Wheels

I will never miss an opportunity to ride at the end of December with temperatures peaking at around 50 F. I rode about 50 miles yesterday! It’s pretty warm for this time of year here in South Dakota. The ice is looking rather thin for safely ice fishing on most area lakes…I hope those I saw ice fishing this weekend stay smart and be safe.

My 2023 Ford Maverick with Sync 3 does an odd thing, it doesn't allow me to sync Android Auto from my Google Pixel 6 to my vehicle wirelessly. Instead, I have to connect my phone using a USB cable from my phone to the console. There are times, especially during short trips, I prefer to keep my phone in my pocket and not mess with the hassle of cables. Luckily, the third-party market has responded and offers us wireless car adapters to allow me to connect to my phone wirelessly.

With a Friday off on December 22, 2023 I took a short ride in the afternoon on my three-wheeler. For a near-Christmas ride in South Dakota with no snow on the ground, no wind, and temperatures approaching 50F...it couldn't have been a more perfect ride on my 2017 Can-Am Spyder RTL. The ride only totaled 30 miles but gave enough distance to ride west out of Sioux Falls to Wall Lake and then head north making a round trip through Hartford.

For two-wheeled motorcyclists a 382 mile trip is quite doable but can still be a challenging trip when crossing the high plains and mountains. Only the dumbest people would do such a lengthy trip two-up on a mini bike though. If you recall that's what exactly happened in the movie Dumb and Dumber with the shows two main characters, Lloyd Christmas (played by Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (played by Jeff Daniels).

As some of you already know, I ride a Can-Am Spyder which is a motorcycle that is a inverse trike (two wheels in front, one wheel in back). Unfortunately, I live in South Dakota where the climate around here isn't too favorable for riding from November through March. By this time of year it's not too uncommon to see snow on the roads or temperatures well below freezing.

With snow on the ground and long stretches of subzero temperatures, I wasn't sure I was going to get in a motorcycle ride for the month of February. Then on the second to last day of this short month, the temperatures rose to the lower-mid 40s and the roads were mainly dry. That was good enough for me as I took my 2017 Spyder RT out for a 20 mile ride from home to downtown Sioux Falls. 

Like most of the country, winter-like temperatures came early to South Dakota. But this past Saturday southerly winds brought warmer temperatures briefly back to my neck of the woods. I of course took full advantage of the opportunity to ride my 2017 Cam-Am Spyder RT within and outside the city limits. All in all, I put close to 60 miles on my three-wheeler.

A few days ago, there was a MarketWatch article published that summarized the difficulties Tesla's competitors are having going electric. The article goes through a litany of companies in electric vehicle manufacturing having difficulty catching up to Tesla. Some of the companies include Volkswagen, Jaguar, Dyson (yes that Dyson), GM, Porche, Toyota, Kia, China's Nio, etc. The article even includes mention of Harley-Davidson briefly halting production of its LiveWire electric motorcycle due to charging issues via low-voltage home outlets.

A couple weeks ago I rode my Can-Am Spyder southward from Sioux Falls to Lennox, headed west to Parker then looped north back to home. On my trip, I stopped by Chancellor, SD for a photo opportunity. My Spyder hit 3000 miles while on this trip and I wanted to record the occasion.