DDT (12)
Member
Posts: 4114
Sometimes ya just gotta go...
Winter Springs, FL - Occasionally...
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« on: February 28, 2020, 05:14:25 AM » |
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Adjustments…
We departed around 9am or a little after, and… of course it was a tad brisk. It is still winter, ya know. Temp was in the low 40sF, so nothing major, just… ummmm… noticeable… My Gerbings were on, and I had layered-up appropriately… but… something just wasn’t right… Couldn’t put my finger on it, so I just chalked it up to one of those ‘first day out’ adjustments… Y’all have those, too?
It never ceases to amaze me… No matter how much I travel, or even how often I venture out, that first day of any trek always includes a surprise or two, discovery of needed adjustments of some sort, and… re-discoveries of things I seem to be destined to keep relearning. Of course, there always seem to be brain farts, cranial cramps, and self-inflicted wounds, too, that are hopefully minor things to be laughed at later… So far, everything not wonderful has been merely minor…
I’d figured on a couple of spots as potential stopping places, so I ticked them off as each one transitioned from the windshield to the mirrors, and we kept on plugging along. Yep, even though I probably ride a little more than the average rider, I still manage to accumulate ‘skill rust’ rather quickly… Soon enough, though, maneuvers that at first seem a wee bit awkward become effortless, easy, and smooth… My tush adjusts to the Russell, and the recliner back at the hacienda becomes a faded memory. Too, there is that nap tendency that has to be overcome, but so far that hasn’t become an issue… at least not one that has resulted in anything more than a close call or two.
Around mid-day, I decided to unplug the electrics and change gloves… It didn’t take long, however, to realize that adjustment was a bit premature. At the next stop, I plugged back in, but I didn’t go back to the electric gloves… my hands seemed to be doing tolerably well, and that was a bit odd… Normally it’s my hands that get colder faster, and I usually put up with the jacket liner in order to have the gloves going during those in betwixt intervals… Something was a bit peculiar this day, though… or so it seemed…
We’d deliberately avoided the big roads, so lots of two-lanes, small towns, light traffic, and… you know, all that pleasant stuff. A great day, in fact, and it sure felt good to be out and about… Cloudless sky, moderate wind, ‘invigorating’ temps, ALI smoothly transporting us to… wherever… Man, these lay-overs are getting to be… bothersome, I suppose, but sometimes we just have to take one for the team, I reckon… Anyway, in spite of being ‘unfamiliar seeming’ and not nearly the routine it soon will become, this first day was… well, it was a first day…
We decided Defuniak Springs, FL, would make a nice resting place for the upcoming dark hours… A not expensive motel with a Waffle House close by… Yeah, we’ve stayed here before. Funny about that, too… The very nice waitress at WH remembered me! WOW! She’s easily younger than my granddaughter, so… nothing to report there, but… Still, it was nice to chat and the breakfast I had for dinner was great!
Day’s end is always a good time to reflect on all that had happened… to self-critique, examine occurrences… general stuff. I removed my leather jacket and laid it on the bed temporarily while the chaps were removed… That’s when I noticed… the zippers for the rear vents on the jacket were open! Well, dang! No wonder things hadn’t seemed quite right… all day long! When it’s hot, we usually don’t appreciate how well those actually work, but… today that point was made for sure!
It’s been said that we’re getting older when we sometimes forget to zip-up. It’s said that we are old when we forget to zip down… I haven’t read about vent zippers, though, so I can’t be sure if this might be age related or just… you know, another brain fart…
DDT
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