RETROTOURS NEWSLETTER: WINTER SOLSTICE 2025
  Over the hump! The shortest day of the year is behind us now. Every day is now a few seconds longer than the one before it. These short days do take a toll in terms of mood: it is easy to lose positivity with the daylight. Having to chip away at ice and shovel snow and stack firewood does not help. Inevitably there will be a bout of the Flu at some point. Wait, I know what I need… WIND THERAPY!
    A ride, even a very short ride in freezing temperatures, can erase the ennui of winter blues. But what about the ice and snow on the roads? That’s why God made sidecars, AKA ‘slide-cars’. These three wheeled contraptions are super tractable in slippery conditions. I would go so far as to say that they work best when traction is at a minimum. Lurid feet up slides and even 360° ‘Bat-turns’ look quite impressive but are actually easy to do. A properly set-up sidecar rig will instill confidence enough to tempt me out in the middle of a big snow fall, preferably before the roads have been plowed. Of course, there will usually be salt to deal with: a major drawback to winter riding. The corrosive effects cannot be overstated, and ignition systems would rather follow the salt than the high tension wires. In any case, the pain of salt accumulation is overshadowed by the benefits of the WIND THERAPY!
  There are other effective forms of therapy for winter bound motorcyclists. Fred, a regular RetroTourer, is heading to Vietnam for a 10 day tour with Big Bike Tours. Their all-inclusive prices are phenomenal, and the bikes, the roads, and the scenery are world class. Even though you do need to fly halfway around the globe and back to partake, the cost is possibly less than psychotherapy. Call it WIND THERAPY!
  Another way to mitigate the winter blues is to re-live past rides and/or plan rides for the coming season. Ride reports for the rest of the 2025 tours will be posted to www.retrotours.com in the next few months, and the 2026 preliminary schedule is posted; nearly 10 deposits have already been received for the first three rides which will include 4 tourists from Great Britain. BLIMEY!
    Yet another off-season diversion is wrenching. We do resurrections and repairs on older bikes in between tours and especially during the winter. We currently have a client’s Jawa 250 Panelka in the works, as well as a gorgeous BSA Spitfire, and have just finished up a ’75 CB400F and a ’69 CL350. There is also a ’75 MT250 and a pair of CBXs going through the works. Resurrecting these classics gives great satisfaction: we are keeping them out of the salvage yards. We don’t do restorations, but we do get these old treasures back on the road to be enjoyed as intended. And of course, there are always fresh bikes for the RetroTours fleet that need refurbishment.
    Some folks get through winter by buying bikes. I don’t really look for bikes anymore, but they seem to find me. New additions include a Moto Guzzi V1000G5. It has floorboards with heel-and-toe shifting, wide handlebars, and little saddlebags like an LAPD Special. It has been on its maiden tour already and was very well liked; quite different really from anything else in the fleet. A BSA Thunderbolt 650 that was recommissioned here a decade ago came home to roost as well and has also been on one tour. A friend from Staten Island called. The estate manager of a recently deceased motorcycle hoarder needed help with a garage cleanout. The result? Three Moto Guzzis: two V50 Monzas, a 750 Special, and a multitude of spares. Once titles and mechanicals are sorted—no simple task--at least one should find its way into the fleet for you to ride.
    So banish the winter blahs. Get some WIND THERAPY! of your own. Plan to ride in 2026 and join us for a RetroTour. We no longer charge a set fee, asking instead for a voluntary contribution. You can pay whatever you think it's worth, or nothing at all, so …what have you got to lose? Just the winter blues.