So it would appear that I’ve turned into a fair weather blogger. Well, not so much that, but that the only interesting thing about me is my bike…so in the off season there’s nothing interesting about me…fine! I’m defined by my bike! I said it!
Anyhoo, it may (or may not) be worth the wait for my many (few) followers to know that during my hiatus I made a very sexy, and very Austrian purchase: the 2012 KTM RC8R.
This bike was a long time coming. I located her and put the deposit down sometime near the end of February. It took until the end of March before I would make the 770 mile trip to exotic Wilmington, OH to pick her up. The Man Toy (yes, “the” and caps) and I started our journey on a Friday with a rented Dodge Ram–and yes, it had a hemispherical combustion chamber.
We took a familiar route through Upstate New York that I made many times in undergrad. Of course it snowed most of the way there. I mean, it was spring in Upstate, why shouldn’t it snow….
We stayed the night in Columbus so we could pick up the bike first thing in the morning. I was so relieved when I saw that the pillows had instructions…for you-know-who….
The next morning I was so tired I could hardly muster the overly giddy 14 year old girl that I thought would come pouring out of me. The dealership was just opening when we arrived. Clinton County Motorsports has a beautiful facility. The sales and delivery process was very well organized and professional. We wandered around the showroom when the Man Toy spotted my new baby girl.
I knew that this would be an impressive machine. I drooled over pictures of her for weeks, months, hell years by now. I had been smitten from the time I saw pictures of the first KTM’s in magazines. With my expectations high, I was stunned. It’s a surreal feeling to know that she’s mine. How did a girl like me, who at one point thought she was too small to ever ride a real sportbike, come to own such a thing? A lot of the delivery is a little bit of a blur since I’m pretty sure I was still in shock. After signing the paper work we loaded up and started the journey back home.
I learned a lot about Ohio on this trip (having not been in many many years). I realized that it’s not so different from the South. Between the accents and abundance of Steak and Shakes, I thought I was in North Carolina again. We drove by a lot of nothing for sure, but we also came across some interesting businesses. For example, I had never seen a drive through beer and tobacco outlet before:
And this mini mart which I completely read wrong on the first try (I think we see what we want to see…):
Then suddenly this overwhelming desire for pottery. But where???
My gracious Man Toy drove the whole way back–I think because he was afraid I wouldn’t be able to keep my eyes off the bike while I was driving. I struggled to find comfortable leg room, but finally came up with a solution:
Many tunnels and farms later, she’s finally home safe and sound. Have I ridden her? Only 40 miles. She is experiencing some hopefully minor issues that will be resolved after a quick (please for the love of Buddah be quick) trip to the doctor.
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