Wind and cold

Thursday of last week I rode the Connie from Homewood to Champaign after I got off of work. I needed to ride over to Indy for the day with my brother to do a few things for my mother around her house. The ride down was sunny and in the 50's, great weather for the overpants.

Saturday I really needed to get back home. It was overcast, in the 40's with a solid 25-30 mph coming at me at the 10:00 position. I stayed on the open highway for around 15 miles but was not enjoying the ride. Even fully loaded and with a full 7.5 gallon tank, I was being pushed around. Feeling a cold wind running from left to right under my chin (wearing my full face helmet as always) and consistently having a sensation of my head lifting and being pushed, I switched over to the old US HWYs and country roads. Knowing that there would be a tree line among much of way dictated which roads I was to take. I've been on all of these roads before. For those not in the Midwest, along many US HWY's running N to S, you will find scattered tree lines on the west side of the road. This helps to keep some of the drifting snow banks off of the road. In this case, it eased much of the ride home. Instead of a quick 1:45 ride, I took 3 hours getting home and included a stop at a great small town motorcycle shop "Watseka Motorsport". As I lament the closing of my local MC Shop, I will probably being bringing my Connie to them for service. They have a seasoned mechanic who should be familiar with the Concours.

Anyway, getting off of the superslab provided led to a much more enjoyable ride (especially with Gerbings gloves and jacket liner). I will be seeking this type of riding as time permits for a slower but more meaningful experience.