's easy to work around.
Coop:
DeleteWe have Government insurance. We have to go to an agent to have insurance transferred over to another vehicle for a fee and then they have to calculate a new premium based upon a year of insurance and consider the insurance on the old bike cancelled and prorate the premium accordingly. But there is always a penalty for policies of less than a year.
one month's insurance 1/12 will cost more than 1/12 of the $1,500. per year premium. there may be a half month penalty, plus a $35. transfer fee. There is no such thing as multiple vehicles, each vehicle pays the FULL rate with no discounts. Insurance here is a Government monopoly
You are lucky to be able to do what you do
I had no idea of how your system works. My entire ragtag collection might be worth what your new one is, the only reason I can fill the garage with them.
ReplyDeleteCoop:
DeleteWe have Government Insurance up here, expensive and they don't do you any favours. Purchasing bikes are easy, insurance is the expensive part
Sounds like you had great ride! It was a satisfying treat for your Beemer before its insurance ran out. Also, I think it’s nice that you took a minute to spend time at the river and enjoy a clear view of the scenic landscape. It was a beautiful place to get some rest and capture a few photos.
ReplyDelete>Max Piedra
Max:
DeleteI just came back from Dublin, only a few miles away from Livermore when in SFO a couple of weeks ago. Can't wait until Summer for the warmer temps. It's even cold where you are, couldn't believe it