Where has the time gone!?

Good day loyal readers. If there are any loyal readers left. Looking back at my post history shows that I haven't made a post since October of 2021. The post before that was seven months previous. I haven't made any posts in 2022 and only 7 posts in 2021. A far cry from my best year back in 2016 where I actually managed to have time to write 80 posts. I may not get back to that rate of action, but I want to catch the blog up to the present. Sit back and read on, it has been a wild ride!

I got really into off-roading my little Super Cub in the spring of 2021. One weekend I took a break to hang out with my family and go on a road trip to one of my favorite areas of Japan, Yamanashi prefecture and the Fuji Five Lakes. On our way back I noticed an abundance of bikes out on the road and was feeling the urge to do my own mountain ride. The family road trip was great, but the twisty roads were calling me. At lunch before heading home, we stopped at a nice Italian place where I was able to get this shot of a beautiful Yamaha MT01. These are big V-Twin muscle bikes that never made it to the states. They were popular in Japan and still fetch a good price on the used market these days. They are brutish looking and sound even better. I bet they would have been popular in the states, especially with the same crowd of people that like Yamaha's V-Max. I count myself as one of those people. They were made from 2005 to 2012 so in another 10 years I'll be able to import one from Japan maybe. 

I spent the summer of 2021 skateboarding and riding my Cub to both the skatepark and to work. The Cub makes an excellent commuter and skate bike. I ended up hurting myself and had to take a break from the skating and from riding which led to me selling my Yamaha XJR400. The Cub was my only form of transportation, but it didn't aggravate my injury so I was still riding in a manner of speaking. It was a pretty cold winter as evidenced by the extremely rare snow we had. The family took another road trip and this time we went to the Yamaha factory in Shizuoka prefecture. Aside from all of the beautiful restored bikes they had, I was able to throw a leg over another big Yamaha V-Twin bike. I have always liked these Yamaha Venture touring bikes. Since this pic back in December of 2021, I have been slightly obsessed with touring bikes and cruisers. While my wife and kids thought this was just a fun little museum photo op, I was plotting and scheming on how I might get my hands on one of these big old beauties.

After the cold winter we went into a cold spring. One spring day in March, I was able to go to the Tokyo Motorcycle Show. Things in Japan had progressed with the pandemic enough that they finally allowed large events. After two years of canceled shows, this one was decent. It seemed a little smaller than I expected, but it was good to get out to a motorcycle trade show. There were a good number of smaller companies showing off electric motorcycles of various sorts. Honda brought out their new Dax and Hawk models. No word if these will come to America, but I hope they do. Yamaha had a big booth as well, but the line to get into it was enough for me to pass. I was able to navigate the entire show pretty efficiently since I went solo on this one. All in all a good day for motorcycling. 

April got busy. To tell you the truth, the entirety of 2022 had been extremely busy when it all finally came together in May where after 20 years I retired from the Navy. I guess this means I need to update my bio (and LinkedIn page). Even though things had progressed enough to allow motorcycle shows, my family in the States wasn't allowed to come into the country for the ceremony. That didn't matter in the end as it was a great day for me and my family. 

A side effect of that great day resulted in this sad day. The week after my retirement ceremony, I took my beloved little Honda Super Cub out for one last ride before selling it. After debating every day for two years on whether I would bring it back to America, practicality won out and I called up the same company that bought the XJR. Where selling the XJR was a bit melancholy, selling this bike resulted in tears. Both of my girls cried about the loss of this family friend. I am not ashamed to admit that watching it go away broke my heart and resulted in a tear or two. Even now it hurts to recount the day. I have gotten better, but I still miss that little bike more than a grown man probably should.

Retirement ceremonies are great, but they are not usually not the actual last thing you do before leaving the military. After a busy couple of weeks, we left Japan at the end of May. As I type this we are waiting to move into our new rental home back in the USA. I can actually get a garage again and am excited to have space and time for motorcycle projects. It has been a very busy couple of months for the whole family and all of that work is finally coming together. I don't know when I will be riding again, but hopefully soon. I have a few bike projects in mind when things settle down for us. I wouldn't expect weekly posts, but something once a month might be possible. Hopefully you are riding this summer even if I'm not. Stay safe and thanks for reading.

Mat