The Zipsicle

It was 16 degrees F outside when I jumped on the Bulgesicle (my new pet name for the Wing) to head off to work this morning. The coldest in a week of cold days, so far, and I’m sure I got some real funny looks as I motored up the freeway towards Bellingham. Since I was quite warm and toasty and since I’m also quite used to getting funny looks (sometimes they’re even undeserved) I didn’t let it bother me. “It’s 16 degrees outside and you’re riding down the freeway warm and toasty?” you say, “What’re you, nuts?” Yes, well, let me explain…

Last Thursday, after riding the Zipsicle in the low 20s to work and back, I decided I’d had enough of freezing my cute little tush off so I jumped onto the web and navigated to WarmnSafe to buy some heated clothing (with the express, written permission, of my lovely and talented financial secretary).

I quickly decided upon and purchased a jacket liner, gloves, and a dual, mounted heat controller and paid for 2nd day shipping. Imagine my suprise when the very next day my new heated gear showed up at my door! Terrific service from this company. On Saturday, I spent a few hours mounting the controller into our comfotable Bulgesicle. As many of you with Goldwings know, even removing the seat can be a hassle. I finally managed to get the new controller mounted and it looks pretty good considering that I did it myowndamnself! Here’a picture of it mounted in the lower left side panel:

After successfully mounting the controller I figured I might as well take the Bulgesicle for a ride. The sky was clear and the sun was shining, the temp was in the high 20s, and the Snow Geese were feeding and flocking (so to speak) on the Skagit Flats. What better day to go for a ride? I backed the Bulgesicle out of the garage (love that reverse gear!) plugged in my helmet and heated gear and took off for Snow Goose country. 60 miles of back roads later I was parked and looking at a flock of geese. Unfortunately, while I was plenty warm enough in just the new gloves, a t-shirt and jacket liner, and Tourmaster coat, I realized that my new heated gear wasn’t actually heating. Oh, well. I figured, since I wasn’t freezing, that I’d just check it out when I got home and deal with it there. Here’s a picture of some of the SnowGeese:

After tooling around the back roads of Skagit Valley checking out the geese for a while, I headed over to Sedro Woolley and turned north on Highway 9. I rode north to just past the Park Road where there’s a turnout and a magnificent view of the Twin Sisters mountains. Forgot to upload the image so no picture to show you but it was very pretty. From there I turned around and headed home after logging around 120 miles for the day. On another note, I didn’t see one other bike the whole trip. Wimps!

Once home I went in and read the directions for my heated gear again but didn’t learn anything new and helpful. Back out to the bike idling in the driveway and I plugged back into the controller; which is when I realized that I had a “Dual” controller and had plugged my gear into one outlet of the controller but had turned the other outlet on with the knob. I turned off the unused portin and turned on the section I was actually plugged into and, moments later, felt the delicious heat spreading throughout my gloves and jacket. Wow! What a difference.

If you’re like me and enjoy riding whether it’s cold or not (provided the roads aren’t icy and slick!) then you might consider getting yourself some heated gear from WarmnSafe. You’ll be toasty warm and enjoying the ride while others are looking at their bikes in their garages and wishing they were out riding!

Ride safe,
Zippo and Jax

Here’s a picture of our new Wing:

I’ve been riding it to work and really enjoying the ride! Jax hasn’t ridden on it yet but I’m sure she’s going to enjoy it, too. We’re adding the CB this weekend. Next, we’ll need to get some headsets so that we can plug into the bike and take advantage of the built-in intercom, CB and our accessory iPod.

Ride safe,
Zippo and Jax

So far so good. Been riding the Wing to work the last few days and it’s pretty darn nice. I had some troubles with the grips being a little to small in diameter for my hands causing some discomfort while riding but someone turned me on to a product called “Grip Puppies” and they seem like they’re going to resolve the issue. The Grip Puppies are only $10 and they slide on over the stock grips increasing the diameter of the grip just enough to make it more comfortable and help to improve my control of the bike.

I’ve ridden in the rain a couple of times on the Wing, too, and it feels much more stable than my 1300. On the Zipsicle I often felt that I was riding on the edge of traction in the rain (although I’m quite certain that the bike was far from losing traction – just a matter of perception). On the Wing it almost feels like it’s glued to the road. I’m not a rider that pushes the limits of either bike, by any stretch of the imagination, but I do like the way the GoldWing feels going down the road – even in the rain.

Ride safe,
Zippo and Jax

Not that the Zipsicle needed company but, sheesh! One can’t have too many bikes (one can have too many cats, though!) and this one is so pretty and comfortable and besides, it fits in the garage so we just have to keep it…

Yep, we bought a Goldwing. This is a used Wing. A 2003, to be exact, and she’s got a lot of miles on her. 91K more or less, but she’s in superb mechanical condition, according the one of the mechanics down in Skagit Powersports service department, and she’s a very pretty red color, too. So, now we know how the other half lives and it’s very nice! I’ll try to get a picture of our new ride posted tomorrow.

Now, how long until summer and our next vacation????

Ride safe
Zippo and Jax