Random thoughts at night

I just worked a 11.5 hour day so forgive me if this is not of up to the usual level of incoherence.  First though a serious moment, the other night a buddy of mine and a friend of his, named Mark, went riding.  Mark had something jump in front of him and down he went.   At this time I'm not sure how badly hurt he is but I know it was serious enough to require a paramedic.

Here's hoping Mark recovers quickly and can return to riding soon no worse for wear.

Guess where the finger goes!

1)  I enjoy riding at night.  I often work till 12:30 or 1 AM so coming home the roads are empty, it's just me and the bike and the stars above.  It's peaceful, calming and relaxing listening to the white noise of wind across my helmet.  The deer looking up from the side of the road as they feed.  The moon bright and welcoming.

2)  It's also a little scary at night.  I fear two things.  One is that those peaceful deer will decide to jump in front of me to give me a bear hug and the other is that the roads are so empty and so devoid of civilization that the guy in the photo there will give me more to worry about than numb butt!

Special thanks to Donald Yatomi

3)  I really need a digital camera.  The more I ride the more I want to document some of the weird and wonderful things I've seen.  Hopefully we won't document any procedures given to us by the guys in the photo there.  Be kind of neat if they converted the Burgie into a hover cycle.  That be really cool.  All joking aside however there are stories behind some of the things I've seen...either true or waiting to be told.  It's those stories that interest me when I ride.  "How did that lone large tree end up in the middle of lake?"  or "Who placed this monolith in the middle of no where and for what purpose?"  These are stories to be told.

3.5)  I tend to notice things a bit more now when I ride than I think I did before.  Maybe it's because I am exposed on a very small piece of metal and plastic as compared to the cars around me.  Perhaps.  I think however that it is something more.   I am closer to the road, I feel the physics working on me through a turn, the cry of birds in the air.  The smell of a BBQ fire as I pass a rib joint.  I ride to enjoy the ride...being aware of my surroundings is part of that, and maybe a bit more.

4)  I would think sneezing while wearing a full face helmet would be a bad thing.

5)  At work their are at least two other people that ride.  Yet I seem to be the only one that shows up in all type of weather on my bike.  I'm rather proud of that fact and others have noticed as well.  It's a badge of honor for me.

6)  Who ever designed the Burgi was small.  I am 6 foot tall, and have seen many of bug fly up and over the windshield...only to smack me directly me in the middle of full face shield.

7)  Layers....in cold weather it's the way to go, although I still can't wrap my mind around the lower 50's being cold.  I know my blood will thin out in a year or two and the mid 70's will seem cold.