After my disasterous ride on Saturday trying to drive the Lincoln Highway, I was invited down by some of the fire fighters I work with to a pancake breakfast in Kankakee. I had to get up early to meet everyone and the tempurature was a cold 42 degrees. Three layers on and I still was numb. I had blast riding down on 57 in a group of seven though. Three guys from public works; including myself, three fire fighters and a police officer. Most of the guys riding were in decked out Harley Crusiers, but we had a Honda Shadow, a Buell of some sort and of course my Kawasaki in the mix as well. The countryside down in this area was quite pretty. Once you get outside most of Chicagoland the roads open up to some real scenic areas. After breakfast, in what can only be described as a “quaint” little down, we make a quick stop at one of the fire fighter’s house to check out his garage that he converted to a Harley shrine. I would have gotten some pictures, but being the new rider in the group I was of course plagued by some embarassing mishaps. I had a couple of instances where my bike wouldn’t start (It was in neutral) and then while stopped for breakfast my seat wouldn’t pop off to allow me access to my camera. A fellow I work with told me a few weeks ago that one of his favorite things about riding a bike are the smells. I can totally agree to that. On the way back we caught some hints of burning leaves. Saw some apples laying in the road from some side apple trees. Just felt like fall and it was a really great ride. My bike still hurts my rear end though, but I suppose I can’t ask for too much from a first bike.
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