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

[NitroRoo]

Originally Posted by LWRider

And the absence of those ugly wires. Man, seems every time I have the perfect shot there is a powerline in the freakin' way. Wish they'd bury them suckers.

That's what photoshop is for

[AntiHero]

Rueben, you rock!

[klaviator]

Originally Posted by NitroRoo

That's what photoshop is for

That is an awesome picture! I nominated it as a front page photo candidate.

[mikegc]

Rueben, go ahead and stick a chick in a bear skin bikini and a bottle of Schlitz in there for 'em! Good job helping that photo out. It's great.

Mike

[LWRider]

Yeah, I have been know to use Photoshop to enhance, or rather un-uglify, some otherwise nice photos. Good work!

Cheers,

Mike

[linksIT]

Great report thanks for sharing best wishes to ya regarding your health. Looks like you were able to beat it

[beemerkid]

Originally Posted by AntiHero

So after riding around Hwy 1 in Marin I'd finally ticked over the miles I needed and headed over to Hattar Motorsports in San Rafael for the first service. Wow--what an amazing space:





If there is such a thing as mechanophilia, this place would be heaven.

The good news--when my bike was done they told me not to baby it anymore or the valves would NOT seat properly. "Beat the hell out of it, it's ready" is what they said. I gladly obliged. What I didn't realize is how impossible it is in/around cities to actually beat the hell out of it. It's loud as hell (they started a Termi-piped 1199 for me and though deeper, was no louder than mine), and FUCK this thing makes insane power. Getting on the freeway I took it up to around 10k rpm and almost looped it, the power spikes around 8k and then all the fury of hell is released shortly thereafter. It's ferocious and sublime. I was blown away.

Im still working on reading the whole rr, but I just wanted to comment on Hattar Motorsports. They are hands down the best dealer Ive ever worked with. I bought my Streetfighter there last year and Valarie (sp?) was great with getting me approved for a loan and getting all the paperwork done( it was my first new vehicle purchase, I was 19). When I picked it up the service manager went thru all the buttons and computer stuff and then told me to, "Treat it nice for 100 miles, then beat the piss out of it increasing your revs 1000rpm/100miles."

[castroses]

Dude, you are hardcore!!!

Originally Posted by AntiHero

And so after the diagnosis I realized the conditions of my average race had caused intercranial swelling and disrupted the flow of spinal fluid, which can result in herniation and death. The one event that had provided my life with so much meaning was ironically the one thing that had nearly killed me. But it also aggravated my condition to the point where it was diagnosed. Ironman was proof that nothing worthwhile was ever easy and I applied what I learned in triathlon (start at the beginning, take each section in stages, keep moving and do not stop until you cross the finish line) to what was going to be the biggest challenge of my life.

I won't go into the details of all the stress and tears and really, really terrible emotions that result when you're told you might be a vegetable and/or should start saying your goodbyes. Writing your will when you're 40 is not an easy thing to swallow and when I think about those days I still feel the emotions as if it was happening now. But two things kept me going through it all. My will to fight through it with courage:




And the woman who loved me through it all. Her confidence, concern and incredibly positive outlook were invaluable and made a massive, massive difference.



Two weeks later, success:



I was fortunate enough to go under the knife of rockstar neurosurgeon Dr. McDermott at UCSF and came out of the surgery in a lot of pain, but his mad skills meant I didn't need to re-learn how to tie my shoes, I could walk in a straight line again and, most importantly wasn't a vegetable and wasn't dead!

I was on my 675 again and even did my first run exactly 30 days after surgery. Unfortunately once I came off Dexamethazone the party ended and since then it's been a major struggle. Still not sure what's causing some of the issues I still have, but each month is better than the last and if you can ride a motorcycle life can't be all bad now, can it?

[AntiHero]

Last night was a good night.

Mojitos and Maguro Shots and a lot of Branzino.





Failed to get a shot of the insanely good mushrooms and braised greens my hostess cooked up. Every restaurant I've been to in Colorado has braised greens, but none were as good as the ones last night.

[AntiHero]

And occasionally a photo perfectly captures the essence of what a city 'feels' like, requiring few, if any, words. And it's this pic below that crystallizes what Boulder 'feels' like, to me at least:



(About the only thing the picture lacks is a thousand daffodils fluttering in the breeze. Oh, and some lighting.)

[AntiHero]

I'm sure by now everyone has heard about the tragedy in Aurora. I went to Denver today and decided to drive out to Aurora. The entire area was still completely blocked off as the police index, file and stamp all of the evidence.





I definitely do not want to turn this into a political discussion, but just have to add that seeing the dazed, 'thousand yard stares' in the eyes of several people who had clearly lost someone makes such a tragedy far more real.

[AntiHero]

On a lighter note--I went into Denver today to explore. I hadn't done any research, just figured I'd drive around and see what serendipity had in store for me. Since I've been in Colorado I've noticed a peculiar thing at restaurants and in public places (coffee shops, crosswalks, grocery stores): a 5:1 ratio of women to men! I have no idea what the explanation is, but when I stopped in to grab a bite this afternoon there it was again. Table in front, behind and outside of just girls. And the entire wait staff--bartender included--were female, with the exception of one dude.

[johnmcallahan]

Problem?

[AntiHero]

No problem at all! Just odd...especially coming from LA and the Bay Area, where every day is a sausagefest.

[johnmcallahan]

True.