2012 was a crappy year for riding

I tallied my annual BMW motorcycle mileage this evening and am embarrassed and depressed.

I only rode 5,198 miles in 2012 – the lowest mileage since I started keeping records in 1986. I haven’t qualified for the Indianapolis BMW Club’s 10,000-mile award since 2004.

WTF?

I only made it to two rallies in ‘12 – the European Riders Rally in June in southeastern Kentucky and the BMW MOA rally in July in Sedalia, Mo. – both of them less than a day’s ride from home. And I rode up to Indianapolis in August with Charlie Parsons for MotoGP.

I had hoped to make it to the Falling Leaf Rally in Potosi, Mo. in October, but stayed home because of a rainy forecast.

It is my fervent hope that I can make up for lost time in 2013. There are lots of possibilities, starting with Daytona Beach Bike Week, the BMW RA rally at the Biltmore in Asheville, N.C., and the BMW MOA Rally in Salem, Ore. Throw in the Euro Riders Rally, the new Return to Shiloh Rally venue, and Falling Leaf and I could have a pretty good year.

At last, I have something to be optimistic about.