Getaway Vehicles

"Colorful Motorbike" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO1600
“Colorful Motorbike” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは!How’s it going?

Today’s photo is of my motorcycle, which is set up as a long-distance mile-eater. If you want to read more about it, you can check out my other blog. But after I took the photo, I started thinking about what kind of vehicles I like, and why.

As someone who loves to travel, I love vehicles that have a go-anywhere, self-contained feeling.

For instance, one of my dream cars when I was younger was a Toyota Townace 4×4 Van. They were so bizarre but I thought they were really cool. Plus, it would make an awesome camper. Pair that with Toyota dependability and it seemed like a perfect vehicle.

I still want something like that to go camping in! Long road-trips are so fun. I love them.

Right now, I drive a Honda Minivan, which is excellent. It is so versatile and can hold a ton of stuff, so it is great for camping. But it doesn’t have that walk-in feeling like a VW camper or full-size van. It’s kind of just a big car. Also, it only gets 20mpg. 😒

In the ’90s I had a really fun vehicle – a Toyota 4×4 truck. That was an awesome vehicle for camping and getting to those primitive sites. We’d take it off-road on some fairly gnarly trails, with the bed filled with camping gear. That’s another vehicle I’d consider buying again, but the fuel economy just sucks… even worse than the van.

Anyways, back to my motorcycle… it sort of fits the bill because it’s set up to go off-road (although it’s pretty heavy), can travel long-distances (I’ve traveled out of Texas on it), and gets great gas mileage. On the downside, the comfort level is lacking… especially in the Texas heat.

I guess there isn’t a perfect vehicle out there for me at the moment, so I’ll stick with the two extremes… a large car and a small motorbike. Maybe one day a hybrid 4×4 van will come along. Until then, though, I’ll just have to dream about it. 😄

おやすみなさい!

– B Barron Fujimoto

End of the Weekend Ride

こんばんは!

How’s it going? Did you have a nice first weekend of 2016?

I’m sad to see the long weekend (and holiday-time) come to an end. Honestly, I am not looking forward to work… but I am sure I am not alone on that one!  😜 Today was another relaxing day spent at home with the family, but I did get out to ride my motorcycle for a little while this afternoon. It was a lot of fun, even if I only had a short while to ride.

Now that it is the new year, I should do some maintenance on the bike, including changing the brake fluid and engine oil. I also should replace a couple of the dashboard bulbs that have burnt out. All-in-all, my motorcycle has been super-reliable and one of the highlights of my life. Every time I go for a ride, I’ve had fun. It’s a real sense of freedom, riding a motorbike! I highly recommend it. 👍

By the way, I have another blog devoted to riding my motorbike, although I haven’t updated it since last year. But please take a look if you are interested!

"Filling Up" USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: Motorola XT1064, 3.54mm, f/2, 1/30 sec, ISO80
“Filling Up” USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.