Many years ago, I was in Cáceres Spain. It is a hilltop town in the Extremadura region of Spain. Cáceres is a college town, with a large central square that has dozens (maybe hundreds) of bars and night clubs around it. At night, it is quite the scene. The tall, beautiful Spanish girls...... One wall of the square was built by the Romans, and marks the border of the 'old' part of town. Narrow, steep, cobblestone streets. Alcoves and low archways that give way to courtyards.
I was walking one afternoon with my friend, just wandering, when a sound started echoing through the narrow passages getting louder and louder. Suddenly a pair of motorcycles, a Motoguzzi and a Ducati came streaking past, the thunder from their exhaust pounding our chests. They traveled past us, then 50 yrds up the street, darted through a low archway and stopped. Curious, we walked up, and found the bikes, and guys riding them.
The men were Scottish brothers, and we were standing in their bar. The place had been a bar for the better part of 500 years. The stone was worn where people had stumbled up the same steps for centuries. They were good folk. We had some beers, and had a good time.
Its a scene that is burned into my memory. Its like it was yesterday.
Today, I went out in my garage, a beautiful clear fall day was on tap in Seattle. I was getting ready to ride, and the bike was still on the rear stand. That sound, I just wanted to hear it.....I fired the bike. A tweak of the throttle....Heaven. The sun, the narrow streets, the echoing thunder.
Great story. I could imagine myself there. Last night I installed my termi Short on my RS and today told my wife I was going to tool around a bit to see how she rode. I left Tacoma and was back ina couple hours. The sound of Ducati's are amazing. You weren't the only one enjoying this Washington weather.
Brian
Yup. Weather was pretty darn good down here in Stumptown, too.
Great story DesmoD. Thanks for sharing. Caceres, eh? Would love to see it someday.
I was lucky enough to spend a fair bit of time in Bilbao, Spain on business. While there, I had time to go to the famous Guggenheim Museum (the one with the titanium skin on the outer walls). What did I see there? The History of the Motorcycle exhibit. A century of the most awesome, historically relevant and beautiful motorcycles on display. And Ducati was well represented, for sure. Got to experience Bilbao's "Casco Viejo" (Old Town), too. Thanks for bringing back those cool memories!!
John