We got to the Globe Hotel at Rylstone before one. Usually I get there approaching two. We took our helmets off.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell that was spirited\u201d, said Gonzo.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrisk, even\u201d, I said.<\/p>\n
We went indoors and ordered beer and food. I was still buzzing on adrenaline. \u201cWhen you pulled out to pass that car on the ten-mile and I followed you\u201d, I said to Gonzo, \u201cthe Tracer power wheelied. It\u2019s never done that to me before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat saddens me, Al\u201d, said Gonzo. \u201cYou\u2019re not accelerating hard enough.\u201d He is an empathic man, and a great believer in the healing power of wheelies. The front tyre of his CB1300 has a contact with tarmac which is fleeting at best.<\/p>\n
The man in black with the guitar and amplifier out in the beer garden started complaining that he was stuck in Folsom Prison.<\/p>\n
It was the third time I\u2019d ridden the Bylong Valley Way in a month. The first time was with Craig and the new guy from the office. The second time I went out west to Ben\u2019s joint and then met Boris and his wife for lunch at the Globe the next day before coming back to Sydney via Singleton. And this time it was with Gonzo because it was a double demerits weekend and we needed something to thumb our noses at.<\/p>\n
The last time I rode the Putty northbound I was visiting Boris. There was dead wombat on the racing line on a blind corner coming the other way. There was nowhere safe to stop and move it without having a dead wombat, a Yamaha MT-09 Tracer and Al on the racing line on a blind corner. I deduced that in the intervening two weeks some Nimrod probably hit it coming the other way by the fact that the blood god had demanded nothing from Gonzo and me on this run.<\/p>\n
We had lunch, and another beer, and moved on. We\u2019d seen three Highway Patrol cars before they saw us on the way up. We saw another one hiding outside Lithgow. We went up Scenic Hill at high revs in low gears and leaned WAY over on the sides of our tyres, and did the same at Mount Tomah forty kilometres further on. We stopped again at the Archibald at Kurrajong Heights to top up the beer levels.<\/p>\n
Gonzo asked if I was still loving the Tracer after three months. \u201cI should have bought one years ago\u201d, I told him. \u201cI nearly did, but I was concerned about its range. I ended up buying the Strom for its ten percent larger fuel tank. It turned out the Tracer got fifteen percent better fuel consumption.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreat bike. Sporty sport-tourer. Great chassis. Wonderful pugnacious motor. The front forks could flow a bit more oil on fast compression, but I\u2019ll have that fixed in thirty days.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned up late to work after the long weekend due to a dermatologist appointment. The quack wanted to burn some suspect skin off my forehead with liquid nitrogen. \u201cWill I be able to wear that?\u201d I asked, pointing at my helmet.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be fine\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
When I got to work I told everyone that was interested about my ride, and that I was chuffed that the Tracer power wheelied, despite having traction control turned on.<\/p>\n
Two days after the dermatologist visit, there was a circular scab on my forehead that looked like the letter O. One of the product team asked me what it was. \u201cI\u2019ve just joined a club\u201d, I told her, \u201cand one of the rules is you have to have the letter O tattooed on your forehead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat club is that?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the Simple Origami Club\u201d, I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s that all about?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe aims of the Simple Origami Club\u201d, I told her, \u201care two-fold.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next day a segment fell out of the O and the scab looked like a C. Everyone ignored it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAren\u2019t you going to ask me what the C on my forehead stands for?\u201d I asked the boss.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I already know\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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