Checking In

[NancysToy]

Hey there! It's been a long time since I posted. Just wanted to let you know I was still alive. Hopelessly out of date, haven't toured in some time, but still riding and still twisting wrenches.

Hopelessly out of date: I have to admit that I have never even ridden a 1330, and never even sat on a Ryker. Still stuck in the V-twin era. Nancy traded her PE-GS on a Polaris Ranger 500 a couple of years back, after 10 years of ownership. No problems, and she still loved it, but it didn't get along with her advancing arthritis. Still rides pillion behind me and occasionally steals my RT. That's fair, I swiped her GS plenty before I got my own Spyder. The UTV suits our needs on these 23 acres quite well. Better than packing a chainsaw into the woods by hand. I'm still riding my 2011 RT-S. Only about 45K on the clock, we haven't been able to tour for some time. Building the log house occupied us for awhile, then Nancy's mother needed care up until she passed away a few years back. After that Nancy's elderly and legally blind father came to live with us. He's weeks away from turning 95. No particular trouble to care for, but doesn't like to be left alone more than a few hours, and never overnight. I still have the RT622 trailer and it gets occasional use, but not much without our touring ways. The Aspen Sentry popup camper gets use once or twice a year, though it would be more fun camping if Nancy could also spend the night. The custom, 1-rail motorcycle trailer gets regular use hauling vintage bikes to area shows and and cruise-ins.

I'm still playing with the vintage bikes and cars. I have a 1939 BSA WD-M20 military bike on the restoration stand now. Delivered to the War Department in London in October 1939, it is a real survivor. Delivered to me in several crates and boxes and pickup loads, it's been a real puzzle, but is taking shape. Covid slowed the project considerably, hard to get parts or services these days, and virtually impossible during the height of the pandemic and shut-downs. Newest bike in the fleet is a 1966 Honda CL160, a 1-year model. All original, as I prefer them. Obtained it from a good friend of mine. He was already storing it in my garage.

As to the rest of life, I'm currently being treated for metastatic throat cancer. Not fun, I'm now halfway through my weekly chemo and 1/3 through my daily radiation. Could be worse, the common garden variety of this particular cancer would be considered Stage IV and have only a 20-25% survival rate. This viral version is much more treatable, considered to be Stage I and has about an 85% survival with both chemo and radiation. Unfortunately inoperable, so we had to do it the hard way. I have a feeding tube and a port, but won't have to breathe through a stoma (tracheotomy) or talk with an electronic box. My friends have been incredibly supportive. Many of them were made through SpyderLovers, and several are still riding Spyders. Hard to beat a technology that created such bonds and has endured so well. I'm extremely grateful. Nancy is doing well, considering she lives with me and her father...and has put on a few miles as well.

So that about sums it up. My very best goes out to Lamonster for creating and operating this forum, and to all my old friends and acquaintances. Enjoy the Ryde!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Sending many, many ..... Mike

[Saluda]

Great to see you post again, wish you the best with the treatments.

[pjp623]

Welcome Back !

[YIRYDE]

Scotty, great hearing from you again and wishing you the best with your recovery.

[Deanna777]

Welcome Back!


Deanna

[ARtraveler]

Welcome back Scotty.

Thanks so much for the update. Our thoughts and prayers go with you on your cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Glad to hear you are still keeping up with your hobbies.

[Sarge707]

Great to hear from you!!!! Recover quickly old friend!

[IGETAROUND]

Scotty,

I have often thought of you as I pass through Allegan. So good to hear that you are alive and surviving. My prayers to you for a complete recovery. When you are feeling the need for a ride I am only a phone call and 45 minutes away. I'll let you ride my F3T

Al in Kazoo

[safecracker]

Great to read your post. I am praying for a full recovery on your cancer treatments. Bruce

[cptjam]

Great you dropped by! Ann says hello! She took to riding, and now has over 300,000 miles under her belt! So glad you are still kicking, and twirling wrenches. All the best, Joe and Ann Meyer

[bikerbillone]

Don't know you Scotty, but prayers going out. Man, you have a lot of posts out there, so hang in with us.

[NancysToy]

Al,

You are welcome to stop by anytime, though I go to Holland for treatment early every day and am tied up in chemo the entire day the first day of the week. I'd love to see you, may even take you up on that ride.

[Luvs2Ride]

So glad to hear from you! Always enjoyed reading your posts back when I first joined this forum. I'm sending many good thoughts and prayers your way...

Gina J

[coz]

Prayers to you Scotty. Good to hear from you after all these years. I just re- appeared here a couple weeks ago myself after a five year absence. Contemplating another Spyder to end my riding career on. Probably an F3 of some sort.

[ARtraveler]

Prayers to you Scotty. Good to hear from you after all these years. I just re- appeared here a couple weeks ago myself after a five year absence. Contemplating another Spyder to end my riding career on. Probably an F3 of some sort.

Welcome back to you also. F3 is a good one. I finally got converted.

[ulflyer]

Scotty; good to hear from you. I remember when you started your house and posted pics as well as great pics of your bikes. When you feel up to it, would love to see some pics of the '39 Bsa, crates and all. Get well soon. You've been missed.

[Little Blue]

Sending you many Prayers. ...

[NancysToy]

Doing well, slowly healing. All through with radiation and chemo for about a month now. We won't know if it worked until the PET scan in January, but the tumor in my throat is gone. Still a lump on the lymph node but that might be scar tissue. I hope so, surgery would be tricky and dangerous, with the lymph node sitting on the carotid artery. I'm eating again, though nothing tastes good yet. Only taking about 20% through the feeding tube for supplemental nourishment. Still losing weight.

Trying to get things set for winter. Snow forecast for the weekend. I have the new snow pusher blade on the tractor and the mower deck off. Have to dig out the snowblower today. I'll ride the bikes into town to top off with gas, drain some of them, and top off and stabilize the old cars. That will get us through the winter. One last Spyder ride in order if I can manage my time. I haven't ridden much this year, after the cancer diagnosis in May.

Thanks for all the well wishes. Nice to hear from old friends.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Doing well, slowly healing. All through with radiation and chemo for about a month now. We won't know if it worked until the PET scan in January, but the tumor in my throat is gone. Still a lump on the lymph node but that might be scar tissue. I hope so, surgery would be tricky and dangerous, with the lymph node sitting on the carotid artery. I'm eating again, though nothing tastes good yet. Only taking about 20% through the feeding tube for supplemental nourishment. Still losing weight.

Trying to get things set for winter. Snow forecast for the weekend. I have the new snow pusher blade on the tractor and the mower deck off. Have to dig out the snowblower today. I'll ride the bikes into town to top off with gas, drain some of them, and top off and stabilize the old cars. That will get us through the winter. One last Spyder ride in order if I can manage my time. I haven't ridden much this year, after the cancer diagnosis in May.

Thanks for all the well wishes. Nice to hear from old friends.

Thanks for the up-date and continued sending many ................Mike

[Lew L]

Sending prayers

Glad to hear there has been some progress. Many, many cancer survivors our there.

Lew L

[cptjam]

That’s great! Don’t be a stranger! All the best, Joe and Ann

[IGETAROUND]

Hope that your recovery continues. Would love to get out for a ride with you next spring if your so inclined.

Al in Kazoo

[Little Blue]

Prayers are sent to you. ...........
Thanks for your time.......

[Pennyrick]

Don’t know how I missed this post back in September but I was happy to read it. Sad however to read about your medical problems. Do not despair… my wife, Penny was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer back in 2016 but beat it and survived. We celebrated by buying her a new RTS last year.

Back in the day, when you were on this board frequently, we posted as “double trouble” but rejoined under our real names.

Once again, good to hear from you Scotty. I vividly remember the week by week posts of you building your new home in the wilds of Michigan.

Regards,