TO RIDE... OR NOT TO RIDE? IS THAT EVEN A QUESTION?

There is always a flip side to everything. On one hand you have this... while on the other hand you have that! Do you pick Door Number 1... or Door Number 2? I guess what I'm trying to say is, that there will always be choices, and you have to take the good with the bad.

Four weeks ago, when we found out that we were going to go to Chattanooga, TN to celebrate my MIL's birthday with all of Harley's family, my first thought was... "Woo Hoo! We can ride the motorcycles!" Harley was very much in agreement that it would be fun to ride up on Look Out Mountain and see some pretty scenery while en route to our destination. As soon as we know we are going to take any kind of a trip, we start looking at maps and tour books to see what routes are available, and to choose one that will give us the most enjoyment. This also initiates the weather watching. We realized the week before we were to leave, we were in for some rain and a serious cold front. Harley told me we should reconsider our plan to ride and just take the truck. Hmmm. I could feel the disappointment setting in as I realized our little trip might be sabotaged by Mother Nature.

I need to interject a little inside information here so you'll be able to understand where I'm coming from during the rest of this story. During the summertime, Harley and I look forward to our weekends, so we can ride for longer than our very non eventful 10 minute commute back and forth to work. If we're not running off to some rally or going to visit our pals in Florida, we usually ride on Saturday, and stay home to do our house and yard chores on Sunday. However, if I notice that Saturday is not the best of days because of rain in the forecast, and Sunday promises to be a nicer prettier day, I suggest we stay home to do our chores on Saturday, and ride on Sunday. Makes perfect sense, heh? Well, this has earned me the nickname "fair weather rider" by Harley and some of my friends. Okay, let me continue my story now.

We start daily visits to Accuweather' web site at how the weather is progressing as the weekend draws near. Now, I'm checking weather forecasts for Montgomery all the way up to Chattanooga and a few places in between. Promises of lots of rain for Friday, (the day we plan to leave) and a serious cold front coming in right behind it bringing the Sunday (the day we plan to return) temperatures into the low 30's. Harley gives me his opinion and advice on how uncomfortable it can be to ride for that long (it's about a 5 hour ride) in temps that cold. I have yet to ride in really cold weather, whereas, he has done it enough times to know, it's not that fun. He tried to warn me that I do not realize what I am getting myself into, which gave me the opportunity to ask him if he too, has become a "fair weather rider".

Friday morning came and we looked at the weather one more time on the web site. According to the radar maps, it didn't seem like rain would be a real issue considering the route we planned to take. We would probably dodge most of it and we packed enough clothes to layer if the temperature did indeed plummet on Sunday like it promised to. It was a game time decision. To ride... or not to ride?... ?... ?... WE RIDE!

Woo Hoo! I was happy we were taking the Glides and my excitement was evident. We headed north and didn't get out of Montgomery more than 20 miles when we had to pull over... to don the rain suits. Oops. Fortunately, we did not have to deal with hard rain or lightening. The temperature was about 62 degrees, so even though we had to ride the rain train, it was not cold. Mother Nature kept us in a drizzle off and on with light rain until we were nearly to the Georgia and Tennessee State lines. When we stopped to eat lunch and dry out, Harley tried hiding his smirk as he kidded with me that, "I owe him".

We proceeded into Tennessee, and the rain let up as we started over Look Out Mountain, heading into Chattanooga. All of a sudden, we entered another time... another place... another dimension... we were in the Twilight Zone! The fog was so thick, I could only see three white stripes of the center lines on the road in front of me. We had to slow to 40 mph, which still felt fast, considering how little we could see. It's pretty bad when the mailboxes along the highway startle you because you can't see them until they are literally ten feet away from you. I considered trying to get a picture to demonstrate how foggy it was, but I knew anyone coming up the road would be on us before they could see us, which would not be smart. We stayed in the fog for about 30 miles before it thinned out enough not to be scary any more. It's a good thing, because right about then, we had to slow waaayyy down when we came up on two very large brown cows that were standing right there on the side of the highway. The first one was to the right of us just three feet off the shoulder. He just stood there and did nothing. The other one was on the left, and he started moving quickly. I was afraid at first, he was going to charge, but I think he just wanted to get away from us. Luckily, we passed by without incident. It was really kind of a rush, because as I passed him I looked over again, and we looked at each other, eye to eye! At that moment, it was all about me and that cow. All that came to mind was, "How now Brown Cow?"

Without any further complications, we arrived at the Shawnee Cabin on the Tennessee River, where we would be spending the weekend with Harley's family. We enjoyed visiting with the n & n's and their parents, while we celebrated my MIL's birthday. The kiddos fished in the river, and played with the resident cabin cat. We all had a great time. I have one small niece who has never caught a fish before, and she was quite funny when one got on her line. Throughout the weekend, I endured some light hearted teasing at how crazy we were for riding the Glides, but I know they love me, in spite of it. Sunday delivered the chilling temps as promised, and after we all said our goodbyes and shared some hugs, Harley and I prepared for our chilly ride home.

Even though it was a mere 32 degrees out, the sun was shining and the pavement was dry. I knew I was going to be cold so I started with tights, then jeans, my chaps and finally the rainsuit pants. I was in two shirts and my lined leather jacket. I think wearing the rain pants cut the wind enough to keep me comfortable. Harley was layered just as much, only he didn't wear his rain pants. I put a glove liner under my winter gloves, and decided I was ready.

We took off around 11:00 and it probably started warming up a little bit already, but as soon as I hit the road at speed, it hit me. Damn, it IS cold riding out here! I was getting cold and I decided I needed to do something to distract my thoughts from that fact. I found out, if you sing out loud, at the top of your lungs, especially songs about the sunshine, you can warm yourself up a bit. That and flap your arms around every now and then. Like this...
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take, my sunshine, away!"
Oh, I came up with several more over the next few miles, and when I couldn't think of any more songs with sunshine in them, I decided to sing about fire.
"I fell in, to a burning ring of fire. I went down, down, down... and the flames went higher. And it burns, burns, burns. The ring of fire.. the ring of fire!" This would be a good time to flap.

I stopped singing at one point, because I saw Harley riding in front of me messing around with his zipper on his chaps. It seems the wind broke his zipper and every few miles or so, they would unzip themselves. I noticed that the leather looked like it was flapping around alot, and it was because they wouldn't stay closed. (Brrrrr!) During one of our rest stops to warm up, we tried to rig them so they would stay closed, but to no avail. Again, I got that mischieveous look from him as he reminded me... "I owe him." Did I mentioned earlier that he had wanted to take the truck?

Well, before long, and after I ran out of songs to sing, we made it home. The closer we got, the warmer we became, and we were rewarded with a balmy 56 degrees in Montgomery. We parked the Glides in the garage and made our way into the warmth of our home, a nice hot shower, and the promise of a big bowl of chili for supper. Later that evening, while we were reflecting on our trip and the weekend's events, Harley posed the question to me, "So, what do you think about riding in the cold now?" I thought for a minute and said, "I really think those other gloves I saw at Sports Authority last week would have been perfect, and I'm going to ask for some 'Under Armor' for Christmas and...." I stopped in mid sentence when I noticed my husbands look of dismay. I couldn't help but smile, "What? Was this supposed to be a lesson?" He responded, "Well, I guess I had hoped it would be," pause, "but I think it backfired!"

My husband loves me, and I know he endured this trip just for me. He has ridden long enough to have experienced, and handled all these kinds of elements, and really doesn't feel the need to prove he can. We could have easily taken the truck and have been much more comfortable. For this, I do owe him. This whole experience was a challenge to myself, to see if I had what it takes to be a true biker, whether the weather is fair or not. At least now he knows what to expect from me, when we plan our next trip. To ride... or not to ride? Is that even a question?

(For my HM - I Love You)
Lady R