Twisting Asphalt - A SoCal Ducati Motorcycle Blog

The language of visual content is based on a number well proven tenants. One of the most basic of which is the classic construction of building sequences where you start with an establishing wide-shot and then proceed to move in closer and closer to the subject. Traditionally this serves to engage the viewer at first in the scope of the scene and then later to connect the audience with the emotional core of the subject matter. Nowadays this form of visual construction has become so commonplace in our culture that we rarely realize when its happening. Audience members are much quicker to point out when this basic foundation has been altered than to acknowledge or notice its existence.

Slowing down while making my way through a solid white sheet of fog this morning on Stunt Road, I realized that I’ve now ridden four out of the past five days and during that time I’ve created my own visual sequence of the Southern Californian canyons and mountains. While today’s ride wasn’t the furthest journey I’ve taken over this time or the most intense, it was perhaps the most centralized to my core. Instead of hiking my way to the far stretches of SoCal galaxy, I stayed closer to home and rambled through the Santa Monica Canyons.

After spending a day riding Route 33 in Ojai and then another traveling through The Angeles Crest, I felt very refreshed back ‘home’ with roads I know inside and out. There was something almost calming about it. It felt very similar to that feeling that comes over you when you land at your local airport after spending a week away.

For all of the faults of Southern California, I’m increasingly becoming convinced that thanks to a substantial National Park system that limits housing developments and the sheer vertical changes that take place in such short geographical distances these roads are the by product of a rather unique set of circumstances that quite possibly may not exist anywhere else. There is truly glory in these roads and riding them is a window through which you can witness such a wonderful blend of nature, speed, curvature, and exhilaration. The other night someone asked me what the ‘best part’ of riding them was and I still haven’t come up with what I consider a decent answer. The reality is that they offer such a tremendous opportunity to both find and lose yourself that it’s hard to quantify what single detail makes them standout.

What I do know is that the last five days have been a remarkable moment in time. A wonderful chance to float from one thought to another while hunting corners and seeking out new straight-aways as prey.

Some more picts from the ride:

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