The Heat is On
It is North Carolina and we know it is bound to get hot and this week was no exception. Not only is the heat on high, so is the humidity. I try to stay out of it by riding in the early mornings or the evenings but some days, you just have to do it.
On July 4th, I had the opportunity to ride with a new group of riders whom I had never met. They wanted to meet early and ride on the local twisties. I contacted them and met them around 9am on Thursday morning just a few miles from my house.
When I arrived, I knew I was in trouble since they all had sport bikes. I introduced myself and we hit the road. Yea, they were hitting the turns hard. I could not keep up with that pace cornering but the straights I had no issue. They were also really good sports about it. They waited at any turn to make sure I did not get lost.
Also in this group was another Triumph rider who road about the same as me. So we basically took up the rear. The weather was not too bad this early but when we finally stopped around 10:30-11am at a local market, you could tell it was starting to heat up.
Due to the heat that was coming, they decided to start heading back home (almost an hour for some). I decided to hit the dirt roads since there were quite a few in the surrounding area. By the time I got home, it was already in the 90s. I was glad to get back home in some cool weather.
The next day, I had an appointment to get my tires changed at the Triumph dealership (Select Cycle). It is located in Greensboro and is about 70 miles from my house. I needed to get my tires changed and the only appointment they had was at 1pm. Unfortunately for me, this was going to be the hottest day of the week.
I decided to leave a bit early just to beat some of the heat. I got there about 12:15 and one of my friends was also there. I dropped off the bike and we had lunch (also commenting on the heat as we walked). When I got back, my bike was almost ready but I wanted to wait on my friend to be done so we could ride back together.
We were both finally ready and left for home. It was 96 and very humid. We did not take the interstate but opted for back roads. At one point, the temperature was 102. We got to my turn off after 70 miles but he still had another 30 to go. Waved good-bye and headed home.
I pushed my bike in the garage, took off my helmet, and got into some shorts. I drank a few glasses of water and just sat in the house trying to cool off. Overall it was still a FANTSTIC day besides the heat.