************************************************* KEEP ON THUMPIN' ... JR #000 - CR #000.5
NOTE: ALL CONTENT OF THIS WEBSITE IS PRESENTED FREE OF CHARGE TO THE VIEWER AND IS TO BE CONSIDERED SOLELY AS ENTERTAINMENT. - FSSNOC, INC.
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IT'S THE MILES THAT BRING THE SMILES ...
SUBMITTED BY KERRY, #4543 - ARIZONA
OK, Jack. I'll use your format (SEE LAST WEEK'S POST BELOW) :
MOTORBIKE: RIDDEN MILES: CURRENT MILES:
1989 Honda GB500 = 441.8 mi. == 33,559.5 odo.
1998 Suzuki DR650 = 2450 mi. == 102,672 odo.
1999 Kawasaki ZRX1100 = 107.4 mi. == 71,454.0 odo.
2015 Suzuki DR650 = 2660.8 mi. == 57,534.9 odo.
2022 Kawasaki KLX230S = 2078 mi. == 9452 odo.
2024 Triumph Speed 400 = 2918 mi. == 6142 odo.
2024 Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 = 3168 mi. == 3821.6 odo.
Total days ridden 125.
Average per ride distance for 2025 = 110.6
January: 8 rides = 888.3 mi. = 111 MPR (MILES PER RIDE)
February: 12 rides = 1356.6 mi. = 113.1 MPR
March: 15 rides = 1706.6 mi. = 113.8 MPR
April: 5 rides = 515.8 mi. = 103.2 MPR
May: Broken ribs, broken thumb, body insisted no rides.
June: 5 rides = 536.6 mi. = 107.3 MPR
July: 15 rides = 1622.0 mi. = 108.1 MPR
August: 11 rides = 1352.3 mi. = 122.9 MPR
September: 9 rides = 869.2 mi. = 96.6 MPR
October: 20 rides = 2236.6 mi. = 111.8 MPR
November: 15 rides = 1632.4 mi. = 108.9 MPR
December: 10 rides = 1107.4 mi. =110.7 MPR
Total rides: 125 of which "only" 97 were Thumper rides.
Total distance 13,824 of which "only" 10, 549 were Thumper miles.
I started keeping track of my rides and miles in 2005 and at the end of 2025, I had done 369,755.4 miles and 4400 rides - sorry not gonna break all that down into Thumpers and non-Thumpers!
Kerry
#4543 AZ.
(REPLY) --- IMPRESSIVE! MIGHTY IMPRESSIVE!! THANK YOU, MOTO-SIR!! - #000.
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NOT NECESSARILY FOR THURSDAY...
Hey, Jack!
The Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock is about to open an exhibition dedicated to Lonesome Dove. The photo above the announcement on Instagram is of Gus and Call. Check out the website. Not that far to Lubbock and it's a cool museum etc...
your friend,
Maynard, #1196 - CO.
AWESOME!! THANK YOU, MAYNARD!!
WOODROW and GUS ARE TWO CHARACTERS FROM THE SERIES TITLED LONESOME DOVE ...but you all knew that, right?
JACK, #000 and JAY, 5420 (both KS.) ARE TWO CHARACTERS FROM THE SERIES TITLED THE FSSNOC THUMPERCAFES ... but you all knew that, right?
This all might have started way back in the days when I rode to FSSNOC gatherings with a member we called Motor Mike. I can remember riding day after day as Lewis and Clark, the two Explorers from yester-year.
We'd sign in at museums and such in their guest books as Lewis and Clark, often to the expressed delight of the attending personnel. On the way to our events, we often went out of our way (surprise?) to track down some of the key campsites, river-crossings, burial sites, etc that went along with this historic account.
We learned a lot and it was great fun. On the return trip, Motor Mike enjoyed hitting the road, as in headed for the barn, with hammer down and pit-stop type refueling. He loved to ride hard and long and with a minimum of stops. He would often beat me home by several days ...
When Jay and I teamed-up a number of years ago, we piddled both on the way and on the way back, taking on the cowboy-like persona's of Woodrow and Gus. Also great fun, and believe it or not, we often got a similar response when we signed-in at various venues as Woodrow and Gus ... lots of people, all walks of life, all genders, any part of the USA, were very familiar with these two characters and the still popular Series that those two names when used together represent.
Again, great fun ... and we still portray these guys today when given an opportunity. I'd still like to get me a "Gus" cowboy hat... - #000.
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(PHOTO ABOVE) THIS IS FROM HONDA'S WEBSITE AT:
POWERSPORTS.HONDA.COM
I THOUGHT THEY DID AN EXCELLENT JOB OF CAPTURING THE FUN OF A MOMENT ON A MOTORBIKE ON A BACKROAD/TRAIL -
CHECK OUT THEIR SITE IF YOU AGREE.
THIS IS AN INTERESTING MODEL - the HONDA XR150L - to me, it represents "the good ole days" back in the '60s, '70s, '80s when there were routes/areas like this to ride, and we rode often and with lots of energy, and I have news, there is still such areas ... but I have to be pro-active to locate them and then be pro-active again to go out and ride those areas.
I use the rigors of cool or cold weather to encourage me to do this type of riding. Why? Well, up front, it is warmer. Yes, due to the abundance of the natural cover of nature about the lightly used road/trail, I'm "thumpin" at a slower pace, and the clock of time (gears vs. years) has slowed me down, and you know, I kinda enjoy the slow roll these days.
This 150cc tidbit looks like fun. It is garage-friendly with a carb and adjustable screw-type valves ... right out of yester-year, this bike! Back in my early days of motorcycle racing at a sportsman level, I rode in the 100cc/125cc/200cc/250cc classes. The smaller the bike, the bigger threat (my words, yah .. grin) I was.
In a harescramble (an off-road rough terrain race where bikes of all sizes raced all at the same time) of usually 2 hours solid of hard racing, the bigger bikes would fly by me in the first hour, I'd fly by a vast number of them in the second hour ... riding a 90cc/4-speed Hodaka ( pretty modified, I will admit ) !
I was in my 20s, 30s, 40s ... probably about the same size as now, but stronger, of course. Can or will or could I be happy on trails/backroads again with 150cc?
[email protected] Email me your opinion?
I talked to a friend of mine in Nebraska just last night, he has one and he weighs 160 lbs, me .. these days, 165 lbs ... I was asking him questions along this same line, he interrupts with, "Hey, Jack ... if you buy one of these and you DON'T like it, I'll send you a check for what you paid!"
Wow! - #000. (see you at the History Page)
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----- POSTS BELOW ARE FROM AN EARLIER UPDATE -------------------------0>0
GREETINGS FROM THUMPERVILLE!!
(01-08-26) Hope you got in some miles this week, it's been like a holiday here in the heart of the USA with days in the 60s temp-wise, with sunshine and light winds, if a wind at all ... We are SO spoiled! (BSA in photo - Blurry Shot Above?)
All of our December was pretty much like that as well ... and that helped me with my miles-ridden goals for 2025 ... it helped, but I was still only about 56% of my normal expectations for a 12 month year.
On that subject, let me share a note from 12-29-25 with you from FSSNOC #2613, our friend and fellow member, Danny in West Virginia...
Danny writes:
What I wouldn't give to be in balmy Kansas! It has been snowing here all morning, so NO riding today. And, probably no riding until maybe March or so.
Good job on the 161st Issue of our club magazine/newsletter, The Thumper News -- those color pages really popped!
My 2025 mileage is/was as follows:
2024 Triumph Speed 400 -- 1854 miles
2005 Suzuki DR650 ---------- 3356 miles
2012 Suzuki TU250 ---------- 1933 miles
1988 Harley Davidson XLH883 -- Zero miles
Total for the year, all bikes - 7143 miles
Note: 1864 miles less than in 2024.
Back to our original topic, it is 3PM and it is still snowing!
Take Care, Danny, #2613 - WV.
Thank You, Danny ... Good job on your mileage report! And I would be remiss to act like this awesome riding weather is normal for our area, and then one of the most oft-used words in the English language would come into play, "but" ... it's not the case!!
It has to be some sort of miracle , and again, "but" all the local two-wheeled folks have been absolutely lovin' it ... when you meet another bike on the road, up goes his hand in a cheery salute to a fellow bike-rider out enjoying the day, it's a rare happenin' to meet a rider who points at the ground on such a day!!
What is your miles ridden story for 2025?
Send us your report by email to: [email protected]
... and we'll share it with our members. No trophies, No context, No points ... just a fun topic that let's us celebrate our lifestyle with others ... and the classic answer of "not much" isn't gonna get it, but you can try ... this site is a club thing and as a member, it'd be fun to read a note from you, so there ya go ... doesn't pay any money, or fame, or much of anything really ... but give it a try?
Back to the miles and smiles:
I can only talk about my own miles, well ... I guess I could talk about Carrie's miles, and she had a very good year, probably the best year since her Honda CBR250R days. She may have ridden more miles than you did? What??
Maybe she'll read this and send us a report for next week? Do you want her to do that? We'll see if anything pops-up for next week's website update?
My miles for 2025 (to imitate Danny's format here a little bit, 'cause it was good stuff!):
2021 Royal Enfield Himalayan 411 = 3453 mi. == 35,670 odo.
2023 Kawasaki KLR650 = 6493 mi. == 33,675 odo.
2024 Lifan 250cc = 347 == 347 odo == Sold in August.
2024 Kawasaki KLX230SM == 1958 mi. == 1958 odo.
Other Details of 2025:
Days ridden = 153
Average per ride distance for entire year = 80 miles.
January: 5 rides = 321 miles = 64 MPR (miles per ride).
February: 7 rides = 400 miles = 57 MPR.
March: 18 rides = 1353 miles = 75 MPR.
April: 7 rides = 876 miles = 125 MPR.
May: 5 rides = 385 miles = 77 MPR.
June: 23 rides = 1400 miles = 61 MPR.
July: 26 rides = 1660 miles = 64 MPR.
August: Doctor insisted "No riding!" = ZERO MPR.
September: 22 rides = 2054 miles = 93 MPR.
October: 14 rides = 1174 miles = 84 MPR.
November: 15 rides = 1201 miles = 80 MPR.
December: 11 rides = 1423 miles = 129 MPR.
2025 Total Miles Ridden = 12,247 miles.
A little history about all this; I started keeping a personal riding log in 2001, a year after I quit my job that paid (Local Motorcycle Shop Jan. of 1970 to October of 1999).
I scribbled my start-of-year miles off the various odometers in the shed, then at the end-of-year, I did the same and tallied it, noting it on a 4 1/2" x 5" little blue card.
I'm still using that same card today though it is getting rather full of figures! Interesting stuff, I'm so glad I did it!! From 2001 to the end of 2025, my tally is at 588,614 miles, all ridden a mile at a time (grin). That's a tally for 25 years of riding.
My first two-wheeler was a Cushman Scooter in 1954, a 1947 non-runner that my Dad and my Uncle got running for me and turned me loose ... no driver's license, no insurance, no experience, no teaching as my Dad had never even ridden a bicycle!
From that time until 2001, I literally have no clue to my miles, and I will never know ... but (there's that word again!!), I know about 2001 to present and I am thrilled about that ... maybe someone out there will be encouraged to create and maintain their own riding log after reading this ... (grin) or not?
If you do the math, 588614 miles divided by 25 years you can find my annual average for that time period...
If you do the math, 588614 miles divided 9125 days, you'll know my daily average for that time period...
Here's an idea:
Share your 2025 miles-ridden with us so that we can share it with our viewers? And again, no competition here, just good moto-conversation, and who doesn't enjoy a bit of bench-racing, eh?
Email: [email protected]
Nuff said ... see you at the History Page
(Nav. aids above) - #000 Jack R.
P.S. = WE'VE BEEN TALKIN' ABOUT MOTORCYCLE CRUISE CONTROLS HERE ON THE THUMPERGARAGE, SEE THAT CONVERSATION CONTINUED ELSEWHERE ON THIS SITE ... #000
OKAY, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT PAGE ---> NAV. AIDS UP ON THE MASTHEAD - SEE YA THERE! - #000