Bikes Up!

It's April 18^th. Spring in Upstate New York is off to a late start. About 1 month late to be exact. I was just talking to a lady who is in Buffalo and she's watching snow falling outside her office window. Our weather comes from the West, so..... Here, in Sanitaria Springs, it's a cloudy 52 F. and there's an edge to the damp air that makes you think it could snow here tonight. It also makes you think about a lot of things you could be doing inside the toasty house. Or, things you could be doing out in the garage.

Outside, in my garage, awaiting the sun and warm ambient temperatures we're all hoping for, are my 2 Hondas. The CX500 has been out already. Twice. There were a couple of 70ish days at the end of March and beginning of April, and I couldn't wait to shake something down. Probably myself more than the bike. It wasn't much fun on those 65-70 degree days. The air was crisp, like an oddball warm day in Winter. The chilly air stung anything that wasn't well covered. Sure, a wind-breaker was enough to keep me warmish, and gloves were a must. Are anyway, really. Just for protection. My face, however, suffered from the biting 55 mph wind. Well, maybe a bit faster than that, 'cause like the Red Rocker says, “I just can't drive 55.” The same temps, once the weather finally breaks, will be perfect for riding. That's what makes a warmer ambient temp such a desirable thing. The weather really wasn't good enough yet to justify hauling out the big V65 Sabre. “Soon come, mon. Soon come.”

In a very real sense, this day each year is like a holiday. A genuine annual celebration day. It's never the same date every year. Too many variables involved. But there is a day, every year, that my new license plate stickers come from the Utica DMV office. That's where we Southern Tier folks have to send our mail-in renewals.

Naturally, they will get lost if I don't install them on the bikes immediately. That being the case, I grab the Windex and paper towels and head out to the garage to do the joyful deed. Joyful, because it means that there's another Summer of riding approaching, and now I'm ready for it.

First there's the ritual spraying and wiping down of the plates. Pay special attention to the 2011 sticker. It's got to be especially clean, 'cause that's where the new Mylar tag has to be placed. Even though the '11 stickers are starting to lift a bit at the corners, they can't be removed. Well....they could be. I just don't. I like to see how many I can stack up before the state forces me to buy another color plate. That happens every so often, and I've always had every sticker I got during that color series, still on the plate when it gets replaced.

Many old yellow plates, and previously issued white ones, are up on the wall of my garage. Their job is to keep many happy years of biking memories alive. Now and then I'll look at a certain year's plate and go back to that particular Summer in my mind. Bike memories are unlike any others I have. Even the big crash of '73 brings a smile to my face. The story that goes with that is stuff fiction writers can only wish they had to work with. Oh, yeah!

You think stacking stickers is quirky? Let me tell you quirky, buddy. As the accompanying pic shows, I put my registration stickers on upside down. I always have. Why? How the hell do I know. I'm not a shrink. If I was, I wouldn't go there in a million years. My mind is a labyrinth of tunnels that really don't deserve having anyone poking around in. Probably has something to do with being noticed or being different than the other kids. Look it up in your freakin' freak reference books. Save yourself some time and energy, though. Don't write and tell me what you find. I like my annual stickers installed the way I do it, and I'm not going to change a thing.

All these decades of upside down registration stickers have never been mentioned by the cops. With me setting my own speed limits, I can't say they haven't had their opportunities. Now and then a friend or new acquaintance will notice the inverted sticker and mention it. I just smile and tell them I must have been drinkin' when I put them on. It may seem like an indictment of my character, but nobody has ever argued the point.

I look at it this way. If I'm ever upside down in a ditch, the cops will immediately note that my bike is legally registered. They'll know I was a thoughtful rider........ before the crash.