No Fear February
By Chris Loynd
From the
Connecticut Polar Bear Blog
February cold
does not frighten me. As I write this Wednesday, February 14, 2007, ice pellets are accumulating, TV weathermen offer dire forecasts and
temperatures are poised to plunge. This recent snap of artic weather is
but a passing fart of winter.
Now November freezes scare the crap out of me. So cold. So soon. So
much winter left. December and January winter blasts fill me with despair.
Spring seems so long in coming.
But February? Well . . . who's afraid of February? Two more Polar Bear
rides and it will be March.
Earth is inexorably, inevitably, ineluctably tilting our hemisphere
toward the sun's heat. These past three weeks of artic blast are nothing
more than bravado, a flurry of rabbit punches.
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(Photo by Johnny Bowlan.) |
It's the 11th round Old Man Winter. You got nothin' left. You know it.
I know it. Throw in the towel. The 12th round belongs to Spring. Heck,
this winter was a 90 pound weakling anyway. I've saved enough on the
heating budget so far to crank the thermostat to 74! So let's see what
you've got left for us.
Oh, I admit you may still have some fight left in you. Winter is
notorious for springing March blizzard surprises. Just when we let our
guard down and start to put away winter coats, wham!
But March snow is a freeze in the pan. A momentary inconvenience. I can see May from March. It's not that far to riding in just the
leather jacket. No electrics. Oh it may be zipped up tight and maybe worn
over fleece in the morning and evening. But midday the vents are open as
sun heats black leather.
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All too soon
Polar Bear Grand Tour 2006
– 2007 will be history. We'll have the banquet. We'll
eat and laugh and tell stories and recall a warmer than normal riding
season. Guys fortunate enough to do Daytona will show off their glove
tans. I'll collect my first perfect attendance pin. Polar Bear Club
Founder Bob Hartpence will offer his annual presentation, "How to Store
Your Motorcycle for Summer." Sometime this coming August when I'm stuck in
traffic on I-95 in sweltering heat with an air-cooled engine cooking
between my legs, sweat rolling into my eyes will make me blink.
And in that blink I will feel myself humming along
in Polar Bear weather. It's a crisp but not punishing 40-degree day. I'm
safely encased in my layers. The electric jacket radiates heat, its raised
collar warming my neck like a masseuse's hot towel.
When my blink is broken by the impatient idiot beeping
his horn behind me, I'll ease out the clutch a bit, paddle walk the bike
forward a few feet, then smile.
Because being on a motorcycle in any
traffic and in any weather is better than being stuck in a car.
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