First time out today (on my 749 ) after a few weeks off due to Holiday's Football, Work and weekend rain What a shock to the system , my leathers had shrunk , my Glasses steamed up , I wobbled around for the first 15 minutes , got ice-cream head due to the cold and having all the helmet vents open to see where I was going. Every idiot van driver and retail park shopper was on the road , the roads were fairly dry but with damp spots. For all the road works that's dotted about the condition does not seem to have improved just more rutted and covered is crap . the back end seems to be moving about all over the place and I seem to have more weight over the front than normal Can you see where this is going ? After 15 min I'm back on familiar B roads , traffic is light , upped the speed a little and making some progress Going into corners a bit quicker and starting to use a dab of rear brake as its still a bit damp in places , its a bit chilly even the exhaust seat heater is not working as it used to be boiling in the summer Last chance to guess what's next Well surprise the roads are quite clear , a lack of loonies , no tractors and the roads are in the main dry Time to pick up the pace a bit more on known roads nothing daft but making progress picking off cars , bikes running fine , back end still moving but feels more comfortable its changed from movement to feedback , already closed the top vents on my helmet and glasses and visibility are fine , the initial awkwardness seems to have gone and every thing is falling into place. Its not so cold the sun is out and not in my eyes ,overtakes are sharp confidence is high and then it happened !!! Have you guessed yet A great big smile beams across my face , This is why we ride bike's I'm on a Ducati a wonderful piece of engineering a fantastic handling machine enormous feedback , handing in abundance with more than enough power for the road and having the time of my life Boy O boy have I missed this, another hour fly's by and its homeward bound , meeting a bit more traffic and the under seat heater kick in . Bikes back in the garage , the now comfortable leather are pealed off and I remember I do like a tight fit ( ha ha ) I'm really really glad I did not make an excuse and not to go out for a quick ride So winter is here and there will be a lot less days like this so make the most of them Get out there while you can , you know it makes sense
