Saturday, February 14, 2015

First ride of 2015, it was glorious!

Notice the new specs? Loving them!

We have been experiencing a Pineapple Express winter here on the We(s)t Coast, with mild temperatures in most cases well above normal, and accompanied by a fair amount of rain.  Today it was brilliantly sunny and about 12C which is absolutely tropical when you look at the rest of Canada.  We may not be wearing bathing suits & flip flops like other tropical destinations, but Victoria compared to the rest Canada is amazing! Right now most of Eastern Canada is buried in snow and ice with the average temperature being in the -20C and colder, with more snow being dumped on them as I write this.  A nephew in Ontario was not too happy and a friend in Oromocto NB was expecting 25 to 35cm of the white stuff today.   Brrrr thank goodness I live in the tropical part of the Great White frozen North.  

I insured Scarlett today while Motorcycle Man was fixing an errant sagging saddlebag.  It was a good day to try out my new AVG Aura Kevlar jeans, FirstGear Kilimanjaro jacket, and TourMaster tank bag. Yup it was a winter of farkle expansion. 


I decided I would layer up with winter woollies under the Kevlar jeans and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable they were and that I was actually quite warm.  This was my second outting for the Kilimanjaro and it performed flawlessly on both occasions. The first was during my instructor test in a torrential downpour and today in the nippy sunny weather.  Pretty happy on both counts.  Loving the new tank bag too, but I will post more about that in a few days, I need to ride a few more times with it.

It was a gorgeous day for a ride and everyone in Victoria had the same idea I did, the scenic beach drive.  There were lots of bikers out today and it felt good to give and receive the wave. I was out for about 90 minutes, but decided to zip home as the daylight waned as it was getting a little more chilly and I could feel it settling into my core.  Next priority is a heated jacket. 
A nice chap offered to take my pic as I was struggling with trying to do a selfie. I'm at Cattle a Point off of Beach Drive.
In the background is Mount Baker a dormant volcano in the US.  It looks spectacular on a clear sunny day and my little iPhone just doesn't do it justice, but I can tell you it was beautiful! 

So it was off to home and treating my hub and daughter to a surprise sushi dinner to celebrate 'Colour Day' as Martha calls Valentine's Day, when everyone gives flowers and chocolates as tokens of affection. Yup it's a greeting card day, but I really don't mind because it brings a little cheers to winter.  
The card I gave to the hubs. 
The French Chocolates he gave to me, which of course I shared with him & my wee girl. Even the pooch got heart shaped treats.  

PS we ordered the sushi to go and I picked it up and transported it in my now non-sagging saddlebag - boy do I ever love my moto man. 

PSS I didn't take any pics of the cherry trees that are blossoming, I didn't want to rub it in too hard, because karma can be vengeful if she so desires, but they are blooming.

Happy Valentine's Day or Colour Day if you prefer!

13 comments:

SonjaM said...

You lucky girl, the climate around Victoria is special indeed. It is not as cold here as in other parts of Canada, but we do not have riding conditions either. It is foggy around freezing temps which would make riding a slippery slide.

ToadMama said...

Looking good, Dar. I'm glad you were able to get out. Sounds like you had a lovely color day!

ToadMama said...

Nice pics, too.

The City Mouse in the Country said...

Believe it or not, you were have the same weather that we in Florida are experiencing.

However we are all complaining about the cold.

Martha said...

Thanks for not posting the cherry blossoms...

Glad you had such a pretty day!

Andy said...

If you are looking for a really nice heated liner, I rec. the Sedici Hotwired liner.. has four digital controlled settings and micro wire throughout.. heats completely almost instantly.

Andy

Deb said...

Whoo Whee! What a day!

That joyful FIRST RIDE! Glad you had a wonderful time!

Tell us more about your gear later. Especially those jeans...

Happy Dance! Happy Dance!

Trobairitz said...

A lovely day out to be sure. A nice first ride of 2015.

Are your daffodils blooming too? They are here.... early this year.

Conchscooter said...

12c is not tropical. Happily. It's an aberration.

Tripping Sister! said...

Love the beach pics and the glasses too....😃. Looks like a great day although a bit chilly. It was 80 here yesterday, but we were out of town in our car....:-(. Now, there's a cold snap and its raining.

Lynne Goebeler said...

Your weather sounds great! We had an ice storm here in Georgia (yes, the Southeast US Georgia) that had us out of power for 23 cooooollldddd hours! And now today, flurries of snow!

Andrew Thomson said...

Cool that you can get out on the bike now. I just hope it doesn't mean our winter is on it's way...

Dar said...

It's been the weirdest winter here only about 3 weeks of cold, and the rest has been warm and wet. We are definitely experiencing a Pineapple Express winter.