1. Nina really liked Melissa. Today I took a round about way and made my way north of Greenville and found a great stretch of road from Wolfe City to Melissa. The road surface was really smooth and except for some roadkill here and there was mostly clear with a nice combination of wide long sweepers and tight transition twisty stuff. And though the road really invited the inner hooligan to come out and play, it just took one unexpected dip in the middle of fast paced left hander to remind me that it's always best to keep the hooligan on a short leash on roads that are unfamiliar.
2. 250 miles on the Daytona is near the upper end of what's currently comfortable. Guess that doesn't need a lot of extra explanation, but without a throttlemeister or some other similar mod, I can't see doing long miles on consecutive days.
3. An epiphany. So I'm cruising along on some random FM road, wishing I had a tank bag with a map so I'd have a better idea of where I'm really going when I realize that as long as I'm still headed North, it doesn't really matter that much where I am exactly. The weather was perfect (mid 80's). The roads had very light traffic. The asphalt was smooth and clear. And the throaty sound of the triple had a perma-grin on my face. That's about the point where I realized that I wasn't even sure what time it was and you know... it really didn't matter, the moment was perfect. Then it struck me, lately so much of my day has a faint but incessant tick-tock reminding me that no matter how many lists, no matter the sophistication of the calendar, there just isn't enough time. Tick-tock... time always marching by, sometimes sneaking past, but on a good ride something changes. As you transition from a tight right into a tight left or as you set a line through a long sweeper it feels like not only can you catch time, you can pulse the pass trigger and fly right past time. The tick-tock fades into the distance somewhere behind you and all that's left is the the distinct growl of the triple's intake opening up and the increased blurr of the passing countryside.
-**Route Map**-
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