It’s now getting a bit cold(er) here in Nashville. Not quite the frozen tundra of the north, but the mercury is starting that slow shimmy down the thermometer. The trees have started the process of redecorating their leaves or shedding that colorful coat only to be peeped by onlookers with binoculars.

I am wistfully remembering the longer, warmer days of…well, several weeks ago. With true indignation of the cold and I have begun to dream of other opportunities to ride my motorcycle. And, I think I might have just found the trick to kill some of the wintertime blues…

Sheila and I had decided several months ago to release our Honda Civic back out into the wild. Having two cars and a motorcycle seemed to be a bit more clutter than we need and, as the Civic does no more than sit idle in the driveway it’s time has come.

Back in March, when I purchased my Honda ST1300, I was struck by how great it felt to ride in just about any weather. March through nearly May saw (sometimes) below freezing temperatures that led to sweltering heat in August. Now, here at the eve before the festival of Samhain I have hardened my resolve about the want to ride year ’round.

That’s right, like the apocryphal motto of the postal service, I will ride in snow and rain and heat and gloom of night. It’s worked for much of the last 7 months, why not further?

To add another log on the fire (you’ll pardon the phrasing in a few minutes) I’m contemplating a much longer ride than my daily commute. You see, I work for a company that makes consumer electronics devices and we will be in Las Vegas for CES in January. Several days after that we will be exhibiting in San Francisco for Macworld.

You see where all this is going, don’t you?

Roughly 2362 miles (according to google maps). Along the way I’d be going through the cities/towns of…Memphis, Little Rock, Fort Smith, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Gallup, Flagstaff, Kingman…funny, I hear a song comprised of some of those towns.

As I’ve been deciding to ride my mechanical horse year round I’ve also been building up the proper riding attire to make it comfortable in any season… boots, lined pants, riding jacket, etc. (my heated handgrips arrived today).

Bna Lv Sf

So, now I open it to you, dear reader… have I gone off my rocker? Stopped my meds? Have you ridden that time of year in those places? What am I to expect? Is the snow bad? Is the cold as cold as we think a brass bra might be on the bosom of that witch? Am I crazy?

I’ll accept just about any comment someone might have (good, bad or indifferent). But, before you compose your snide response, ask yourself, don’t you just wish you could come along?