This afternoon after getting all my paperwork squared away at the DMV, I set off on my first ride on the DRZ. The temperature was hovering around 40 degrees. With not much more than wet roads, I did 30 mile loop.

Being out in the world on the bike when everything looked like it was covered in a layer of powered sugar felt amazing. There is a comforting silence that the snow brings.

Its clear that there are mental hurdles I will have to overcome, namely volunteering to ride through and over things that my years of street riding have taught me to avoid. But all in all, I felt very natural and very much at home on the new bike. I’m looking forward to continuing with the learning process.