TW200 Rides of the Past...

I had someone on the TW Forum ask me why I had only ridden my Yamaha TW "200 miles in 7 years"? and that I should be out riding new adventures instead of reliving "Stale Memories"...or something like that?  

Anyway, the TW as it sits in my garage it stands at 7897 miles, almost all either "off roads, back roads, or to, from, and during, some of the "Adventure Rides" over the past  7+ years...granted many of those miles were put on during the 2015 and 2016 riding years, when I was 66 and 67 years old.  Age has little to do with it, but our main riding partner, for me and Montezuma Nick, Judge Kurt "Borneo" was elected Judge in late 2016 and has pretty well thrown himself into his "Bench Work"...He was the driving force behind most, but not all of those adventures...up for re~election in 2022 he likely won't be riding until after he gets reelected ... which is almost certain, given the Red Area he resides. It is almost as Red as my county.  So The Judge is out of commission until 2023 most likely.

That leaves me to my own devices and turning 73 next March, one step ahead of the Grim Reaper, I hope.  So I plan on riding, after given serious consideration to selling Ol' Blue, more than I have the past 2 years for sure...2015 and 2016 are gone forever, but 2021 is here and 2022 not far off...Nick, Bob Reynolds, and I have some sort of ride planned this fall, but not exactly sure of where and when.

So yes, I have only ridden the TW around 200 miles...since the beginning of 2020...phony ass COVID be damn, the next 2 years should see a bit more than that.

Here are some photos of adventures past...

So yes, I've put a bit more than "200 miles" on the past 7 years...in addition to riding around on dirt and gravel in "Amish Country" in Eastern Indiana's next door, me and Ol' Blue have been to Moab, Big Bend Texas, the Wisconsin Northwoods and Michigan both the lower and "Yooper", West "By Gawd" Virginia's Central Mountains, and both southern Indiana and Ohio's Covered Bridge areas...and the Loop Road and northern Everglades of South Florida...and more to come...

Back to Moab in 2022 {?}

 

With the passing of another one of our attendees from Moab 2015, Idaho Larry, {that makes 4} I decided to poke the nest and see if I could gather up another group, old and new TW Riders, and do Moab again...it's been ongoing since about 2013 {except the COVID Bulllshit Lockdown of 2020}, but there has never been a year like 2015 when the late Ron from Boise, guided about 3 dozen of us TW200 riders to Moab and Canyonlands NP via the TW Forum {link below}...sadly, Ron only stayed a couple of days, got ill, headed home and passed away a month or so later...the Head Cook Mel Lininger passed about 10 months ago, and Idaho Larry just last week...we never have found out what happened to Psycho Mike, dead or alive?  Nobody in the group really knows, and the last we heard was when he and Mel did Alaska in 2016 on the TWs....

Yamaha TW 200 Forum

So anyway I put out a couple of dates, late March and Mid to late October of 2022...the vote will go on until this October 21st, and we will see what we have...lots of great interest so far, and hopefully we can work this out...I would like to go out that way one more time, before I hang up the riding boots.

----The Photos:

Photo and Photo Sketch are all from March 2015...{1} PRH at the Island in the Sky riding up from far down below...{2} Riding the Potash Road, L to R Fred from Nevada, PRH, and my old Celina buddy, Montezuma Nick...{3} Pecker Point in Canyonlands NP, snapped this on on my solo ride along Kane Creek...{4} Sketch of the Original KOA Kabin Guys...The Diver Paul{who has lost 100 pound since 2015 and given up the drink} Borneo The Indiana Judge, up for re~election in 2022 so he won't likely make this trip, his Nephew Spencer {Weasel}, married 3 years ago, perhaps he is ready to break away for a week or so?, Montezuma Nick and PRH...{5} "Mel's Ride" Mel was about my age when we took this one, he passed away last October, what a great human being he was...and finally{6} Around the North Camp, where Mel fixed a great steak dinner and 30 of us sat around the campfire telling lies and tall tales...

Just "Sketching" Around...

Working with Lunapic and bringing some of my old Vietnam Selfies out in a different light...

Nha Trang Air Base, 14th SPS, sitting on the Sandbag Bunker at the base Entry Control Point in October 1969...

More to Come...