The second weekend that I was home on leave just also happened to be the weekend of me and my wife’s 17th anniversary. Well I had these big plans that we would ride down to Memphis on a Friday night and spend the weekend there. The plan was for her to take our kids down to Alabama to our parents and I would ride my bike down. From there we would get on the bike and head to Memphis.  That way I would get to ride and we would spend some good alone time together while we had a good time in Memphis. Well all went fine until Friday, I guess I wasn’t planning on all of the extra time that it would take to get to the parents house and get rid of….. I mean drop off the kids. Instead of leaving there around 6 or 7 in the evening it was almost midnight by the time we left. At that point I had already rode 250 miles and been up all day and the wife who had worked that day was probably 3 times tireder (is that even a word?) than me. I swapped my Dyna for dads Heritage Softtail so that the wife would be a little more comfortable. So we set off anyways and rode through the night, fog, and cold. I wasn’t planning on cold either mind you even though here it was late September. Hell why should I expect it to get chilly at night with a 75 mph wind blowing in your face? I really didn’t have any troubles except for being a little chilly, heck those are the conditions I like riding in the best. The wife was a different story though. Being so tired and with her not being used to riding like that she got very cold and was pretty uncomfortable on the ride there. Good news though, we made it in one piece and settled down in the hotel for a little sleep. At noon on Saturday we headed down to Beale street and took in the sights, sounds, and a little Memphis style barbecue. The day was nice without any clouds and it was just warm enough out to be comfortable. I guess we probably walked 2 or 3 miles but it seemed to go easy. I took her on a carriage ride and we had a nice meal that evening.
The next morning we got up, had room service bring us breakfast and we left to go back home. The ride back to the parents was a lot better. The sun was shining and the miles melted away pretty fast. Instead of taking the big road all the way back we cut off down US hwy 278 and went through the woods for the rest of the ride back to my parents. Along the way we stopped at little store and sat down with a coke for a little break. I think we got to my parents sometime around 2 p.m. and talked with them for a little while. The wife went to go pick up the kids and I followed in behind her a little while later. One thing led to another and all of a sudden it was 9 p.m. at night and I had a 4+ hour ride ahead of me. I headed out and made it to my normal gas stop at around 1100 and it was already a lot colder than that Friday night. As soon as I got back on the interstate I had to duck back off and buy some liners for my gloves and put my jacket on under the other one I had. The rest of the ride wasn’t very fun but I made it home sometime around 1 a.m. I think and went snuggled up to the wife to get her cold too.

So in one weekend I got roughly 1000 miles. I usually prepare for the cold fairly well I guess I just failed this time. No harm, no foul I guess but from now on I will be ready. All it takes is stuffing a sweatshirt, some glove liners, maybe even some type of skull cap in a bag. For all of you that do ride in the winter, make sure you go out prepared. You never know what kind of weather is around the next bend or when you will be out longer than planned.
Until next time, get out, ride, and be safe.