Day 248: Another Fun Descent into Franks Valley

A couple of years ago I started riding motorcycles again. It had been a couple of decades since my last ride, so in preparation of my return to riding motos, I attended the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s training course. It’s a great way to learn how to ride, and an even better way to refresh your memory about the ins and outs of riding motorbikes. Believe me, you get rusty as can be, and for me it had been about 20 years since I’d ridden so I needed to get back to the basics before hitting the streets.

The last time that I had ridden a motorbike was in France and Italy. It was a rental Honda enduro bike that I rented it in Cannes, France. I then rode from there with my girlfriend at the time “G,” and with whom I’m still friends, all the way to Ventimiglia, Italy. Once that we were over the border, and after riding through some sketchy tunnels that are carved into the Italian Riviera, we enjoyed some of the very best Pesto that I’ve ever had! I think that there’s a photo of that moment in time, and I’ll try to find it. I think that I was wearing tight tennis shorts, which were common then. You'd never find me riding a motorcycle in shorts nowadays!

So what’s the point in my writing about riding motorcycles in France, and Italy? Well, as we descended to Muir Beach and Franks Valley today, I realized that I was riding about 5-10 mph faster than I do on my motorcycles on the same road! That’s a bit scary if you ask me. The fact is that I could have ridden even faster down that road today, but I was actually being conservative, and thinking more about completing R2R. So I was going faster downhill on my 15.8 lbs. road bike, than I would while riding my 1983 BMW R100S that sports dual Brembo brakes, and a full suspension. It’s an odd concept.

So “F” and I had a fun ride given that its duration was held to just over an hour. One can get a great workout in within sixty minutes if you try hard enough. Today we put in a good effort and I feel satiated in terms of putting in a solid effort. I started the ride tired, so that made it even better in the end.

I’m entering into a new and unchartered territory wherein I’m going to take my fitness to another level. As I walked Tugboat tonight, I realized that I can get back to the level of fitness that I took for granted decades ago. Yes, granted. I was at one time naturally fit, but those days are long gone. Good fitness had been engrained in me, almost since birth, and now I’m clinging to it as my one-way ticket out of where I’ve been for too long. I still have a lot of work to do, but I’m willing to do it, and the payoff is for me this time, and not anyone else.

After today’s ride with “F,” I walked Tugboat down to WTB where he visited his many friends; whom are mine too. We did a little bit of socializing before heading off to the local market. We then we walked back home on one of the little hidden trails that still exist in Mill Valley. Along the way we ran into some interesting graffiti, and also some great fauna. Does anyone want to guess the precise location of this trail?

"Love" is written on a wall that's alongside this trail. It's accompanied by an explicative about love, and I wonder why?

“F,” thanks for another enjoyable ride.