I headed north, up the coast. It felt good to ride the straight line of Pacific Coast Highway. Time to get used to the beast again. How to slip the clutch, to find neutral. To balance it’s massive weight. Upshifting, downshifting. Some times smooth, some times rough. Every shift is painful. My injured toe presses hard against the top of my boot. A painful reminder of a past ride and gentle reminder that it could’ve been worse. Lots of time to get reacquainted on the way to Ojai.

The roads out of Ojai have more twist to them. Roads that demand a flow. Scrub off some speed, lean it in and roll on the throttle. Left, then right, then left again. Over and over. I think to myself “you used to do this, don’t fight it”. When I relax the bike flows in and out of every corner. When I tense up, the 990 knows it and reminds me. RELAX! Each corner gives me a chance to get it right again. I need more practice, and the corners keep coming. I’m grateful.

Today I’m going to share some pics from my last big trip on the 990. Two years ago for Christmas I rode down to Baja with my friend’s Matt and Michael. I’ve been looking at those pics a lot lately, so I thought I’d share them here. It feels like a long time ago, but I think it’s time. Time to get back on that horse.

Since my crash last year I’ve been resistant to riding the moto. I’ve talked myself out of so many rides that I’ve lost count. The bike is heavy, and I worry about the leg I broke. I’ve been cleared to ride the moto for almost a year know, but it’s taken much longer than I thought to get my head ready.

Today was different though. I wanted to ride the moto in to work. I purposefully kept it to myself. I didn’t want to tell my wife that I intended to ride. Not because she wouldn’t want me to, but I didn’t want to tell her I was going to, and then wimp out. She’s going to read this and think I’m crazy. But she knows I’m crazy anyways, so it’s cool.

So I went out and fired up the mighty 990. Damn, it sounded great. A nice deep rumble that only a twin can make. I wish my legs made that noise whenever I mount the bike. Instead they just make a wimpy moan, and I swear I’ve heard them say “just get back in bed!”.

I took the streets to work, because I wanted to work on my clutch feel. It’d been a while and I didn’t want to stall if I could avoid it. The bike was runnin’ great and I was feelin’ good. It wasn’t long before all my concerns and hang ups drifted away. It felt natural to be on the big moto again. I wanted to skip work and just keep going!

All I could think about at work was the commute home. I wanted to take the long way home, maybe over the mountains, or down along the coast? But Thursday nights are our date nights, so I just headed home. We had a fun night planned and I didn’t want to be late. Besides, now I realize that I can do it, and more importantly my head is into it again. Turns out it wasn’t that hard after all, it really is just like riding a bike!

I know that I need to make time to ride the moto, somehow. I do love riding the damn thing. I guess I just have a thing for two wheeled travel. I notice that my bikes are setup like my moto. Panniers, racks etc. Ready to go anywhere.

He was inviting me along for a ride, a good one too. His plan is to ride up 395 to Big Pines and then headout to Saline Valley. The trip will end at the annual Warped Trip in Kernville. I let him know that I wouldn’t be able to make this trip, I’ve already got plans for that particular weekend, but I hope to ride with him soon. Maybe Baja, maybe not, but he’s good company to keep, and I’m glad that we’ve kept in contact.

Maybe a weekend trip to the Sierras is in order? Yeah, I think so. Have a great weekend.