Cold Weather Musings – Checking in from the Eastern Tundra

Hey, Everybody-

Just checking in with a hello.

Here on Long Island, we were treated to 2 feet of snow when the storm Juno came rolling through town last week. Last night we received a few more inches of fluff which are now being followed up with freezing rain. Temperatures are set to drop into the teens tonight. My whole world is turning in to a block of ice.

This is probably the point where someone will chime in that I could (should?) be riding the Ural around. But, I just haven’t felt like it. ::shrug:: I’ve been keeping myself plenty busy doing other things.

Doing “Other Things”

Did you know there was stuff to do besides riding motorcycles? 😉 Lately I’ve been shoveling, running and riding my fat bike.

Sunday was the last 5K for our local park Winter Run Series. Though I can run any time I want to, I always enjoy running an event. I’m kinda sad that’s over. The Summer Run Series of 8 races doesn’t start until June. That’s practically 300 years from now.

It probably won’t be a shock but I’m not a fast runner, but I’m steady and committed. When I first started running I was 39 years old, crazy pudgy, completely embarrassed and not sure if I could do it at all. My first weeks at it had me huffing and puffing, unable to run for 1 solid minute. Pretty sad, huh? But I kept trying and fell in to a routine. Now I’m about to turn 41 in a minute and I’ve come a lot further than I ever imagined I could. I just registered for my first half marathon. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

For the past few weeks I’ve also been reading and checking out podcasts about meditation. In my never ending quest to chill the fuck out, I’ve been listening to the soothing sounds of a lady who I’m sure has hairy armpits leading me down to the path to relaxation. Last week I think I might have had a breakthrough in thinking about nothing. Either that or I fell asleep.

Planning on not Planning was the Plan

Even though I thought that maybe making plans wasn’t the thing to do, I’ve been daydreaming up a storm about all the places that I’d like to go this year. Will I follow through on them? Well, that will probably be a mixed bag of yes and no.

Lately I have had these crazy fantasies about riding to work on Fridays with my top box packed with little more than a couple maps, a toothbrush and clean underpants. Then when it’s time to slide down the dinosaur at quittin’ time, I’d just sail off to points west of here. Which is pretty much everywhere. Then I’d saunter home on Sunday feeling like a shiny new penny with glorious tales of the road. That could just be a fantasy, indeed. But those fantasy-seeds have a nice way of turning into flowers sometimes.

I’d like to ride through more of rural Pennsylvania this year. It would be terrific if anyone had any routes, loops or suggestions of places to visit. I’m all ears. I’d like to wander the two-laners in the Keystone State.

Six More Weeks of Winter

Our pal Punxsutawney Phil is predicting 6 more weeks of winter. Maybe I’ll roll the Ural out, maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll just spend the next few weeks continuing to stuff my brain full of unplanned plans. Who knows?

What have you been up to lately?

Stay warm and be happy, friends.

fuzzygalore fuzzmop sign

We are the Fuzzmops. Welcome to our house.

 

Fuzzygalore

Rachael is the whimsical writer behind the 20+ year old Girlie Motorcycle Blog. As a freelance blogger, she is on a mission to inspire laughter, self-examination, curiosity, and human connection. Girlie Motorcycle Blog can be found on several Best Motorcycle Blog lists.

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11 Responses

  1. Minna says:

    I love how you have a turtle in this post. That’s me… slow and steady. Whether it is riding my motorcycle, hiking, running or snowboarding. I just like to take my time and I’m hardly ever in a rush… except for when I drive the cage. That’s when something strange happens. I can’t stand people who won’t do the speed limit or pulls out in front of me. Maybe that’s the rider inside of me talking? Who knows. All I know is that spring can’t come fast enough up here in the frozen north east and I try to find ways to stay occupied and remain happy. I’m fortunate to like the outdoors and actually like winter so playing in the snow does have its advantage. I do hope you get to follow through on your dream of weekend expeditions, at least every once in a while. In the meantime, keep warm, stay safe and don’t be afraid to slip away in to peace and meditation. Peace out commander Galore! 1st LT TT is off to play in the snow.

  2. Kathy says:

    I hope you’re proud of your fitness accomplishments. You certainly should be.

    I’ve been doing lots of daydreaming, too. And I must say, your weekend fantasy sounds lovely.

    As for PA… Western PA is beautiful. You could even go to Punxsutawney. There’s groundhogs everywhere. Statues, that is. I keep thinking of them as beavers, though.

    The Hari Krishna palace is in WV, but I don’t think it’s far from the PA line. I’ll have to look through my notes for some ride tips for you.

    We’ve missed out on most of the snow so far. Stay warm!

  3. Ralph C says:

    If you haven’t been there, check out the area surrounding Hyner View State Park in Renovo, PA. Either ride out the street bikes and do some big street loops or bring the dual sports and ride hundreds of miles of State Forest roads. On the three day holiday weekends I’m there camped out with the hang glider club with my Dr-z and KLR.

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      Hi Ralph 🙂
      I’ve only ever been there in my car. I was there last summer at Hyner View and it was beautiful!

      I would definitely like to return to the area on my bike. Great suggestion, thanks!

  4. Rosie says:

    Bill’s Old Bike Barn in Bloomsburg PA is definitely worth a pit stop. Give yourself a couple hours to roam the place, there’s sooo much to see.

  5. Shybiker says:

    I’ve never read a post of yours that didn’t have something I related to in it. How do you manage that?

    I second your urge to ride west. Rural PA is my favorite place for local rides. In addition to scenic country and curves, there are elevation-changes! Here on the sandbar, we’re not used to those. Combined with curves, they make riding a motorcycle sublime.

    This morning I looked out, longingly, at my snow-covered motorcycles and cried. Why?! Why?! Why was I born in New York?!

  6. You’re gonna get bombarded with PA route suggestions and they’ll all be good. E, W, S, and N there are curvy roads and great scenery everywhere. Some bordering areas in MD are well-worth a visit, too. I’ve easily ridden over 100K miles in PA, mostly SEPA, so hit me up if you’ve got anything particular in mind. I know you’ve spent some time in the area for rallies and Shoehouse-ing. I’m sure there are some “where to ride in PA” threads on ADV and STN. Here’s a list of roads from a friend of mine: http://www.eparetreads.com/roads.html. Maybe ride your Tiger to the Nat’l Triumph Rally in Oley?

  7. curvyroads says:

    Congrats on your running progress! I don’t run, but I walk, when it’s not too freezing, and I do yoga. Trying to “chill the fuck out” as well. I can totally relate to your meditation quest. I try to do at least 15 minutes a day myself and have the occasional breakthrough when I stop reviewing my to-do list, making grocery lists or mental notes long enough to think of nothing. Same goes for savasana, which is supposed to be the most relaxing part of each yoga practice, if you can get the monkey mind to just STOP! 😉

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