Back... more than a year after the trip to Yellowknife, I've resolved to resuscitate the blog, beginning with  my decision to swap the Stelvio for a V85TT.

My two-wheeled pals know I love the look of Moto Guzzi bikes and I love the motor. On the highway, I loved the Stelvio but I loved it most above 80 miles per hour. Below that, the vibration -- while not uncomfortable -- was distracting. In addition the Stelvio is heavy; with the 8.5-gallon tank even close to full, I couldn't get the bike on the centerstand without resorting to gravity tricks. (I'd run the front wheel up on a 2x4, putting the rear wheel lower than the front and facilitating the roll backwards onto what the Italians call the central stand.)

So I traded. I'd lusted after a V85TT since it was introduced in 2019. When Guzzi introduced the Travel version, I knew the eight-and-a-half was in my future.

Eventually I found the deal. GP Motorcycle in San Diego had a TT Travel with 63 miles on it. They wanted $11,900 for the bike -- $1500 less than new. Plus no freight and dealer prep. AND they offered $2000 more for the Stelvio than the dealer in Austin. I was hooked. I just had to go 1,500 miles to get it.

I left about 3 p.m. on Wednesday a week before Thanksgiving and rode to Abilene for the first night. Rising early the next day, I was away by 5 p.m.... 1007 miles and almost 16 hours later, I was in Yuma, AZ. By 11 a.m. Friday, I was at GP Motorcycles in lovely San Diego.

The road from Yuma to the Jacumba Mountains was as straight as I've ever ridden... and it dips below sea level. the Jacumba and Laguna mountains east of San Diego are geologically fascinating, particularly the east slope.

I was away by 1 p.m., headed back over the mountains. By 10 p.m. I was in Tucson and down for the night. Piaggio (parent company of Moto Guzzi) governs the bike for the first 900 miles, so I wasn't going to achieve blazing speed. Saturday, I trucked along on I-10 at 0 to 75 miles per hour, finally rolling into a Big Spring motel about 9 p.m.

Sunday, I awoke to 52 degrees and mist. I'd not brought electrics, so I layered up and headed home. By 2 p.m. Sunday, I was home.., covering 3,000 miles in -- essentially -- four days of saddle time.

The V85, pictured at a roadside park in the Imperial Valley, is all I hoped for. Responsive, lightweight, comfortable and (I've discovered since I left the Interstate) happy in the curves.

I'm gonna bond with the 850.

(The other picture is from a Denny's about 60 or 70 miles east of Tucson... highway home of the most important meal of the day.)