The cold weather, risks, tailgaters

According to The Weather Network, the temperature in Toronto was -1C this afternoon when I headed out to Mississauga.  Windchill was about -6C.  Amazingly, it was a comfortable ride.  Instead of wearing my motorcycle gloves, I wore my leather glove with liners and that kept my fingers warm enough for my 30-minute trip.

My bike had a bit of a hard time starting up in the cold with a carburetor.  Once it's going, it's fine.  I'm lucky I live in a building with an underground garage so starting the bike up in the garage was easy but let it sit outside for a few hours, you're just wondering when the engine will wake up.

Riding around 0C and below is always a risky business.  I feared of black ice on the road.  I took that into consideration before heading out this afternoon.  I knew we had some rain earlier in the week and the days had gone warmer and then colder.  As far as I could see, the road was pretty clean of snow and ice.  Still, I took precaution making my curves around corners.  There is always a risk with motorcycles, more so in the winter, but it's a risk I'm willing to take at this point.  In my eyes, there is nothing cool about motorcycles--my Suzuki GS500F is ok looking and my body armor is not in sync with the blue of my bike--but there is so much to experience the thrill and freedom of being on a motorcycle, to live the moment, to focus on the moment.  Is it worth the risk?  As long as I feel safe on the motorcycle, the risks don't seem much.

I still hate that some cars were tailgating me.  They are stupid or something, I thought.  I'm looking for a sign to wear on my back or to tie to the license plate that says, "If you can read this, get the F*CK back so you can't read it!"  They seemed to be rushing to their destination for no reason.  Maybe they do have a reason, but still, don't tailgate a motorcycle.  I wouldn't do that if I were driving a car.  You know following a bike could put both you and the rider in danger should anything happen to him.