This is Piper, I adopted her this morning.
While living in Vermont, I couldn’t justify spending the money to buy a “luxury item” that I’d only be able to ride two months out of the year. In 2012, as a birthday present to myself, I took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) course and got my license.
After seven attempts to purchase over the past few months I was starting to lose hope. I would fall in love with the beauty shown in the pictures, envision our life together, and have my heart broken when I found out she’d given herself to another.
Finally, after months of emotional turmoil, I came across this sultry redhead that was clearly extroverted by nature and had a boisterous disposition. We got to talking and I knew I needed to make a move before someone else swooped in on this gem.
This was how I met Piper, the ’09 Ducati Monster 696.
We only just begun to get to know one another, but are already madly in love. She purrs like a kitten and needs just the right touch to get her into first gear… but once she does… she roars like a beast taking on the world. She’s a bit of a Maverick in that way.
Piper is the exact make, model, color, and year bike that I first sat on. While it might have been her cousin or sister I met first, that was the moment my love for two wheels went to the next level. Now, living in Los Angeles (where it’s sunny every day and a motorcycle will get you anywhere twice as fast thanks to lane splitting) it finally made sense.
The moral to the story here, never give up on your dreams.
That as well as… wear appropriate safety gear, follow the rules of the road, assume everyone is attempting to murder you, don’t park at the end of a line of cars (no matter how legal the parking attendant insists it is), and keep shopping till you’ve found the one.
While their not subscribed to this list, I still have to say that I’m immensely appreciative for my friends AJ and Jordan who adventured with me to pick her up and get her home safe (AJ rode her home through Topanga Canyon). And to Zach, an insane person who rides a Ducati 1098, for the shopping support and occasionally responsible advice.
I had energizing, in-person conversations with Greg C. and King M. over the last few days and will have more to share about the conversations in the future. If you’re in Los Angeles and want to grab a drink, let me know. Maybe we’ll make a party of it.
For now…
What’s the one dream that’s stuck with you for the longest time?