Afterglow

Five O Clock rolled around as though it'd forgotten to set its alarm and woke up two minutes before it had to be at work. But that really isn't where the exciting part starts. I didn't even hit the commute home right away. First things first, gotta hit the gym, gotta be good.

 After feeling the burn, the excitement doesn't start either, I have to get home. I hop on my white single speed roadbike and start peddling. Boring long stretches of highway give me ample time to get my heart rate up, and think about going for a real ride. Its funny how some of the riding position and techniques cross over between a road bicycle and a sport motorcycle. The hunched over riding position, the leaning and turning, and the necessity to keep light on the bars. Although obviously a 20lbs road bicycle is a tad twitchier than a 400lbs sportbike.

I whip through a few turns near the skatepark, pedal hard down the last straight, make a suicidal dash across four lanes of traffic, one last right/left turn, then ease up the speed and coast up to my garage. I put the kickstand down and look at my therapist, Dr. Yamaha, as I take off my bicycle helmet.

As I get inside my apartment I send off a few text messages to local Crotch Rocketeers asking them if they want to go ride. They say no, as expected on short notice. My bicycle clothes come off and I slide into my Alpinestar two piece suit. Wallet, registration, insurance, in my inside pocket; cell phone, keys, in my right and left outside pockets. I stride out towards my garage, my track boots squeaking with every step. My ear plugs are already in, I can't hear the children playing, the wind, or the passing cars. All I can hear is my own heartbeat and the ever present ringing in my ears.

The sun is sliding down towards the horizon, but there's at least an hour and a half until sundown. Lots of light, but I'll be riding into the sun for a few parts of my planned ride. I turn the key and listen for the fuel pump to drive the bubbles out of the lines and prime the carbs. Just a few turns from the starter and the tiny 600cc inline four engine screams to life.

Revs increase with the engine temperature then decrease as I let the choke out. Just a few minutes later I'm cruising down the highway south of Corvallis. Traffic is light. Theres a medium wind blowing from the Northwest, which is a little chillier than I'd like. The signs for Airport road slide past, I turn on my turn signal and downshift, veering slightly into the turn lane. I dip the right side of my body towards the handlebars and tilt my head as I anticipate my turn in point. I lock my knees into the tank to keep from getting crossed up and steer.

My R6 dips into the corner, I give it some gas and it slingshots out. I ride the speed limit past the airport, not eager to draw attention out in the open by going fast. Its a mile of straight road with a mild curve before the next corner. The suggested speed for the left hand corner is 35.

I enter at just over the posted speed limit with a late dive in, late apex, and early hard throttle on. My corner exit feels spot on and solid. I realize its going to be a good ride. No hesitation, no feeling "off", and no survival reactions. The random thought enters my mind that I should mix up my entry point to these back roads so I don't piss off the residents. I clear the though from my head as I hit the brake marker (suggested speed sign) for a 15mph corner.

Good thing I just changed from glazed over OEM pads to these nice new ones, and got new fork oil to replace the 13 year old stuff huh? The front dives as I brake hard, but stays stable and solid. I dip my inside shoulder, countersteer, I'm at the apex quickly and rolling on the throttle hard to exit. There's no houses for half a mile, so any thoughts beyond "woohoo that felt good" don't cross my mind.

Corvallis is an agricultural area and as such many of the roads are depressingly (to a Crotch Rocketeer) straight. Today I decide to minimize my risk of an unpleasant run in with Benton County Sheriffs and take it really easy on the straights heading out to my favorite twisties.

Decker road. How to describe Decker road? Its our own little piece of MotoGP in our back yard. It starts with a mile long straightaway then alternates a few posted 35mph corners with two long sweepers before jumping up into the hills, over a ridge and down into a valley before dumping into the highway to the coast. Unfortunately theres a section washed out that hasn't been repaired that breaks up the whole uphill pace of it. Oh well, still an excellent ride.

The only traffic I pass on Decker is some bicyclists whom I give a wide berth (the advantage of being on two wheels, easier to share the road). Once I get to the Philomath side I whip around and head back. I concentrate on my body positioning, keeping my torso low and moving it into the corners to avoid getting crossed up. I try to keep the throttle as smooth and steady as I can, keeping my eyes off the gauges (and trying not to worry about my speed). The lower I get my chest to the tank, the more I keep my knees locked into the tank, the more stable I feel. Its exhilerating to feel this kind of control whipping through the hills like this.

My survival reactions are remarkably calm, replaced by this feeling of joy, conquest, and euphoria. The second half of my loop gives me similar feelings but as the sun sets and the cold northern wind starts to get to me, I decide to head for home.

The last few agonizing straight highway miles on my return trip give me time to think about what a great trip its been. Not just this ride, but my experience in life since getting into motorcycles two years ago. Each sunny day I'm stuck in my office I'm thinking about being out there with my R6. Each rainy day during the winter I'm imagining living somewhere I can ride comfortably all year long. Each evening and night I spend wrenching on my old bike, learning new things, getting angry about the constant maintenance an old bike takes, is time well spent to have the kind of conquest I just had.

Sure there's failures like the crash I had shortly after getting endorsed, or on a smaller scale blowing a corner (but not crashing), or breaking something I'm trying to fix. But those failures just make the victories like realizing my skills are improving that much sweeter.

I suppose this entry is just a little sappy, but what else would you expect from an afterglow?