My Maiden Voyage on the Italian Whore

To put it mildly today was an epic day for me, there were so many emotions that flowed throughout the morning before my eventual trip on the new Ducati. I can honestly say that I haven't been so nervous for anything in a long time, the fact that 14 months after my near death accident around Lake Casitas I was going to do it again. I was very leery as to whether or not I would be ok and be able to ride the lake again. So as the time neared I had an epiphany of emotions and thoughts which preceded my leaving the driveway and heading towards the twisty stuff. I had a great workout at the gym and then came home and took the bike out of the living room and tried to tighten up the suspension, but being an Italian bike, all metric tools were needed so fine tuning would have to wait for another day. So I started it up and went and got my gear ready and let the Italian warm her legs before I got my jacket and boots on, very stranger but I kinda of freaked when I saw my jacket and boots were still dirty from the crash in the dirt 14 months ago and I left it there and said fuck it, ride the bitch and get this over with without the drama of thinking myself into a frenzy. So I laced everything up and zipped up the now loose jacket and straddled the whore and gunned it before popping into first gear. Heading down the street automatically doing mach speed without even realizing it, get to the corner and realize that I need to chill out and get through the ride and get acclimated to the bike and the roads again. Ad shit it went by so fast, the ride was stunning , the feel of the road came back so quickly and the handling of a foreign bike didn't feel all too foreign after the first 5 turns, trust me I was back in the saddle with a vengeance and truly enjoying the experience of re -learning the mindset and it is a really different scene than driving a car and it didn't take long for me to get into that mindset at all. Riding through he canyon I felt at ease, the nerves were gone and the concentration level was right there with me. As i continued to the turnaround point I made the decision to come back via the freeway and give my knee the needed rest from twisting and turning ,leaning off the bike into turns wasn't as easy with a swollen surgically repaired knee but It still was a safe fast pace and that was all that needed to do for the day. I rode the freeway home from Carpinteria and enjoyed the ocean view and breezes that I would have never noticed in the past, I would have been riding the opposite direction and doing the counter clock-wise trip around Lake Casitas but was happy to be good and back on the saddle again. Got home and texted Terria that I was ok and home and enjoyed my ride. The bike was amazing, she did everything that it was supposed to do and more, the brakes are amazing and the handling was that of a nimble Japanese 600 but this was a bit more torquey and quicker out of turns. i was able to get rid of the chicken strips on the tires, the unused rubber that never gets touched  as the previous owner never turned this bike like it was meant to be turned, so lean angle was never utilized until today! The bike is a very throaty sounding v-twin precision tuned exhaust with a deep tone that turned some heads today, not counting the 3 Harley riders that were in my way and I buzzed their towers as politely as I possible could, but they still get pissed when anything non American passes them, oh well, we share the roads and some of us at a slower pace than other. It was an epic beginning to more fun and sun for the Gregasaurus, today marked the beginning of a newer awareness on the bike where my talents and luck cannot ever again be taken for granted and must really focus on the little things that I did when i first learned how to ride. I parted today with a thought of thankfulness that i was given the opportunity to be able to set out on my passion for riding a fast motorcycle fast again, i may never again be at the speed and level I once was but that is the deal that I have made with myself and inadvertently with Terria, to ride hard and smart, not fast and furious as I once did, i am not invincible and realize that this passion will be that if I am safe and smart in my travels. I was able to close out the day with a trip to the driving range and hit way too many balls today but hit them well and feel really good after coming home and showering and waiting for Terria and Brandon to go to dinner with Tim and April and my mom, we had a great night and both Terria and I are very tired and looking forward to an even busier day tomorrow with clearing out the storage and organizing the garage before attending a 55th birthday party  for one of the trainers at Bally's at a local Bar Sam's Saloon downtown for BBQ and drinks all around. So it will be Happy 55th Birthday to Ed Maulhardt and a fun time and a shitload of laughs at their drunk ass expense! Great day and Good night!