I gave it a service in the week, and decided it needed a run out this year, so I set off this morning with nowhere in particular in mind to arrive at. It was not even a particularly nice day when I set off, and verging on cold for this time of the year.

I remember it doing around 130 mph the last time I rode it, so took it out on a Sunday to remember it again. I had been riding for a few hours and had visited a fuel station twice already, it sure is a thirsty beast at full throttle! Somehow it felt a lot tamer than last I remember, mainly due to me spending a lot of time riding 900cc bikes this year I suppose, though it was incredibly agile around the bendy bits we call corners.
It was the last fuel stop that got me to thinking it was time to head home, the England world cup game was coming up, and my daughter wanted to watch the game with me, and she did, just, and only just by the skin of my pants you see.
I set off for home, or the bank where I store some of my bikes under more like, and came across a stretch of road I know very well. It is straight for around 2 miles, with not a single turn on or off the road, no drives and no chance anyone can pull out in front of me, so I wound the throttle on hard, wailing through the gears, I hit 6th gear and tucked my head under the fairing to avoid the headwind, 110 then 120 then almost 130 and there it was, my worst nightmare flashed right in front of me, from right to left - a wild deer. I missed it by about 1/10th of a second.

I let off the throttle and started to brake hard, I know where you see one deer you see 8, and when one is spooked you can guarantee the rest are also, and not far behind, sure enough another 4 or 5 came darting out in front of me, I had this covered with my slowing down, or so I thought.
I had not noticed or paid any attention to a car coming the other direction as he was at the time, not on my side of the road, that was about to change though. One of the deer had run across the front of this car and smashed the windscreen leaving the driver panicking and head on to me, I was left with 2 choices, hit him head on, or take to a field, I chose the field.

I never expected to be ripping it up through a disgruntled farmers field, and by the time I managed to stop, he sure let me know I was not welcome, I made my broken Polish apologies and left my mark on his patch as I tried to ride out.
The car driver did not do so well, he hit lamppost head on and wrote off his car, he was fine though & that is all that matters.

I sat on our rocking chair with my daughter to watch England win 6.1 and loved every minute of it, not the football, just sitting there with my little girl, each of us taking it in turns to rock the chair, I was truly happy for that 1 hour and 50 ish minutes of quality time, that I almost never had ever again.

Images CC0 Pixabay.