The 999 sounded like a machine gun that was rapidly firing away as I crossed over Kanan-Dune and headed up towards Encinal Canyon this morning. As I keeping smoothly twisting the throttle, the bike was vibrating with a passion that just shouldn’t be street legal and I was watching the various parts of the canyon fly by as the reminents of the work week simply faded away with each passing mile. Thus began what seems to be becoming my new ‘usual’ loop.
To describe it in a linear form would be slightly inaccurrate since it’s not really a specific loop, but rather a collection of intersecting roads that work in combination. A perfect harmony if you will. Mullhulland to Encinal to Decker, back to Mullhulland – And repeat. Endlessly… This criss-cross is basically twice as long as what had been my normal jaunt into the canyons primarily because it extends the outbound part of the trip… And this morning it was simply glorious. Clear roads, clear visibility, lots of curves and a couple of fantastically open straight aways…
Early Morning Canyon Life
While running around 9 grand and hovering somewhere between sixty-five and seventy-five miles per hour I realized that one of the many things on my mind this morning was the quality of my life. Specifically the quality of my life at this juncture in time when so much seems to be in flux on such a constant basis… As I started whipping through the corners and eeking out the last bits of power from the engine before up-shifting, I started thinking about a column that angrybob from motorcycleblogger.com had written earlier in the week about motorcycle t-shirts. If you haven’t read it you should, it’s not long but it quite nicely sums up what I believe many riders feel – we all want to grow old and still ride. It’s really that simple. That’s the dream.
My memory was spurred on by a scene I had just witnessed while leaving The Rockstore. Eight or Ten men were huddled around a new BMW tourer, holding steaming stryrofoam coffee cups and shooting the shit. They were all well past grey. I’d guess Sixty or Sixty-Five, maybe even Seventy. Yet here they were, all active riders, hanging out at a place I’m sure they’d been to a thousand times before and still clearly enjoying the ride. I don’t know any of these fellows, but it was hard to miss their enjoyment…
On Encinal Canyon
On the way back home, I disregarded the slight ache in my right wrist and took Mullhulland all the way back until it hit Stunt Road. At the top of Stunt I pulled off – as I more or less usually do since it offers both decent pavement and a wonderful view. Standing there, looking out over part of ‘The Valley’, the sights and sounds reminded me of my childhood and I couldn’t help but think that the guys standing around at The Rockstore are exactly who I want to age into… I’m not sure exactly how to connect the dots along the journey, but I know the destination. I want to be that white haired seventy-five year old sipping coffee on a Saturday morning.
The View From Decker
Sunrise Canyon Style
Decker Canyon
Canyon Weeds
Top of Stunt
The Canyons
Tuna Canyon
More Vegatation
Last shot of the day
Getting Old and Riding
The 999 sounded like a machine gun that was rapidly firing away as I crossed over Kanan-Dune and headed up towards Encinal Canyon this morning. As I keeping smoothly twisting the throttle, the bike was vibrating with a passion that just shouldn’t be street legal and I was watching the various parts of the canyon fly by as the reminents of the work week simply faded away with each passing mile. Thus began what seems to be becoming my new ‘usual’ loop.
To describe it in a linear form would be slightly inaccurrate since it’s not really a specific loop, but rather a collection of intersecting roads that work in combination. A perfect harmony if you will. Mullhulland to Encinal to Decker, back to Mullhulland – And repeat. Endlessly… This criss-cross is basically twice as long as what had been my normal jaunt into the canyons primarily because it extends the outbound part of the trip… And this morning it was simply glorious. Clear roads, clear visibility, lots of curves and a couple of fantastically open straight aways…
Early Morning Canyon Life
While running around 9 grand and hovering somewhere between sixty-five and seventy-five miles per hour I realized that one of the many things on my mind this morning was the quality of my life. Specifically the quality of my life at this juncture in time when so much seems to be in flux on such a constant basis… As I started whipping through the corners and eeking out the last bits of power from the engine before up-shifting, I started thinking about a column that angrybob from motorcycleblogger.com had written earlier in the week about motorcycle t-shirts. If you haven’t read it you should, it’s not long but it quite nicely sums up what I believe many riders feel – we all want to grow old and still ride. It’s really that simple. That’s the dream.
My memory was spurred on by a scene I had just witnessed while leaving The Rockstore. Eight or Ten men were huddled around a new BMW tourer, holding steaming stryrofoam coffee cups and shooting the shit. They were all well past grey. I’d guess Sixty or Sixty-Five, maybe even Seventy. Yet here they were, all active riders, hanging out at a place I’m sure they’d been to a thousand times before and still clearly enjoying the ride. I don’t know any of these fellows, but it was hard to miss their enjoyment…
On Encinal Canyon
On the way back home, I disregarded the slight ache in my right wrist and took Mullhulland all the way back until it hit Stunt Road. At the top of Stunt I pulled off – as I more or less usually do since it offers both decent pavement and a wonderful view. Standing there, looking out over part of ‘The Valley’, the sights and sounds reminded me of my childhood and I couldn’t help but think that the guys standing around at The Rockstore are exactly who I want to age into… I’m not sure exactly how to connect the dots along the journey, but I know the destination. I want to be that white haired seventy-five year old sipping coffee on a Saturday morning.
The View From Decker
Sunrise Canyon Style
Decker Canyon
Canyon Weeds
Top of Stunt
The Canyons
Tuna Canyon
More Vegatation
Last shot of the day
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