This winter has been a case study in extremes. It got going early and we saw some bitterly cold temperatures pretty early on. Yet every few weeks, we’ve seen the occasional string of temperate days that let us sneak in a motorcycle ride, even if just around the block. Winter lulled us into hopes of an early spring, and then bam! We got 19″ of snow in one sitting, most of which seemed to come in sideways.

This weekend things warmed up again, relatively speaking, and it felt like Chicago finally had a second to take a breath and start to dig out. Of course this brought out all the “dibs” furniture and the ensuing drama about shoveled out parking spaces. Some of that drama spilled into the shop on Saturday as one of our neighbors came through our door looking for whoever hadn’t respected their dibs. Negotiations ensued. Loudly. Seems like no matter what shape winter takes, we all get sick of it by the time February rolls around.

Calle Maton

For moto fans, we end up with an itch to ride that rings in our ears like the screaming of someone telling us we’d better move our car “or else”, and we look for ways to tide ourselves over. On Team Motoworks, we’re working to get set for the season to come. We’ve moved things around in the store, shuffled roles and even taken turns walking a mile or two in each other’s shoes. We’re also getting some bigger projects wrapped up, such as this gorgeous BMW restoration:

BMW Resto

Yet like any season, winter will come to an end. Spring will come and before we know it, real riding weather will be upon us again. One of the stepping stones to wrapping up winter is the Progressive International Motorcycle Show, which is coming up this next weekend. We had a great time last year and we anticipate this year to be another terrific opportunity for everyone to shake the snow off for a little while and come scratch that motorcycle itch. We’ll be putting on a combined booth with the folks from Motoblot, so definitely come say hello. The IMS will also be a great opportunity to swing a leg over bikes that haven’t quite hit the regular showroom floor yet. Come check it out, then tell us what you think.