When daylight savings time ended my riding we reserved to weekends only. They too were limiting with colder weather setting in and I was not prepared for the snow. In fact I cursed the very ground the snow landed on but it did not help it go away. So for two solid weeks we had the worst snow in Portland since 1968. A total of 18 inches fell in our area so all I could do was go sit on my bike and run it for 10 minutes just to make my baby feel wanted.

Every weekend I would check the weather and see what the next weekend had in store for my baby and me. And to that, Fridays have opened as possible ride days. The economy has forced our office to try the 4-day work week and reduction in pay instead of letting a couple of us go. So the last two Fridays have found me on the streets riding around. But the thermometer read mid to upper 30′s and it was too cold to have any kind of extended ride. But yesterday was interesting to say the least. Around 3:30 pm I decided to head home and I was in my old neighborhood of Parkrose. The trip was slow because it was quitting time for many and the temperature was dropping and the wind was increasing. But by the time I got to Oregon City, I ran into a little diddy. I ran out of gas. It is a rarity to have a gas gage on a motorcycle, you have to somewhat rely on tripping your mileage. I figured I had enough to get me to home, but I remember having a little trouble filling up last time. I wasn’t sure if it was completely full. Well I pulled over, switched to reserve and limped to the nearest gas station. I filled it up, adjusted the switch and took off. Now mind you, this switch has three stops. It is like a wing nut, one wing is labeled on and the reserve, while the center position is off. I mistakenly, I found out later, had set it to off. So as I buzzed off from the gas station up main street Oregon City, my bike sputtered off. I empty portion of my brain thought the bike was having issues and I was gonna have to call for help. I pushed the bike over to the side and then it dawned me, once again, I had the switch in the wrong position, off. I positioned it to the on position and buzzed away once more. But it had gotten even colder, now that I was closer to the Willamette River. I was happy to get home.

One thing I have found after a cold ride is that it takes longer to warm up and it is a deeper cold. I had a hat on and a fleece jacket with the heat turned up higher than normal. Since then things have returned to normal. But that will not stop my next cold ride. And I need to place into my memory the fuel switch settings.