Great night for a ride

It's been hot as all get out just about everywhere but here in the land of humidity it's been even more so. Did not get out on the motor this weekend, just the pedal bike, so when I could break away tonight around seven I took off for a zen ride. You know, the "I ride my bike to ride my bike" kind.
Headed for a few roads that I'd maxed out my HR on this weekend, aiming for Great Falls out of Reston and then on into Vienna via Wolftrap and then other less broadly paved macadam. As the sun glowed diffusedly through the humid haze, lower and lower on the horizon, bats swooping overhead keeping the mosquito population down, I really started to grok just what a fantastic bike this XJ700 was. These were the kind of roads that let it dig deep for the muscle torque while hovering around the 3K mark and then wrap the needle up to 7K worth of pure jet fuel without even having to touch the shift lever. Then, just to feel the zip in the response, a quick click down when the yellow placard advised 15 mph ahead, so that we could accelerate together around the whole of the bend. It was like the bike had been waiting for this as much as I and all it asked was that I give it the attention it deserved. It gave me back the exhilaration and encouragement that made it feel like the perfect end to the day.
Of course, back to the house, cold TJ's Vienna Lager in hand and a fistful of grape tomatoes to crunch on I couldn't think of anything I wanted to do more than share this. Can't wait until summer's pace slows down into autumn and all the mid atlantic XJ'ers find themselves heading for the mountains just to say we did.

 

Very excellent!