Equal parts of trepidation and excitement are crossing inside my head as I desperately try to distance myself from the workweek. Lethargically the mind sends the message. But the body does nothing with it. At first seconds go by, then what feels like minutes. It seems as if there are simply too many thoughts to overcome. Too many bullet points on the to-do list to still check off. Eventually the message goes through and I can hear the ‘whoosh’ sound whirl by as my thumb reaches over and presses down …

The exhaust is bellowing with deathly, evil notes of noise – big throaty gasps that come and go with increasing frequency - as the engine continues to blast away. The nearby canyon walls letting each breath live just a tad past their prime on exit, as the sounds echoes from one cliff face to the next.
The power plant turns over again, and again, and again as the throttle continues to evade logic by simply pushing on — Harder and faster then each previous bend in the road. Continually building the …

Stray shards of light bounce off a twinkling black asphalt as the bike tips into the corner once more and I make yet another pass on this life. It’s an exaggerated, pendulum like movement that quickly tosses me from one side of the saddle to the other — with forceful haste and while it seems wildly chaotic and intrinsically unsettling, ironically it feels exactly the opposite… I haven’t felt this planted all day…
The far-flung movement, which at first seems overstated and highly saturated, somehow allows me to just ‘let it …

[Photo by Rick Clemson]
The sun is well past its prime and I’m feeling unbelievably angry — angry at the motorcycle, angry at the mountain, angry at myself, even angry at the new CRG levers…
Because I waited to long to get on the bike and just go…
I let the day slip past me under the false pretenses of a cloud-covered disguise and a morning filled with wasted time. Now halfway through the ride, my penance seems to be a road that’s permeated by an apprehensive collection of near constant tension.
It’s the …

It’s been a rock’n few weeks for riding — With the weather turning, the skies clearing (relatively speaking) and a bit more free time then usual, I’ve some how managed to rack up just over a 1,000 miles thus far this month. While that’s just a drop in the bucket for the high mileage crowd, for me it’s historically quite good. Also probably explains why I’ve felt rather relaxed - even on days when the weather went to hell and the bike got tossed about, because there was always ‘tomorrow’ …

Sliding over the saddle, I duck to the inside. Bask in the sunshine and feel the harmony of the bike, the road and the reason come together. The tires grab the chunky asphalt and tilt to the match the moment. It’s fast and swift and marvelous.
All the ingredients of perfection.
Twisting my neck, I stare down the edge of a peripheral vision. Try to connect with what’s remotely perceptible. Watch the yellow lines comfortably contort around the side of the mountain before they disappear behind the next jutting collection of rocks …