What a difference a day can make. Yesterday I felt unable to shed the workweek, yet today it was easy to become immersed in the canyon life. While I didn’t stay out long, the fifty or so miles were easy, swooping lines of enjoyment and … Read More →
Tag Archives: Malibu Mountains
The Sense of Optimism
Every time I throw my leg over a bike and twist the key, I think to myself today is going to be fantastic. There’s greatness in the air and it’s easily within reach. Then a second later when I feel the engine turn over for … Read More →
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 … Read More →
Hunting Corners
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 … Read More →
The Soundtrack of Nature
Perhaps the reason that so many folks associate the word ‘freedom’ with riding is because the vast majority of motorcycles don’t have radios. The lack of these rather commonplace devices tends to force us as riders to not only witness what’s going on but also … Read More →
Memorial Aches
Warm air was filtering down the coast as I was making my way towards the canyons this morning. The sounds and smells of the ocean hanging in the air. It was a rich, almost magical, environment. And when the sun started to break I found … Read More →
Memorial Rejuvenation
The sword, the sea and reincarnation are three fairly basic components of Celtic Mythology that Arthurian legend later weaved together into the notion of rebirth or rejuvenation. Anyone who’s ever seen a modern day retelling of King Arthur or The Knights of the Round Table … Read More →
Weekday Solitude
It starts small. A mere tread of a thought. An idea that floats through your mind amid a day that’s filled with miscellaneous events that need attention. At first you push it aside. You tell yourself that it’s not the responsible thing to do. It’s … Read More →
Blindspots
Sunday was one of those days when lots of little things added up to a less than stellar ride. I had hoped that the ride would be the culmination of a great weekend worth of riding. But unfortunately it wasn’t. The bad vibe started right … Read More →
Salt & Pepper Ride (w/ Video)
It was oddly gray in LA today and while that affected my riding to a certain extent, it couldn’t stop the 9 from rolling over 5,000 miles. For some reason I can’t quite get over that number. The mere sum of it. As I watched … Read More →
A Moment of Passion (w/ Video)
As it turns out I skipped out of work early today in order to get a short afternoon ride in. Given the reaction to the show it somehow only seemed appropriate to get up into the canyons and enjoy life for a little bit. Yet … Read More →
Molholland after the Rain (w/ video)
It’s been raining quite a bit in LA lately and oddly enough it usually pours the most on the exact days I have the means and motivation to get a ride in. Some folks out there ride in the inclimate weather and I’d imagine a … Read More →
A Red Posse
Once again I’ve been slacking on the ‘ol posting front. Somehow this week sort of snuck up and engulfed me, but even while dealing with the chaotic nature of the workweek I keep finding myself being reflectively drawn back to Sunday’s wondrous ride. Over the … Read More →
Riding for My Soul
I’m not sure where our personal character traits evolve from but over the course of my life I’ve grown to learn that somehow I got wired with a very focused and often times exclusionary field of vision. For the past nineteen days my life has … Read More →
Thwack Control
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 … Read More →
The Old Man Grows Younger
Today’s ride was quite remarkable on a number of fronts – but mostly because it was the ultimate flip-flop in my father-son relationship with MotorMilt. When I first started riding, MM was the definitive voice that I went to for information on how to do … Read More →
Back In The Saddle
The suit feels stiff. The zipper determined not to budge. The protective pads feel awkward. The plastic part of a junior prom gone bad. Yet as I snap the last buckle on the boot and listen to the loud pop which suggests that the strap running across the top of my foot is now locked into place, I can't help but wish that the rocket scientists who developed thermoplastic had something for a bruised ego. But they don't, so instead I'm left to my own devices. Left to battle my own demons.
Walking into the garage, it's hard to imagine that its been just six days since I laid the 999 down for the very first time.