It's been a solid 3 weeks since I've been really connected to the internet world, and it's been a nice break, no offense to you all. In fact, I missed Oppo more than most anything else internet-based.

I will post some more detailed stories and pictures another time, but in short here's what I've been up to:

1. I took this:
   
   And went on a 10-day winter backpacking trip with another teacher and 8 students from my school, in the White Mountains of NH. @MybirdIStheword btw the bottle rockets went over very well.

On Wednesday 3/16 I woke up to this (totally normal, it's just in stark contrast to what comes next):

2. 3 days later my wife and kids and I were here:
   

We spent about 5 days in the Bahamas at the crazy Atlantis resort. I mean, aquarium in the lobby. Waterslides through shark tanks. Beautiful beaches, too.

3. Our flight from the Bahamas left at 2:00pm Friday 3/25. By 2:00pm Saturday I had skied all "61 trails" of Waterville Valley in a fundraiser race and we ducked a rope to ski this one, as our last run: (not me in the pic)

In fairness, most of the trails were covered with snow. Plenty of bare spots, sure, but it wasn't bad on most of the mountain. And yeah, that's the East for you - 61 named trails on a little mountain smaller than a single bowl at Whistler.

So what am I doing today? Drinking coffee by my woodstove. It's 17F outside and blowing 15-25mph. My body just does not know what to make of this. I've got laundry to catch up on and paperwork, class prep, car maintenance, yard work, and dog snuggling.

I hope you're all doing well and I'll post more when I can. Thanks for being excellent while I was gone.

The T6 was unceremoniously dropped off last night while I was at work, with the paperwork just left on the passenger's seat. Total cost is only $27.00 on top of the original price, for the title fee. I really love working with these guys, it doesn't get much better. It was also a few thousand below what appears to be current market for this year and spec.

I already swapped the roof rack and I'm keeping the wheels that are on the 2012 for winter wheels, with snows I also already have.

For now I'm just happy with my engine swap for +60hp and the next best part?

My kids are the exact age where they can use these integrated boosters. No more car seats in the back of my car! Woohoo!

She bought me this for my 40th birthday:

Of course, I don't have it yet because the global supply chain is broken but hoo boy I'll do a review when I get it! Probably July.

57.3 lbs

All the heaviest stuff is packed low and close to my back. The tent is a big bulky thing that just couldn't go anywhere else. -30F sleeping bag in the drybag on bottom. Rain gear on the very top in another drybag. 5lbs of layers and dry socks inside. Big puffy in there too.

Other notables:
2 x 1-liter containers of fuel for an MSR stove, we'll probably mostly use it to jump-start wood fires for cooking.
2 x 32 oz nalgenes of water

Headlamp, map, compass, lighter(s), med kit, tape, pocket knife, leatherman, small towel, winter hat, baseball hat, sunglasses, extra paracord, deck of cards, some single-page crossword puzzles and a pencil, and so on.

Not pictured: the 3lb-each insulated boots we wear, plus lightweight snowshoes, gaiters (those are optional but I love mine). Oh, and our standard-issue LL Bean mitts:
Everyone draws on these with sharpies and then we waterproof them with Sno-Seal, they are rugged, simple, warm, and excellent. I let each of my kids decorate one hand, and they came out great.

I'm in a group with 1 other adult, 1 senior (high school age) and 7 juniors, everyone is carrying some group gear like cooking supplies, shelter, shovel, food, etc. and this is our life for the next 10 days. Hike a few miles, make camp, repeat. We only cover a modest ~40 miles in the 10 days, some of them are intentionally slow or out-and-back hikes. The kids will do a 3-day solo time in the middle, where they make camp and have no direct contact with anyone for 3 nights. I will actually come home for a night or two while the kids are on solo, there are other adults who can cover that time as needed. My wife will need the help with the kids; she works full time and has done very little solo parenting while working.

After that we reconvene and hike the second half all together, getting picked up the morning of Day 11.

I return from this trip to go right into a week in the tropics with my family, so that will be a shock, but a nice one.

As the title implied, I basically won't be online for the rest of the month. I go back to work something like April 4th.

I painted the exhaust shield black. It was silver. I like it better this way.

For reference:

Beautiful day for a ride, even if it’s to work.

That is all for today’s installment of Honda Trails. Carry on.

En route home now, 4.5 hr round trip. Review incoming. It only took 3 months…

[update:]

So back in May I posted about how awesome and wonderful my wife is, because she put a deposit on one of these things for me, as a 40th birthday present. I like 2 miles from my work at a private school and I go back and forth a zillion times a day, so this is really ideal. I also do trailwork on the school's network of nordic and MTB trails, which, again, this is ideal. My truck has been great for the trails but is limited to the xc trails (width).

So then I started looking around and found that these were impossible to find. I literally got laughed at, then laughed WITH the dealers I was calling, up to about 30 of them all over New England. I got put on waitlists because why not? Maybe one would pan out if somebody changed their mind.

Well nothing was happening until about last week. I got a Craigslist notification that one had appeared, with 500 miles on it, in Pennsylvania. I actually gave the guy a deposit, but figured that with shipping it was going to be $1500 more than a new one, and since this is a toy anyway, I backed down and decided to wait.

So I referenced my spreadsheet of dealers with a color-coded system of hot to cold leads (like a CRM but backwards, because I'm the buyer) and called all my warm leads.
"Hello, Cycle Design."
"Yeah, I'm looking for a unicorn, right?"
"Haha, what a Honda Trail 125?"
"Yeah that's the one."
"Well it turns out I've got one."
"...... [long pause] ... What? Really?"
"Yeah it just came in, it's on my showroom floor I can see it."
".... Well damn. I want it. What next?"

Long story ... long... the place didn't take any deposits because they had no idea if they'd even see one. They didn't want to be seen as making promises they couldn't keep. And most people looking for one are on wait lists like me, and aren't calling around to every dealer in a 90 mile radius. I was just lucky to call at the right time! And the price was the same as it would have been from the dealer we first talked to back in May. No markup, just list price (fair, in the circumstances).

It has 0 miles on the odometer - it hasn't even turned over 1 mile yet. I still have to get it registered, inspected, insured, and I have to get the motorcycle endorsement on my license from the State of NH. Hopefully I can wrap all that up next week and be fully legal on the road! Then I'll write up a review.

I can't wait!!! More pics also incoming.

I can't take any credit, but I was told I can drive it. Sometime, anytime, just not today, it's not running quite right and anyway I didn't have the time.

It's NOT THIS ACTUAL ONE, I didn't have my phone for a pic. It is a 1929 Model A Roadster. But it's black, it's got an original-ish engine (no hot-rodding or other modernizations). I know they intend to do some work to it, but it's in great shape overall. She drove it to work, to the grocery store, Agway, basically everywhere for a week or so. I can't wait to drive it! I've never driven something with manual spark advance or any of that kind of stuff.

A year ago my wife tried to kill me but it didn't work bought me a motorcycle to get to and from my work, a short trip on local roads that I do several times each day, on average.

That's it when it was brand new, it's got all of ~900 miles on it now, 3 miles at a time.

So as it's my birthday, I'll celebrate by listing all the vehicular projects I've got pending right now.

• Project Squamasee - my father-in-law's wooden boat that I'm putting a 351 into. It's coming along but there's a loooonnnggg punchlist. I'm hoping to put in some full days after I'm done with school (teaching).
  Here's a pic of 4.5 hours worth of work to get the exhaust in place:
  

• Project 'Add 60hp to my Volvo the Hard Way' - I'm buying a T6 XC70 to replace my current 3.2, and I am going to swap around some stuff like the roof rack (easy) possibly snow tires/wheels (long story), IPD sway bar, and the T6 needs a trailer hitch installed (for bike racks).
  

• 1961 Ford F-100 needs a new fuel pump due to a strange structural failure of the old one, although it still "works fine" I gotta swap that out. It also needs valve adjustment, which I've never done and I imagine being rather tedious.
  

• The Mini keeps throwing a code and I think that's just getting farmed out to a team of mini humans who can actually reach anything on that car because it's so tightly packaged. I seriously think a t-stat replacement involves removing a wheel and the radiator. Nah.

• My boat needs all the gauges replaced and a new wire harness run from the engine to the dash. The old gauges are intermittent and I'd like to do this before complete failure comes. It's literally low on my list, but ... should be done.
  

I think that's all. I'd also really like to get on my mountain bike a bit more than I have been. That's usually what I do on my birthday but this pesky job is in my way. Maybe tonight at like 9:00pm. We'll see.

Vintage BMW/MTB pic just for fun.

(this looks carefully staged, but really, I just rode 50 feet past my shed to where a beautiful maple tree just shed all its leaves. The view from there happens to be excellent)

I hit 500 miles yesterday right as I was putting the Honda into my shed, so I rolled it back out and did an oil change.

On this machine, there's no proper filter, so changing the oil is literally drain/fill and it's 0.7 quarts so this is a quick process. I bought a magnetic drain plug and it did have some stuff on it. From reading about it online, I heard there were quite a few bits of metal in the oil in the first few changes, so this is actually my THIRD oil change on this machine. Because why not? I noticed metal shavings on the first, so I did another when my magnetic plug came in, then did a third just now because it's so easy.

I have been loving this machine, thoroughly. The other day we hosted a mountain bike race on our school's campus, and my friend is the head coach. He used the Honda to set up signs and tape off the course the day of the race, then it became the Course Marshall Official Vehicle for the race itself, it was absolutely perfect. The MTB network here weaves in and out of XC ski trails, so you can generally use those to transit between the singletrack junctions. I rode my MTB as sweep during the race itself. The other coaches (from our school and others) were super jealous of the Honda, they all want one for their teams now.

Then this morning I had class at 8:20. I was showering at home when I got out to get dressed and realized it was 8:05. Oops! I threw on my jacket and tie and shoes, ran out the door and ripped down the ~3 miles to campus on the Honda, parking right outside the building because I can. I walked up to the classroom at exactly 8:20 feeling rather proud of myself.

This week in particular, I've noticed a new phenomenon, which is falling leaves hitting me in the face at 30mph! Surprisingly unpleasant, haha. But I've been SO lucky with the weather this October, for New England it's been warm and dry so I've gotten to ride the Honda a ton. I mean, 500 miles isn't a ton but it's about frequency not mileage. Just yesterday I ran into town for a coffee, leaving campus at 1:05 before my 1:20 class. A 15 minute round trip would have been challenging having to park a car in town, etc. but it was cake on the Honda. Plus, riding short distances in full dress code is fun.

@ZHP-Sparky-the-5th Concord is really nice, my wife works there and it's a nice size town (I'd call it a "city" only because our town is like 2,000 people).

The XC70 is nice, and really pretty similar in space and practicality to the Outback. I love the T6 engine, and in hindsight, I should have just looked for one of those 5 years ago. I told my wife this morning I'd stop bothering her with $20k V70R listings because she wouldn't have gone for a much older car for that kind of money, as a daily driver and primary family car. So I got my 300hp Volvo wagon, just without the manual.

There's a guy on the Volvo forums (username ProlixArgon) who took an XC70 T6 and removed all the XC bits to make it basically a V70 T6 which never existed in North America. It looks great, and I wish I could do that to mine. I don't need 8" of ground clearance, that front overhang keeps me honest. If I want to go off road I have two trucks to choose from, lol.

@ZHP-Sparky-the-5th I live in the middle of NH, almost the exact geographic center. The car came from Concord Motorsport, which used to be a BMW specialty shop in Concord then Chichester. Family friends of ours, the owner actually lives about 8 minutes from me, which is how they are able to drop off and pick up cars from my house easily. So now the owner is "retired" but that only means he works a little less, and doesn't have a huge shop and showroom anymore. His son (who I went to high school with) works at a dealer which is where this car came from.

The 2012 has treated us very well. No issues, super comfy, the right amount of space, and feels like a tank. Just underpowered.

That blocked off section is some kind of radar, yeah. This has adaptive cruise which I haven't tried yet, and a forward collision warning HUD too.

@siennaman I guess if our kids were smaller, I'd be less excited, but they're 7 and 9 and basically just using a booster to gain height for the seat belt. This solves that, and if they're comfy, the back seat of this car feels very safe otherwise.

@ttyymmnn

Where is @WBizarre when we need him?

What did I miss?

The T6 was unceremoniously dropped off last night while I was at work, with the paperwork just left on the passenger's seat. Total cost is only $27.00 on top of the original price, for the title fee. I really love working with these guys, it doesn't get much better. It was also a few thousand below what appears to be current market for this year and spec.

I already swapped the roof rack and I'm keeping the wheels that are on the 2012 for winter wheels, with snows I also already have.

For now I'm just happy with my engine swap for +60hp and the next best part?

My kids are the exact age where they can use these integrated boosters. No more car seats in the back of my car! Woohoo!

@MybirdIStheword said in Well, because nobody's posted this abomination yet:

@e90m3 said in Well, because nobody's posted this abomination yet:

@MybirdIStheword Sweet hat.

(In Mr. Regular's voice) "I put a picture of my car on my hat so you know it's my car. Lemme talk to you about how rare it is."

“Last year of the CHROME BUMPERRRRRR”

@Huzer I really enjoy canoeing, even though I don't get to do it much these days. There is peace in paddling that you don't get in a powerboat.

@ibRAD said in I Survived Another Lap Around the Sun, Despite my Lovely Wife Buying Me a Motorcycle for my Last One:

@functionoverfashion said in I Survived Another Lap Around the Sun, Despite my Lovely Wife Buying Me a Motorcycle for my Last One:

Vintage BMW/MTB pic just for fun.

Happy birthday!

You were living large in the 90s! (and you're no slouch in the 20s either apparently)

Ah, well, that car was borrowed. But it was sweet to drive cross-country!

@e90m3 E32 I believe (E34 is 5'er right?) ... it was a 1990 735iL

@Vondon302 said in I Survived Another Lap Around the Sun, Despite my Lovely Wife Buying Me a Motorcycle for my Last One:

@functionoverfashion Congrats on another successful lap!

I think I've only put a 100 miles on my CT 90 but it is over 50 years old. It'd look great in the back of your truck btw.
Also cool fleet. That wood boat is going to be nice.

It would look good with the truck, in fact, last summer I seriously looked for an old one when I couldn't get a new one. It turns out old ones in good shape weren't much easier (or cheaper) to come by.

Also thanks!

A year ago my wife tried to kill me but it didn't work bought me a motorcycle to get to and from my work, a short trip on local roads that I do several times each day, on average.

That's it when it was brand new, it's got all of ~900 miles on it now, 3 miles at a time.

So as it's my birthday, I'll celebrate by listing all the vehicular projects I've got pending right now.

• Project Squamasee - my father-in-law's wooden boat that I'm putting a 351 into. It's coming along but there's a loooonnnggg punchlist. I'm hoping to put in some full days after I'm done with school (teaching).
  Here's a pic of 4.5 hours worth of work to get the exhaust in place:
  

• Project 'Add 60hp to my Volvo the Hard Way' - I'm buying a T6 XC70 to replace my current 3.2, and I am going to swap around some stuff like the roof rack (easy) possibly snow tires/wheels (long story), IPD sway bar, and the T6 needs a trailer hitch installed (for bike racks).
  

• 1961 Ford F-100 needs a new fuel pump due to a strange structural failure of the old one, although it still "works fine" I gotta swap that out. It also needs valve adjustment, which I've never done and I imagine being rather tedious.
  

• The Mini keeps throwing a code and I think that's just getting farmed out to a team of mini humans who can actually reach anything on that car because it's so tightly packaged. I seriously think a t-stat replacement involves removing a wheel and the radiator. Nah.

• My boat needs all the gauges replaced and a new wire harness run from the engine to the dash. The old gauges are intermittent and I'd like to do this before complete failure comes. It's literally low on my list, but ... should be done.
  

I think that's all. I'd also really like to get on my mountain bike a bit more than I have been. That's usually what I do on my birthday but this pesky job is in my way. Maybe tonight at like 9:00pm. We'll see.

Vintage BMW/MTB pic just for fun.

@ranwhenparked I used to do the desktop screenshot to a friend all the time at work. He knew enough to figure it out, but the first time was a while. After that, I'd do it infrequently enough to annoy him every time.

I also did a thing with the radio in the shop, where the guys used an old laptop to play music - probably Pandora. I grabbed a bunch of audio files of different length, some as long as an hour, and one of the Family Guy quote, where Peter says "Roadhouse!" Every time the computer started up, a program ran in the background with all those audio files on shuffle. So it might be a few seconds, or a few hours between instances of "Roadhouse" and it drove a couple of the guys nuts trying to figure out what was happening.