Three Wishes

I would like to wish a Happy New Year to everyone that has visited my blog and specially want to say thank you to the followers for sticking with me.  I thank you all for the kind comments, friendship and the sense of camaraderie shown.   I have enjoyed following your blogs and will try to set aside more time to read all the blogs I am following.
A new riding season will soon be upon us and my second wish is for safe riding to everyone and may you enjoy as many miles on your motorcycle as possible.  I'm sure there will be many new adventures and places to be discovered on two wheels and I can't wait to read about it and see all the beautiful pictures of this beautiful country.
My third wish and I think everyone will agree with me, is for this winter season to end and for all the snow to melt and disappear as soon as possible.  I am already tired of all the snow and ice that has fallen since mid December and the weather man is predicting more snow for tonight.  I woke up on December 27th and this was the view from my garage.

My cars were buried in the snow and I had forgotten to get the snow blower out of the shed.  A foot and a half of the white stuff had fallen overnight and had managed to paralyze the tri-state area.  I struggled to get the snow blower out of the shed and then had to drag it all the way to the garage before I could attempt to start it.

I plug the electrical cord, press the start button and all I hear is the whine from the electric starter motor.  After a few more futile attempts, I take the cover off only to discover that the plastic gear that engages the flywheel had disintegrated.  I guess the very cold temperature didn't help the material and neither did the age of the blower. At this point I'm cursing like a drunken sailor but soon my neighbor came by with his little Cat and helped me clear the snow out of the driveway behind the cars and the street in front of my house.

Another neighbor offered his snow blower and I was able to clear a path around the cars and all the way to the front of the house.  It was hard work even with the blower, the wind blowing fast and furious and throwing it back at me but after some cursing and a few cups of hot chocolate I was finally done.  My daughter in the mean time was having fun with her friends and decided to build an igloo in the middle of the road after my friend had created a huge mountain of snow with his little Caterpillar.  It seems like kids don't feel the cold the way we do, I retreated to the couch with another cup of chocolate.

On January 1st, my wife and I go to New York and board the Norwegian Gem, starting the new year by going on a cruise to the Caribbean for 11 days.  We had planned this cruise earlier in the year and were accompanied by high school friends from South Africa we hadn't seen in 26 years.  It was cold as we left New York but warmer temperatures were ahead of us.

We visited Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Antigua, Saint Martin and Tortola.  The weather was beautiful, the sky mostly clear with every afternoon offering us beautiful sunsets.  There is something special about sunsets at sea for me, maybe because I live on the east coast and don't see the sun setting over the water.  Every afternoon I made my way to the top of the ship to see the sun disappear over the horizon.

Our ship the Norwegian Gem

The water and the beaches were spectacular.  If you ever go to St. Thomas, make sure you visit Magens Bay.  In Antigua the beach was simply stunning but I can not recall the name of the beach.  In Saint Martin we visited Bikini Beach and spent most of the time in the water while there.

Magens Bay, St Thomas

Antigua Beach

Bikini Beach, Saint Martin

Bikini Beach, Saint Martin

Bikini Beach super clear water

We return to New York on the 11th and that same night we have another snow storm, it was fun for my South African friends since they don't have any snow where they live but I had to take them to the airport the next day and I was not ready to shovel snow again.  This time we had about 6 inches, just enough to be annoying.  We spent the last night together throwing snowballs at each other, a big snowball fight soon ensued while my daughter made snow Angels.

 

 

Tonight we are supposed to have another snow storm, three to six inches which will make tomorrow's commute to work just horrible, I can not stand this weather anymore.
This weekend I am going to New York to the International Motorcycle Show to see for the first time my future bike, the Yamaha Super Ténéré, I hope the snow will be all gone before the weekend.  So back to my third wish, lets hope it happens soon so we can all start riding again.

My other Passion in Life

With winter upon us and not much riding going on I would like to share with you my other passion in life, the glamorous and adrenaline filled world of Formula 1.   I have loved Formula 1 since I was a kid, probably my father's fault since he would take me to all kinds of motor racing events all the time and I still follow Formula 1 passionately.  I have attended numerous Formula 1 races in a few countries and read about it all the time.  Every time I hear the shrill of a formula 1 engine revving up to 19000 rpm's I get a rush of adrenaline through my body and start behaving like a kid.  The Formula 1 season and championship ended recently and my favorite team was not able to take the crown, I'm talking about Ferrari.  I am happy for Red Bull Racing and Sebastian Vettel, as he has proven to be a very fast competitor, for winning the championship. I would have preferred Fernando Alonso and Ferrari but he came second in the championship, Ferrari made a mistake on the last race and lost the championship.
I found a video that captures the essence of Formula 1 perfectly.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Formula 1 Season Highlights

Washington Crossing Historic Park

I had another Polar Bear Ride but the meeting place was at a motorcycle dealership in Hatfield, PA with nothing interesting to see nearby.  The location is 70 miles from my house so I plan my route to pass through George Washington Crossing Historic Park.  The temperature was going to be in the mid 30's and I can only imagine how cold it must have been when Washington crossed the Delaware river on December 25th, 1776 with the river half frozen.  Washington's Crossing is a U.S. National Historic Landmark area and it marks the location of where George Washington crossed the Delaware River during the American Revolutionary War.  The park includes historic buildings including McConkey's Ferry Inn, where General George Washington and his aides ate dinner and made plans prior to the crossing.   I am sure everyone knows the famous painting by Emanuel Leutze depicting the crossing.

Emanuel Leutze oil on canvas

I decide to ride alone today and when I ride alone I tend to stop more and take more pictures.  Sometimes it feels good to ride alone. I open my garage to get the bike out and was greeted by 28 degrees (-2.222 degree Celsius) but it felt way colder because it was windy outside.  I suit up and for the first time this season had to plug in my heated vest. Nicely insulated I hit the road going towards Trenton on I195 and then follow route 29 along the Delaware river.  Traveling at 80 mph made the air feel like it was in the 20's with the windchill effect.  My first stop is on the New Jersey side near the metal bridge that crosses the river at the Washington Crossing.

I cross the river but decide to continue and spend time at the park on the way back.  I head towards New Hope on route 32 and then take route 202 west making a right onto route 309 and a few miles later arrive at the Montgomeryville Cycle dealership, it's a quick 29 miles with not much traffic on the road.  The place is already packed with riders.  I head inside to take refuge from the cold and find the perfect couch to take a rest.

I walk around admiring all the new bikes but if I had to pick two, one for solo riding and one to take my wife, they would be the beautiful flat black Kawasaki Vulcan custom and the red Kawasaki Nomad.  I have always loved the Vulcan's and miss my old Mean Streak.

The store has a plethora of old bikes on display and I spend some time admiring them and particularly the 2-stroke, 3 cylinder Kawasaki 500.  I still remember the wailing the 2-stroke engines made when I was a kid.  I join my friends and have some hot chili with corn bread the dealer had graciously made for us.

I leave the dealer and retrace my steps back to New Hope where I make my next stop near the historic "New Hope and Ivyland Railroad" station.  The steam train travels through the rolling hills and valleys of historic Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  I take a few shots as the train leaves the station and wave at the kids.

I continue south on route 32 now heading towards the Washington Crossing Park and eight miles later I arrive at the park.  I leave the bike near an old canon while I walk around admiring the old and historic buildings.  These historic buildings have been well maintained and offer an opportunity to see how people lived in the past.  They are closed during the winter season but otherwise are open to the public.

I walk over to the metal bridge using the pedestrian walkway as the bridge is quite narrow and cars have to be very careful when passing each other.  I then walk across the street to the Washington Crossing Inn where I take a picture of the monument depicting the famous crossing.

I leave the park and head home stopping again about an hour later to get a few shots of the bike with the sunset behind.  I take the first silhouette of the bike holding the camera and then decide to put the camera on the ground and use the timer to take the shot.  I didn't compose, I simply put the camera on the ground and pressed the shutter, how surprised I was when I reviewed the picture and saw a beautiful shot with the sun peeking through the opening on the bike just below the carburetors.   I then took another shot with the camera in "sunset" mode only to get another beautiful silhouette this time with me in the shot.

I went home having completed around 140 miles on the coldest day so far this year, the highest number I saw on the thermometer was 37 degrees.  The entire east coast is under a cold spell and they are predicting very cold weather for the next few weeks. Tonight is going to be in the upper 20's and the entire week will be in the mid 30's.  How I wish I was back on route 50 in Nevada with the thermometer showing 105 like last July during my cross country trip.