This ride took place Sunday, August 17, 2003. The meeting place was the 7-11 in Ashton. It was my first spirited ride on the Ducati, and I was leading. Four regulars; Rick (Hayabusa), Tony (ZX-6R), David (F4i) and Mary (R6) were joined by three people I hadn't ridden with before; Buddy (GSX-R 750), John (Mille R), and Marc (Hawk 996). All but Buddy left the parking lot around 11:45; Buddy was waiting for some friends. We were meeting Alex (Mille CER) at Beck's restaurant in Sykesville, so we have him directions.

        We took my usual route. It had rained the night before, so I started off easily. I slowed way down on the turns on Triadelphia Road that usually have debris. The Ducati was running well. It definitely steers more slowly than the Ninja.

    Mary took the lead going onto McKendree, and lead to the restaurant. She and David got around a couple of cars on 97, so I stayed back to lead the rest of the group. We got lucky with traffic and rarely were behind cars on the twisties. We got to the restaurant and waited for Alex and Buddy. They arrived about the same time as our drinks. Timing was definitely in our favor this day.

    Lunch was great! The service was fast and friendly, especially for so many people. The conversation was equally excellent. The only thing that could have been better was when I went to get change for the bill, they were showing the MotoGP race in the bar! That would have made lunch perfect if the TV on our side was tuned to the same channel. Of course, we ALL would have gotten speeding tickets after lunch then!!!

    Afterwards, we topped off the tanks and went riding some more. I hadn't ridden the whole loop for some time. Rick, David, and a couple of other riders split off when we got back to Route 32. We got to the end of Liganore Road, and the rest of us went our separate ways. Mary and Buddy hung with me as I tried to remember the way home. I almost became a hood ornament when I drifted wide in one corner; brain fade. I could have thrown it in the corner harder, but didn't. I wasn't even going that fast. Sometimes it's better being lucky than good. Anyway, Buddy led us after I couldn't remember the turns, and it turns out he used most of the same roads my route does. We caught up to the other group on 355; they went west on 121, we went east. Funny thing, we got behind some quads doing 60 miles an hour on pavement! They looked rather squirrelly, but didn't wreck. We got some clear traffic on 650, for some fun twisties before returning to the 7-11. I checked my odometer, and the ride was 160 miles.

    Once again, Alex says he knows of some improvements to my route; his roads have always been great, so I can't wait.

A ZIP file of all my images can be found here.