Coming around the fourth corner on Las Floras Canyon, I slightly tug the clutch lever while sliding my left foot under the shifter and with a sense of certainty lift my toes up. Less than a moment later I hear that marvelous ‘thwack’ that comes from the fingers on the gears engaging and I find myself smiling.
As a general rule motorcycles make all sorts of noises. They rumble. They rev. Some even squeal. Yet there are few sounds that I’ve missed over the past few weeks quite as much as that ‘thwack’… Because it’s not just a sound but rather the beginning of a sensation of control – the word ‘solid’ comes to mind - on one hand it’s a sound that lets you know that the bike is ready to get moving yet it’s also a noise that sits on the edge of ‘feeling in control’. First you hear the bike, then you feel the bike. And feeling in control of anything, let alone a motorcycle is a great thing. A confidence inspiring emotion to say the least.
Not so surprisingly the sportier the bike, the more it reacts to you. To what’s going on inside your head. All those little things that you bring to the table that have absolutely nothing to do with riding. When I set out this morning I was convinced that all of these thoughts would co-opt the ride and yet I was one-hundred percent wrong. All it took was that ‘thwack’ on the fourth corner of the day to remind me how awe-inspiring it is to manipulate a motorcycle through twisting canyon roads when you feel so totally in control of the bike that you’re absolutely sure that you have the power to make the motorcycle do whatever you want, whenever you want.
It’s been a couple of weeks since I last got a ride in and to be perfectly honest, months since I felt the confidence that comes from feeling in control of the bike. Undoubtedly several things lined up today; better weather, freshly broken in tires, maybe even a better sense of self relaxation. Yet sitting here now I can’t shake the glow of control. The smile that comes from being able to duck into a corner, look up and through the turn, see the danger ahead and be able to make instant decisions to tighten or loosen the line and then find myself just doing it. As if it was automatic and thoughtless. Whether it was rocks or cars or people or even other motorcycles who were swinging to wide, today was fantastic because I had the perverse pleasure of being able to see, process and react with no doubt and no hesitation. Just movements. Fluid, graceful movements that went from corner to corner. Man have I missed that… It’s nice to be back…
Here are some more picts from the day…
Popularity: 2% [?]
RSS Feed
0 Responses to “Thwack Control”