Based on over 140 years of record keeping, today, January 17th (2023), is supposed to be the coldest day of the year in Duluth. I think the average low temperature here on this day is something like minus two (ºf) and the average daily high is nineteen. Instead, what we actually got was a high of 37º under dark cloudy skies. This after an unusual two-day steady and sometimes hard mid-winter rainfall which cut our five feet of already fallen snow down by at least half.

The unseasonable rain had washed most of the road salt away so I rode to the grocery store on my non-studded-tire Suzuki DRZ400 and stocked up.

Statistical summary:

  • Dollar value of the groceries carried:  $160ish
  • Number of items bungeed to the bike: 0
  • Number of bags used: 2 (1 backpack, 1 Aerostich LP bag on left grip)
  • Total distance ridden:  About 15 miles
  • Number of passers-by or pedestrian thumbs-ups: 2
  • Amount of fun this was on a 1-10 scale:  11+

I'd started out on this errand riding Aerostich’s loaner Zero electric bike but got only about two miles before turning around. That machine had been sitting unplugged for months waiting for me to stud its tires for winter, and I’d forgotten its massive battery had been low the last time it was parked. As I rode away, I watched as the gauge went from 30% capacity down to 22% capacity within two miles, at which point I turned around, making it back to the garage at 16%. Then I plugged it in and got on the Suzuki which fired right up after sitting unridden for at least eight weeks.

A couple of months ago I’d given the Suzuki a tank full of stabilizer-treated fresh gas and at the same time had forgotten to check the state of charge in the Zero. Today vintage ICE dramatically won the first annual side-by-side unattended shelf-life motorcycle availability contest.