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February 20, 2015

My Life has Meaning again!


It had warmed up unusually fast today, similar to the Chinook wind in Alberta temperatures rose within hours, from -2°C in the morning to 8°C in the afternoon. I left work early at 4PM to seize the sunny rest of the day, and woke up Alonzo, my Vespa GTS300SS for the first time in 2015. The scooter had been in the shed since end of November last year. With the first push of the starter button it was: Hey ho, let's go! without any hesitation. At the gas station I offered Alonzo the best stuff available, checked the tire pressure and so we went off into the sunset. Roads were mostly clear but beware the shady areas. There were still icy patches but we managed. Actually I was more worried about all the loose gravel and deep potholes. It was a mere forty kilometre roundtrip, and temperatures cooled down quickly when the sun went down but this ride marked the beginning of my riding season.


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Mein Leben hat wieder einen Sinn!
Wir hatten heute einen extremen Temperaturanstieg, ähnlich dem Föhn-Wind in den Alpen, und die Temperaturen stiegen innerhalb kurzer Zeit von -2°C auf 8°C. Also machte ich früh nachmittags um Vier Schluss und weckte Alonzo, meine Vespa GTS300SS zum ersten Mal in dieser Saison auf. Schon beim ersten Startversuch schnurrte er bereits vor sich hin und los ging's... zur Tankstelle. Dort bekam er das Beste, was die Benzinbar zu bieten hatte, sowie einen Stoß Luft für die Reifen. Die Straßen waren ziemlich frei, aber in schattigen Stellen war Vorsicht geboten. Dort musste immer noch mit Eisglätte gerechnet werden. Ich war allerdings mehr besorgt, was den Rollsplitt und die Schlaglöcher anging. Es wurde dann ein Kurztrip von knapp vierzig Kilometern. Als die Sonne unterging wurde es schnell kühl und ich machte, dass ich wieder nach Hause ins Warme kam. Hiermit erkläre ich meine Motorrad-Saison für eröffnet.

23 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. That's what I yelled into my helmet...

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  2. Great photos! Good to see you both out and about! Looks like you caught the Golden Hour.

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    1. Dom, it was a beautiful evening light. A nice change after weeks of fog and grey skies.

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  3. I agree, these are great! Beautiful scenery, wonderful light. Stunning! I can see why "life has meaning" again.

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    1. Maybe a bit euphemistic but my moto life has meaning again ;-)

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  4. Nice photos! The contrast in the second one is a nice effect, almost like an HDR image. A good way to spend the afternoon.

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    1. Richard, indeed I had fiddled around with the camera, but it wasn't on purpose.

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  5. How nice to get out! Your roads look very good...I'm not seeing pot holes or busted up shoulders. Apparently little to no truck traffic where you are riding. But then this is Germany- a place that seems to manage its finances a little better than many. The US is crumbling away...

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    1. Oh, those potholes are there, believe me. Roads just crack open in winter, however, we live in a very wealthy province (Baden-Württemberg, quite a mouthful) and by spring most roads are in shipshape again.

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  6. Geez... for a second there I thought you had done something crazy. Still riding when the wet road might freeze into a skating rink at any moment, is a little crazy, I guess.

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    1. David, we both now different levels of crazy, right? E.g. meeting in Tuscany for a day's ride with a moto friend ;-)
      Temperatures were still above freezing point and there was no more risk slipping on black ice as it was slipping on gravel. Wait, coming to think of it... I guess it was a little crazy ;-)

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  7. Awesome! So glad you got out for a ride. Looking good too.

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    1. Thanks, I also think the orange makes for a good contrast in the snow, and I am glad I got out. Today it's back to sleet and snow/rain.

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  8. Yeah! I bet that felt crazy good to be out on your scoot! My time's coming, but not soon...7+ inches of snow today and it keeps coming. Brrrrrrr!

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    1. Oh my, Deb. We still get a couple of inches every now and then, but wow, this is a huge dump of white stuff.

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  9. Good for you ... but brrrrrrr still looks too cold for me! The first rides in the spring here are always treacherous due to the residual sand and salt from winter. It takes a month of heavy rain to get rid of it all.

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    1. Karen, it look colder than it was. It had about 5°C up in the hills, I consider it an absolute acceptable riding temperature.

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  10. I think we're still a couple of months from that first ride of the season here, but enjoyed your ride and the photos. I think I live in the wrong part of the world. ;-)

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    1. You, think you live in the wrong part of the world? Ah, don't say that, I miss Canada every day, snow and all.

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  11. Aah! Endlich! Hoffentlich ist es damit nicht heute schon wieder Essig, wegen des Schnees...
    Viele schöne Kilometer und tolle Touren dieses Jahr für Dich!

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    1. Heute gab's wieder Graupelschauer, das war wohl eher ein Fehlstart in den Frühling...
      Auch Dir: many miles and smiles.

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  12. Nice that spring is on it's way for you. I guess that means autumn is on the way to us soon too...

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