So MotorMilt & I just got back from our first ride in what feels like forever. The roads were in much better condition than the last time we rode, although they still weren’t quite up to par for SoCal this time of year. A ton of that light dusty dirt is still spread all over. According to the rumor mill it’s supposed to lightly rain tomorrow so hopefully that’ll help wash some of this gunk away. It’s the kind of muck that makes you wonder just how much traction you’ve got. Even though most of the canyons were still covered in silt, both Kanan Dune & Old Cornell Road were just about perfect… As of right now I’m less than 50 miles away from completely breaking in the bike. Seems like I’ve been writing about getting the Ducs broken in for quite sometime so it’s nice to finally be getting close to wrapping that up once and for all. Seeing as how I’m all most there, I pushed the bike up past 8 grand in the rpms a few times today. WOW. It’s simply amazing what a difference only a couple hundred rpms make once you’re almost at the top of the rpm range. From 8k to 9.5k was unbelievable. Just a frigg’n rocketship. I found myself looking down at the speedo and just laughing under my helmet. It just seems so unnatural to be going 90+ mph in 2nd gear. Of course I drive a 3 speed 1973 Toyota FJ40 - think C7 series Jeep, but Japanese and you’ll get the idea - so anything above 40 mph in 2nd blows my mind… I was also struck today by the sheer number of bikes out on the road. Everywhere we went it seemed like there were any number of riders and everything from individuals out for a spin to full nine or ten bike groups. It was a busy day for the ‘ol canyons… Since it was a pretty basic ride in terms out locations & routes, I won’t bore you all with the details. The bottomline for me was that it was really nice to finally get back on the iron horse. Seems like way to much time has gone by without a ride…