2016

It’s hard to believe it’s 2016. Wasn’t it just yesterday we were all panicking about Y2K? Sure seems like it. In fact I still can’t bring myself to refer to the 1900s as “the last century”.  But the progress of time is relentless and, as each year passes, I am closer and closer to becoming that guy on the internet, you know the one, the guy they use to demonstrate how fast we as humans are progressing, the guy who, “In his lifetime he has seen… yada, yada.”. Except, sadly, the more I see the less I think we are progressing, but that’s a rant for another post, or several.

Anyway, it’s 2016 whether we like it or not.

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. Tried it once (to quit smoking way back when) and it lasted, I think, 8 hours, until I woke up very late on the morning of January 1 with a major hangover. Since then my only resolution has been to not make any.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t view the New Year as a time of renewal, of thinking about where I’ve been and where I’m going – at least as far as one can predict those things. (I am reminded of von Moltke’s famous words that no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy.)

So what’s next? And, more specifically, what’s next with this blog?

I’ve been at this blogging business for 9 years since my very first post ranting about crappy customer service in my Views from the lake – eh? blog in March 2007. A year later I started the short-lived From the Canajun’s bookshelf, followed soon after, in  April, by this blog, On Two Wheels, dedicated to, as the banner reads, “The addiction that is motorcycling”. Since then I have written countless words, am closing in on 900 posts on my blogs covering all sorts of topics, enjoyed nearly a quarter of a million page views, and read thousands of comments from regular readers and strangers just passing through. And, best of all, met some great folks both in person and (at least so far) just in the ether.

But lately I have found my interest waning. In this blog I have barely managed a single post a month for the past few months, and even fewer for Views from the lake – eh?. In part I blame Facebook, or more accurately the laziness in me that Facebook encourages. Let’s face it, it’s much easier to throw a 50-word snark up on Facebook than it is to sit and spend an hour or two writing a decent post. However it’s not nearly as satisfying, and quantity does not really make up for quality.  

So I suppose this is my not-a-New-Year’s-resolution for 2016, to not be so damned lazy and post more frequently.

It’s also time for a facelift. My friend David Masse over at Life on Two Wheels nailed it when he said “Time, like wind and water, inevitably erodes all structures. Things change, and the purpose changes too. When that happens, the structure must adapt, or eventually lose its relevance.” That’s where I feel I am with my current blogs. I don’t intend to try and match David’s excellent work but a refresh is definitely in order. I’m not sure where my thinking on this will take me over the next few weeks and months but one thing is for sure, I will be consolidating my thoughts into a single blog. But until then, don’t be surprised to see some non-motorcycle content in On Two Wheels.

It’s a time for renewal, and isn’t that what the new year is really all about?

Stay tuned.