Yeeeehaaaaa

[RBikerT]

So. I'm on my way to the Yankee Beemers Rally. I stopped in to visit Mom in Connecticut (I live in Maryland) and set out Saturday morning. I haven't lived in New England for 15 years and forget just how spectacularly beautiful it can be when you get off the slab.

I head up through Litchfield, Winchester, Morris, Colebrook and then remember that there used to be some gnarly off road places around here. So I start exploring backroads and then exploring past those points where the sign says dead end. Well, the pavement may stop but I can clearlt see that there is a road of sorts that continues. Must have done 40 miles of roads that people forgot were there before I remebered I was headed somewhere.

So I hit a little more of those gorgeous New England twisties through Sandisfield, Mass., Lenox, Lee, and so on.

But I keep on finding these great little roads that are so old I think I'd have to buy historical maps to find them written anywhere. The GPS just shows me travelling through open space even at highest zoom.

Now mind you, I don't do dirt. Strike that. I didn't do dirt. Never have and bought the Adventure because, well, because it fit me.

Some of these roads were so old and worn that they have become single track. Didn't even see where other bikes had been there. And definitely no quads or four wheelers. You know what's coming. I get a little enthusiastic in the middle of nowhere and yep, there's a get off. Yeeeehaaaa. Saw it coming. Snot slick spot of mud with no way around. tourances aren't gonna do shit for me here.

I'm ok. Nothing broken. Nothing bruised. Bike's ok. A little dirt impacted where it oughtn't be. Take a picture and continue on. Plant a little flag on the GPS so I know to come back here with better tires and maybe some less squiddly gear.

But right now after lifting this beast and cleaning her off I'm grinning from ear to freaking ear. That's some adrenalin rush. And I know I'm hooked.

So yeah, I found a few more closed roads and even a few that municipalities had deemed "Abandoned." A few more get offs and some lessons well learned and I've found yet another aspect of this sport that I love. Took me almost 7 hours (with 4 get offs) to make it the 85 miles to the YB rally. Well, road miles. I did about 210 miles on the way up there.

Though, I didn't even stay long even to shake howdy. Seems though get offs were gonna cost me and a preliminary soak in the hot tub and a comfy bed at Mom's would go a long way to making Sunday easier to handle. Got a knee with a half a softball growing out of it and some sore muscles (more from lifting the beast than anything).

Sunday I went out for liesurely rides and really had to restrain myself from following some dirt roads and tracks. Didn't always work. But the fact that I was dressed like a squid turned me around when it started getting technical. Bruising I can deal with: breaks, internal bleading, and hemorages are something I'd rather avoid.