Cold blast and the long way home

Friday I took a professional day from work to attend a biodiversity workshop at the PPL Susquehanna Riverlands Environmental Preserve which is located adjacent to the Berwick "Steam Energy Facility" (read as Nuclear Power plant). I was happy that Friday was a "Nice" day because I was wanting to take the bike. I do not get to commute to work daily because of dropping my oldest off at her aunt's house before school, so getting to ride on a weak day was a nice change.

The weather was cold, about 35 degrees when I left Robesonia and headed north. Because I was not sure how long it would take to get there and I had to be there by 8:30 I decided to take "highways". So I took 419, (a two laner) to 183 (another two laner) to 81, I took 81 north for about 15 miles, then 193 (another two laner) and finally 11 (guess what? a two laner). Ok so not really highways, but they moved fine.

Leaving at 6:30 AM it was still dark and cold. Predictably as I headed north it was getting colder and even as the sun was rising it got colder still, I passed a bank in Berwick that had the temperature at 23 degrees. Yikes. Of course this whole time I was beating on myself for not dressing my feet properly. I usually would wear my waterproof boots for a trip like this, the water proof rubber lining has an insulating effect and my feet generally stay warm enough with just regular socks. But because I was going to have to do some walking in the woods I wore my AlpineStar lace up boots. I forgot something about them. There are perforated.

So leaving home in regular socks it soon became apparent that my feet were going to suffer. Usually my K1100RS puts out as much heat as the nuclear power plant I would be visiting that day, but Friday it decided that it would stay just above freezing. So the ride up was cold. But I enjoyed it anyway.

The ride home was just as nice except that I did not have time pressure to get home by a certain time, so I set the GPS for scenic and south and went that way. I do not remember the specific roads I took, but I know that I was only about 4 miles off from the way up and the diversion off of 81 only added about 20 minutes to the trip home. One really fun siting I had was along the side of the road about 10 miles south of the power plant. I looked off to the left and spotted a herd of deer grazing in a field. Usually when I see deer there are 3 or 4 together, but this herd had at least 20 head, I lost count at 18. But they did not seem interested in crossing the road, so there were no issues there.

There were two other riders at the conference that rode, but neither rode that day. In chatting the one guy was from north of the plant and he commented that he was worried about ice. (Legit concern, I did see some where trucks were pulling into and out of a quarry and water was leaking from their tail gates. It was not a big deal and easy to avoid, but I understood.) The other guy said that he never rides once the temperature goes below 65 degrees. I looked at him and said "You ride a Harley don't you?" and he did, and he had no idea how I knew! Funny stuff.

A Great Autumn Day

The morning was glorious. I awoke reluctantly to the piercing scream of my alarm clock at 6:30. I could tell that it was cold outside, because it was cold inside. Time for breakfast. I was happy that I had spent the time Saturday night to check the oil, and the air pressure in the tires so that I could just go. I helped my wife get the kids ready to go to her parents for the morning and then donned my riding gear.

A quick check of the thermometer showed 33 degrees, 1 above freezing. Perfect riding weather. I have never been a believer in electric riding gear. I know my luck and I know that the time I rely on it I will get let down. I do have electric grips, but they came with the bike, and I love them very much. So I layer up. T-shirt, long sleeve t over that. Wool socks under my water proof boots. Jeans covered by my two piece riding pants. Tourtech saber jacket over that. Opps, can not forget my fleece neck tube, helmet on top. Good to go.

The bike cranked a little slow due to the 20W50 in the case, but it started quickly and settled into a nice idle. The sun was just starting to rise and the Garmin GPS unit was still in night mode. As soon as I pulled out of the driveway I realized that I had not closed the vents in my helmet, that air was cold! But nice.

The road leading away from my house is a dream road. Tight bends and long sweepers it goes by much too quickly. I have fun watching the leaves swirl in mirror. If I go faster will they fly up higher? Fun stuff, but I am careful to keep an eagle eye out for deer. They are in rut and going nuts. There is not a day that goes by that I do not see them so I need to be vigilant.

As I approach 422 I am glad to see that the corn fields have mostly harvested. I see a herd of deer running across one of the bare fields. It’s a lot easier to spot the deer this way. Hopefully soon the hunters will have thinned the herd a bit, cars will probably take more.

A stop at the gas station to fill up and I got another bit of pleasantness. I was able to fill up the tank with premium for under $10. That hasn’t happened in a while. The rest of the ride into the Pottstown Family Diner was uneventful and kind of boring. 422 is not a nice road, but I was running a little late. I got there just as most of the crowd was arriving. Hellos were said all around then Jack Riepe arrived. He was berated and belittled for driving his car. He lamented that the Mac-Pac is the only group of people who will verbally assault a man stricken by arthritis and using a cane. But we do, that’s who we are.

Sitting at breakfast with Jack is a treat, just be careful when you drink. We heard about his x-rated train layout and the way his scale figures have made them “their leader”. The absolute best was the interaction between Jack and the waitress who calls him “Slim”. I am pretty sure that Jack will be writing about her in his blog, so I will let him give you the details. Let’s just say that she can make Jack speechless and that says something.

Leaving the PFD I had the rest of the morning to burn before helping my father in law pick up his new grill. So I rode 422 to 662 and turned North. I followed a little bit of the roads that I used for the covered bridge tour then started making my way west towards home. Berks county is shaped like a baseball diamond. My house is close to home plate, and I was almost at second. So I rolled through the back roads looking at leaves and watching them in the mirrors. Great stuff. By the time I got home I was chilled, but I had a wonderful day. You cannot ask for more on an autumn day.

This was all followed by watching my daughter's soccer game (They won, even though they don't keep score) and she did great. She played goal for one portion and did not allow a goal and made 4 or 5 really good saves. She is getting the hang of using her hands when in goal. Then I worked, which was work, but the night went quickly because we were busy.

The bike has been parked. . .

and I am very bummed about that. There are a number of issues right now that mean I do not get much time for riding. One issue is time. I am working two jobs right now, and that simply means that I do not have as many free hours as I used to have. Take Sundays for instance, generally a nice day for a ride. Well, in the morning there is church. I usually go every Sunday, but I will on occasion skip it. But then there is my daughter's soccer game, which is either at 1:00 or 3:00. right smack in the middle of the day meaning not much time to go anywhere. On top of that I usually work Sunday evenings, so they are shot too. During the week there is soccer practice and dance lessons to shuttle the kiddo to, and lets not forget Dr.'s appointments for the baby. So time is a big issue.

Then there is the work issue. I changed jobs in September, and I went back into the Biology classroom. I love the students and the subject, but its a different curriculum which means I need to spend a lot of time prepping materials. I also need to drop my daughter off at her Aunt's house who watches her before school, so I can't even commute on the bike.

The money issue is there as well. Fuel price high and a pay cut means that there is not a lot of available cash to spend. The new baby doesn't help with that either. So I need to prioritize, of course family and work takes the more important role for me.

Please do not take this as me whining. I am incredibly blessed with a wonderful wife and children a beautiful home and all of those things. I will ride when I get the time. I just don't have it right now. Because of this school's schedule I will be teaching different student's the same classes in the spring, which means I can refine the lessons, but I will not have to recreate like I am doing now. As the baby gets older I feel more free as far as commitments there go. Because we live close to family my wife can also get help if she needs it. Which is nice. I also have a conference in upstate PA in late October that I am hoping to ride to, that will be nice.

So like I said, not whining but simply explaining the situation.