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

When I say "laid it down" I mean that literally, not as a euphemism. It was around 11:30pm when I made it back to the garage, which is situated in an alley adjacent to a hell of a lot of houses and apartments. When I roll in late I always shut the engine off and coast in so as not to be that dick on an obnoxiously loud bike waking everyone up on a weeknight.

Only problem is that the Panigale's lights turn off when the bike isn't running. Not a big deal, but the asphalt is in terrible condition. As I coasted to nearly a halt I fumbled around trying to press the garage door button through my leather jacket. And as I slowed to near zero the bike hit what felt like a curb and the bike immediately started to drop to the left. Only problem was that my left hand was fishing around for the damn remote. I braced the bike as much as I could with my legs to slow it down, did get a hold of the left clip on about half way to ground zero, but by then it was too late.

For the last 20 degrees I literally just held on and laid the bike down as gently as possible.

Anyone who's had an accident or done something irreversible knows exactly what weird amalgam of an emotion goes through your mind. It's a mixture of regret and the stupidity, mingled with a "Ctrl-Z, Ctrl-Z!" desire to just go back a few seconds to do it all differently. I picked the bike up, found the damn door button and rolled inside to see the extent of the damage.

Absolutely could not believe my eyes. The beautiful, smooth, candy-apple red fairing hadn't a nick or a scratch. The tail section? Pristine. The shock cover? Not a mark. The tank, though--the tank: smooth as glass. WTF? Only damage was the clutch lever (the break off point functioned as it should have) and the high beam switch snapped off (I think my finger did that while trying to muscle the bike). Oh yeah, and there was a slight mark on the bar end.

Fucking 'eh. Had the bike just fallen at speeds dictated by gravity I'm sure it would have been worse, but all that was really damaged was my ability to say "I haven't dropped a bike in 20 years."

Next morning I took a pic of the concrete chunk:

Old Montreal first became a trading post in 1605, was abandoned, then re-established to care for (and convert) Iroquois. It became a British colony in 1763. Basically--it's OLD and filled with history. But now it's just a touristy area with no real 'flavor' beyond the 10-20 different flavors of Gelato you can get. But it does make a nice backdrop for motorbike pics:

Okay....thanks for the small fix......LOL
Sorry to hear about the bike, but in the pics afterwards you don't even see the lever is broken.
Anyways, glad it wasn't worse.

:eek1 Ouch. Good to hear that the beauty escaped with only minor damage.

Superglue! :)

If you stay up there in the great white north much longer, ice screws in the tires and frame
sliders might be nice mods to have




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Glad to see ya gots some proper foot wear, I was worried about them funky shoes you started out on. LOL

awwww, heck, you didn't really drop her, you just kind of let her down, gently, or as gently as you could! Hey, in 20 more years you'll be able to say "I only ever laid a bike down once in 40 years".....

I agree that "olde Montreal" is only old in terms of the architecture.....but overall the town is great....there is always something fun going on every week of the summer. If you had time or space to do some cooking, I'd say get over to Marche Jean Talon for a most amazing fresh food market stall experience.

Quick note on Hunter Thompson....he never quite felt comfortable in American society, it seems. Maybe sense of rejection due to being kicked out of high school just before graduation for a stupid prank? Dunno. Maybe. Maybe the other way around. "Fear and loathing on the campaign trail '72" is maybe the best book written about the way presidential campaigns USED to be run. His early articles in "The National Observer"...travel accounts...I recommend highly.

Where are you headed next?

I fell off my dirtbike pretty hard a couple of weeks ago. My helmet smacked the ground pretty good. I would have broken my skull open without it. I've been riding bikes for about 25 years with my helmet only really keeping the bugs and wind off of my cabasa wondering if I really need it (the helmet). It got me thinking. I'm really glad it happened. I decided to look at it as a good reminder. Glad I got off light. Glad you did, too. Epic report.

or in 30yrs say to your grandson...did I ever tell you the time I laid down an Italian super model while visting Montreal...

You've got it backwards. There was nothing wrong with Thompson,
unless being a keen observer qualifies as a personality flaw. The inability of
someone who is paying attention to fit comfortably in a messed up society is not a
flaw, any more than a sensitive sense of smell is a flaw in a dog.

Hunter Thompson didn't like a lot of the foulness that infests so much
of American society. Thompson had a better grasp of how the system works
in the US than most people do. It's easier to be comfortable with the state of the world
when you aren't paying attention, and all you care about is what's for dinner and what is
on TV ( the Romans called this "bread and circuses", and it was a means of keeping the
populace docile in order that the ruling class would not have to deal with uprisings )

Hunter Thompson did pay attention and much of what he saw was very ugly indeed.
It would be interesting to hear what Thompson would have to say about how things are today;
I'm sure he would have some choice words about the extreme selfishness and lack of civility
that is so prevalent the US these days.


I could say a lot more, but it's Antihero's RR, so I will stop now.


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My being equivocal about Thompson was my (possibly lame) attempt to comment on the earlier HST comments yet avoid the possibility of wandering too far from Antihero's RR. Truth is, I agree with you. What would HST say about today's American society? Extrapolate from "Generation of Swine".....probably pretty close. I think this guy just about hit a ten: http://www.insomniacathon.org/rrIHTTH01.html
HST was right, living on the margins of society is hard. Not being approved of by a majority. Riding a bike, going on adventures, puts us out there on the fringe, too, even if we're not out and out outlaws--we're outside the cultural norms. And I think that relates back to Antihero's RR, 'cause his vantage point changed once he started the ride, same time his cultural niche changed. HIs journey sets him apart. Heck, even the fact that he's doing this on a Panigale sets him apart from the "DS norm" within the community of long riders (a key reason he's my hero of season). He's still an active participant in the world, but he's coming at it from a different angle now -- looking in from an edge. Fortunately for us, his excellent writing skills are conveying his experiences awesomely!

Well, I just got caught up on this RR, and I have to say it was absolutely riveting. I joined up on this site to do some research for a month-long ride next summer, and I am glad I started reading some of the reports in this sub-forum. I've read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance more than a couple times and, like many other readers here, I think there's the seed of a book every bit as good here.

Wish that I'd been on this site a bit earlier so I could have met up with you when you were in Detroit, I live right on the 8 Mile border and go to school at WSU in Midtown. Glad you found Slow's, though, that's one of the gems of Corktown for sure.

Looking forward to more!

Your odyssey thus far has been one of the best commentaries I've ever read about the high and low points of American life in 2012.

If your plans (or meanderings) take you south, and I highly recommend it, let me add our place as a possible future destination. We have plenty of room for a guest, a nice garage for the supermodel, and I'll even spring for a bottle of that ridiculously expensive gin that you favor. Look up Jasper, Georgia on Google.

How are you coming up with your small 'essay' on the connection between man and machine... Very much looking forward to it..

Haven't forgot about you guys. I've been overwhelmed going from place to place since Montreal and spend all of my time on the road, checking in/checking out of new places between Montreal and Boston (where I am now). The Man/Machine 'essay' has grown to 11 pages. But I've got a Cliff's Notes version to be released SOON! (Tomorrow.)

Again, all the support and encouragement are much appreciated. Me being online, writing and posting pictures is a luxury that I just haven't had the time for with all the travel--and I've been struggling to catch up on a lot of work from taking a few vacation days.

Soon soon soon!!!!

Please allow us to read the entire 11 pages. That's short compared to the bombastic
soliloquy of John Galt in "Atlas Shrugged", and if what you have written so far is any
indication, it will be far more worthwhile reading.

I suppose a Cliff's Notes version might be necessary for some, but I think that some of us
are ready to read the unabridged version, so please do allow us the option.


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It's true that living on the margins of society is difficult, but I submit that not being true
to yourself is even more difficult.

The best things in life are not the things which come easily, but the things for which
we are willing to fight, bleed, suffer, and maybe even die. The particulars vary from one
person to the next, but what matters is finding something that matters enough to you that you are
willing to endure whatever is necessary in order to experience it.

One thing is for sure, Antihero is a "hard core" guy, and I think many of us appreciate
that for its own sake even if we might not ride a Panigale or compete in triathlons which leave us in a
near-death state. At the end of the cycle of life, we all end up in the same place, but few of us stand on
the edge for very long before we get there, and those who do are bright lights in this world.


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Damn man, that's some deep stuff.......