Maintenance Rides

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I finally crossed over 40,000 miles on the Adventure Beast a few days ago. It’s been a grudging milestone to achieve.

Before we went on the road and eventually landed in Silver City, my dear man and I rode about 15,000 miles a year. In the current landscape of our lives, we’re struggling to get 5 or 6 thousand. Finally getting to the 40,000 mark has taken chipping away at it one micro-ride at a time.

We call them maintenance rides—short putts in the 100-mile-ish range. Motorcycling is a perishable skill so we’re doing just enough to keep our skills from deteriorating. And just enough to keep our spirits up and remember that we’re motorcyclists.

The biggest impact we’ve seen in our riding is our diminished stamina. When we do get in a longer ride, we’re pretty damn wiped out at the end.

But we do have a short moto trip planned next month that will help. Unfortunately that’s just before I go into foot surgery with the likelihood of being off the bike for 6–8 weeks.

So I won’t exactly be finishing 2025 strong on saddle time. It’s a bit deflating but, as you know, I’ll keep moving forward and make the best of it. But damn, it’s a kick in the ass.

Suck it, 2025. Bring on 2026.