Ducati Multistrada 620 : Commanding Confidence
Photos by Stephen Schauer
I’m squeezing the front brake as I work my way through the entrance of a deep downhill one hundred and eighty degree corner when the bike begins its ultimate fighter like challenge to push the limits of a reasonable lean angle. What once was horizontal swiftly kicks the other way and a second later I find myself sliding across the saddle and hanging out over the other side of the bike as I head through the rest of the turn with an unadulterated and almost irresistible sense of invincibility. Between the gooey gripping tires and the immense leverage of the broad handlebars, this bike is fluently speaking the language of do-no-wrong absolute certain movement and it’s making it perfectly clear that there’s only one place that it’s going to go – around this particular bend.
Inspiration it seems comes in many forms and this frantically joyous feeling is clearly asking if not begging to be bold, so coming out of the corner I whack the outside handgrip and rip the throttle back. It’s a big motion that creates an even bigger movement. As the road begins to snake left, the bike takes a moment to catch its breath and then it wildly exhales with yet another crazily vigorous motion that gives birth to the widest of grins.
In a synapse popping instant of surprising entertainment you realize that the act of being tossed back across the saddle in such a frenzied and near maniac interpretation of a sportbike transition from one corner to the next is not only something you weren’t expecting out of this ride, but also a wildly enjoyable act. As the bike makes another radical pendulum swing it dramatically sends me off of my axis one more time before succumbing to an almost instinctively deep-seated desire to chase its own perfect line.
An attempt at finding peace
I once read an article in which the author proposed that in a time of chaos they felt it was easier to make wholesale changes that affected every aspect of your life than altering things when everything is working in perfect harmony. I’m not sure if that’s true for me personally – though on some level I think it tends to be realistic - but today was a great example of finding peace when you least expect it. A lot has been going on as of late, much of which I will save for a later date, but suffice to say it’s been a rather turbulent few weeks and I’m ready to move on. When you’re hit with a sense of uncontrollable change it’s sometimes hard to put everything you’re dealing with on the backburner and simply focus on enjoying a few hours of free time. Luckily – almost amazingly – I was able to do that today.
At some point the ride simply took over. I was out with MotorMilt while test riding a new Ducati Multistrada 620. I don’t usually write about bikes before I quote ‘review’ them, but the sensation that I felt today seems hard to ignore – on one hand it’s calming and yet on the almost beyond comprehension.
When you put as much emphasis on riding as I tend to do, it can be hard at times to navigate the tricky waters that lie between what you want and where you’re going. It seems that roads and escapes have moved beyond just being a destination. They are not just conduits for transportation but rather magical avenues for enlightenment. I find myself constantly thinking about how they make me feel and how they alter my life on an almost daily basis. Especially when I’m confronted with the opportunity to change. The concept of change in and of itself is not evil nor it is inherently scary, but rather it forces you to realize that what you take for granted may not be there tomorrow. It’s then up to you to view how you’ll deal with it.
Today what I realized is that for the past several years while I haven’t subscribed to a particular religion, I’ve spent my weekends praying to an asphalt church. Over the course of publishing this blog I’ve tend shy away from evoking the sentiment of holy power, as it seems far to dividing in today’s society, yet I can’t help but come to the conclusion that the things that I hold dear are far outside of the normal religious arenas. I so strongly admire the landscape, the curves, the canyons and the way in which they connect. They way the looks mountains and the climate changes. The feeling that riding these roads leaves you with simply means more to me than any preachers words. I’m not a naturalist by trait nor a member of Greenpeace, but the idea that these places are sacred is something that I simply can not escape. They offer so much and they ask for so little, you’d think they would far more appreciated. It’s such a remarkable place in which to let yourself search for what you want. Undoubtedly everyone who ambles along these paths will find their own meaning and I don’t mean to speak for everyone else who is out there. The only person I can honestly speak to and for is myself. What I see and what I feel is something that goes far beyond what they teach in school. This place offers such a unique opportunity. Such a divergent path from the ‘norm’. I’ve lived in LA for over ten years and while I don’t think of myself as someone who is star struck, I’m certainly road struck. These are special routes that offer so many hobbyists the chance to escape. Whether you’re a hiker, a bicyclist, a motorcyclist, or a passionate sportscar enthusiast, this place is a mecca unto itself. When you stand back and take it all in it’s hard to ignore the power of the roads, the canyons and the views. This is truly one of those unique places on the face of the planet and today that sense of uniqueness took every other aspect of my life and pushed it to the side. It allowed me to feel a sense of peace and it’s that not holy I don’t know what is…
