Featured Rideout Hallelujah! Back In The Saddle Again...again

Happy Easter, everyone! I'm thrilled to report I'm back in the saddle again and I'm grateful for it. Today was my first official post-surgery ride. It seemed somehow appropriate to resurrect my riding on Easter and to do it on a Triumph. I did, however, sneak out yesterday for a short unofficial and unplanned ride in order to bring my Low Rider S home from the dealership where it had been in the shop. After a bicycle crash in January 2020, I was off my motorcycles for seven l-o-n-g months while my broken pelvis and shattered elbow healed. So I am absolutely ecstatic that after a second elbow surgery, I'm back out on the road after just one month.

To celebrate Easter, Spring, riding, life, and each other, a group of seven of us rode up to one of our Covid-era staple restaurants, the Oracle Patio Cafe. It's a nice route with a great hilly, twisty dogleg that we add on after breakfast.


Mr. Sandi had an unusual passenger on this fine Easter morning, a pink rabbit! I usually ride behind him and today it was great fun to see the bunny's ears flowing and flapping in the wind as if dancing.


We had a variety of motorcycle makes represented today: two Triumphs (Thruxton and Speed Triple), two Harleys (Street Glide and Heritage Classic), one Indian (Scout), one Yamaha (Tracer), and a Honda (Valkyrie). We welcome all kinds.... kind of an equal opportunity motorcycle "gang".


These two bikes weren't in our group...today. But you never know! I love the saying that "Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." Bikes like this always catch my eye and I think they're very cool. But I see them as "art" and can't really picture myself riding one.


The cafe was hopping today. No bun intended. We arrived before 9:00AM so I was a bit surprised to see that we hadn't beaten the Easter brunch rush. But we were able to get a nice table in the sun, one that was well suited to catch up with some of our riding buddies we'd not ridden with in quite awhile. It almost felt "normal" and like old times. It's more difficult to get a table than in the past because the cafe is still only serving outdoors and indoor seating is closed. You can go inside to use the restrooms or to purchase something in the little market at the front. But otherwise it's "Covid protocol" which is why we've been patronizing this restaurant semi-regularly in the past year when we've not been under a stay-at-home order.


There was a special Easter menu that had some unusual and delicious offerings. I selected the Salmon Eggs Benedict: "two salmon cakes topped with poached eggs and house made orange chipotle hollandaise served with fruit or potatoes". It was outstanding!


There were several reasons why we got a bit earlier start than usual today. One was to try to beat the brunch rush. Another was to beat the heat (90ºF for today's high). But the most important reason was to get home in plenty of time to watch our University of Arizona Wildcats womens basketball team in the NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!! It's a first in UA history. The men's basketball team won it all way back in 1997 but the women's team hadn't even made it to the Final Four before this year. This afternoon they play another Pac-12 team, Stanford, for the whole enchilada. Stanford is the #1 seed in the whole tournament and UA wasn't even predicted to make it past the Sweet Sixteen. So fingers and toes crossed! The game starts here in about three minutes.


When we arrived back home and tucked into the garage we'd clocked 86 miles. That's far more than my first ride back after my seven month hiatus last year (33 miles). And that amount today was about enough for my hand, arm, and elbow. But I'm soooo happy to be back doing my "therapy"--riding my bikes.

Mr. Sandi put together a wonderful Easter basket for me, er, I guess that was the Easter Bunny that brought my basket. So I opened that after we cleaned up and settled in for the game. Mr. Sandi, me, and the bunny crew. Happy Easter! Go Cats!!

 

Thanks, Tez. Yes, I'm really counting my blessings to be able to be out on my bikes again so quickly this time. I try to balance the "better safe than sorry" attitude my mother instilled in me with my own inclination to "go for it"! And yesterday was a "go for it" day!

Yes, Mr. Sandi definitely spoils me. I love that man. Now that said, he's certain to eat a fair amount of that candy in the photo that the "Easter Bunny" brought me.

 

Snow, Steve??!! It seems too late for that. But then, I do remember growing up in Minnesota how it wasn't unusual to get snow at the end of April and sometimes even into May. I also remember how much that p*ssed me off. I've never been a snow fan. Not one activity that I enjoy is snow-related. Well, except maybe for drinking a good single-malt next to a roaring fireplace while it's snowing outside. I did try, though. I tried snow skinning but he first time I ever went I broke my ankle. And that was that for skiing.

I do hope your weather improves straightaway and that you can get out and ride under some blue skies soon!

 

Thanks, Wessa. I did have a fantastic day! I've always enjoyed riding but now I appreciate and enjoy it even more. Yesterday I felt nearly giddy with happiness, especially as we rode the twisty dogleg part of the route with not one car in sight, big views, and hawks soaring overhead. And it was even better to share the ride and the day with good friends.

 

Sadly, no they didn't Neal. It wound up being a nail biter at the end as Stanford won by 1 point. Unfortunately our Wildcats played the poorest I've seen. I know much of that is because of Stanford's play but I think that in addition to that the UA players were very "off" because of the pressure of being in the national championship game. That said, Stanford typically outscored their opponents by 20 points this season and in yesterdays championship game they won by only one point in the last 6 seconds. I also think I read or heard that the number of points that Stanford scored in the game was a season low for them. Anyway, I'm very proud of our team--they played with heart and they played with tenacity. Even when they were down by double digits several times they didn't just roll over. Next year!!

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/0...ns-the-title-as-arizona-misses-its-final-shot

 

Thanks, Joe! I appreciate your kind words. I'm sorry to read about how cold your ride to work was. Hopefully the days will lengthen and warm soon. My best to you and Tracy from Mr. Sandi, me, and the Bunny.