Ramblin’ with Dozer
On two wheels
Parked Motorcycle Syndrome blues By Russ (Dozer) Mashford We ride motorcycles for a few good reasons; some of us ride for the recreational benefits, others for professional acclaim and still others for economical transportation. So when the skies start to darken and the warm summer breezes that we embrace start to numb us to the bone, this signifies that our short cyclical romance based on adventure and fueled by open highways and a sense of freedom and passion is about to to be put on hold for the short months when the snows blow and the icy winds howl. For some it is more painful than others. I have been a participant in this love/hate relationship for thirty-five seasons, and it’s never easy to walk away from your two wheeled friend. That’s why I and some of you readers wait for that window of opportunity to challenge winter, by layering up in your warmest gear when the Chinook winds blow and the mercury climbs above +5 Celsius. I find myself writing about this topic at the behest of one of my new riding buddies, Mark Dyer of Delburne, Alberta. Mark sent the request for this topic to my face book page 8
Jan/Feb 2010
“Ramblin with Dozer on 2 Wheels” back in October. So recently I invited you the reader to share how you cope, when you pull the battery and top up the tank with fuel and stabilizer, before pulling the tarp over your prized chariot while it falls into its deep winter slumber. There are positive aspects to this short winter respite, and as Angela Prive of Innisfail, Alberta pointed out winter is a great time to add those new accessories that you couldn’t because you wanted to capitalize on every snow free day, and didn’t want to have your bike down during our short season. It was the winter of 2003 after I purchased my stock 2002 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide standard that I decided I was going to “personalize it “and had then motorcycle customizer/builder and friend Jim Hawley and Neil do a complete tear down and rebuild at his shop “Real Steel Cycles”. I was working at Syncrude Canada’s UE-1 up grader and so expense wasn’t a concern and I now am the proud owner of a “Steel Built Bike.”I didn’t get my scoot back until June of 2004. Anyway the point I’m trying to make is that winter is the perfect time to change your paint scheme, rebuild your
Top: The author heads out in to the cold to enjoy a rare winter ride Next page top: You must be dressed warmly to ride in the winter Second from top: A roadside stop in Arizona Bottom: Deb Ashmore enjoying a mid-winter Arizona ride looking nice and warm
engine, transmission or like me do a complete make over. Another member of my face book group, Deb Ashmore of St. Albert, thumbs her nose at winter all together, by boarding that big silver bird and winging her way to Las Vegas USA. Where upon her arrival she promptly heads straight to the motorcycle rental company “Eagle riders “and rents herself a comfortable Harley-Davidson and with her posse intact lights out for the warmth and sunshine of Arizona. Deb and her friends then spend a week cruising the highways and bi-ways of this sundrenched motorcycle Mecca. I asked Deb how many of the six seasons she’s been in the saddle she’s been enjoying this winter getaway. To my surprise Deb and her friends have escaped the ice and snow of an Alberta winter for five seasons, I was fully expecting to hear that Deb had Thru the Windshield.ca