Sunday, April 20, 2008

I'm Baaaaaaaaack!

The last time I posted was back in December of 2007. I hit the publish button, turned-off the computer and haven't turned it on since, until today.

I don't have a really good explanation for my extended absence from the blogosphere but do offer my apologies to all my readers and those concerned about my well-being.

Tons of email awaits my attention. I will wade through them all and promise to answer each one as time allows.

I'm doing fine, still riding and I hope this post finds each one of you well and still riding.

I have only taken one pleasure ride lately, the rest of my rides have been the 5 mile commute each way to work. The price of gas and my commitment to environmental responsibility have limited my riding to almost exclusive utilitarian purposes. After all I've got to practice what I preach.

I've added another bike to my commuting arsenal, a bicycle that is. I acquired a Diamondback Transporter that I will be riding to work at least once a week. This news won't hurt the gas barons any but I will get some much needed exercise, spare the planet some carbon emissions and as an added bonus save some bucks too!

Spring is arriving late here in the valleys of western Oregon. This whole weekend has been snowing and hailing. There have been only a couple of fairly warm sunny days so far this Spring and that was last weekend. Snow accumulation can still be seen in the foothills of the Cascades east of me and Mt. Hood off in the northeastern distance.

Went on a ride with the Wyld Hogs last weekend in some of those hills I mentioned, it was fantastic to get out into the wind again, that is, in daylight and more than just a teasing 5 miles. Mike was there with his sporty and adventurous looking Buell Odyssey, Dale on his trusty Vulcan, Dave on his shiny new Suzuki C50, Bruce on his nicely rigged out Yamaha and I on the Sportster.

We must have been a sight us old farts. 5 different personalities reflected by 5 different bikes, the love of motorcycles and motorcycling being the connective link between us. It was a great ride.

For the small town onlookers in Macleay, Stayton, Lyons or Silverton, we wouldn't have been the only oddball group riding through. In fact the roads were virtually teaming with bikes everywhere. Mostly geezers like us.

I don't think of myself as a geezer but younger folks do. When I'm riding I'm young again. And free.

Somewhere I read recently that most motorcycle riders these days are in their 40s and 50s.

I remember when I was younger seeing the roads full of Winnebago's and campers mostly piloted by older folks. I don't see much of that anymore but I do see lots and lots of bikes. Maybe gas prices have drove my generation away from guzzlers and towards bikes. Or maybe we are a little more eco-friendly, or maybe because we grew up in the 60s and 70s influenced by watching "Easy Rider" and the TV show "Then Came Bronson", but we let life get in the way, that is, until now.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Welcome back Kano. Since your last post, I actually started another motorcycle blog, with some thanks to you for the idea "Motorcycle Philosophy". Biker News Online is just going to be news-focused stuff.

I guess I'm still burning up lots of gas; I recently completed a 5-day road trip through CA, AZ, UT, and NV. But I am burning less fuel than I could be. I still use a "push lawnmower" instead of a motorized one. Good exercise.

irondad said...

Good to see ya strollin' by the front porch, again.

Anonymous said...

Who you callin and "old fart" and geezer anyhoo? Why I could still whip your behind if I wanted to!

And, I didn't see anything so "wyld" about our group - cept for maybe when the waitress doubled over in laughter when Dave ordered his usual MILk with his chili cheese burger...

Try to string some vacation time together so we can head out for some real rides and camping this summer. Me, I'm heading for Hell's Canyon, the Redwoods, and some other short destinations like the Rhody Festival in Florence, OR and Davinci Days in Corvallis. You're welcome to tag along if you think you can keep up - I know old farts can't - but if you put a spring in your step you'll have a good chance...

"Mike"

PS, it's a "Ulysses" not "ODDyssey" try to keep up will you?

R.G. said...

Hey Kano,
Guess I wasn't the only one to take a sabbatical from blogging. I look forward to following your posts again. Maybe we will even cross paths this summer.

Anonymous said...

Welcome back. There are MANY new sites out there in the blogosphere (mine included)...this is becoming quite the large community!

Kano said...

SJ-Thanks for the welcome baaaaaaack! Hope your road trip was a hoot and mowing the grass with a push lawnmower sounds like a smart move. I'll try to convince my son whom has taken over the reigns of the official "lawn mower" to do the same. We have an electric mower which I like except that pesky extension cord keeps getting in the way!

Kano said...

Irondad-Thanks! It's been awhile since I'd been up the Santiam canyon. I used to go kayaking and rafting there alot. Great burgers at Papa's right on the highway there. Kano

Kano said...

Mike- Thanks and you're hired! I've been needing an official editor and I think you're just the man for the job. Odyssey, Ulysses, hmm, I think I can see how that happened. Anyway, thanks for the ride. It was fun hanging out with the "big boys".

RG-Thanks and I'll get over to your site to see how your story is coming along.

Mrs. Road Captain-Thanks,and yep, so many sites and so little time but with a handle like mrs road captain, I'll have to go check it out.

Heinz N Frenchie said...

We are quite releived to find that you just took a break from all of this and didn't suffer anything serious. Blogging can get a bit overwhelming. Welcome back, you were missed.

Kano said...

heinz & frenchie-Thanks for the kind words, it's people like you that make it really good to be back! I have some catching up to do on reading your blog, great pics too!