A Cold Winter's Ride

Any excuse is good enough, I suppose. Christmas morning, I left Dutchtown at 5 AM on Boudreaux, headed 250 miles north to my mother's house. It was relatively cold but I had ridden in 38° weather before because it usually became a little warmer as the sun rose. This time, it was a tad different because the further north I got, the colder it became.
Cruising through Mangum, LA, I blinked when the LED sign at a bank announced 34°. I have to say though, it really wasn't that uncomfortable especially if your gear includes a t-shirt, two light sweaters, a hooded sweat suit jacket, thick leather motorcycle jacket, jeans, thick Doc Marten boots, regular socks, thermal socks, goggles, leather chaps, a neck warmer, stocking cap, cold weather ski gloves, cotton liner gloves and a lined helmet. In other words, I looked like the Michelin Man and felt like a sumo wrestler. Maneuverability could have been an issue if I had to make some quick moves. Even with the cold weather gear, the toes and fingers do get a little cold traveling at 65-75 mph for a couple of hours at a time.

The irony in all of this is 6 weeks and 3 thousand miles ago, I was riding 50° warmer. (Maui)

Why do that, you may ask. Well, ...hmm...I guess I just love riding that thing and will use the most flimsy excuse in the world just to get on it and ride.

Bah! Humbug!

I started dreading Christmas last New Years day but for what it's worth, "Merry Christmas". I still believe it's just a pagan holiday that someone tried to Christianize, but I pick my battles.

Happy Louisiana

Recent survey's have revealed that Louisianians are the happiest people in the nation, nudging out Hawaii. New York finished out dead last (imagine that) below some of the other more crowded states.

Here's my theory. Louisiana is plagued with flooding, hurricanes, pollution and an endless supply of elected officials who risk going to jail to steal a few thousand here and there.

Over the years, we've had populist politicians who have raked us over the pit for so long, we naturally believe we're going to take it in the backside one more time. Hence, we have a much lower expectation for the future. One side effect might be the party atmosphere found here even in front of disaster. Many of us live by the, "Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we may die," attitude.

The more people you have rubbing up against each other, the greater the misery factor. Centuries and even decades ago, when people couldn't take more regulation and stepping on each others' toes, they simply picked up, crammed their junk in a cart, wagon or a ship and headed west. Unfortunately, the Westward Expansion has run out of territory and possibly we've shrugged our shoulders and said, "What the heck, we'll just live with it!"

Laissez les bons temps rouler, anyone?