Boxed In

Other than the daily commute, I've not been riding much lately. Seasonal affective disorder seems to be coming early this year. I don't have a diagnosed variety of it, but I do seem to take a hit in spirit when starts getting dark so early as it's doing now around 7:30 PM. Though I enjoy riding around through the local municipalities in the dark, there's only so much road riding that cuts it. I much prefer cruising down country roads which seem to be going nowhere and taking a long time to get there, but in the dark those kinds of roads aren't much fun.

Besides, the bike's back in the shop. The coolant drip wasn't fixed after all and within two days of getting it back the last time, there was the stain on the concrete under it again. When I picked it up last there was no evidence of a leak under it where it was sitting in the shop's lot, but alas! Bringing it home seems to jinx it. I am getting disheartened and a bit disgusted, though. I like the folks at my dealer's shop and I understand that diagnosing these things is sometimes a crap shoot, but I don't like making the trip back and forth because the only way to get there is through the city and with the traffic lights and stop signs I could be 20 miles away on the interstate in the same amount of time that it takes me to get there.

We did our annual apple run to Binghamton, NY yesterday. It was a little early compared to most other years because our October weekends are pretty much booked already, and it wasn't the same without the girls, but it was nice nonetheless. There was a light rain most of the day and I noticed many fewer cycles on the roads than usual, even when it's raining. Gee! It's not THAT cold yet though I've been needing a jacket to ride lately!

Here I am pondering the vicissitudes of life at the rest area just inside the NY state border on I-81.