If She Offered Me Cookies...

It was a rainy morning. A fine mist hung in the air. It was foggy, a dreamy sort of fog.

I stopped off for a couple a bagels and to warm up a bit.

I was thinking to myself, "This is one of those mornings when I wouldn't be surprised if a time portal opened up before me...or maybe I ride out of the fog and find myself in a whole different reality."

When I left the bagel shop I rode off into a light, but steady rain. I was just settling into the rhythm of the ride when it happened. I must have rode over some mythic threshold. Anyway, I found myself near a place I knew to be the Pink Pole.

I don't know how I knew I was at the Pink Pole, but I did. And, I knew when one finds oneself suddenly at the Pink Pole one needs look for Santa Flaus. And, look for that right jolly old flf I did.

As I searched I found Mrs. Santa Flaus. She was standing on the porch. I vowed to myself if she offered me cookies I would just say, "No."

And, I saw a couple of flves. They seemed very busy and stayed to themselves.

And, I discovered a team of reinfeer all hitched up to the fleigh and ready to go.

But, I did not see Santa Flaus. Pity.

I'm sure if I would have found Santa Flaus he would have told me the true meaning of Flamingo-mas. As it was, I had to be satisfied to return to my own world in the pink of health and with a sense of increased well-being. Who says fla-miracles don't happen?





 

Hmm...

I discovered what seemed to be a flamingo party.

I couldn't tell if these were the first to arrive or the malingerers.

He's certainly decked out for a party.

And she's not only topless but wearing a see through skirt. Hmm...party hardy indeed!

And here is the star of the party.

When I get a chance I'm going to circle back by this place and see if they are still out and about. They hadn't been there before. I suspect they were only there for the party.

Dead

Wednesday after work Billie, my Symba, wouldn't start. It sounded like the battery was low, but this seemed unlikely since the battery was less than a year old and I use a battery tender. Be that as it may, It certainly sounded like the battery was weak. Fortunately kickstarting was an option and Billie started right up on the first pump and away we went.

When I got home I hooked it up to the tender. When I came out the next morning I had a nice green light indicating a nice fully charged and healthy battery. When I hit the starter she started right up. After my morning bagel, no such luck. Back to the telltale low battery sound and then nothing. Again the Symba started right up with one kick. After work? Another kickstart. When I got home I didn't even bother plugging Billie into the tender.

Awhile back I was having starting problems with Billie. I even had to kickstart it once, but when I took it into the shop the battery checked out fine. We checked all the connections, scratched our heads, and decided we'd just have to wait and see what happened. What happened was, Billie started up on the first try each and every time until last Wednesday.

Friday brought non-starts followed by kickstarts and a phone call to Mike my wonder working wizard at Maplewood Scooter Company. He told me to come in Saturday.

Saturday saw me kickstarting Billie and heading over to Maplewood. I know you know what happened when Mike tried to start the bike. Yep, he pushed the starter button and the engine purred to life. He shut it off and tried again. Again it started right up. He tried a third time and this time it made the noise that I had dreaded for the last three days, but now was music to my ears.

Out came the battery and it was deemed to be dead.

This was a high quality battery and it shouldn't have died such an early death. Definitely a warranty issue.

Mike didn't happen to have a battery in Billie's size in stock. If he had he would have changed it out under warranty. But, what he did have were these new batteries. He offered to sell me one at cost. This way I'd get a great battery and he'd have a great guinea pig. The battery comes with a three year warranty. I've never heard of suc a thing for a motorcycle battery. So, now I can add being a guinea pig for a new technology battery to my resume.

Because the battery was much smaller than the old battery some padding was needed. The Ballistic battery was not only smaller, but it was two pounds lighter. Mike figures with the weight reduction I should be able to hit seventy Symba miles per hour now. I think he was pulling my leg.

While I was there I took a Genuine Blur 220i for a test ride. It is a nice bike, but the seating position is wrong for me. Many folks have complained about the height of the bike. The height was fine for me. What wasn't fine for me was where my knees came in relation to the handlebars. There just was no room. When attempting slow speed maneuvers I kept bumping into my knees when turning. Not fun. The bike was very quick, felt quite stable on the road, and is reasonably priced. Overall I liked the bike, but not enough to go through the trouble of modifying the seat.

Also, I have an announcement of sorts. As an experiment I've started another blog. It is a diary of my daily commute. Ever since I've been commuting to work I've used my facebook status to give the weather conditions, whether I rode that morning or not, and often a comment or two about the ride. I've decided to expand this format a bit and start a blog around it. I'm doing this for two reasons: Some of my friends who aren't on facebook have mentioned a desire to keep up with my daily commute; and, I was increasingly finding the status line too confining. 

And to close . . .

This apparently is a rare short legged species of flamingo. The one in the background I think is stoned.

Catch Up and Flamingos

First the catch up.

Last weekend I went on my longest ride ever: 223 miles. I didn't take many photos. What interested me the most was how I felt after the ride.

The De Soto, Missouri Railroad Employees Memorial

It is the way I feel after nearly every ride, but it was more pronounced after being on the bike most of the day.

It's a mixture of feelings. It is part accomplishment, part astonishment, part satisfaction, and part tranquility, yet it is more. It is a profound sense of well-being. After the ride, I was tired, 223 miles on a 101cc bike is a long way, but couldn't stop smiling.

By the way, when I stopped for lunch, I happened to look at the odometer.

There is a young man named Binh Cheung who rode a Symba just like mine from San Jose, California to the Arctic Circle and back. He went a total of 7747 miles. It took him a little over a month to go that far. It took me a little over a year to go that far. I accomplished this milestone in Sullivan, Missouri. Here's a link to a blog with Binh's story: http://symplifylife.com/2010/06/symba-ride-to-alaska/

Now for the flamingos.

Today I spent the morning giving Billie her post winter bath. It was quite a job. Not long after I finished my son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter surprised me with a visit. So, I took them out for a late lunch. This didn't leave much time for riding, so I decided to work on my slow speed driving skills, or as I prefer to say: I went Flamingo hunting. And, while putzing through a new neighborhood, boy did I hit the mother-lode !

I happened upon a house with a flock of flamingos in front of it.

I pulled over and took a picture. After I took the photo, I noticed a man walking his dog and as is my custom I went over and let him know I was taking pictures of the flamingo and not casing the neighborhood. He told me if I liked flamingos I really had to meet the woman who lived in the house. And, he lead me up the driveway to meet Linda. Linda had pulled into her driveway while I was talking to the man.

This is Linda. She didn't put this hat on for me. This is what she was wearing.

Linda was excited to show me her collection. We started in her backyard. She apologized for them not being in there usual places, but rather sort of clumped together for the winter.

Then we moved to her basement.

She was quite proud of this treasure.

Next came the kitchen.

And, then the front rooms.

This one danced and sang, "You Are My Sunshine."

Thank you, Linda.

Since I've been riding my Symba I have met people I would never have met. It is true that I have met the nicest and most interesting people on my Symba.

And, whether it is a long ride, a short ride, or a full blown flamingo safari when I get home there is a smile on my face and contentment in my soul.

Stumped #3

Today was my first ride of February. That's a long time between rides -- too long.

The alley after two days of nearly 60F temperatures.

My first goal was to get out of the alley which I accomplished just fine. It was actually easier than I'd anticipated. My second goal was to get a photo of another stump sculpture I'd discovered in Kirkwood.

Unlike the other two I've found, this one has been painted.  The Pelican is rather impressive.

I spent the rest of the late afternoon ride just wandering around. There was lots of water from the run off of the snow melting.

Through the Looking Glass?

The sun was getting low in the sky as I headed for home.

Getting back into the alley was a little more exciting than I liked, but I stayed up. It would have been a cold wet fall.

Three or four inches of water surrounded by slush -- yum, yum.

As I was putting Billie away I noticed a familiar smell in the air. Sure enough my neighbor had pulled out the lawn chair and was firing up the Barbecue.

It was good to be back on the road.

It's Cold Enough

Today I was out on Billie, my 2010 SYM Symba, most of the day. It was 27F when I left the house at 6:30 am. It was 26F when I returned at 5 pm. The temperature never got above 30F. All told, I spent over five hours in the seat. Now, this isn't Minnesota cold or Colorado cold, but it is cold enough. And, in addition to the ambient temperature I was actually traveling at over 50 mph for nearly twenty minutes. I seldom reach such robust speeds, but today I went over the Missouri River to visit my son, daughter-in-law, and grand-baby.

But, I started the morning with some flamingo hunting. I found this gem not far from where I live.

 

 And, in the same yard was a gnome to go.

Then it was time to head for St. Charles, but before heading over the River I stopped to do some banking. My Bank has a branch inside of one of the Walmart Stores and has Sunday hours. As I expected, the parking lot was full.

Tis the season for overflowing parking lots

But, I was driving a small motorcycle and so . . .

I had hassle free parking.

Then it was across the Page Ave. Extension to St. Charles to see da' kids.

First mandatory picture of grandchild

Bonus photo :)

As I passed the time on Billie it became quite clear that I am much better prepared for cold weather riding now than I was a year ago. Last year I looked like the Michelin Man, felt like Humpty Dumpty, and was often cold. This year I am streamlined and good to go.

This week the forecast is for some days with the temperature in the teens during my morning commute. Let the good times roll!