The Ride Report

I went for a putt along the coast yesterday. I was heading up to Camarillo to go to a party and decided to take the scenic route through Malibu instead of the freeway.

As I rode along, enjoying the sun and the sea air and the ocean view and the bikini-clad hotties dodging traffic on Pacific Coast Highway, I wondered what the riding was like in “safer” places where they don’t have earthquakes and wildfires and mudslides.

I thought about Chicago, but then I remembered it’s not “safe” there anymore — they just had a 5.2 earthquake last week. I sure hope they’re riding again soon…

I was feeling pretty smug about riding while others were freezing because I thought I remembered reading headlines saying winter was lingering in the snow zone. Weather.com, however, says different.

Xenia, Ohio, for example, got up to 65 degrees yesterday. Lebanon, Kansas, geographic center of the United States, hit 57.

Hell, even Milwaukee, Wisconsin, my Harley’s birthplace, scored a high of 49, which I’d say is definitely rideable if you’re wearing long underwear.

So maybe it’s not as bad as I thought, living in the snow zone. Maybe they’re not giving up as much riding time as I thought. And maybe I’m too defensive when people say it’s dangerous to live here with all the earthquakes and mudslides and wildfires.

I mean, maybe they have a point. After all, as I took these pictures there was a wildfire raging 50 miles away in the hills outside Pasadena. There is a price to pay for living here.

But there are benefits too. These pictures could have been taken any time.

Like this one, taken at sunset on New Year’s Eve a few months ago. It was T-shirt weather that day, and not a snowflake in sight. Weather is simply not an issue out here.

All things considered, I think it’s worth it.