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 Hopelessly out of date, haven't toured in some time, but still riding and still twisting wrenches.

Hopelessly out of date: I have to admit that I have never even ridden a 1330, and never even sat on a Ryker.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!