LSD Trip

No, I didn't ingest lysergic acid diethylamide. I went for a ride on Lake Shore Drive.
No, not the one in Chicago. The one in Springfield, IL.

Springfield is in the middle of flat, boring cornland. Most of the roads are flat and straight with 90 degree turns and intersections. Almost the only road with any curves is the one that goes around the unimaginatively named Lake Springfield.

Snow was everywhere and the lake was half frozen. I mean the northern half of the lake was liquid but the southern half was iced over.

The temperature during my ride was 43 F. I was wearing a shirt, two sweatshirts, an imitaion Perfecto jacket, jeans, tall lace-up boots, chaps, a bandana, a full-coverage helmet and gloves. I was warm enough, except for my hands. The gloves were unlined. Dumb me.

Still, the ride was great. I got a lot of surprised looks and no other bikes were on the road. Almost all the riders around here are fair-weather bikers. I get looked at funny anyway because most of the bikes around here are big V-twin baggers.

The bike ran great. Bonnie doesn't like near freezing temps very much, but she liked 43 just fine. I think I need a cover for the oil cooler when it's in the lower 30s. The bike never seems to warm up when it's that cold out.

There were a lot of puddles and the bike is a salty mess now. Check out my boots and chaps from when I stopped for a cup of coffee mid-ride:

This concludes my first ride report. Happy trails!