I dip the clutch and drop into third gear and peel round a long left hand corner to see the A360 stretch out towards Devizes bathed in the glorious honey gold sunlight of a late Indian summer afternoon. The combination of light, the lack of traffic and the intoxicating sound of a V twin engine throbbing away in the wide open landscape settles me into a satisfied mood as I chase the horizon. From the opposite direction and almost dreamlike in the golden haze weaving off the road, a big black Yamaha R1 appears, it’s engine howling as it winds down through the gears from high speed. As it comes past, the rider raises his hand to the front of his helmet and imitates the classic Italian hand signal for bellisimo, I have tasted and I have enjoyed, this recipe is divine….. a kiss to the tip of all the fingers and thumb followed by a swift wave up to the left with an opening hand. My laughter booms deeply inside my crash helmet. I drop my chest down towards the tank and twist the throttle open. For the next 15 minutes I’m the only person on earth. The road, the bike, the world and everything in it is undisputedly mine. like all the great pleasures of life…it’s short lived, bright, rare, fleeting, unpredictable and soon enough my bum hurts as I plough through the rush hour traffic back home looking for a tea stop…… smiling.