The sounds and the smells that tell us summer is on the way.
There’s nothing quite like the smell of cut grass, especially after the first cut of Spring. There is something quite uplifting about the freshness of that smell.
Couple that smell with the lifting of the cold and grey of winter and the feel good factor is palpable.
Mood altering
Scents and smells really can alter your mood. The AI search return on Google tells us odours travel to the limbic system and to parts of the brain linked to memory and emotion.
Not surprisingly, how we feel about a smell will depend to some extent on our past experiences of it and how much we like it. It’s really no surprise to know scents and smells can also affect our heart rate and breathing. I experienced the first hint of spring in my last post without hitting all the sensory notes that I love at this time of year.
A glorious smell
For as long as I have been driving a car I almost always lower the window when I see a bike coming past.
I love to hear the sound of a bike pass me, especially a tuned inline four or the rattle of a dry clutch on a Ducati.
A real bonus just every now and again is the increasingly rare sight of a smell of a two stroke engine. It’s a smell takes me right back to the mid-1970s and my Suzuki GT250A. The smell of the engine burning the pre mixed fuel and oil is one that I’ll always enjoy.
Covers off
In the last week I have had the pleasure of that first smell of cut grass and then the magnificent smell of petrol and hot engines as I took the covers of my bikes, checked them over and ran the engines.
I decided my first ride of the year would be on my Moto Guzzi V7.
My RnineT wasn’t available as it needs its annual MoT, service and a new front tyre. It’s booked in to have those issues sorted next week at the ever reliable MW Motorcycles in Hyde.
I don’t really plan to use the F900 XR for short rides this year, but I will put plenty of miles on it later in the year with another trip scheduled to Spain and Portugal and maybe a Scotland or Ireland trip to come.
Having stirred the soul
So having stirred the soul with the sound and smells of my bikes I made the most of the fine weather at weekend and headed out into Cheshire on the Guzzi V7.
Clicking any of the images below will open a picture gallery that can be clicked or scrolled through.
Not big mileage
I didn’t do big mileage – I headed out via the back roads of Alderley Edge, Holmes Chapel and out to Northwich and to the J&S Motorcycle Accessories store. It’s almost always a decent place to call and have a wander and a chat. I made my return journey via a different route to Holmes Chapel as I headed through Knutsford.
My mileage for the day was only about 90 but it has been pretty enjoyable and there really is nothing quite like getting back on the bike after the winter ‘lay off’.
Proof that Spring is here
Not surprisingly there were hundreds of bikers who were also set on enjoying the day. The variety of bikes at J&S was remarkable and each of them added to the sights, smells and sounds that really did prove that spring is here and summer is on the way.
There are some very decent bikes in the picture set below. I absolutely love the silver and green Moto Guzzi V100S a decent variant to the red model I had seen a couple of weeks back when I was in Robinsons in Rochdale and that I wrote about – here.
Picture gallery – spring sights in Northwich
Click any image to open a picture gallery that can be clicked or scrolled through
Some very decent bikes there.
Excellent Tony glad to see you and the Guzzi up and running again
Cheers Ian – and then look what’s happened to the weather again …. bl**dy freezing! Hope to catch up soon
Absolutely typical I’m afraid see you when the sun shines Tony March is too cold for me these days!