R introduced me to The Moto Social about five years ago. At first, I was a casual attendee, but over the years I’ve tried to make it a priority, as it gets me out of the burbs, into the city, and connected with other cool motorcyclists.

As I’ve written before, the Triumph Speed Triple, in many ways, is the perfect bike for The Moto Social. It’s urban. It’s a street fighter. It’s sporty and handsome. It’s that perfect blend of vintage and stylish that remains timeless. One small problem exists – I’m still learning to ride it – and if I’m honest, going through the Caldecott Tunnel down towards Oakland still makes me a little bit nervous. After 20 years of riding adventure bikes, I’m still learning that this motorcycle is an entirely different experience.

However, it’s Tuesday afternoon. I saw my phone blink. It’s a message from J, my buddy whom I met at The Moto Social in 2019, that fluke evening the organizers hosted the event in Berkeley rather than in San Francisco. He shared an image of The Moto Social’s Facebook post with his text reading, “the season closer.” Noooooooo! This is The Moto Social San Francisco. We’re supposed to have The Moto Social from April to October, unlike Canada that runs from May to September. If the Triple is going to go to The Moto Social this year, this is the night.

Shortly thereafter, my neighbor reaches out and says, “Are you going to The Moto Social?” At this point, I’m in. I joke – “You know I’m Capt. Slow Pokes – especially on this bike.” He laughs at the irony and says, “You’ll be fine.” I’ve got the directions, so he’s stuck with me.

The Speed Triple is decidedly different than the BMW GS. It’s aggressive. There is no wind protection. You feel the elements all around you in a resolution you don’t on the BMW GS. You are the elements. As I made my way down California Highway 24, I could feel the temperature drop five degrees as I passed each exit. I’ve lived in the Bay Area longer than any other place in my entire life, and the region’s microclimates still catch me by surprise. The Triple’s lack of wind protection only magnifies the action of the microclimates.

As I come out of the Caldecott Tunnel (colloquially known as the cold-to-hot tunnel), the temperature significantly dropped. What was the low 90s at home was now the high 60s on this side of the tunnel. As I looked across the horizon, my heart couldn’t help but jump. The late summer sun was closing in on the skyline of San Francisco, with all the colors of sunset starting to show. I could see down the mountain towards the bay, with the fog coming over the city and lacing the bay with its presence. This, right here, is urban riding at its best. I’m surrounded by beauty, going against traffic, on a motorcycle that makes me smile even if it reminds me I need to up my game.

Looking at that skyline, my mind instantly jumped back to my tween years playing Nintendo and learning to be awesome at the game Rad Racer, a car racing game. Level 2 was the San Francisco Freeway, which looked surprisingly like this moment on the motorcycle. I could see the two bridges off in the distance, with the city skyline wandering down the mountainscape towards the bay below. I checked screenshots online of the game, and it looked similar—as best as late 80s 8-bit graphics could do.

As I approached San Francisco on the Bay Bridge, my mind drifted back to R. We’ve been in a long-distance relationship for over seven years and, like any relationship, we’ve had our ups and downs, and laughs and fights. I often get the question, “How do you do it, Dan?” It’s hard. There is no way around that. We prioritize showing up for each other at our big moments—holidays, major life events, and the like. Sometimes, you feel the distance in the small moments—and we try to be creative to find ways to close the distance. One of those ways is The Moto Social.

How? The Moto Social is decidedly Canadian. Birthed in Toronto, The Moto Social expanded across Canada before heading south into the United States. Most people I meet here don’t understand that important piece of trivia about The Moto Social. Early on, R was really excited about The Moto Social, and as a proud Canadian, it is something that always makes him smile. As I began to attend the San Francisco event, it soon became a shared experience between the two of us. We couldn’t necessarily be together, but it was a shared experience between us. Having him come to The Moto Social and San Francisco in May, and for me to head north to The Moto Social in Vancouver in July, only enriched the shared experience between us. Part of navigating a long-distance relationship is to stay close, despite the distance. The Moto Social is one of the ways we do that.

As I arrive in San Francisco, I want to make sure I find a great parking space to show my bike off. Yes, I know I’m being vain, but I missed the opportunity to show off the San Francisco plate in Vancouver by parking far off into the distance. It took me a little bit, but I wound up with a great space right next to the Harley-Davidson dealer. I didn’t even have the kickstand down and someone came up to me, mentioning, “Dude, I like your bike!”

One of the challenges with this bike is, as my physical therapist puts it: “You have a chronic case of the 19s.” I looked at her with a confused face and she laughed, “You were born in the 19th century. That means with time you get older, less flexible, more cracks and pops, and unfortunately some pain to go with it.” Of any motorcycle I’ve ever owned, the Triple definitely brings that out in me.

But I’m at The Moto Social. Bikes are all around me. Bikers are all around me. Life is good. I’ve seen this KTM at prior events and it always catches my eye. The KTM is massive in and of itself, but the luggage, lights, and horns truly complete the package. I’ve yet to connect the bike to its rider, but it always makes the short-legged rider smile knowing I’m never going to be able to ride a bike like that without crazy platform boots that have 12-inch heels on them!

Tonight, I decided to bring the SLR camera rather than my iPhone. September always catches me by surprise with how early the sun sneaks behind the horizon. I was barely settling in and quickly running out of daylight. I didn’t have a flash with me, and honestly, it didn’t seem appropriate for this kind of event. The camera kept flashing slow shutter speeds like 1/20th of a second, which often means massive amounts of camera blur since I don’t have a tripod.

The hack to fix the slow shutter speed problem is to turn the ISO way up to 12,000, which often means massive amounts of grain and grit in the photograph—which is never great either. I turned that ISO dial all the way up and didn’t feel great about it, but I didn’t want to sell out the SLR camera either. This is the camera that I have, so I’m going to figure out a way to make it work.

As the evening progressed, working with the SLR became harder, as now even with the high ISO I was still running out of light. My eyes caught the light coming from the restaurant and I was instantly transported back to Hopper’s oil on canvas painting known as Nighthawks. Something about seeing the crowd enjoying the evening and the bar’s light flowing out to the adjacent sidewalk made me smile. Tonight’s event was at Baby Blue’s BBQ. Usually, The Moto Social is often at a coffee shop, which doesn’t have a full dinner menu. Tonight was different. Baby Blue’s BBQ built a restaurant out of a former drugstore. They kept the 1950s drugstore exterior on the outside and turned the inside into an authentic barbecue restaurant.

The dynamic shifted from a coffee shop’s rubbing shoulders across short conversations to those having dinner invited into deeper, longer-term conversations. It was a subtle but notable shift over the evening—and one that I think was welcome across the crowd this evening. Her infectious smile made me smile, and with a quick click of the shutter—the moment was captured.

With nighttime having clenched the evening, it was time to head home. I remember not being confident in my bike’s headlights a few nights ago in the rain. Then, it was dusk and I only found the high beams effective. I was curious how this was going to go, through the city, over the bridge, and through the tunnel with headlights I didn’t fully understand. My neighbor laughed, “Dude! What’s not to love? You’ve got two big headlights on that bike. What can it not light up?” I shrugged and laughed along with them.

Simply put, the bike did great. With a fully dark evening around me, the headlights worked exactly as they should and lit a clear path ahead of me. Other than some anxieties through the tunnel and some unfounded thoughts of giant potholes on the east side of the tunnel, it was a great ride home. I started to feel more comfortable on the bike. I became more comfortable at night and even picked up a bit of speed on the freeway. The suspension on this bike is nothing like that of the BMW GS. On the GS, I think I could run over a sofa and I wouldn’t feel it. On this bike, I still remember crossing a bridge joint that wasn’t in alignment with the road and the saddle slapped my ass, foot into the air. To say the Triple’s suspension is tight is a massive understatement.

I got a hall pass from my physical therapist to take this bike out for the evening, knowing I’m still working through some hip issues caused by the 19s. I spent some good time with the foam roller, the lacrosse ball, and some good stretching as my body relaxed from an evening out on a younger man’s bike.

Through it all, this older man smiled.

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