The weather has been getting warmer. I have been working a lot and bouncing around on shifts (night shift lately), so I have not had much time to ride. We hit 80 degrees for the first time the other day, so I decided to ride into work. It is hard for me to ride to work because of everything I need to take with me, especially night shift because I need to take all my coffee and food. Being as warm as it was, I decided that I won’t need much for cold weather gear.
As the night went on, I noticed the temp dropping rapidly. I considered going back to the shop to to put my bike inside (I have a 1989 Harley Davidson FXR). The battery is 12 years old and it is a matter of stupid pride that it’s still in the bike. It works just fine as long as it’s not too cold. Well, I never made it back. When the 6 am quitting time came it was 38 degrees. Who would have guessed? The bike didn’t start.
I dug around in the mechanics shop and found a booster, and since all I needed was a little more juice, it started pretty quickly. Once I got moving, I realized that it was 38 degrees and that is a little cold to be riding without proper gear. I rode 15 miles with my hand as a face mask, having a deer and a turkey run out in front of me along the way.
In my prior life (and most of my adult life) I was a mechanic. A Harley-Davidson mechanic at that. I always preached to customers the importance of a good battery, but I was so proud of my 12 year old battery. If a customer would have told me this, I would have thought they were a moron. Who’s the moron now? I now have a battery on order. I will try to plan ahead a little better and maybe even wear a helmet for those late rides zigzagging around the wildlife. And yes mom, I know I should wear one all the time.
"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid." - Benjamin Franklin
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