On The Road!

It was gorgeous outside today - up around 10C and sunny with just a little bit of cloud, and the snow was in full retreat.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity, so I went out to the garage to spend a bit of time with the KLR. I put the fairings and seat on, and checked it over once more. Everything looked good, and between the weather, the lack of snow on the road, and the KLR being ready for action, I got pretty excited about riding.

I went inside, grabbed my gear, and headed back outside to start the bike. I went through the pre-flight check, and hit the starter button. Despite having started the bike two days ago, I was still expecting some smoke or hard starting.

Two quick cranks and it thup-thupped to life nice and happily. A little bit of warmup time and we were rolling down the road. I rode on the side streets for a while and eventually ended up on Portage, where I rode out to the Perimeter. I took the Perimeter south for a bit and then turned off on the road to the town of Headingley.

I rode around the town for a bit before heading up to the Trans-Canada and then back into town before I decided to head home. I was having a great time and felt like I could have stayed out forever, but time was flying by and I had some stuff I needed to get done.

Of course, no motorcycle ride would be complete without some old person in a big car doing something scary. I should've seen it coming - he just drifted in from the overpass across lanes of traffic with no blinker on, forcing the cars beside him to slam on their brakes to stay out of the way. Then it was my turn. I was right beside his window - there was no way I was in his blind spot, and suddenly he was half in my lane. Horn, brakes, and I was safe, watching his pristine giant car slowly move away in traffic. Gaaah.

I passed three other riders while I was out, all on cruisers. This early in the season, everyone is happy to be out, and everyone waves. The best part about the beginning of the riding season is that when everyone waves, they're smiling, too!

I was very happy with how the KLR ran, and everything felt just like it did in the fall. Everything sounded, felt, and shifted the same. Granted, I took it a little easy, but the bike just felt fantastic to ride again!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9114.6km

Distance since last fill: 35.9km