A dual sport purchase is one of those things you think about. A lot. We all want a dirt bike we could ride on the street, but we all want our hardcore moto bikes first. The plated bike would just be a fun (and expensive) addition for the garage, so that takes planning.

I spent four years plotting my dual sport purchase. For two years, I waited for KTM to finally revamp the EXC lineup to match up the new moto bikes that first appeared in 2015 as the Factory Edition. By '17, the redesigned dual sport bikes were out, so I hit up KTM and tried to sweet talk them into a deal. To build goodwill, they asked if I could attend the 2017 EXC press launch, scheduled to take place at an AMA National Enduro the day after the 2017 Ironman National MX in Indiana. I was into it, but then the bikes were delayed and the press launch never happened. Six months later, I got to hop on some EXCs in California, and we rode straight from the KTM HQ into some dirt roads in the hills. 

We shot this video there.

My trap was to let KTM run up the miles on all the 2017 press bikes and demo models, then swoop in at the end of the year when they sold them. However, the rest of the industry had been waiting on these bikes, too, and the 2017 allotment was sold out. So I went into waiting for a used 2018, with KTM media man Tom Moen telling me, "We'll have one by the time the weather thaws in Morgantown."

That gave Tom some time because winter never seems to end in Morgantown. By the time you go there for High Point next weekend, most of the town will just be out of hibernation. True to Tom's word, a used KTM 350 EXC-F came up for grabs in May. I don't get bikes for free—even used and with an insider connection, this bike costs a good chunk of change—but at least my rep was intact by not paying full retail. 

I was so stoked to pick up my new ride. I had "it." The dirt bike that can be ridden on the street.

Except one thing: I'd never really ridden on the street before.

Well, I did during that video from above. That wasn't much. I also rode on the road extensively during a 2004 trip to the Dominican Republic, where we basically rode a lap around the entire country. That really doesn't count, though, because you see on that trip we didn't really do the things you would do on roads here in the U.S, which is FOLLOW ANY SORT OF RULES AT ALL. Riding in the DR, we were speeding, riding on sidewalks, running red lights, and basically doing whatever we wanted, and this was actually a requirement because the tour leaders at the front of the group were pinning it and if you got lost or fell behind, you were certain to become a permanent resident of the Dominican. The trip was awesome, but only because I didn't die, which nearly happened several times.

I would often use my hilarious Dominican story to make girls laugh, but the bad news is one of the girls ended up being my wife, and now that I have a dual sport, she uses the "didn't you almost die ten times riding a dirt bike on the street?" against me.

Babe, that was the DR! Here in the U.S. no one ever gets hurt riding a motorcycle!

I promised I would only ride the dual sport to get to riding areas (I've got about three or four empty land patches near my house plotted out for turn tracks and woods loops) and NOT simply for fun on the road. 

If you follow that logic, than one of those riding spots, actually, is the grass in front of a local strip mall. Because...last night we ordered Chinese food for takeout, and I grabbed a backpack, helmet and motorcycle and headed off to pick up food. This would be my first ride on roads I was familiar with. I learned a few things.

1. When you pull up behind a car at a stop sign or red light, you feel like you're RIGHT ON THEM because you don't have this huge hood and dashboard to add distance. It's just you, a fender and their car. I felt like I was invading privacy.

2. The visibility of a helmet is way, way better than through a windshield, which has pillars blocking your view to the left and right.

3. You need to see because you have no clue if any of the cars actually see you.

4. Dirt bikes get hot idling at red lights.

5. I've got a quiet 350 four-stroke single-cylinder bike. It's slow compared to most street bikes, but it's still quick as hell compared to cars in traffic. I was dusting everyone at lights without even trying.

6. Same for the brakes, which work awesome when you have real traction on tarmac. Basically, I've experienced the most basic law of physics, which is that a motorcycle weighs way less than a car. It goes and stops much more quickly.

7. Riding is about 1700 percent more fun than driving.

8. There's no possible way to text or call when you're riding. Or, well, someone is probably using Bluetooth while riding. Don't. Enjoy the freaking ride, because that's the whole point. Nothing is more fun than riding!

I made it back and the food was intact; the wife didn't even realize I'd taken the bike out. Score one for me. Next up, I'm finding some riding areas—like the construction area on the other side of the neighborhood. Yee haw!