End of the season ride -?

[Darbarian]

The weather prognosticators are predicting significant drops in temperature and increases in that frozen water thing Montana likes to do to us.

Meanwhile, my new-to-me R1200RS-P has way-too-few miles with my soft butt on it. Today I pushed all my 'get the estate ready for winter' chores aside to grab what may turn out to be my last highway muncher ride of the season. The Iron Butt guys may snicker, but 160 miles was way better than spending all winter wishing I had taken it out one more time.

The roads were excellent, the patrol bike was a great pleasure to ride, the weather suited my clothes perfectly. I coulda skipped the bug splatter on my visor around the Salmon River, but it was in all other ways too close to perfect for me to complain.

The prior owner put a Yoshimura exhaust on it that purrs like a kitten while I'm cruising, but has a real nice growl when I ask for ponies. That almost begs me to name it LEO. Double appropriate for a police-spec BMW.

Gosh, overtaking cagers along the kinky part of Highway 93 is so easy... Simply THINKING or WILLING the action seems to deliver it... well, there is this little thing I do with my right wrist, and sometimes invoke the left foot.

I am still on the honeymoon with this bike. It doesn't appear that I will be into that 'comfortable together' phase until next Spring/Summer.

By the way, in my canyon the temperatures are at least 5 degrees cooler than the "downtown Darby" temps these guys promise. Needless to say, any plants I want surviving this winter are already in my greenhouse.

I did wear closer to the tire shoulders on this trip. I am very noticeably more comfortable leaning into right turns than left. I feel it on the road and the scruff marks confirm that feeling. It is nice to know there is a huge margin left if I need it ... and am able to request the Michelin Road 5s deliver. I am not really interested in getting to the edges, but I want to be able to trust the gear and lean-in if the situation requires that.

 

 

[Scott9999]

Good that you got out on the road, one last time.  My bike has been sitting faithfully on a battery tender, all season long, wondering when it was going to get the chance to GOOooo.   I've been out on 3 or 4 quick rides this year, nothing even over 100 miles, and I've got no excuses.  I've had my chances, but now the Northern Idaho weather is closing them out with a (rainy) cold front this weekend.    I'll probably still try to get out again the first dry day we have between now and November, but the last 3 weeks have been fairytale-perfect for riding (or winter preparations), and I've done ... very little. 

 

We (wife and myself) took a quick -- DRIVE -- up around Sandpoint last weekend, and down highway 200 to about Thompson Falls, then we cut over on highway 4, and over to Kellogg for a Mexican lunch.  We've been to Helena once to visit relatives, but that little trip was really our first foray in to NW Montana.  (She's not ready to start riding again, and I haven't been on the bike enough that I want her on the back yet either, so it was caging all the way.)  Had to be a short trip, because baseball playoffs were starting in the evening. 😁 It was just beautiful, perfect, all the way. 

 

You're a whole lot further Southeast, but that looks like a nice ride to do on an overnight (or two) trip next Spring, down past Salmon, cut across to HWY 95, and back up.  (There are lots better, interesting ways to go back North from there (to Hauser/Post Falls area of Idaho), but we won't be that adventurous for a while.  Just haven't been feeling it in the twisties since I started riding again after a 7 year break.)

 

I don't see snow here in the forecasts yet, temps are down in the high 30's at night, but snow could come at any time.   One year the first snow was September 28th, another, November 2nd, other years, the first snow was at Christmas.  However, temps dip into freezing territory at night pretty soon, and no matter what I'm wearing, I'm not eager to challenge morning black ice to a dual, so I'll be hanging it up when temps go below 32F regularly.  (Well, "hanging it up" is kind of an inaccurate technical term, since I haven't been riding enough to really qualify.🙄😖)

 

Hope you get out a couple more times.  It might warm up a little, again.  (Lol, there's always hope, right?)

[Hosstage]

Glad you got out Darbarian, it always feels good to squeeze one more in.

I ride until it snows, and more than one year I have pulled into the driveway as the first real snow of the year has begun, shutting down the riding season. I push it to the end.

I actually get out once in a while during winter if the roads are dry and clear, it gets a few looks from others when I'm out in the teens and twenties for temp. The 30's are too warm to ride during winter, the streets get too sloppy.

Suppose to be nice this weekend, almost 70°F after riding the last couple weeks in the 30's and 40's. I will be very irresponsible with yard work and putting on as many miles as possible.

For those that don't know yet, electrically heated riding gear is a game changer. Get the jacket, not just a vest.