The first ride of the year.  Time for me to drag my soap box out and give my (usually) annual rant on safe first rides of the year.  Most of us won’t haul our bikes into the dealer before our first ride, so there needs to be a spring time check list.  When that first day comes, and its just warm enough to ride, we want to hit the road…So, a few things to remember:

1) Relax–  It’s easy to get wound up, over anxious and over adrenalized.  Try to just relax a little before getting on the bike.  Otherwise, you’ll be too juiced and either grab the brake too quickly, twist the throttle too much, or get into that corner just a littl too hot.  Great way to calm down before riding are some of the next items on the list.  However, while riding, try to remember to relax every so often.

2) Clean your stuff– great way to relax (see above) and it gives you a chance to inspect your bike before heading off to ride.  Lots of us put our bikes away clean, but with the thought of fixing that little ‘this or that’… however, many times winter happens, and those things get forgotten about– brakes, levers, pins, clips or bolts.  Easy stuff, and something that will be seen while cleaning the winters dust and grime.

3) Lube your chain– just like cleaning, this will allow you to inspect your chain/sprockets, to make sure everything is still in good working condition.  No kinks in the chain, no bad teeth on the sprockets, and no worn/out of adjustment chains.  All good things to have taken care of.  (ok, if it’s shaft drive, check the oil and make sure its working properly)

4) Air up your tires!!!– probably the most important aspect of geting ready.  Even if you put your bike away with 100lbs of air, they will have lost plenty through the winter months.  Ask Danny, it’s easy to find your bike with 7lbs and wonder why it handles like a tank.  Also, its pretty dangerous: you get that person on the back, in the corner, and the tires slosh all over the road like you are riding on slime.  Another good time to inspect both the rims, the tires and the valve stems for any issues.  Granted, not much you would expect over the winter, but it never hurts to check it out.

5) Check the oil– another item that isn’t all that necessary, but a good precaution to make sure that everything is up to snuff.  Take the time to check for moisture, proper cleanliness and quantity.  Easy to take care of.

Those are the main items.  I’m sure that we can all come up with a few items to add to the list; the more check points the better!!!  Its never a bad idea to be over cautious for any ride, especially the first one of the year.

So, as you may expect, I got my first ride of the year yesterday.  I hate riding on dirty roads, but I just couldn’t wait any longer.  It was 68(F), and I had a few hours before sundown.  I met up with Danny and his brother, picked up some passengers, and hit the road.  Danny led us on some winding roads filled with gravel, cinders, mud clods, and cow manure.  But, as he says, ‘Welcome to Illinois!’.  One of the coolest things we saw as the ‘motorcycle tree’.  I forgot my camera, so I’ll go back later on to take pics to list.  Out in the middle of no-where, there is an old, run-down grocery store, on a single corner, right where the railroad tracks cross the road.  Just beyond that, there is a tree that has grown up around an old Hodaka (which has been spray painted green).  Parts of the tree trunk have intertwined through the bike, and it is now part of the tree.  A pretty cool sight to see!  Anyway, we made it back to Carthage just as the sun set.  The ride home, for me, was 20 minutes in the dark in February, and it wasn’t a warm trip.  But, it was worth every second, and, hopefully, something to last until the next warm day that is ride-able!!!

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