January Riding

The weather in Oklahoma can be iffy at best.  For example, Oklahoma City schools were closed Friday due to extremely cold temperatures of 5 degrees with sub zero wind chills.  Saturday, it was sunshine and highs in the middle 60's.  I've been able to ride quite a bit and have been spending most of my riding time on my BMW F800 GS Adventure I bought back in October.  You're definitely out in the wind a lot more on this bike than my RT but that's been helped some with the addition of a Laminar Lip .  The lip helps solve the buffeting problem and moves the air flow higher up as I ride.  I wish it was a couple of inches taller but it definitely helps.  Here is a pic of it installed on the bike. 
Missy has given it her seal of approval as well. Speaking of Missy, this is just her 2nd ride this year.  She had her right eye pop out of the socket on December 11 and had to have surgery to fix it.  Fortunately, she's back to her normal self now and seems to have full sight in it.  We're taking it easy so far with just short rides around Lake Draper or down to Starbucks.
I've  never been too thrilled with group rides but this year I've been on a couple of rides with some fellow BMW owners, Tom, Mark, and Ron.  We started the year off right with a New Year's day ride and have ridden 3 or 4 other rides so far.  We all seem to have similar riding styles and it's nice to talk motorcycles with fellow riders.  One of our recent rides was to Medicine Park and Mt Scott, 2 of my favorite places to ride in Oklahoma.  Here's a pic of Tom on top of Mt Scott.

He's holding my placard for the 2014 2014 Big Money Rally .  The rally is all done online by submitting photos from various bonus locations around the country.  Some locations include designated libraries, county courthouses with former president's names, and other places.  It's been fun so far and a good reason to ride to places I might not visit otherwise.
I had the misfortune of having my 2nd flat tire of the year on the GS yesterday.  I was riding with Tom, Mark, and Steve and we had just gotten to El Reno.  As I turned a corner, the bead broke on the rear tire and I almost lost it.  Fortunately, a nice retired Marine lived right across from where I had the flat.  He let me park the bike at his place so I could take the wheel off and go get a new tube put in.  Tubed tires are a real pain to repair.  When I finally got the bike home, I ordered the stuff I need to be able to make a roadside repair in the future from Best Rest Products along with a couple of spare tubes.  Maybe if I carry this stuff with me all the time, it will ward off any more flat tires and if not, at least I'll be able to fix it myself.
Winter weather is supposed to blow back in tonight with a high tomorrow in the 20's so it looks like the bikes will stay parked most of this week.  I'm not complaining though, any chance to ride in January is good and we've had several nice days this year.