Five Motorcycle Problems that California Riders Won't Understand.

I write this piece as a native Californian and a transplant to Ohio.

It is difficult to describe many of the freedoms that motorcycle riders have in California as motorcycling is pretty much a seasonal, recreational activity in the Midwest.

For me, motorcycle riding back home was not just for fun (although it sure as heck is). It was my most economical method of transportation and my time saver. It allowed me to travel to far away places very cheaply and explore the world in a whole different way. Although I can still do that out here, I am challenged by three things: the unpredictability of weather, traffic laws, and the mentality of cagers.

So without further adieu, here are several things many native California motorcyclists (who have never ridden anywhere else) will not understand...

A typical November day in Ohio. Not to worry, it'll be 65°F and sunny tomorrow.

How to un-suck the holiday season. Be the better person.

Frankly, the holidays can go bite my left ear.

Although my level of seasonal depression fluctuates from year to year, 2013 has reached an all-time high of super suck. Sure I may be having a good time for a couple days out of these several weeks, with the food, hugs, well-wishes, etc. But really, regardless of how much I'm involved, there comes a moment when I'm here sitting by myself in some state of loneliness wondering why everything had to crash down on me at once right before the holidays. Perfect timing, huh?

The 2013 Nerdy Christmas Wish List

Here on Two-Wheeled Tourist, I'm bringing back the annual "Nerdy Christmas Wish List." This is the first time it's appeared on this blog but it's been in other writings of mine on and off over the last decade.

This year, the Christmas season is going to be celebrated in a bit of a more unorthodox manner (my life's gotten a bit complicated as of late) so it's highly unlikely that I'll see anything under a Christmas tree, real or hypothetically, this year. And of course, being the geek and severe motorcyclist I am, my dream list is a bit pricey. But, it's a lot of fun to just dream about these things. Maybe someday when I don't have to decide between feeding my rats, feeding myself, paying the bills, or paying my rent, I can revisit these things again. Fortunately, fantasizing is free and is great for budget-desperate people. So here goes...

1. Portable Single-Sheet Document Scanner

This particular one by VuPoint catches my eye because it saves to a microSD card as well as run on batteries so it's great for those trips when you can't carry all those flyers, information sheets, business cards, and what-not home with you. Clutter sucks. Digitize as much as you can. Save the luggage for those random souvenirs. Check it out here.

Accepting the way the cookie crumbles...

Last week, I had the chance to participate in a Christmas activity for the first time in my life: festive cookie baking.

Now, I've baked mad stashes of cookies in the past, during various times of the year, but there's a charm to the special Christmas-only cookies that come with the season. Also, since I was staying in NE Ohio this weekend instead of making my weekly migration down to Columbus to see my husband, it gave me something to do that Saturday before he showed up.

M&M Candy Cookies and Butterballs! The powdered sugar on the Butterballs was all me.

What made this special was that I was creating treats from recipes that were several generations old, passed down from a grandmother who worked at a historical bakery in Cleveland and could whip up a dish regardless of what was in the pantry. Some additions have been made through the years, and as a guest I had the chance to indulge in a tradition with legendary concoctions that were many years in the making.

My first go at using a cookie press. I can say they came out quite well.

Preparing the Pinwheels for a trip through the oven.

The finished products! After posting this picture on Facebook, I was getting requests to send a number of these to California. Maybe I should quit my day job in December and just do this.