Coast to Coast (and back?) with an Italian Supermodel

[goodcat8]

Panigale on Ride Apart

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHtsp9emDD4

[BenZvan]

Originally Posted by goodcat8

Panigale on Ride Apart

Well...Palomar Observatory is now on my TODO list...

[AntiHero]

Flying down to LA tomorrow to pick bike up. The actual 'final' ride to complete this trip (returning to the Bay Area with some excitement in between), coming soon. Will be back online on Monday. Hopefully will have some pics and stories to show for it.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

[Serbchaser]

This is gonna be good...

[motopat]

[rico2072]

Have fun.
Gopro through twisties?

[jesse v]

Not to bring this up again, but I, for one, have enjoyed the introspective aspects of this RR. If their implied conclusions bother the reader, it indicates a problem with the reader, not the author--regardless of whether they are correct or not.

..and I second the request for GoPro footage.

[Blumtnman]

+1.

[Squidbrah]

Originally Posted by AntiHero

Flying down to LA tomorrow to pick bike up. The actual 'final' ride to complete this trip (returning to the Bay Area with some excitement in between), coming soon. Will be back online on Monday. Hopefully will have some pics and stories to show for it.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Finally something I can look forward to

[TigerMike]

Wow. I've been reading incredible RR's and the best are ones, like yours, with so much soul and insight. It's incredible to hear how this has added more significance to your life story.

The unique factor of your Panigale has certainly raised some eyebrows for those like myself that have slowly gotten away from sport bikes and also made me question why we can't do rides like this if we put our minds to it. Then I consider retreat back to my big comfy riding position and seat. But it's good to know I shouldn't automatically dismiss the idea. Speaking of raising eyebrows, I'm excited to hear about your time with Ducati at COT. Remember what you've done here and consider offering them with a thrilling adventure through Europe. Remind them you just need to find a bike for the journey.

I've taken a road trip through Europe and I suggest at some point you drive the San Bernindino Pass, no regrets. Probably the best road I've ever been on. The nurburgring is worth seeing and driving, but as I drove the track in my comfy cage and passed motorbikes I couldn't help but worry for their safety. I know my warning should lead you the right way direction though :)

I may be moving to Costa Mesa in the next few months so ill have to watch for adventures you take in and around Southern CA.

Lastly, I found the part in minneapolis interesting. I've known John Meyer for some time and when he started DOOM I knew he would do with it what he does with most things in life. He really has put 150% into that and it's great to see what it's become.

[Scooterquest]

AntiHero,
I was just turned on to your RR last week, and have to admit I'm a little sad to be reading it as history instead of history in the making. I'm sorry to have missed you in Savannah, pizza at Vinnie Van Go-Go's is on me next time you pass through. As an absolute introvert (the kind who would make Jung jump up and say "That! That's what I'm talking about!"), I have thoroughly enjoyed your "one man, one motorcycle, and what-may-come" mission and the introspection and insights it wrought. My friends and I meet twice a year at Deals Gap for a week of all day riding, followed by all night lie-telling and philosophizing around the campfire- so I also appreciate the discussion, debate, and camaraderie you've inspired here. Thanks for taking us along for the ride.

[zingo]

great adventure !

Originally Posted by AntiHero

LA: Though I never quite felt at home there, I felt at home when I returned. And though I had a short time there--3 months in 2010, 9 in 2011-12, I seem to have no shortage of lucid memories. There's some sort of special significance Los Angeles has that I don't understand yet, like some clue in a David Lynch or Tarantino movie that will only reveal its purpose to me at some later date.

I had no idea what I was going to do. I thought traveling around the country would give me clarity. I thought I'd have found at least 3 or 4 cities where I'd want to live. I thought I'd be sick and tired of Kwai Chang Caining it around the US. But I had no clarity and I didn't want to stop. But none-the-less, I had to. I had projects and ideas and financial things to attend to. I needed to stay in one place for at least a few weeks so I could get my affairs in order, so to speak. My ex offered to let me stay with her for a few days, but the lease was up on our old place, so that wasn't a long-term solution.

The facts were:

• I had no home
• I didn't want one
• I couldn't stop
• I couldn't keep going (winter)

There was a rather bulletproof FJ sitting there in the driveway, though. And just like that plan for ADV v1.2 began.

I took the rest of my belongings and put 'em into storage and snapped one last pic of the odometer. And like I had done six months earlier, I hit the ignite button and roared off.


My last ride was sobering. And sad. And depressing. Getting onto the freeway I gave her wide open throttle through the gears, one last rush, one last taste of freedom for both of us. She thought that perhaps we were going to San Diego again, or Mexico, or even downtown. Or maybe to a new cool photo shoot location.









I indulged her vanity, snapped a bunch of shots, then carefully worked my hand down her left side to disconnect power while HAL's "Daisy" echoed slower and slower in my mind. It was the hardest thing I'd done the entire trip. I knew we'd be eventually be reunited, but as I backed her in with the rest of my things I couldn't help feel that I was burying my playmate and mistress and no small part of myself.

[manban9888]

I'm only on page 12 of this thread but wanted to let you know I love your RR. I'm new to ADV but own 3 bikes and absolutely love riding. I'm gonna read this all the way through and have my 2 boys read it too at their own pace. Your story isn't just a fun read but a lesson on living your life even through the hard parts. Hope to meet you on the road someday

[AntiHero]

Originally Posted by jesse v

Not to bring this up again, but I, for one, have enjoyed the introspective aspects of this RR. If their implied conclusions bother the reader, it indicates a problem with the reader, not the author--regardless of whether they are correct or not.

..and I second the request or GoPro footage.

Well put.

GoPro footage to come. Editing 2.5 hours of video is no joke, though! Give me 48 hours...

TigerMike: I'm happy this R/R could rekindle your passion for sportbikes. Don't dismiss....perhaps some upcoming video footage will push you over the proverbial edge.

Scooterquest: INFJ? (You can PM me your reply.)

zingo: glad to have you along for the ride. You, too, manban.

Now onto LA!!!!

[AntiHero]

Early on in this R/R I received one of the most difficult to respond to messages that I received the entire trip. It was from a guy who followed his dream to become a Navy SEAL. He spent years preparing for BUD/S, including traveling to Jordan to learn Arabic to increase his chance of admittance into the program. He was accepted, made it through four weeks, but lost focus one night and DOR’d (voluntarily dropped out on request).

(It's a brutal program. Google "Hell Week" or get on youtube and check out the torture required day-in-day-out.)

On one particular Friday, exhausted, fatigued, mentally vapid, he withdrew in the middle of it all. As the pain subsided, clarity returned and immediately he regretted his 'decision': “Years of hard work, gone in a moment of weakness, and its only my fault. I followed my dream, I gave it everything, I took the chance and failed hard. I have learned more about myself in those weeks than ever before. I know nothing in my life will be as physically demanding as buds. Sadly, learning who you are is learning who you are not. What do you do when you can’t follow your dream anymore?” (His words.)

Keep in mind he sent me a this message very early on—as a response to the brain tumor post if I recall. I’d been robbed of two of the greatest dreams in my life, so I think he saw me as someone who might have some answers about 'what next'? At the time all I had was hope, but no definite answer.

“Seems weak and discredits the hard work if the goal is easy to get over, seems lame to not get over it.”

I admit that last part as being poignant. Exactly so. It put a fine point onto the pain I myself was experiencing, a pain that I still feel daily. I knew nothing I could say would make anything better (for him or me) and could only give him the advice I was trusting to work out for myself: focus your passion and energy on the next goal.

Not all dreams come true. Even for someone like him who had the intelligence, focus, resolve and dedication to prepare for years. If a guy who survived some of the most brutal physical tests in the history of mankind failed, what chances does a normal person have to achieve anything? I don’t think I have an answer to that question other than, 'you’ll regret not trying far more than never attempting it in the first place'; failing is less of a regret than not trying.

While down in LA I was fortunate enough to meet up with him. I feel rude not to use his name, but due to his position as a ____ ____ ____ (yes, just like in Russian novels), pronouns will have to suffice. He’s still beaten up about SEALs, and probably always will be (I don't blame him). But survival requires adaptation. It was redeeming--five months later--to hear that his energy and passion have been transferred into a new position within the military that has the same objective: get the bad guys, protect the good guys and the people who don't think the bad guys are out to get them. It's the kind of behind the scenes, 'sacrifice your own life for the benefit of others who don't know you exist' work that deserves admiration rarely discussed and (fortunately) rarely sensationalized.

After a night of random exploring, Mexican food, Tequila shots and Rum/Beer at the S/S, he shook my foot at 5am. It was Cars and Coffee time, Irvine. 5:30 am to 7:30 am. Like all of my other adventures on the this report, discovering great things that I never knew existed was the outcome….