As winter temperatures and snow covered fields are still the norm, some of us are daydreaming about the motorcycle weather ahead. Helping to kick start the musing Tom, Laura and I ventured down to Cobo Hall in Detroit to enjoy the International Motorcycle Show on Saturday.

We joined a table full of people from the sport-touring.net forum before hand at a microbrewery called the Detroit Beer Company for lunch. It was lots of fun hearing all their stories of past tours through the Blue Ridge Parkway, Deal’s Gap and Colorado. The proprietor came and chatted us up as he also a motorcycle enthusiast. The first round of drinks plus some complimentary appetizers were on him. The pints were very different. Tom had a strong Indian Pale Ale recipe and I chose a Schizoweizen (German wheat beer with clove and banana flavours)… . The food was top notch too… Tom said his plate was probably the best Louisiana Jambalaya he has ever tasted.

By the time we got to Cobo the morning crowds were thinning out. We found ourselves amongst displays of the latest bikes of all shapes and sizes from BMW, Ducati, Aprilia, Harley-Davidson, Buell, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Honda, and an assorted bunch of lesser known bikes. Visitors are encouraged to touch, so we all had a blast sitting and trying the bikes on for size. Most of the bikes were not low enough for my runty legs but I did find a few that felt just right. My heart went out to the Vespa Grandturismo. While I was questioning the cute Italian rep from Vespa I asked him where would I store my knapsack on this scooter. He gave me a puzzled look and made me repeat my question. With furrowed brow he responded, “Signora perhaps you should not be riding a scooter if you require stopping for a nap”. I guess the meaning of a knapsack gets lost in the translation. Now all I have to do is go out and write my bike licence. Click here for some pictures from the bike show.

After the bike show we left our pickup in the Cobo parking lot and took the People Mover (monorail) to Greektown for supper. The old Trappers Alley warehouse area of nice boutiques and interesting stores is now a smoke filled casino. We found the exit and walked across the street to the Parthenon Restaurant. The restaurant is set in a loft-style space with the upper level overlooking the lobby and second-floor dining area. Greek statues and a waterfall line one of the walls. We started out with saganaki (flaming kefalotiri cheese drenched in lemon juice and brandy) and as the servers ignites a giant flameball they yell out… OPA! You can feel the heat waves as different tables received this popular Greek appetizer. Tom ordered the shish kabob and I had the Combination Plate (spinach cheese pie, moussaka, stuffed grape leaves, rice, saut?ed lamb and vegetables) After dinner we strolled down to our favourite local Greek bakery for some Baklava. We left without purchasing any dessert (obviously we didn’t need any :-) It was a fun day and a nice diversion from my report cards… oops I better get back to work.