Beautiful dawn stroll

While I’m not a city boy, and generally after working all day in the city I look forward to high-tailing it out to our suburban hide-away, I still recognize that I live in a very special place in the world. There’s nothing quite like Washington DC anywhere else in the world. I’ve been to 56 countries, and have seen many beautiful locations. I still feel quite a bit of pride in how pretty Washington is, especially in the Spring. When the ornamental cherry trees bloom around the city, it’s spectacular.

Today, my partner and I got up well before dawn and drove into the city, found a place to park near my partner’s office, which is just a block from the Tidal Basin. Even though it was very early and very cold (35F), there still were a lot of people out — though I wouldn’t say that it was crowded.

I leathered up from head to boot and we took a nice stroll. I posted a gallery of photos on my website. We enjoyed our short visit, though I was back home and back to work on my long list of things to do on the weekend by 8:30.

Riding in the cold

I love to ride my Harley, but when it’s really cold out, my current windscreen-less bike lets the cold air strike. But that’s what leather and tall boots are for!

I picked up my bike from a routine service visit late yesterday afternoon, when temps were above freezing, but barely so. I have to admit, under all that leather, I have on wool long johns, two t-shirts, and a flannel shirt. Layers indeed work best. And while this pic shows me in a Muir Cap, of course I wear a full-face helmet when I am on the road. That also provides protection from the biting cold.

As long as there isn’t ice, snow, or water on the roads, I’ll ride. Well, as long as it’s above freezing. Below that, no matter how much I bundle up, I just get too uncomfortable to enjoy the ride. Sooooooon… oh how I dream, Spring will break. Dream on! Let’s boot up and ride!