Enough of the frac sand fracas for awhile, I’ll maybe do an “idiot’s guide” to frac sand after the election.

But for now, we have motorcycles to save. I saw the danger signs last weekend- bikes being given their “last supper” of non ethanol gas in some strange ritual of winter abandonment. Here it is the middle of October, temps still well above freezing, no snow or even rain in the forecast, and unknowing riders are sentencing their machines to dark places ’til next summer, if they don’t forget them forever. In the lonely months and too often years ahead, seals and fuel will dry up, batteries will die, and rust never sleeps, ‘specially in moist storage places.

It doesn’t have to end this way. I live in Minnesota, that cold finger in the isoclimes where it’s not only colder than it is to the south, but colder than it is to the east and west too. Back in 2001, before global warming took off and I had a full time job to distract me from more important stuff like riding, I bought a new Buell on the 2nd of november and put a thousand miles on it before the month was over. And did it without riding in snow, and the coldest temp I saw was 35 degrees. In these days of global warming or whatever it is, even in Minnesota winters my bikes are seldom parked for more than a week.

Been almost as cold as normal for october, but still in drought. So unless the drought ends, that means little or no snow to reflect the sun and cool the northern plains down. That means daily highs above freezing for most days in December, maybe January too. Just made my reservations for the Florida Rally in January, weather stays like this and I may “have” to ride down! So get some heated clothes if you don’t have ’em already, put in the 5W-whatever oil, and enjoy a winter of riding while the snowmobilers whine!