Sun's out!

Suddenly the ice and fog lifted. I ignored it for a while. What it looked like was one of those Claritin commercials. The world's all fuzzy and then the gray gets peeled away. Underneath it all is sun and clear skies. Colors are suddenly more vivid. Sad, dull, people in the commercial are suddenly rejoicing. Looking through my visor I thought it was television. Turns out it was the real thing.

I realized that fact when the driver of the van in front of me slammed on the brakes. The tires squealed and I had to reach for my own brakes instead of the mute button. I've got to confine myself to watching the Food Network. Then I'll know if it's real or television by whether there's something to eat in my field of vision.

It was a day for people to go somewhat crazy. After so much fog and cold, we actually had some sunshine. Like bugs, the riders were out to enjoy the sunshine. Everybody came out to frolic in the sunshine.

Before we go further, we need to get one thing perfectly straight. Irondad does not frolic, ever!

I admit to riding with a grin on my face once in a while. A grin does not a frolic make.

I'm out on the bike almost every day. Sometimes you get cold, sometimes you get too hot, and sometimes it's just right. Yesterday was a little short of "just right" but it wasn't bad. Having a call to make in Lebanon, I decided to try to look up an old friend.

That's a whole story by itself which I won't describe here. Suffice it to say he has several Subway franchises. One happens to be inside this Wal Mart. He wasn't there.

I did notice, looking over the parking lot, that it pretty much illustrates motorcycle commuting. One bike in a sea of cars. One day it will change for the better, I'm sure.

The area South and West of Lebanon has some great backroads. Twisties are confined to a few "S" curves here and there. If you just want to ride and enjoy some solitude, though, these are the roads where you want to be.

On a whim, I caught Highway 99 in the middle of Tangent. There's a seed company called Barenbrug something or other. My brain always wants to say "Barenburg" for some reason. Anyway, Bradley, of Troubadour on a Triumph fame, works there. I thought I'd go sneak a picture of his bike and Elvira together. I saw what I thought was his bike up by some black tinted windows. They kind of look like a Darth Vader wall. I hate to admit it, but I declined to go up to the windows and check the bike out, let alone ride Elvira up there for a picture.

I had no idea who was behind those windows. Unlike Obama and the window, I figured somebody would call the cops or something. I usually like stirring the pot, but just wasn't in the mood at the time. I've never formally met Bradley, so that was another consideration. I didn't know how he would take it. So I rode little circles of indecision in the parking lot. Finally, I hit the highway and went for easier game.

Linn Benton Community College is just down the street. I moved my targeting scope sights towards Balisada's Rebel. I believe my hunt was successful. At least some lucky Rebel got its picture taken with the famous IRNDAD plated bike, Elvira.

Once more I found myself unsure of where I was. I knew it wasn't television. I was thinking more of a nightmare. Suddenly I've become miniaturized and placed in an ant colony. I've always wondered what it would be like to live in an ant hill. Classes must have just released. Like trails made once ants have found a food source, there was a constant stream of students. I tried real hard not to get any in my tire treads. Taking this picture, I found it wasn't a matter of getting a picture with nobody else in it. It was a choice of how many people would be in the background. Squeezing the shutter quickly, I managed to get only one in the background.

You see her hiding her face? That's because I never took my helmet off. She's probably wondering what kind of pervert is doing this kind of thing. Relax, girl, I'm after the bike, not you. Come to think of it, Balisada's going to start wondering what kind of pervert is stalking her! Well, that's me. Stirring up suspicion and profligacy wherever I go.

If you look in the background, you can see a few people are riding to work or school. That's encouraging to see. There's a few more that don't show up in the photo.

Once I was finished with my stalking duties I headed for DMV. The plate expires this month for Elvira. I tried not taking my helmet off in DMV but they wouldn't serve me until I did. Oh well, I was hoping I'd intimidate some people ahead of me into leaving early. I'm happy to report that IRNDAD will be running the roads for the next two years!

Miles and smiles,

Dan