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

Welcome back Dennis Damn, damn good to have you back

Dilligaf... a fine name. This forum needs the ability to upvote posts. In the case of yours, multiple times.

It's cool. I'll send Loki by with the paperwork. (It's a stupid nick I've have for a very long time)

Just spent the last few days reading this adventure. Good stuff. Riveted to it to the point of having to be dragged away a couple times by my better half.
I was born in Detroit and it always makes me sad then angry when I see MSC and what's become of it. I'm old enough to have been in it before it was abandoned but it was still well beyond its hay day.
I'm trying to confirm but my cousin may have cooked one of your meals while you were there.
I wish I had caught this before you came through GA. I was actually in Savannah for work when you came through. Next time you make it out this way if your into aviation, the museum in Warner Robins is worth the stop. http://www.museumofaviation.org
It's funny how much bikes were apart of my parents lives till the 70,s and they have some incredible friends that have been wining racers and competed in events at Isle of Mann, held world speed records and even Dot Robinson that I was around as a child but how hard mom fought me getting a bike that it wasn't till this year I did. It took a wake up call that included a jump start and three stents for me to stop living to please others.

I managed to get to the Barber Vintage festival this year and it's hooked me in the same manner as it did you. What an amazing place.

Dreaming of taking off for a few weeks this spring after the read. It will be to my wife's surprise I may be sitting on Key west on New Year's Day if my wheel bearings get here in time. Eventually I'll get her out on it. lol

Treat 'em like a dog and they will act like a dog......for the most part


http://dailycoyote.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-04-20T19:59:00-06:00&max-results=1&start=123&by-date=false

http://dailycoyote.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-04-14T06:48:00-06:00&max-results=1&start=129&by-date=false

http://dailycoyote.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-05-09T06:19:00-06:00&max-results=1&start=113&by-date=false

One more .....

http://dailycoyote.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-06-09T06:37:00-06:00&max-results=1&reverse-paginate=true

Dude, that's your mom and dad?



No wonder she didn't want you getting a bike....she herself knows how much adrenaline runs through your blood!

(Speaking of family, I'm guessing your cousin works at Slows?)

So cool.

Loved this RR and particularly liked the clarity with which you write with when talking about the realities and revelations you found on the road. A little polishing to smooth out the edges we can develop in life.

No that's Joe and Alma at the isle tt.
Mom uses stories about Bob (who now owns the Ducati Triumph dealer in Detroit) crashing at 274 mph on the stream liner triumph. He crashed trying to get the title back from Don Vesco and big red, the stream liner you probably saw at Barber on the top of the wall in the basement. Some how That was relatable to the street. She does have a good high side story where she about ripped the back of her calf off and has some good scars from that. Was a couple other wrecks she and other members of the club were in. Dad managed to total a pickup in Macon ga in 61 on his 58 beemer. Folded the bars around the head light.

I'm trying to get the 61 BMW back that replaced that bike back. Mom sold it in 83 to keep me off it. This is that bike when it was for sale 1.5 years ago. John still hasn't got back to me about it so the current owners must not be ready to sell.
http://www.motorcycle-house.com/Motorcycle-makes/BMW/1961-BMW-R69S-105209051.html
This is another of my dad's old bikes it out near you now. The top pictures my dad took when the day he bought it.
http://weissundblau.blogspot.com/2013/12/r5175-history-now-complete.html

Cousin:

The place you got the salmon after Cranbrook. Cuz has posted pictures where he plated simular. He's now the executive chef at John D Bistro. Hasn't got back to me to tell me if he made that.

You should have hit the Henry ford museum while you were there they have Edison's actual workshop there. It's pretty cool.
Here is a site with a lot of Detroit history in if you get board. Like Detroit, it's in decay and half working and hard to navigate. Lol
http://www.detroityes.com/tour-detroit.php

and now from left field.....

as I sit here reading this RR, a guy on a Panigale, with a Kriega backpack, just made a right onto 145th off 7th avenue.

I'm following along a year behind, more or less, so no idea of AH's whereabouts at the moment.

But if you are in NYC.... stop in for a visit.

I saw a copy JAN 14 Bike magazine with your article on the cover.....



at the city center mall in BAHRAIN, so I snagged the last one! !

New user here, signing up just to say this was an incredibly inspiring journey! I'm really glad you made this thread as I'm now looking forward to my own tour of the US, though that may not happen for a good 5 to 10 years yet, lol (I'm young and poor, sue me).

I was happy you got around to Montreal as I live there. It's a great city and so is the surrounding region despite Quebec roads not being in the best condition.

I was surprised you didn't make it out to the maritimes, though. I and my buddies did the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia this summer and I believe you really missed out on an epic and beautiful trail with some of the best twisties ever! I'm sure you've been through some awesome roads on your trip, but if you ever head back up there, it's definitely something to check out!

Said buddies and I are in our mid-20's, so we don't exactly have much money, but we're making do with sports bikes from the 80's and still managing to get in some good trips here and there. Nothing like this, though. We'd really like to just travel all over the world, but... you know... resource constraints and all that make it tough to do more than one big 1- to 2-week trip per year. Your trip's been hella inspiring, though. Giving us early cabin fever by not being able to ride in winter and all that.

Anyway, although I've read up to page 100 to far (and I may have missed it), I haven't really seen an in-depth write-up about the bike. I think you mentioned making one at some point, though I haven't spotted it. I think it would be really cool if you did one!

Well, just wanted to say all that. Good luck on your future trips, eh? Keep on biking.

Ah, correction to the above. I read your account of the Pani R, so that's cool, lol.

I am perplexed, though. Do they break-in those Panis before use, or is it just roll out and gun it from the get-go with 0km on the odo? And what happens after? Do these bikes go into dealerships as demo rides or something? Curious to know!

Well, it's ok if you don't have the answer. Just reading your account has me more than satisfied with it all.

Stravoxylo: Where I am will remain a secret for now, but I'm not in NYC. Next time, though...

Tandem: I wish I was your age when I read http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=460631

Proof you don't need a lot of money or mechanical knowledge to get around the world. Hell, you don't even need boots.... Long distance travel on a bike seems intimidating and scary, but it can be done, even on a tight (or non-existent) budget. Do it now and your life will change dramatically. Wait until the time is right and it will never come.

As for the R's--Not sure if they do a dyno break-in at the factory or not, the bikes as-delivered definitely didn't have the mileage reading the factory manual suggested prior to rev-limit-bouncing.

Here's my 'review' of the Panigale. http://rideapart.com/2013/01/rideapart-review-ducati-1199-panigale-s/

Wildman--I'll see you when you're back in the states.

I think the biggest risk here is that when we think the time is right, it's actually well past when it would make the biggest difference. We grow by stepping outside our comfort zone, wherever/whenever/however that may be. Wait until the idea strikes and then, as long as the risk is manageable, run with it.

You embarked on your journey when you were ready.

Oh my God, what a trip!

Thank for that link, AH. You just planted a nasty seed in my mind, which I really shouldn't let germinate if I were to be responsible. We'll see.

Cool to see your thoughts on the bike as well. Ducati was honestly never in my sights until this RR. I mean, I knew the brand, but it wasn't something prominent in my mind. Now I think I may see some red in my future.

A. spent most of this year dealing with losing my best friend in a motorcycle accident and then losing another best friend to stupid drama, effectively removing nearly all my riding buddies from my repertoire'. That is not a pity or sympathy statement only one to explain why my last post was nearly a year ago.

B. Its cute AND funny how you think cars MPG and traffic lights are related, I chuckled quite a bit.

ok Two things:
1. please read "The life and death of Great American cities" by Jane Jacobs, if you like to read and can make it through the book it will astound you, I mean un-BELIEVABLY astound you.
http://www.amazon.com/Death-Life-Great-American-Cities/dp/067974195X
2. the reasoning for this ^ will be apparent in a moment.
Cars and mile per gallon readings economy etc are ruled on and created by law and taxation, as the fuel, fossil and otherwise, of the world become scarce and more expensive law and tax will increase and raise respectively.
Traffic control however literally has NOTHING to do with economy of fuel and regulatory law relating to usage. It seems like it SHOULD but it does not. Traffic control does however have an immense amount to do with control simply put, it is not about making things easy to deal with its about controlling people, period.

I designed two civil projects when I was about 12 and took them to a design firm to be told how good they were, too good to be used because there would be no stopping no "traffic" I didnt understand why until I was much older. When I was around 30 I designed a new parking lot to completely remove pedestrian vs vehicle interaction to increase safety and eliminate traffic entirely, again when I started to take these patented ideas to people I was told they were too good to use and that lack of traffic is just as bad if not worse than traffic itself. Now I would agree in small shopping centers etc but at a Wal-Mart for example there is NO reason to have the heinous types of multi-entrance bullshit going on that does, where people are LITERALLY 4 feet in their monster trucks from the doors. But people design lights, parking lots, speed bumps, service roads, highways and regular streets with the thought in mind to make people slow down and make them notice things. Simple concept shitty design, but ask anyone if they have ever been somewhere and passed by the place they were looking for 5 times trying to find it and you will understand the impact is not only silent but also infuriating for regular Joe's that need the speed slowed to accomplish the finding task.

If you read the Life and Death book you will find yourself in AWE of the things we used to do but dont do now.

One of my favorite items in the book is the Porch concept in urban/neighborhood areas. This concept roughly dumb down is that we used to build houses with porches and the porch and front entrances to houses were regulated to be X feet from the sidewalk and street, all distances matching. The point was to be able to be on the porch look left, look right, and see every neighbor as far left or right as you could see. To be able to communicate and regulate communication in neighborhoods, to be self-sufficient, helpful, self-reliant and communicative for support and everything else. Now if you look in any typical neighborhood you will find no porches or rarely any, no same space/distance front areas, and sunk in doors and entryways more hermit-like than anything. Think about it, if you wanted to control people and keep them afraid of each other, not communicating with each other, not making a "community" so that if/when things werent going well they would hole up and not speak to each other how would you do that. Would it be easy to create a law that made having the front entrance/areas to houses never be able to see each other or interact easily with each other ?

I live in a nice neighborhood, what I would say is that last bastion of money for a new neighborhood without going in to mini mansions, my house is around 350k which is decently expensive for Dallas, Texas and there isnt a porch one, neither a entry way that isnt cavelike. The next step up in house prices around here is around 500-750k and above and those houses are mostly on 1 acre lots and are way too far from each other to be "community". I traveled alot the past decade and found this is basically true of all new construction all across this country, and not at all in Europe and many other countries where regularly being on someones back apartment porch would yield community parties and conversations someone frequently and easily.

Anyone sorry for the "rant" thought you might like to know a bit more about why your frustrated about two things that don't "connect" and why they dont' :)


Chris

"...repetitive, monotonous existence..."

AH: That line about sums up all that is wrong with most of our modern routines!

Thanks for the RR and the Duc review. The perspective was great and I was able to daydream a little

I have done a lot of things in my life both physical and mental and I couldn't agree more with your last statement. Desensitized to adversity and ability to engage absolutely are skills that grow from challenge, mentally and physically. I liked this post a lot, I spend a LOT of time explaining this to my peers, friends, colleagues, and people that ask me for advice, but somehow writing it and speaking it just doesn't ever get it explained properly, at least not like DOING does.

Almost two years ago I set out on an open-ended journey across North America with my Panigale. This is what I learned:

The road to enlightenment is not paved with sensible decisions. The driving force behind destiny is not reason. Habit will never lead to dreams coming true. A sequence of carefully planned events will never lead to bliss. Only one force has the power to change life: passion. Before we can live the life we imagine and before we can ever become who it is we know we truly are, we have to make a choice to pursue dreams, take risks and act on desire.

I so firmly believe in these statements that I'm willing to risk everything for them. How you ask? By attempting to be what I've always wanted to be. It requires abandoning my career, losing all financial security, packing only what I will need into a backpack and setting out into the world to determine my own fate.

The time has come for, “Around the World with an Italian Supermodel.” Who's in?

Me! Yes! Please!