forths

With a very un-February temperature of 39 degrees in Alden, the sun shining and most of the snow melted, I decided to take the little Honda CB175 out for a Winter ride.  I retrieved the battery from the basement, where it was connected to a float charger, and put it back in the bike.  The bike started right up.  I grabbed the new gloves that Al bought for me, and off I went.

I rode the bike to the gas station to top it off with fresh fuel, then put 20 miles on the clock while riding around the back roads.  I stopped at the boat launch in Alden for these pictures.  I kept the speeds down, since the tires aren’t as grippy when they’re cold, but I did cruise the straight roads at around 60.  It really felt great to be on a bike again.

Sunday morning, with the thermometer at 32 degrees, I hopped back on the Honda and rode to the Wild Onion in Alden for breakfast.  It’s funny how many people will stop me and ask about the bike … “is that a Honda?!”, “What year is that?”, and so on.  An elderly woman walked up to me as I was getting ready to head back home and asked me about the 175.  She then fondly recalled how she had a Honda 125 in the 1960s, and she would ride with her father for hours on the trails and back roads.

Now I’m really looking forward to Spring.