2025 First Ride
Breaking the proverbial (and literal) ice
One of the many wonderful things about living in central Missouri is that most years it is possible to ride nearly all winter long. Although we always have one or two significant snow falls every winter, they usually melt fairly quickly. For those of us who are willing to throw on an extra layer or two, it is essentially a matter of waiting a couple of days for the ice to melt and then getting back out on the road.
This year has been something of an exception. We experienced a blizzard right after the holidays and have had a succession of ice and snow since then. Even though the roads were plowed, the ice collecting on the side streets has meant that I have been restricted to four wheeled transportation for over a month and a half. This is, without a doubt, the longest I have been off a motorcycle in several years.
This afternoon things finally cleared up enough that I was able to get out and take a brief jaunt around the countryside. Although temperatures were only in the high 30’s, I threw the Hippo Hands on Hayden, my 2006 BMW R1200GS, and took off to enjoy the afternoon. The route took me from Columbia, up to Fayette, down to Rocheport, and back. The route was mostly two lane blacktop, with a bit of gravel road, and five miles of interstate. Nothing too fancy, but it felt good to be back out on two wheels again.
