Today I took the time to wash the bike. Sadly, not to remove the road grime from the annual ride with Steve Lindsay, Rob Goldbecker, Pat Murphy and David Lust, but rather to remove the vestiges of the latest dust storm. Hopefully that situation will change next year.
Makes me sad to look at the bike sitting in the shed waiting to go out and play. It's just too hot. It was too hot to wash the bike (110 degrees at 2 p.m.), but wash it I did. Not well, but washed.
Tonight is the first Motorcycles on Main Street event of the season. The city closes off five blocks of Main Street in the heart of downtown Mesa. The bikes park Sturgis style and everyone wanders the streets looking at bikes and sampling the fare of local restaurants and bars. Live music blares from a different band on each block. I don't expect a large turn out.
So this afternoon I'll don long pants and boots, helmet and gloves to attend the gathering and to enjoy a slice or two or three at Queen's Pizza. I'll walk the street and renew old acquaintances, admire other bikes freshly relieved of the latest layer of dust and remember why I ride.
