This is from my friend Ken who lives in Colorado and rides a KLR. I thought you all my enjoy the different kind of riding we are doing. I still complain about the heat and humidity but after reading this I see it could be worse. Rx

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I took a bike ride to the Black Hills last weekend, and got myself into an artic air mass into Nebraska, and South Dakota. The cold, 40 degree wind picked up with great Wyoming velocity by about three PM on a beautiful clear day. I had stopped in Crawford NE for lunch at a restaurant, and when I came back outside, the wind gusts had blown my bike over off the side stand. It was laying there with a three-foot-diameter gasoline puddle forming around it. I couldn't pick it up by myself, and a gal restaurant employee was sitting on the curb nearby taking a smoke break. She offered to help me pick it up, and thankfully, she put out her cigarette before she came over to help. I traveled on north over Needles Highway and into Hill City SD by 4:30 pm. It was 35 degrees when I arrived there. I checked into a Super Eight motel and turned the furnace up and took a hot shower. The next morning, when I walked outside at 7:30 am, I could see really heavy frost on everything, and the temp was just 11 degrees!!!. My bike wouldn't start, and I waited an hour with the temp climbing to 16 degrees and the bike still wouldn't start. I bought a can of ether starting fluid, and with some disassembly, I was able to get to the air box enough to squirt the ether in there, and it started. I rode south for 180 miles in bright sun before the temp reached 32 degrees. I had to stop about every 30 minutes, and take a walk up and down the highway to get the blood flowing again. Until 3:30 pm, the temp stayed below 40 degrees. It got my attention, and I'll take some heavier long underwear, and insulated ski pants, rather than my shell riding pants form now on for the sunny-day winter rides.