My orange Corvette

Some of the best stories ever told belong to the old cars and motorcycles of the world. Any vehicle that's been around for 30, 40 or 50 years is going to have an interesting background.

In 1975, a friend of my grandfather bought a brand new orange flame Corvette. The car came with the base L-48 V8, automatic trans, deluxe medium saddle interior, factory air, and power windows, steering and brakes.

Less than a year after buying the car, he found himself in a messy divorce. In order to keep his soon-to-be ex-wife from getting the car, he sold it to my grandfather. The car had less than 4,000 miles on it when my grandfather picked it up. My grandfather kept the car until two years ago when he passed it on to me.


The strange part about this is that my grandfather really isn't a car guy. He used wipe off his Ford Tempo with paper towels after washing it. I think there was something about that car that he liked, car guy or not, that made him buy it and keep it for so long. He may be a car guy underneath, who knows. He did religiously maintain the car.

When ownership was handed over to me, I received a 32-year-old, all-original car. All-original can be a good thing, a bad thing or both. In my case, it was both.

It's good because everything that was on the car in 1975 is still there, maintenance items like brakes and tires not withstanding. All of the gauges worked perfectly and so did the power windows. Plus it ran as good as a 32-year-old car that weighs 3,500 pounds with 165 horsepower (at one time) could.

It's bad because everything that was on the car in 1975 is still there. That means the urethane bumpers were splitting and close to falling off (the rear flapped in the wind), the steel wheels were a bit rusty, some of the chrome was pitted, the steering was scary loose and the rear leaf spring was sagging.

And the leaks.

Every fluid that could possibly find its way on to my garage floor did. Engine oil, power steering fluid, gas, trans fluid, coolant and differential fluid all left their signatures on my defenseless floor. It's a good thing I don't own an old British car or the EPA would condemn my house.

In the past two years I've fixed the majority of the problems and added some new ones. There was a point where it seemed every time I drove the car something broke, but it's pretty solid now. It leaves a few drops here and there but I can deal with those until I'm able to create more problems, um, I mean restore it.

I think the biggest change made in the past two years is my opinion of it. I thought of the car as an old dinosaur, an example of why cars from the mid-to-late 70's were terrible. Now, I can't help but find myself endeared by it.

I like the skinny steering wheel, the heavy steering, the four piston brakes at all four corners, the V8 torque, and the orange paint. I even like the styling, though it is a bit disco. I like all of the things that make Corvettes unique.

I do, however, wish it was a four-speed manual but I'll live. Besides, the TH-400 in the car is one of the best automatic transmissions GM ever made. That just means when I hit my mid-life crisis and decide to pro-street the car, I can reuse the transmission.

While this car has attached itself to my wallet like a parasite, I love it, warts and all. Everytime I get mad at it, I think to myself: "you could've inherited a Dodge Dart."

When you think of it that way, it's not so bad after all.

The Stanley Cup is back in Pittsburgh!!

It was the best of time, it was the worst of times.

The 2008-09 Penguins season was marked by exhilarating highs and debilitating lows. But it seemed like whenever the forecast for the Pens looked its bleakest, the Pens began to shine.

According to critics and experts, this current season was doomed while Detroit was skating around the Mellon with the cup. The "runner up curse" had not been kind to the teams that lost in the Stanley Cup Finals and why would the Pens be any different.

During the summer, a flood of free agents left the Pens. Among them was star winger Marian Hossa, who bolted to Detroit to "win a cup." Defenseman Ryan Whitney had foot surgery and wasn't expected to return until late December at the earliest.

In the first pre-season game in Tampa, top D-man and powerplay quarterback Sergei Gonchar had his shoulder separated by a hit from David Koci. Gonchar opted for surgery but would out until march at the earliest.

How did the Penguins respond? By getting off to one the best starts in franchise history.

The exciting October and November months, during which the Pens won 7-6 in a thrilling overtime game against Detroit in Detroit, led to the dark depressing months of December and January.

The play was bad. The players were frustrated.

The powerplay went scoreless in 32 attempts. The Pens couldn't string three wins together, often going win-loss-win-loss. They lost to teams in the NHL's basement- 2-0 to Tampa, 6-2 to the Maple Leafs. They fell from second in the conference to tenth and out of the playoffs.

Star goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was injured. Star center and captain Sidney Crosby was injured.

The return of Ryan Whitney did little to stop the bleeding.

A players-only meeting was held to see if they could fix what was broken.

They couldn't.

It seemed like every time the Pens would gain an inch, they'd slid down four inches.

Early Feburary saw the return of Sergei Gonchar. The struggling powerplay looked worlds better with Gonchar at the controls, but was still nothing to write home about.

On February 15, the coach that lead them to the finals the year before, Michel Therrien, was replaced by the coach of the Wilkes/Barre-Scranton Penguins, Dan Bylsma. Bylsma, who was 38 games into his first season as a head coach, took over a team in tenth place and five points out of the playoffs.

Once again the season was written off.

The Pens responded by losing in a shootout to the Islanders in the first game under the new head coach.

After this loss, however, the Pens would lose only three more times in regulation and gain a point in 22 games.

The trade deadline saw the Penguins trade D-man Ryan Whitney to the Anaheim Ducks for winger Chris Kunitz and top prospect Eric Tangradi. The Pens picked up 38-year-old veteran winger Bill Guerin from the Islanders for a conditional third round pick and picked up winger Craig Adams off of waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks. Struggling winger Miroslav Satan was sent to the WBS Pens to clear cap space for the new players.

The Penguins torched the schedule, going 18-3-4. Coach Bylsma's aggressive system, the return of Gonchar, and the addition of some quality wingers energized the club.

The tenth place team that Bylsma inherited was now sitting in fourth place and looking at home ice advantage against the hated Philadelphia Flyers.

But, alas, there was doubt about the Penguins' ability to handle the Flyers' potent offense and their plethora of 25- and 30- goal scorers.

With the help of excellent play by goaltender Fleury, the Pens dispatched the Flyers in six games. Capping off the series was a 5-3 come-from-behind win in game six in which the Pens rattled off five unanswered goals.

The second round brought the Penguins into the nation's capital against their next biggest rival, the Washington Capitals.

This series proved to be a battle of the stars. Pittsburgh's captain Crosby and Washington's top gun Alex Ovechkin traded goals and trash talk throughout the series. Ultimately, Crosby and the Penguins emerged as the victor in the seven game series.

Pittsburgh started the series in a two game hole, losing both games in Washington, then turned around to win three straight. Washington stole game six in overtime in Pittsburgh but the Penguins treated the Capitals to a 6-2 drubbing at the Verizon Center to win the series.

This series was one of the best series' in a long time. Each game was marked by strong up-and-down play and scoring chances galore. In game two, Crosby and Ovechkin each scored a hat trick. Capitals rookie goaltender Simeon Varlomov seemed unbeatable at first. But once his weakness was figured out, the series was over.

Up next was Cam Ward and the Carolina Hurricanes. Goaltender Ward had never lost a playoff series and the Canes were 9-0 when top line center Eric Staal scored.

Both streaks were ended when the Canes fell to the Penguins in a four game sweep. Game one was close. Games two and three were lopsided wins by the Penguins (7-4 and 6-2). By game four, the Canes were broken. Eric Staal managed to finally score but the Penguins blasted off four unanswered goals and claimed the Prince of Wales trophy for the second year in a row.

All of the adversity that the Penguins had faced in the regular season and the playoff would pale in comparison to their next rival: the Detroit Red Wings.

The Wings boasted four Cups in 11 years, a lineup of all-stars and future hall-of-famers, and pretty much the same same lineup that won the Cup last year plus Marian Hossa. To call the Finals a challenge would be an understatement.

Through the first three games, the script read like last season, the Pens dropped games one and two in Detroit and won in Pittsburgh. The script changed, however, in game four when the Penguins won.

The new-found optimism of the Penguins was shattered in Detroit when the Red Wings slapped the Penguins around the ice in a 5-0 embarrassment.

The big, bad Red Wings machine had shown who was boss. The parade was planned, the Cup was shined up. Game six was merely a formality, much like the series. Wings goalie Chris Osgood said, "I don't think about the Penguins."

Maybe he should have.

Everything that the Penguins had faced up to this point: the free agency losses, the injuries, the bad play, the coaching change, and the comeback in Washington, prepared them for this moment. They would have to look back on all of their collective experience, pull themselves up by the boot straps and go to work.

The Penguins won game six at home 2-1. But they were not out of Hell just yet. They still had to win in Detroit, where the Wings were 11-1.

Each team went full on through the first two periods. Captain Sidney Crosby was injured in the first period and left the ice. Penguins winger Max Talbot scored twice in the second to give the Pens a 2-0 lead.

The third period looked as if Detroit was on a 20-minute powerplay. The Penguins would retrieve the puck and get it to center and have just enough time to regroup before Detroit was attacking again. Eventually the inevitable happened: Detroit's Jonathan Ericson slipped a shot past Fleury to cut the lead in half.

In all the Wings managed eight shots on goal.

The Penguins? One.

The final 6.5 seconds began with a Detroit face-off win. A shot from the point bounced off of Fleury, through the throng of bodies in front of the net and out to a waiting Nicklas Lidstrom. The 39-year-old defenseman and future hall-of-famer had a yawning net to put the puck in and tie the game. The game, the series, the Cup was right there on his stick. Every kid who has ever picked up a hockey stick dreams of this moment, dreams of being the game seven hero.

So do goaltenders.

Fleury flung himself in the direction of the shot, blocked it and then fell on top of it.

That was it. The game was over. The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup.

They won it on the road in a game seven.

They won it as the underdog in a building where Detroit was unbeatable.

It has been said a million times already so one more won't hurt: the last team to win a game seven on the road for a championship was the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates.

The last NHL team to do it was the 1971 Montreal Canadiens. That same Canadiens team was the last to do it with a coach that was replaced during the season by a rookie.

To call this win anything than what it is, monumental, would not do it justice.

The Stanley Cup is back in Pittsburgh. After 17 years, it's back.

Welcome back, old friend.

Lemieux's pool has missed you.

The Sad $300 Motorcycle Story Part 2

After really looking at the Seca, it's really not bad at all. It's evident that the bike spent some time outside judging by the surface rust on some places like the front fender and the pegs. The chrome, or should I say "chrome" since it is Japanese after all, is pitted but cleaned up well enough with some chrome polish.

Before I delved into anything mechanical, I waxed the bike. There is something about dull, dusty paint that makes me want to make it shine. The paint cleaned up better than I thought it would, though I still think it would make a concourse judge want to kill himself. It's very uneven, it's darker in some spots than others and kind of rough.

But who cares about all of that, it's shiny!

After making the bike shiny, I installed the battery and hit the starter button. I can't say I was surprised when it didn't start but I was thankful when the engine turned over. I had this gut feeling that, despite the clean oil, the engine would be seized from sitting so long.

Before I tackled the massive carb cleaning job, I decided to check spark first. I started with plug number 1 and was shocked at the newness of the plugs.

I grabbed a ratchet and a plug socket but forgot the spark tester and since I am too lazy to walk the five feet back to the tool box, I pulled the plug (ha!) and laid it on the head while I cranked the engine. I saw that I had spark but wanted a better view so I reached down and grabbed the plug while cranking and promptly electrocuted myself.

Getting electrocuted is a weird feeling. At first you're like "what is going on?" but then you realize what is happening and then you let go of whatever is electrocuting you.

After electrocuting myself once and finding good spark from all four plugs, it was now time to clean out the carbs.

Yay.

Before I went after the carbs, I peered into the gas tank. Wow is all I can say. The gas was a strange brown, like a brown found on an early 70's Cadillac that was left out in the sun, and smelled rancid. I think Mad Max would turn down this gas, it's that nasty.

The tank is ridiculously easy to remove on this bike. Pop off the fuel line and the vacuum line, pull the clamp off of the bolt head under the back of the tank and it's off. It's a 10 second job.

After spending about 45 minutes staring at the carbs wondering how to remove them instead of following the instructions (whatever instructions are), I engaged in combat with my motorcycle.

I fought with the bolt under the battery, which started life as a 12mm bolt but is now a corroded lump of an indeterminate size.

Once that was taken care of, I fought with the with the airbox. The rubber booties that connect the airbox to the carbs thankfully are removable. I realized this after swearing profusely and almost knocking the bike off of the centerstand.

With those booties removed, I could now remove the carbs. What I mean by that is, I could now almost knock the bike off the centerstand again.

The drain for the float bowls were frozen and the screw heads were starting to strip so whatever gas was in the bowls would have to stay there. The gas stayed there until I turned the carbs upside-down and spilled gas all over the floor and myself.

Once the bowls were removed, the severity of the clogging was revealed. When I say clogged, I mean clogged.

The next few weeks were spent cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. I also think I installed and removed the carbs about 100 times during this span of time.

All of the cleaning and cussing and smelling like rancid gas was worth it when I hit that starter button and the bike came alive. It has a long way to go before it'll be running right, or even close to right, but right now that doesn't matter.

All that matters now is that this once non-running machine is now one step closer to being road-worthy.

The heart beats...

Some of my favorite Penguins.

I was thinking the other day about some of the players that have worn a Penguins jersey and some of my favorites. Instead of thinking about them, I'm going to list them here. I know, novel, right? Anyway, I'll break them down by era. Here goes:

Pre-Lemiuex:

Jean Pronovost is my favorite player from this era. He was a very skilled winger and prolific scorer. No. 19 scored 41 points his rookie year(1968-69) and played right wing on the "Century Line" with Syl Apps Jr. and Lowell McDonald in the mid-70's. He is third on the Penguins all-time list of games played with 782.

Tied for favorite is No.10 "Lucky" Pierre Larouche. He lead all rookies in points in 1974-75 and was one of the key players in Pittsburgh's march to the playoffs that year. He backed up his rookie year with 111 points in 1975-76. He only played in Pittsburgh for three and a half years and retired in 1988, playing 10 games for the New York Rangers. He has 822 career points.

Dave "The Hammer" Schultz is another favorite. I've always had a soft spot for goons and Schultz was the king. He holds the Most Penalty Minutes in Season record with 472 PIM in 1974-75 with the Flyers. While never a goal scorer, he had a 20 goal season in 73-74, he was there to be tough and to fight. That he did very well.

Lemiuex to Cup('92):

To leave Lemiuex off this list would be absurd, obviously he is on here. If I have to tell you why, hang your head in shame.

Mark Recchi was my favorite when I was a kid. I met him in person at the CCBC dome and he signed my jersey. I liked how was always moving as a player and always working hard every shift. I will forever remember his signature play: screaming down the right side of the ice, lifting a leg and firing the puck up over the goalie's shoulder. I also liked how he is a smaller guy like myself and nobody believed he would make it in the NHL let alone still be playing at age 41. Long live the "Rechhin' Ball."

Kevin Stevens is on the list. "Big Artie" was a powerhouse during the cup years, finishing second in scoring(behind Lemiuex) in 1991-92 and holding the record for most points by an American born player and a left wing in a season. He was the prototypical power-forward and basically invented the position.

Looking back, Paul Coffey is my favorite form this era. His offensive ability was outstanding and his skating was out of this world. I can watch him skate and be mesmerized. Overall, he holds 10 NHL records and is 12th all time in scoring. If you look up offensive-defenseman in the dictionary, his picture is there, right next to Bobby Orr.

Ron Francis was one of the best all around players ever. He could do it all; score, play defense, pass, shoot and win big face-offs. Him being 4th all time in scoring is no fluke, Francis was the real deal and one of the best ever.

Ulf Samuelsson was a Swedish linebacker on skates. A large, powerful defenseman who could block a shot and deliver a crushing hit all on the same play. Yeah, he could be dirty at times(ask Cam Neely), but his job was to be physical and he did it well.

Rob Brown never got the recognition he deserved. Everyone points to his 115 point season in 1988-89 and gives all the credit to Lemiuex. Wrong. "Down Town" Robby Brown could play some hockey. He backed up that season with an 80 point showing in 1989-90. He could play, he just couldn't skate.

Rick Tocchet was an absolute monster. He left everything on the ice, every shift. He could do it all. He would squash you against the boards, fight and then score a hat trick, all in one period. Besides, the guy broke his jaw in the first period of a game and returned to the ice in the third. Wow.

I pretty much fell over and died when Pittsburgh signed Luc Robitaille. Here's the highest scoring left wing of all time on the same team with Lemiuex and Jagr. I thought the league should just hand us the Cup and avoid embarrassing the other teams. Alas, it did not work out that way. "Lucky Luc" did not have a good season and was gone the following year. A shame, really.

Post Cup to lockout:

Alex Kovalev is my favorite from this era. He is the consummate sniper. He can seemingly score from anywhere, no matter how much net he has to work with. The KLS line with him, Marty Straka and Robert Lang in 2000-01 was one of the best line combos in franchise history.

Marty Straka was a workhorse. He never stopped skating and working, regardless of how long the shift was. He was the only player that didn't look tired in the multiple-overtime games he played in while in Pittsburgh.

I liked Petr Nedved, even though he was difficult and sometimes diva-ish. He played well and was good scorer. Plus he scored the winning goal to beat Washington in the multiple-overtime game in 1996.

I hated Darius Kasparaitis when he was an Islander. As a Penguin, I loved him. He was a small, blond hitting machine. Definitely a fan-favorite. Plus he(of all people) scored the winning goal against Buffalo in the multiple overtime game in 2001.

Post-lockout:

Evgeni Malkin is my favorite of the current roster. His ability to take over a game and seemingly will the puck into the net is unreal. The scariest part is that he is only 22. I can only imagine how dominating he will be in his later 20's.

What can you say about Sydney Crosby that hasn't already been said.

I really liked Gary Roberts. I thought he was the perfect example of what a hockey player should be. He's tough, competitive and can really play. His veteran leadership was irreplaceable in the Cup run last year.

I am one of the believers in Jordan Staal. We've all seen the flashes of brilliance he's shown in the past few years. I think this kid is going to be a monster in a couple of years.

Jarkko Ruutu was definitely fun to watch. His proclivity to take dumb penalties was offset by his intelligence and ability to get under your skin. He also possessed amazing shootout ability.

Matt Cooke took over for Ruutu and is a much better player. He's fast and has decent hands. He also doesn't take as many dumb penalties as Ruutu while delivering a ton of crushing hits on seemingly every shift.

Honestly, I probably have a hundred favorites. I narrowed it down to players I love to watch.

Really? Pacifiers? Sad.

So Washington Capitals fans, "fans", purchased 500 pacifiers to, um, suck on during the Pens/Caps game this afternoon. Apparently they did this to mock Sidney Crosby and his so-called whining. Grown adults. Sitting in the first couple of rows. With pacifiers in their mouths.

Wow.

How sad is your team's fanbase when, instead of celebrating your success, you choose to mock the opposing team's star player? Also, some fans have suggested throwing the pacifiers on the ice and tossing tissue boxes on the bench. What a wonderful way to get yourselves kicked out of the game you paid good money to see.

Even Caps coach Bruce Bodreau thinks the idea is stupid. "I have no idea, and I don't want to know," he said. "Oh, geezus, no, please, no. What a waste of money."

I could see if the Caps were low in the standings, didn't have 1/3 of the leagues top players or destroyed the Pens in the past, but none of the above is true. The Caps are second in the East and have Alex Ovechkin. In spite of all of their recent success, they choose to mock Crosby. Sad.

As for Pens/Caps history, well, lets look at some of the more recent playoff meetings between the teams:

2001: Pens win series 4-2, 1st round.
2000: Pens win series 4-1, 1st round.
1996: Pens win series 4-2, 1st round.
1995: Pens win series 4-3, 1st round.
1994: Pens lose series 4-2, 1st round.
1992: Pens win series 4-3, 1st round.
1991: Pens win series 4-1, 2nd round.

For those keeping score at home, that 6-1 in favor of Pittsburgh. Plus, there's two Stanley Cup's in there, as the icing on the cake.

The "fans" of the Capitals are becoming akin to the Crosby haters in Philadelphia. The Flyers fans choose to mock Crosby, instead of supporting their own team, in an effort to get him off his game. Last time I checked, Crosby had a four point game and the Pens won last time the two teams met. Looks like this strategy really works!

The only word I can use to describe this is sad. It's the only word that fits. Maybe the Pens should distribute a DVD to Caps fans, showcasing the disappointments the Caps have faced over the years at the hands of the Penguins. Actually, it could provide a good history lesson for the Caps fanbase, seeing a though most have only been following hockey for less than a year and wouldn't know who Don Beaupre, Dale Hunter, Keith Acton, Rod Langway, Michal Pivonka, Joe Juneau, Al Iafrate or Peter Bondra are.

Nah, that's a bad idea. The Caps fans are morons and we shouldn't stoop to their level. I think Crosby and the rest of the Pens having a huge game and shoving those pacifiers up the fans' collective asses would be the best retort imaginable.

Farewell, Michel Therrien.

The revolving door that is the Penguins Head Coach position has deposited Michel Therrien on the street, two and a half years after replacing Eddie Olczyk. Therrien was rewarded with a three year contract extension worth $3 million after coaching the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. This season has been a disappointment to say the least and since about the middle of January his job has been on life support.

Therrien accomplished some good things while he was behind the bench. Success eluded the team after the Olczyk fiasco. New coach Therrien could not help salvage the season and lead them to the playoffs. He became famous that season for his "soff" post-game rant. Therrien's broken English rants were very entertaining, especially because he seemingly could not grasp the idea of the plural tense. My favorite quote was: "A lot of guy don't care. Dey say dey care, but dey don't care."

In 2006-07, he coached the Penguins to their first playoff birth since the 2000-01 season. Although the Pens were bounced out of the series by the Ottawa Senators in five games, one could get the feeling that the Penguins' fortunes were about to change. During the most recent season, 2007-08, Therrien coached the Penguins to their sixth division title, the Eastern Conference championship and two games from winning the Stanley Cup.

He was not without his faults, however. He was a tough, demanding coach. Coaches like that are good for a young, undisciplined team like the Penguins under Olczyk. After a while, though, they tend to burn out their players and the message gets lost. These types of coaches also tend to not last long at their posts. Scotty Bowman was a tough coach who was hated by a lot of his players. The biggest difference is that Bowman has the Stanley Cup rings to backup his demands, Therrien doesn't.

He had a tendency to publicly call out and criticize players, such as dressing defencemen Ryan Whitney and Brooks Orpik as wingers when their performance dipped last season. Other strange personnel decisions included playing promising young defenseman Alex Goligoski as a winger for a few games, supposedly benching winger Miroslav Satan and then playing him so he could play his 1,000th game and letting slumping back-up goalie Dany Sabourin play on the father's trip just because his dad was there to watch. His decision to put Max Talbot out as the sixth man in game five of the finals last year was gold, though, as Talbot scored the tying goal and sent the game to overtime which the Penguins eventually won.

Therrien also seemed to get flustered when his system wasn't working and it was like he didn't know what to do to fix it. He would thrown together line combinations like he was picking out of a hat and the players were guaranteed to find new linemates almost every shift. His only real trick when he needed offense was to pair Malkin and Crosby on the same line. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.


All in all, he was a good coach. He was exactly what the team needed after the disaster that was Eddie Olczyk. He brought the discipline that was missing and was rewarded by two good seasons of hockey and almost won a Stanley Cup. The saddest part is his firing. If the players quit on him and purposely lost to get him fired, they should be held accountable. Winning and losing is 50% coaching and 50% playing. The players are just as responsible, if not more, for the disappointing season this year. So, good luck to you in the future, Michel.

Today There's Gonna Be a Jailbreak.

It was about 4:45 this afternoon. I had just returned from class and sat down to start some homework. I happened to glance outside and saw that the wind had died down and the street had dried off. I looked over at the thermometer and saw that the outside temperature read 62.3 degrees. I looked back at the computer and said out loud: "what the hell am I doing sitting here?!" I jumped up, grabbed my jacket and helmet and reported to my motorcycle.


I peeled off the cover for the first time in what seemed like years. I had almost forgotten what my Triumph looked like. Before I could tear up the streets, though, the tires needed a little air and the battery needed installed. Once everything was ready, I pulled the choke lever and hit the starter.

Magic.

The rhythmic idle of the British twin brought an instant smile to my face. It was like hearing the voice of an old friend, one you hadn't talked to in a while. I put on my gear while slowly reducing the choke. Once ready, I rolled the bike out of the garage, shut the door and then set my sights on the road ahead.

I took the long way around the neighborhood to warm the bike a little. It stumbled a bit as it was off choke a little early. When I got to the stop sign at the end of the street I was ready to go. I pulled out onto the street, gave the bike some throttled and got an immediate case of insta-grin. I had almost forgotten how much fun riding a bike is. I thought to myself "some people have a therapist, I have a motorcycle."

I had no real destination, I was out for a ride. I took the winding road I live off of to another winding road and rode the few miles to my former hometown of Aliquippa. I encountered some traffic but that didn't bother me. It's a 60 plus degree day in February, nothing short of a crash would bring me down. Almost like a sign from the heavens, the traffic disappeared as I got to the twisty sections. I focused all of my concentration on the rad ahead. I pitched the bike into the corner, used my hips to lift the bike and then set up for the next corner. I was awash in the experience. It reaffirmed my love for motorcycles.

When I entered Aliquippa, I turned down the street I used to live on. It's nothing fancy, just some homes built in 50's, owned by mostly old Italian families who take good care of them. When I got to the stop sign at the end of the street, a guy in a Subaru wagon was waving and honking his horn at me. My first thought was "great, what fell off?," but it turned out he just wanted to check my bike out. Not to toot my own horn(no pun intended) but, as a Bonneville owner, you get used to this. After a few minutes of talking, we said our goodbyes and I headed for home.

I turned onto a lovely road with a myriad of straights, turns and elevation changes that took me right to my house. It's like my own, private section of the Nurburgring. I rambled down the road at a brisk but moderate pace. There was still some dust on the road from the recent snow storms and I didn't feel like crashing. The best parts of the road are the last few turns before you reach my neighborhood. They start with a tight, downhill right-hand turn. The grade of the road angles a bit sharper as you exit the turn, which leads to a hairpin, left-hand turn. After this hairpin, the road leads to series of uphill esses. The crest of the hill drops down suddenly and then there is the right-hand turn into my neighborhood.

I again take the long way back to my house and then pulled in the garage. I sat on the bike for a few minutes, engine off, just thinking. It was just an 11 mile ride over roads I had traveled numerous times. I hadn't gone to someplace I'd never been before. No, this time, it was all about the ride. Call it cliche if you want, but it's the truth. After not riding since December 27, it felt good to be free. It felt good to feel the wind, hear the noises and smell the smells.