BACKROADS • APRIL 2022
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W H AT C H AT HI NK I N ’ SHIRA KAMIL
PRECIOUS DAYS Each morning, as my eyes open and I take in the sun rising outside the bedroom window, I take a moment or five to ponder what this day will bring. The dawn has shifted across the horizon and, as I check my weather app on the phone I see that the temperatures are consistently rising. While I don’t discount the past, I do my best to look forward. I have a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote which hangs by my desk. It starts my working day and I do my very best to follow it: This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays. While there certainly has been enough in the past two years to keep one’s mind there, the present holds both ever-changing disturbances and hopefulness. My thoughts and eyes are overseas and my heart is with my family but, with the changing of the season and the budding of the trees, my mind and spirit are on coming months and the calendar that sits on my desktop. That calendar is very full. After the turn of the page to 2022, it seems like winter was over like a blip, flying through January and February relatively unscathed by Mother Nature. March came in not so much like a lion but perhaps a tentative feral cat, and before I know it we’ll be boarding a plane to meet up with a baker’s dozen of Backroads’ riders to explore Ecuador with the good folks from Freedom Bike Rental, Court and Sylvain. This will be my third excursion to this beautiful country and the second time spending my birthday on the equator. There is not much better than
raising a glass to the sunset while sitting on a Pacific Ocean beach after a wonderful day’s ride. While I write this, it is opening weekend of the 2022 MotoGP season and I have qualifying at Qatar in the corner of my screen. As I read in Peter Jones’ article in February’s Rider magazine, the heroes and villains have been rearranged with the retirement of The Doctor, Valentino Rossi. Last year we attended MotoGP in Texas at COTA to see Vale race for the last time on US soil. The attendance was overwhelming as was the rival flag waving and jeers between the Rossi and Marquez camps. While I absolutely admire the talent of Marc Marquez, I will always have Rossi in my heart. So, who will be my new hero? I think it will go to Pecco Bagnaia until one of the US racers make it to the premier class. We’ll be returning to COTA in the beginning of April to cheer him on, as well as all the amazingly talented riders from the other classes. We have a full plate with our Backroads’ rallies as well. While we never stopped holding our gatherings over the past few years, we look forward to welcoming back those who would or could not attend and the new riders who will join us. May has our spring ride headed to Danville, PA for some roller coaster rides, both on the bikes and in the parks. This part of Pennsylvania is a hoot to ride and our friend John Cirabassi was kind enough to put together a bit of off-road riding for those who want to get a bit dirty. I don’t know about you, but I know I’ll be spending a few hours at the nearby Knoebel’s Amusement Park, riding what might be the best wooden coaster around – the Phoenix – and the other great rides there. Speaking about great rides in May, we’ll also head back to Virginia International Raceway to spend two days with the CLASS crew. I am so happy that they moved their dates from September to May – what a fabulous way to start a riding season with a tune-up of riding skills. We managed to fit in a summer sojourn, heading to New England with Continued on Page 9
