Weekend Thrills

It's always a good weekend when I spend time on my bike. Friday night I rode to Orange. It was only my second ride at night, but already I felt way more comfortable than I did the first time. I'm actually pretty comfortable cruising at LA freeway speeds now.

Saturday was mostly spent with the girlfriend (the real one, not the Ducati). Saturday evening I had some free time so I headed up Santiago Canyon road. It was late, the sun was low, and the ride was pleasant. The road itself wasn't particularly twisty, but it still put a smile on my face to just be out on my bike. One concern: my downshifts still need a lot of work. I chirped the rear tire again downshifting before a corner.


Sunday I got up to watch the MotoGP race in Germany. SPOILER ALERT! Rossi crashed out and Stoner only came in fifth. Pedrosa ran away to take first by 13 seconds. Kind of disappointing since there wasn't a whole lot of excitement (like Catalunya, or last year at Germany) but a well-spent hour nonetheless.

After the race, I packed up and rode home. Freeways are much easier when it's sunny outside. I stopped home to drop off my backpack and get some lunch, then headed out to my favorite weekend place: the Malibu hills. Todays route meandered along Topanga Canyon -> Old Topanga -> Mulholland -> Stunt -> Schuren -> Piuma -> Mulholland -> Kanan Dume -> Latigo Canyon -> PCH -> Sunset Blvd -> Home.

When I drive my car, I usually try to stop at a few scenic spots to stretch and enjoy the view. When I'm on my bike, these rest stops have a completely different feel. My butt needs a rest and I stretch my wrists, but the biggest difference is that I enjoy them more. The whole day I've been feeling the heat of the valley and the cool breeze off the ocean and the smells as I ride along the hills. When I stop, I reflect on the road travelled and the road soon to be travelled. It's true what they say. Riding a motorcycle gives you a freedom you can't find in a car, even if you drive the exact same roads, under almost exactly the same conditions.

I'd never taken Latigo Canyon top-to-bottom. Previously I've always started at the PCH end. Riding it backwards was great. The view as you descend towards the ocean is breathtaking. The Ducati was so happy in the twists and turns. As I got into the rhythm, swaying back and forth, leaning a little more into each turn, I noticed my speeds picking up a little. Usually I try to back off and stay conservative, but the bike was loving it. Things stabilized. I was able to take better lines. Everything was working so much better. I think there's an optimal corner speed for each turn, and so far I've been erring on the conservative side of things, and feeling unsettled and a bit shaky sometimes because of it. I'm not talking knee-dragging race speeds, but feeling a bit of G force really sorts the bike out.


I've mentioned it before, but it hits me again each time I ride: you go where you look. This time I noticed that if I overestimate my corner entry speed, when I try to scrub speed by braking, I run the corner wide. Turns out, the reason is that I always look straight ahead when I'm braking, and since this is right before a turn, that means I'm looking straight off the road! Smoothly applying brakes while continuing to look through the turn really helps me to set my entry speed accordingly without running wide.

Time: 6 hours (total)
Miles: 250 (total)