As the season fades

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Sharif

Well-known member
Joined
May 26, 2010
Messages
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Location
Granger, IN
Earlier this fall, I had the pleasure of being a judge at Irish Hacks, an AT&T-sponsored hackathon. While there, I rekindled a conversation with a student I had met in the fall of 2013. In the time since we met, he spent his summer doing a tour with the Navy based out of Pearl Harbor, then interned at Apple. While in California, he was bitten by the motorcycle bug. As you can imagine, I was pretty thrilled. We had much to discuss.

He ended up buying an early 80s vintage BMW K100RS. It's a fine motorcycle. I came very close to purchasing one a little over a decade ago, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. For the type of riding I was doing at the time, it was overkill - too much bike for just putting around. Of course, one could make the same argument today...do I really need an FJR for an 8-mile roundtrip commute? And the occasional trip? Yes, it is overkill, but I digress...

Anyway, this guy rode up the west coast, through Idaho, and learned what motorcycling is all about when he experienced a flat near Rapid City, SD. A couple took him in, put him up for the night, took him out to dinner, and showed him around the Black Hills while his bike was getting fixed up. If the riding hook wasn't set firmly before, that experience certainly clinched it.

Anyway, at the hackathon, we agreed we had to go riding together before the snow arrived. With the weekends winding down, I dropped him a note and we agreed to go for an early morning ride on Saturday, up to Allegan, MI, across the dam, and do a little loop I'd read about.

Saturday dawned chilly, gray, and threatening rain. Knowing that the wind is relentless, I layered up - riding socks, long johns, long-sleeved t-shirt, woolen turtleneck, ankle to throat thinsulate liner, and my high-viz exterior shell. I threw a balaclava, extra pair of gloves, microfiber, and spray bottle into the top box, and motored off to I our meeting place.

I ran into one of my current students while waiting. He introduced me to his girlfriend and the three of us had a nice chat. They were off to Milwaukee for the weekend, and I wished them well.

Pretty soon, I heard a wonderful mechanical sound, and up rode my riding partner for the day:



Wasting little time, we saddled up and headed northeast. It was about 41 degrees and heavily overcast, with a bit of occasional drizzle. We stopped so he could tank up just outside of Granger, and then we motored off into the unwelcoming morning.

Keeping up a sprightly pace, the weather soon grew a bit more unfriendly. The temperature dropped to 39 and the pitter-patter turned into a steady drizzle. We stayed off the main highways, exploring some delicious roads which would be much more entertaining if had not been raining. Particularly fun was cresting a hill with a long, straight drop as we approached Decater from the south.

As we rolled into town, I realized I hadn't turned on my spot tracker. Curses! I missed tracks from the first part of our ride! Rats.

Ah well, no big deal. Jogging east and west, we continued our trip to Allegan. The rain picked up and it was pretty chilly out. I cranked up the grip heaters to Maximum Melt and continued to lead the way. There was a bit more traffic on 40 north, which the Yamaha and the BMW had no issue putting quickly into the mirror.

We stopped to talk and thaw at a convenience store in Allegan. I was feel quite comfortable, except for my feet. I didn't layer up the feet, thinking they would be OK. The cold just seeped in. The rest of my body was in great shape. The balaclava stayed in the trunk.

That said, my riding partner was starting to feel the cold. Without heated grips, the cold and rain were working there way in. We talked for a while and agreed that instead of taking the loop to Lake Michigan and back, we would head west to Lake Michigan, then south back towards South Bend.

As we were cleaning up our shields, getting ready to head out, a guy going into the store said, "That's right, don't see any other riders out today! You BMW boys are tough!" I laughed to myself - people constantly confuse the FJR for a BMW. I suppose the roundel is so visible on the K100RS, and so few people recognize the tuning fork logo. Anyway, it is true - we didn't see any other motorcycles on our ride.

Back out into the rain, and we found ourselves crossing the Allegan Dam within 10 minutes. It's a neat little dam, complete with power station:



Even more impressive than the dam was the collection of fishermen. They were fishing from shore, from boats, and from the river in hip waders. Steelhead is what they were looking for. We didn't see any strikes while we were there, but then again, we didn't tarry for too long.





We hiked across the road and around the power plant to get a look at Lake Allegan:



Good-sized lake. Of course, all the foliage was gone - I bet it would've been flat gorgeous two or three weeks earlier. As it was, it looked desolate and wintry. Foreboding, even.

Since we were stopped, I took a couple gratuitous bike shots:


A ride to match the plate frame!
Allegan Dam Road was a fun bit of blacktop. Again, I can't wait to return in drier weather to explore the corners at a greater lean angle!

We zipped towards the lake, then headed south. Soon, we entered the town of South Haven, and I decided to show him Gingerman Raceway. Such a fun track! We doubled back north, then took the 6 mile jog east to the track. It was deserted, of course, but we could get in and check it out from the flag station at the start/finish line. I gave him an audio tour of the track, pointing out the turns, elevation changes, and camber. Though tempting to skirt the barriers and take a lap, we restrained ourselves. Also, it was pretty clear that my riding partner was getting cold. He didn't take off his gloves for pictures at our stop, and I knew that we better make tracks and get some warm liquid into our bodies.

In the paddock at Gingerman!
We headed west and picked up 196 south to 31. At least the rain had stopped! It was still pretty chilly out, temperature holding steady at 43.

We popped off 31 to pick up Red Bud Trail. Such a pretty piece of road. Again, we couldn't fully appreciate it as it was sopping wet, but still a pretty ride. We even passed our second track of the day - the motocross track just north of Buchanan.

Speaking of Buchanan, we stopped at the corner of Red Bud Trail and Front Street, at which point I mentioned the Coward Café. It didn't take a lot of arm-twisting to agree to a stop.

We rolled around the corner, powered off, and stepped inside. The warm, welcoming smells were a delight to our cold and damp bodies. When it came time to order, we were faced with a dilemma - their signature cinnamon rolls (which are insanely good), or waiting for the fresh chocolate croissants which were still in the oven. We opted to not wait, ordering a pair of those amazing rolls and a pour-over to go with it:


We sat at talked and talked and talked. Talked about family, friends, life, careers, motorcycles, places to go, places to explore. I really enjoyed myself. We explored the appeal of motorcycling, the feeling of simply being alive. Our ride had taken about 4 hours, and yet we both felt we had been gone for days.

My perspective is that every moment on a motorcycle makes you feel alive. Every sense is heightened as you become a fundamental part of the environment around you. Every temperature variation, the smells, the sounds, the rain, the unrelenting wind - it makes you live every moment spent on that machine. Because you are keenly aware of each moment, it elongate the sense of time. A wonderful sensation I never tire of.

We talked so long that as if by magic, and sensing our torment during the ordering process, we were presented with a piping hot chocolate croissant to split:


Yes! It. Was. Incredibly tasty! Still warm from the oven, the chocolate exploding in molten lava with every bite. Good grief it was delicious.

Eventually, we decided to get on with our respective weekends. We rode south, I bid him farewell on 933, and headed for home. Pulling up in front of the house, I took a couple shots of the filthy Feejer:



Love the muck-encrusted pipes

After thawing out in a long, hot shower, I fired up Spotwalla to generate our final route. Due to cold, rain, and forgetfulness, I didn't mark any of the sightseeing/gas stops on the route.

Here's the spot trace itself - all told, it was about a 180 mile loop.

I decided to treat the FJR to a wash, getting rid of all the muck gathered over the past month of commuting in the rain and Saturday's adventure. Clean and dry, I was getting really, really hungry for dinner. I had picked up some steaks at Whole Foods the night before, and tonight seemed as good a time as any to devour them:

I decided to try a new method of preparation. Reading Cooks Illustrated, I tried the bake/sear method. Cooks has written articles over time debunking the "sear it first to lock in the juices" myth. Basically, it doesn't matter - bake/sear or sear/bake, the residual amount of moisture is the same.

I fired up the oven on convect at 250 degrees, then began preparing the accompanying mushrooms. After salting and peppering the steaks, I put them on wire racks in a rimmed backing sheet and slid them in the oven for 20 minutes. As the mushrooms sautéed, the house started to smell remarkably good.

At the 15 minute mark, I lit up a big skillet with grapeseed oil until it started to smoke. At the 20 minute mark, I took the internal temperature of the strips. They measured 100-101 degrees.

Pulling them out of the oven, I place them in the smoking skillet for 1.5 minutes per side, flipping with a pair of tongs. At the three minute mark, I took transferred the steaks to cooling racks and tented them with aluminum foil. Setting a timer for 10 minutes, I opened a bottle of pinot noir and put a water-filled skillet on to boil. The timer wound down to 5 minutes, at which point I dropped in the asparagus.

5 minutes later, dinner was ready! I drained the asparagus and drizzled the spears with olive oil, finishing them off with a little salt, pepper, and grated parmiggiano reggiano.

I couldn't have been more pleased with the way it came out. Next time we do steaks, I'll probably go with the bake/sear method again:



To top off the meal, my wife had brought back eclairs from Chicago that we used to have 10+ years ago. Hadn't had them in years. They were still delicious:


All in all, a wonderful, wonderful day. Good roads, good conversation, inclement weather, good meal, great family - life is very, very good.



 
Nice sojourn, looks like the weather is closing in on you folks and those will be good memories. Every ride gotten in is a good ride.

 
Very nice! It is a very sad time of year when we stow away our rides for several months.

Thanks for keeping up the food porn tradition here too!

 
I got a ride in yesterday as well. Warmer and dryer here, but the weather is arriving this morning. Great to get out and defy the change of seasons.

 
It's really nice to have a long sit-down with someone you knew several (or many) years ago. Sounds like your ride was an extended version of that.

I agree with you about riding: every minute makes me feel alive. The smells, sounds, and sights when you're just putting along -- that you can't get in a car; the intense focus required when you're pushing the limit for each piece of roadway and dodging potholes or piles of autumn leaves. It's therapy, I swear it is.

 
It's really nice to have a long sit-down with someone you knew several (or many) years ago. Sounds like your ride was an extended version of that.
I agree with you about riding: every minute makes me feel alive. The smells, sounds, and sights when you're just putting along -- that you can't get in a car; the intense focus required when you're pushing the limit for each piece of roadway and dodging potholes or piles of autumn leaves. It's therapy, I swear it is.
It was interesting - this kid Sean is probably half my age, and it was great to get deeper insight into him and his family. The best part about it is that I found his riding style to be very compatible with mine. Using the bikes as they were designed and intended to be used, if you know what I mean.

That's one of my favorite things about being in an academic environment, seeing, meeting, and getting to know generations of kids. He's in Navy ROTC and will likely go subs, which means I'll be riding out to South Carolina to visit him next summer if that's the path he pursues.

Riding is one of those timeless things that binds us all together. It is therapy, I couldn't agree more.

 
"My perspective is that every moment on a motorcycle makes you feel alive. Every sense is heightened as you become a fundamental part of the environment around you. Every temperature variation, the smells, the sounds, the rain, the unrelenting wind - it makes you live every moment spent on that machine. Because you are keenly aware of each moment, it elongate the sense of time. A wonderful sensation I never tire of."

Ain't it the truth!

Thanks for the RR.

Sorry about... what's that word? Oh, yeah - winter.

 
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^^^^^^^^ +1 - no doubt.

Respect to you Shariff! Nicely done.

 
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