Life intervenes

I'm probably guilty of blaming/crediting Kate's need for a new piano for her business as the "reason" I stopped racing after the first round in 2007. Truth be told, I probably need a break, to refocus on priorities, and to decide what I want to do vis a vis motorcycles. There are some aspects of racing I miss -- to me, it legitimizes owning a sportbike. I really don't respect the sportbikers who go fast in a straight line, wearing flip flops and Icon helmets, with their rear tires squared off. I've talked to these guys, and their riding craft is pretty weak -- none of them tour, they seem to just tool around the city, making noise with their loud pipes. For me, I guess, owning a sportbike and actually racing it made me better than those others, even though my bike spent more time on a trailer and in the garage, than actually running... which is where the contradiction begins.

I also began to miss riding on the street. With a slightly different budgeting scheme, I could own a racebike and a titled streetbike, but one or both would be compromises... and I like to tweak and tune all the time. "Stock" is just not in my vocabulary.

What all racers know is that to put up with the cost, time, travel, sleeping in tents, etc, etc, etc that comes with racing, you have to absolutely LOVE the short amount of time you are actually on the bike competing. And not just like it, or "really enjoy it", but love it. For me, some of that love was fading. I am constantly driving Kate and family nuts whenever I fall in love with yet another bike, the sad fact remains is that I need to figure out what part of my life motorcycling will make up. I've raced for nearly 10 years, learned to be a safe and decent rider, and I think one who is respected as well, but I never ever had the "run over your grandma/ eye of the tiger" needed to be a champion... or the willingness to remorgage your life to buy the newest, fastest bike to be competitive... really, a Ducati? When an SV or Ninja 650 would do, and pay contingency?

So what happened is this: Kate needed a piano, and so we got one. A long-overdue "payment" (poor choice of words) for her years of sacrifice to my hobby. I sold off every extra unneccessary race part, bike part, helmet, boots, leathers, gloves tools, spares, tire warmers, bike project (the Aprilia-KTM 450), and decided to make the ultimate aircooled street Ducati.