I hate mowing , who invented grass anyways , ¥#}\~€*+£}[*+^=€

I rode 260 miles on Friday!
It was in the mid 60's in the afternoon, a little bit windy at times - but there was light traffic and it was my first "real" ride of the year!
(I have mowed the grass 3 times already....I can still mow when it is cold and Windy).

I rode up to get dinner at Sonic last night just about dark and the temps were dropping fast......I made the mistake of drinking my ice water before I left - I had a really cold ride home!  It was 31F at my house this morning.

I've started riding to work again.  Mid 40's in the morning...I'm not used to anymore!!  By the end of the riding season, I was riding to work in the mid/upper 30's. Who would have thunk that I would soften up over the winter???  

Spring is finally and suddenly here. Today's forecast is for 70 + degrees and the ten day forecast shows 60s and 70s every day with the nights no cooler than 40 degrees.  Definitely time to go riding but this week I'll be putting new tires on two bikes.  I like to do it when the weather is warm and sunny.  I lay the tires  out in the driveway in the full sun so they can get good and warm, then they go on with a lot less effort.
It's so good to open the windows and get some fresh air in the house!

I'm with you guys. However, I know that many years ago in England we rode when the temp was in the 30s and didn't think anything of it. I couldn't do that to save my life today. Youth has its advantages doesn't it.

Now 50 degrees is my cutoff, and I prefer a lot more than that. Cold knees and hands are not my favourite. :'(

So it was pretty incredibly nice here today at the Jersey shore, particularly this evening. So with that, after work at my shop just outside Asbury Park, NJ, I pulled the bike out and and took the long route along the ocean home to my house in Highlands. Some back roads to the ocean front, than a nice cruise along the beach to home.
The first ride of the season is the best. Plenty of other riders out and enjoying the weather, low fives for everyone you pass. It's what you wait all winter for and it never disappoints.

Got home, grabbed a back pack and made a grocery run just to add some miles to the experience. It's interesting when you walk through the suermarket in your gear with helmet in tow how all the "Dudes" with their girlfriends are giving you the nod.

But I digress, riding is about being in the immediate, the now. You have to heighten your senses to the moment, every moment. There is nothing you take for granted. Life is about experiences and riding provides a "nonstop" exposure to all that is, in the world, when you are on the road. You can't miss anything, and it's the focus that entails that keeps you in the seat and riding.