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

Holy crap! You sure that was a racetrack? Grab your leathers and head to Barber.

Yeah, BW kind of sucks. In a car it's not too bad, but there were a couple sections of extremely rough pavement just post apex that you had to watch out for. Barber looks better in your video than it did in person. Great to see you tearing it up on the 675. You make me miss mine even more.

Tom, I'm glad that vid changed your lurker status. Thanks for sharing your story. Sorry about your dad as well. Motorcycles are the best therapy (for all tragedies it seems)--and it seems like you have a diverse enough of a collection to deal with anything that comes (or gets in) your way!

Even the thought of the track used to really bother me because I was incapable of doing something I loved so much. Though I'm still not ready for the g-forces of my S2000 again, I'm overwhelmingly pleased--even shocked--that I can handle the forces of the bike (turmeric and ginger pills to the rescue!).

Love the BW video- maybe the rough track, but it has the quality of a WWII dogfight film. That Bitch/Goddess we call the GoPro camera has granted us stunning HD quality, but forces us to endure endless hours of mind-numbingly boring rides. It's refreshing to find the rare vid that makes you hold on to the edge of the desk and lean through the turns...

Then again, maybe after following this RR so long, I'm just preloaded to live vicariously through AntiHero- Gonna find myself in a ditch beside the NJ turnpike if I'm not careful!

Looks like there has been too much frameless red sexiness for photobucket. Oh well, they'll get over it. Cheers, and by the way, Dolin dry plays well with an unusually cucumbery gin. Superlative RR!
-CJ

What good is 29.99 per year with unlimited bandwidth on photobucket if they still cut a paying bastard off? Tomorrow's the first., pics will be up again.

CJ...Oakland....CJ Yothxx???

Not me, I came here from the BARF. Sadly, if any "service provider" uses the word "unlimited" in accordance with it's accepted definition, let me know so I can sign up.

The 1st and still no dice on the pics. Anyhow, incredible RR. Thank you very much for the time and the effort that was put into this. It was inspiring personally for a connection I may not even be fully aware of yet. Thanks.

As for photobucket...check this link...

https://www.smugmug.com/photos/photo-sharing-features/

I saw the photo early this AM. I thought I could hear the tell tale signature of knee puck on the ground in your video. NICE! Glad you're back to high-g sports. That feeling is so much fun.


Something about that feeling relates to snowboarding and high G turns and your fingers brushing the snow or surfing. Ah good clean fun!

Thanks for the comments. Yes I have a quiver full of arrows in the garage. Google - Why motorcycles are better than women...

From Photobucket:

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To those affected, we sincerely apologize. We appreciate your patience and don't want you to feel...bamboozled. We are working on this issue right now.

We'll update this article as soon as this issue has been resolved. To those who wrote in to our help desk, we will respond to your tickets as soon as your accounts are functioning properly.

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Glad I went back and looked, that must have been a great car show. That Black Lamborghini looks like a stealth fighter. Love the Cobra, and there are a few cars that I have never seen before.

Looking good on the track D, so what kind of speeds were you hitting?

Damn, AH!!! What kind of track day were you running? There was a serious disparity among the skill set, closing speed, riding abilities and track experience of the riders on the course at the same time. Never seen a facility that allowed novice and advanced riders--with unrestricted passing rules--on the track at the same time. Kind'a reminded me of rush hour traffic in Cincinnati...

DC: 140 on the front straight (indicated). Only for a second before nailing the brakes.

Badjuju: Errr....well, ok, so I was passing on the inside and outside, but only because passing on the outside only was impossible unless I went into the dirt. Slower riders should have been staying off line, but when they were on the line what do you do? I expected to get chastised by the organizers (or get a B sticker), but the instructors on the track themselves would point me around riders and give me the 'go' signals. (I wasn't the only one passing on either side.) In person it didn't seem so extreme, but the video makes the speed differentials seem a little absurd and dangerous. In my defense, though, it still was my first track experience on a bike, but in hindsight I should have gone up a level.

AH: I wasn't really chastising you so much as I was surprised that the facility and the group leaders didn't control the speed differentials and passing lines more rigidly. It actually looked like you had a blast.

Hey, you can't help it that the Pani is so f'n fast...

Took no offense. I probably deserve a little chastising. Especially for some of the passes I didn't include in the vid. But no one complained. All the passes were safe with plenty of room.

A little pre-track background. My ex bought me a custom full suit a couple years ago. I wore it once or twice. Heroic...hmmm...I don't want to slam 'em, because I think they have a good design, but let's just say they have had some teething issues and some major QC issues, too. Like I ordered Kang, but got Cow. They made good on the mistake, though. Forgivable. The short sleeves, though....that's ridiculous. Just look at how short those sleeves are! Ok, fine, whatever, I'm wearing gloves most the time with the suit.

Then on the way from LA to BW it got COLD. Really cold. then I looked down and the zippers had split. Jesus Christ.



Rode the rest of the way to Buttonwillow freezing my ass off. Then spent three hours on a craptacularly bad internet connection googling 'how to fix a broken zipper'. I ended up mending it, just barely, but was stressing quite a bit thinking what the hell I'd do at the track if it split open again.

Have a new long-distance setup, too. Michael at Britkit (exclusive US distributor of Kriega luggage & packs) sent me out an R30 backpack just because he's a super cool dude and loved that I was living out of the Kriega US 20 for the entire trip. He also couldn't stand that I was using an inferior backpack that was about as waterproof as my jeans. So when I got to my 'permanent' home, this bad boy was waiting.



Only problem was I was in NorCal with killer new waterproof/bombproof backpack and my bike was in SoCal. The separation didn't last very long. The neoprene helmet cover Michael sent made flying on Southwest with my new Shoei (finally ditched the Bell) a pleasant and professional experience. And it kind of made me feel like I was carrying Darth Vader's head through security.



The backpack has a pretty slick harness system that snaps in quite positively--and takes a lot of the weight off of your shoulders:


The straps are made from a firm, comfortable padding, the added reflectors increase visibility and probably the best thing is that there aren't a bunch of straps that flap and slap around when you're doing 90.

Here's the US20 (Doc Martin's inside) and R30 Pack (that's my Revit Jacket and some other shit stuffed into there) mounted and ready for battle in LA traffic. (Note the way the backpack rests on the tail bag--means that the bike is carrying the load, not your upper body.)



I can't say enough great things about Kriega gear. Clearly these guys get it--they live and breathe motorcycles and travel gear. You can see it in every latch, zipper (ahem, Heroic!), strap and seam. And the fact that they sent me a few hundred dollars worth of gear goes to show ya that these guys are simply cool motherfuckers, too. They ain't in the business just to make a buck. They make products that have to be completely dependable, reliable, impervious and versatile.

I can vouch for the Kriega kit too. I've had the R30 for about 4 years now. I was using it for a while but the first time I used it in the rain it let a little water seep in. When i checked the waterproof inner there was a very small fold in the lining that was the culprit. I e-mailed Kriega (a relatively local company to me) and they sent me a replacement that I received within a couple of days and an apology from them. First class customer service and I have had no problem with the bag since. They even come with a ten year guarantee in the UK. As you say, the harness takes a lot of the weight off your shoulders but also, my rear seat is higher than the front and the bottom of the bag sits on this meaning I hardly notice it is there.


DSCF1052 by prooney377, on Flickr

After several weeks reading all 104 exhilarating and enjoyable pages, it's finally come to an end When is your next adventure beginning, so you can keep us 'keyboard dreamers' entertained?

The pictures throughout the report are incredible, each and every one of them. You certainly have an eye for a good photograph. I particularly liked the images from New Orleans; the handheld night shots gave a very atmospheric and personalised style to the shots.

Reading your report has inspired me to drag out my 22 year old CBR from the garage and get her ready for the spring. I'm almost finished and can't wait to ride her (it's been over a year). Here she is two years ago and is still immaculate (minus the graphs).



My girlfriend is moving to Spain in a few weeks to work for 6-12 months, so I'm hoping for a few weeks in Western Europe on the bike.

If you do plan a Europe trip, get yourself over to Scotlad and sample our beautiful scenery and roads to match.

exactly!