The chart was actually finished a month ago; the bikes stacked as tightly in the garage as they'd ever been. I thought I'd wait to share the end of season results though until real winter had arrived and that milestone has now happened.
My time and efforts have quickly moved on to other things but not everyone/everything has left 'the season' behind.
River barge traffic on the Upper Mississippi has stopped, the last shipment left St. Paul for points south at the end of November.
But the big boats on Lake Superior have on average another month to go....
On the farm our snow is here for the duration....it's cold enough and deep enough now to carry us through the Holidays and beyond based on forecasts. The weather folks just may be correct...."colder and snowier...." for this one.
Again as with every year, I don't look at totals while the season is in play but seat-of-the-pants told me that distribution would be more balanced this time. I actually made the effort to shuffle them for my rides and in a way that was easier, easier because it was obvious that total mileage was going to be down. Shuffling because they aren't all lined up next to each other.....I don't have the space. It's actually a chaotic stacking of a few loosely defined rows. There's effort in Equal Distribution.
Multiple short rides were taken, even in one afternoon, a Saturday or over a weekend rather than the 200-300 mile days that in the past were more common.
The Pie Chart is confirmation....
You can see which machine's totals were built around something more than "an afternoon's" ride. The Moto Guzzi made a loop through MO. The brand new Hawk saw multiple multi-day trips as did the Himmi and the KLR 650. The Kawasaki after sitting for a few years and having its fuel system taken care of saw an uptick.
You'll notice that pedal power was included in the chart, only fair because of two wheels....well at least I'm making it so, my prerogative. For those that don't know, my Aventon E-bike has the ability to Go sans pedaling but mine sees none of that...I pedal to Go....with a small amount of torque-sensing Boost for all of those 419 miles, by far the majority of them made on my 7.4 mile daily loop at home.
As mentioned above, I made a conscious effort to give each of the machines some time on the road and I'm more than satisfied in how that turned out now that I see the numbers. Draw whatever conclusions that you may, the Royal Enfield Himalayan and its brother, the Classic500 remain my two favorites, in that order. The Yamaha fat-tired TW200 has been sold, the only one on this chart no longer in the stable. My goal for 2026 will be to move the neglected Elite 250 scooter from its 0 miles obvious last place. It deserves better, as the KLR did this year.
So, to compare to the last dozen years of history or so, here's how this season stacks up.....
The most machines, the fewest miles. It was a great riding year though, this pastime in its role, a wonderful mix of living Life in '25.
