We Could Talk About The Weather

[kb2vxa]

CLE? Quite right, spring and autumn only give narrow windows to bikers, that's where leather comes in. Some years ago WA2V (SK) and I went fishing on opening day of trout season, the first Saturday in April. We knew we'd need an early start beginning at dawn, it took an hour taking turns kicking, spraying, and more kicking to cold start his '62 Harley Sportster semi hog. Then we left on a long cold trek to my favorite fishing hole shivering all the way and stopping at every diner for hot coffee. When we got there a fire was the first order of business! The only fish was caught by Jack, a monster sucker (of the carp family) thankfully a sluggish bottom feeder, we only had 14lb test monofilament line. Hauling it up was tough, we thought it was a large snapping turtle common there. He couldn't haul it out and we didn't bring a net, I waded in and grabbed it by the gill flaps, that sucker (sic) was HEAVY. Although good eating we released it out of respect for "a 100 year old fish", it managed to survive for a long time we just couldn't kill it. Going home the notoriously troublesome series bike started right up and it was a pleasant ride home layered clothing opened.

Just a funny short story, '60s Harleys were quite troublesome, it was just in time the Little Honda the Beach Boys made famous came along. I was in with (not in) the Pagans that drove Harleys exclusively and worked with them and a few independents who drove Motoguzzis, BMWs, and the like, better but not best, that was Honda all the way. I rode with a friend on his brother's CB-350, we had a blast riding past them working on their bikes shouting "You're fixing, we're riding! <razz>" Sometimes one would throw a wrench that missed by a mile, bikers are cool!

[N8YX]

...Some years ago WA2V (SK) and I went fishing on opening day of trout season, the first Saturday in April.
<snip>When we got there a fire was the first order of business!
<snip>The only fish was caught by Jack, a monster sucker (of the carp family) thankfully a sluggish bottom feeder.

Your April fishing experience mirrors mine; this in 1984. A bunch of us hit a nearby waterway to fish, drink beer and generally raise hell. My catch was so large it took two of us to get it clear of the water, and like you I released it afterwards. We scrounged and burned half a forest's worth of fallen wood in order to keep warm. Cold and drizzly = body heat is instantly sucked away.

I rode with a friend on his brother's CB-350

My first bike, acquired 12 months earlier. By later that year ('84) I'd put almost 18k on the thing, along with learning how to rebuild a motor due to a bad lower-end bearing. I took a lot of grief from The Motor Company crowd back then. Most don't open their yaps nowadays, as a tuned F6 Valkyrie will simply blow their Hogs into the weeds.

[KG4CGC]

Getting that Autumn feeling ... if it was late August. 80º (26.67ºC).
[ETA]: as of today, the humming birds are still here.

[kb2vxa]

1984 was A Very Good Year (Frank Sinatra) but 10 Years After (Alvin Lee and Leo Lyons' ass kicking band) Orwell's novel caught up. Cold and drizzly must be the worst weather, especially to go biking even wearing leather, face plates don't have windscreen wipers. Catch and release is how I always fished except for sunfish, considered trash fish but good eating, and trout stocked in NJ where they're not native, and meant to ve caught and eaten. Why release stocked fish that don't recognize natural food and unless caught will starve? Raised on pellets, corn being bright yellow seen easily from a distance by hungry fish, they make a bee line for it at high speed.

The Honda CB-350, no relation to 11M unless you radio equip one (;->) makes a perfect first bike, plenty of power and not so heavy you wrench your guts out standing it up like you would with a 1200cc Sportster or worse, a 1500cc Electraglide. Work out and get muscled, then buy an Indian with a big saddle seat, you can cruise all day and half the night on one. I've been on a lot of bikes, but nothing as comfortable as a '57 Indian with a seat big enough for Leslie West aka Mountain I came across in the window of a Honda (car) showroom. The Motor Company? FoMoCo, MoPar, or Delco? (;->) Yeah, I get it, Mondays were bad days at work, I'd catch it from them with "When are you going to get off that rice burner and get a REAL bike?" My stock answer was "In case you didn't hear me when we went by, we're riding, you're fixing!" That usually earned me getting sprayed with a fire extinguisher, a kick in the but, or one of the silly games we played in that sand box that broke up the monotony.

Humming birds of the Ruby Throated variety? I only saw two in my whole life, they're awfully rare in New Jersey, or at least in places where I lived. There is a greater variety of wildlife, insects, birds, and animals in the West Creek area than anywhere else I've been because it's quite rural, but no hummingbirds. One night relaxing on the porch in Point Pleasant Beach I thought I was watching a hummingbird working the hanging potted flowers, a hummingbird AT NIGHT? I got up for a closer look, closer like inches away, and it didn't fly away, it ignored me completely. I never saw a hummingbird with antennae at night, so when it finished and flew I went inside and did some Google Fu, it was a rare treat to see a hummingbird moth.

hummingbird moth.jpg

[KG4CGC]

68º in the front yard right now at 2:06 AM (20ºC).
Feels a bit warm actually.

[PA5COR]

15 C here 24 in the South of the country 250 miles difference....
Still chance on some rain and we already had a months worth here in 10 days.

[ad4mg]

No rain here, still. Actually had a very light sprinkle a few minutes ago. Burn bans in effect all throughout the area. Unsprinkled lawns have been dormant for weeks.

A 30% chance of 1/10" to 1/4" of rain today. Not too optimistic about that...

[N8YX]

I winterized one of the bikes yesterday. Mid-week will see a dip into the 50s but temps are forecast to rebound back to high 60s/low 70s for the weekend. Perfect for doing the other one.

Wrenching season is drawing to a close. Radio projects (and related threads) will soon start up again.

[KG4CGC]

Holy Crap! I haven't seen it rain, "quite this thick" in a while. Some spots in the yard are under 1 to 2 inches of water but there's a river flowing through the middle of the back yard culminating into a lake in the neighbor's yard. It doesn't happen often but when it does they get snakes trapped in their garage, shop type building, unattached to their main dwelling.

I expect a "Round 2" later in the day and we were already saturated from weeks of slow soaking rain.

Rain.jpg

[PA5COR]

Winter here till now is an extension of Autumn, today 10 C, bit windy, but dry.
No frost had no snow and for the rest of the month none expected.
Just got 500 Euro back from the energy firm delivering natural gas and electricity, due to low use, 722 cubic meter gas and 2600 KW/H electricity use...