Didn’t get a ton of riding in this week. Rode back and forth to work (as always) and this week that was interesting for two reasons. First, the students are back on campus. My favorite parking spot was a little jammed this week. Second, I was hosting a business meeting for a couple of days and rode the bike to the meeting before trading it for the “company car” so I could haul people and equipment around. Actually left my bike parked at the meeting place overnight one night. I was worried it might be scared, or homesick. Glad it was doing okay the next morning. 🙂

Saturday I drove the cage, along with son and bicycles, along a route I’ve taken often this summer on the motorcycle. Felt weird to be driving. And it was especially driving me nuts to watch other cycles out on the road. Funny how that goes.

Sunday the day started out cool – like 38 degrees. But it warmed up fast and turned into a gorgeous day. Wanted to ride to Cooperstown to visit a missile silo (any excuse for a ride), but with construction and time constraints I wound up only going to Ada for a burger at The Outpost. Good thing too. I’ve ridden by it several times and wanted to stop. As it turns out, they are closing for the season in a couple of days. Glad I made the trip and glad I went east instead of west. The missile silo will be there next weekend.

And I crossed the 4,000-mile mark. Honestly had no idea how many miles I’d put on in a season. I remember the insurance company asking that question and I didn’t even have a guess. Seems like I’m going to be on the high side of their estimated range. Now that I have some idea of what I’m doing, I’ll have to plan my summer and see if I can double it next year. For now, I would really like to hit 5,000 miles before parking it for the winter, but it’s going to be tough. September is going to be busy and the weather can be iffy and the days are getting shorter. I don’t have any big rides planned, but I think I’ve got some free weekends. I’ll just have to get the map out. Haven’t strapped on the camping gear yet, so maybe this month will be my chance to just head out and see where I land.

Oh, and I keep stopping by the Harley dealer to look at the new bikes. I got in on the Ride Free program and can trade up between now and April (for me) to a bigger bike. I have gone back and forth several times about which bike that might be, but I think I’m settling in on a Heritage Softail. The one thing I do know is that there isn’t a single thing on the Sporty that fits me. Bought a stock bike intentionally to learn on and from. Worked. I am in a much better position to know what I’m looking for in a bike. Couldn’t answer the salespersons questions intelligently when I bought this one. Had no experience to work from. But I do now. Different handlebar, different foot controls, different seat, and for the love of God – saddlebags!

Odometer: 4008 miles

P.S. Did I mention I haven’t worn a helmet lately? Jeez, once you get used to going without, it’s tough to go back. Especially mine, since it hurts to wear it.