First motorcycle ride of the year
Apr 13, 2003
Maria was hosting a friend’s bridal shower so after helping to make a few hundred appetizers, I lit out to make good use of the day. I drove up to Poughkeepsie and pulled the bike out of my in-laws’ garage. I take decent care of it but in addition to my usual preride check (tire pressure, oil, lights, signals, horn), I pulled a plug, checked the battery and did a visual check of my brake lines and pads. I cranked the engine a few times to get some oil sloshing around and fired it up. It ran just as well as before I stored it. I let it warm up and took the first ride of 2003. It was a quick eighty-mile roundtrip to Clermont with stops on the return trip in Red Hook to Tiberio’s market, which a guy in the parking lot said I should say goodbye to- there is a Hannaford under construction and Super Stop & Shop renovated a long empty plaza south on Route 9, to grab real estate booklets for Maria and to Holy Cow for ice cream. Nothing improves my mood like being on the road.