Two hours and 125 miles from home with the midmorning sun hanging brightly aft of my left shoulder, I'm in my favorite place-deep in the mountains. It's been a glorious start to what I can already tell will be a special day. Terrific weather-slightly cool when I left at daybreak, but now warming nicely. Mostly it's the roads. Fine, curvy roads. I have them nearly to myself.
I mark where I am by the cut in the trees and the small rockslide on the mountain opposite, across the western side of the divide. Passing it I glance down at my odometer, noting its number. Two more miles. At elevated speeds the turnoff comes swiftly. I've blown past it more than once.
I'm on cue this time, though, backing out of the throttle as the tenths on my odometer click down. Mark. And there it is, the gray shape of the tarmac appearing suddenly on my left.
Wheeling down it in second gear, the bike pulls smoothly around the first right-hander. Then there's a little slalom-a tease-and the stop sign.
Visibility is poor in both directions. The T intersection sits square atop the very crest of the mountain, with a quick drop-off in both directions. I've always liked it here. The airy peculiarity of the intersection prompts the feeling of being suspended in space. That and knowing it's the start of a really good run.
Turning east I accelerate quickly into second, just enough to obviate the risk attendant in the blind crest. But then I relax, enjoying the anticipation of what is coming. The road meanders slowly down the flank of the mountain for the first half-mile, a lazy, lolling prelude. Then it sharpens suddenly, curling hard right, as it breaks into a series of high-speed sweepers that sluice down the mountain. That first right-hander has good camber, and its G-forces trigger in me the heightened sensory acuity that always accompanies an aggressive run. It puts me into that edgy place-the nexus of joy and chance and consequence-that I've always been drawn to.
Eight miles later down on the valley floor, we're done. The ebullience that defined my ride down the mountain quickly abates, leaving behind the quiet satisfaction of a road well run. Turning now north, the local road is interesting and fun but lacks that sense of expectation a truly serious stretch possesses. I'm actually glad of it. It gives me the chance to relax for a few minutes, like a boxer between rounds, and think about the road a few miles ahead.
The pause also gives me a chance to reflect on how our riding tends to vary a bit over the course of a long day. Usually not a lot, but over many hours our sharpness will fluctuate enough to be noticeable.
I've been happy so far today. I've felt good, with lines crisp and certain. An in-the-zone day.
Fifteen miles farther on I come to the stop sign. I haven't been here in over a year, but the lightning-blasted pine tree still stands awkwardly askew across the road. It's funny the little things we notice sometimes. I hold at the intersection for a moment, enjoying the odd mix of emotions I'm feeling-a calm confidence, tempered with the realization that the next nine miles will challenge me well beyond anything I normally experience. This is a road that at speed is forbiddingly technical. And its rock faces and sharp drop-offs pose a sobering consequence to getting it wrong. My heart hammers an anxious beat in anticipation. I could back it down to cruise mode, of course-that would be the prudent thing to do. But that's never been in the plan.
Finally, nudging the shift lever down into first, I turn left down the road, westward. Back into the mountains. Within 100 feet the butterflies and all those extraneous thoughts are gone. My mind moves into that place where everything has disappeared save an intense focus on the road itself.
Because this is an ascent, I have the benefit of climbing elevation. I use that to advantage, leveraging gravity to help modulate my entrance speeds. Tugging on the bar here, pushing on the tank there, I'm only distantly aware of the bike beneath me. A mile rolls by. Then another. I'm lost in that exuberance, that special magic, that comes with piloting a motorcycle at speed.