live from seattle, it's 2002!
Taken at my friends Jan and Keiths' friends John and Bibi's house in Seattle. That's their dog's tail sticking up in the background, not a feather duster. I look pretty tired, since I'd just flown into Seattle a couple of hours before.

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2001 was a pivotal year for my riding. I bought a sportsbike. I've dropped it, picked it back up, sworn at it, lovingly wrenched on it, ridden it. From its saddle, I've seen oceans, bridges, lakes, rivers, hills, mountains, snow, rain, sun, trees, cows, beaches, hawks, children, roads. I've had the enormous pleasure of riding with friends and loved ones, and smiling while catching glipses of them in my rearview mirror or through my visor.

I met Cat (in person, finally), Tai (in person, finally), and Diana through the Short Biker's List. I met Sara, Danelle, Debi, Kate, and Kathleen at the Women on Wheels Ride-In, and countless amazing women at the WOW meetings since. Instead of just being fellow cogs in the corporate machine, I've gotten to know Justin, Tony, Ceej, and Zz pretty well. A day never goes by without a bike conversation in our tiny kitchen outside of the espresso machine. Justin and I have actually done minor bike surgery in our work parking lot.

Peter and I took our first all-day ride together. We did valve adjustments, steering head bearing fixes, carb syncs, days and days of clutch surgeries (I don't think we ever did figure out exactly what the problem was...), and oil changes galore. We spent many weekend days out in the garage, tinkering and drinking Coke, and learning about the bikes. We spent a small fortune on tools. We assembled video cameras, bought a camcorder, and made movies.

This year is looking to be a wonderful continuation of everything that started in the past twelve months. I'm really looking forward to serving the two officer positions for our Women on Wheels chapter. I've got more ideas for expanding this web site. I've got ideas for a series of articles, which will hopefully either end up on this site, or if the fates are really smiling upon me, in publication somewhere. I hear rumors that someday the rains here will stop, and I'll be able to pull the waterlogged cover off of the SVS again, and we'll go riding. I'm going to ride more this year -- little short jaunts like last's months ride up Alpine Road, or day trips in the hills. Maybe Peter and I will finally do our Yosemite trip. By all that is holy, I will find an apartment with a locking garage, and I can start that bike workshop that I fantasize about. I drool over various flourescent light set-ups, people. It's frightening. Peter got me a centerstand for the SVS for Christmas (thanks, sweetie!!), so there's at least one new write-up in the forseeable future. We're also starting the Peter Needs A '02 VFR Fund, so if you'd like to contribute, you know where to find me. *wink*.

Happy New Year, everyone. I hope 2002 is everything you're hoping for.