It has been a busy 2022 for me thus far.  My new job at Intellitect has indeed kept me very busy.  I've completed two projects for one of our clients and am starting a third one next Monday.  I became a grandfather on February 22 and that has been amazing and odd, to be honest.  While I definitely have the hair color for it, it's a bit surreal to see my son as a father.  Another thing that has happened is that my daughter and son-in-law from Germany have come to visit for two months.  It's great having them here and we're having fun, but to go from just Vicki and I to four people you realize that more groceries are needed.  And they eat more than we do!  We also changed churches after 20 years.  That's a long story and one I'm not going to tell here, but we're looking forward to serving there and doing what we can to walk along side young couples and families.

COVID restrictions have lifted in the state of Washington where I live, and that has been a relief.  Regardless of where you fall on masking and vaccinations, it is pleasant to return to mostly normal, whatever that is for you.  For us it has been very much normal except for the occasional visit to a doctor or dentist.

Spring has finally arrived, though here in Spokane it has been a bit colder than normal.  But I've been able to get out on the bike again which is much needed for my mental peace of mind.  No matter what happens at work, the ride home is always fun.  Even if I am in commuter traffic.  Tim, Dave, and I have yet to officially plan a trip.  More than likely what we'll do this year is have some long weekend trips where we go do some camping and fishing.  We'll take Friday and Monday off and make it a four-day weekend and head up to some mountain lakes and get a line wet.  Nothing epic this year - just some relaxing riding two or three times this summer.

One thing the COBDR trip last fall taught me is that while the KTM 390 is perfect for the adventure trips I like, it's not really a long distance bike on the highway.  So, I'm planning on picking up another bike, perhaps as early as the fall.  Which one, you ask?  I am looking at the Triumph 660 Tiger Sport.  I like Triumphs and this one fits the niche I like:  lightweight (approximately 450 lbs), with enough horsepower (80), smooth (triple cylinders), reasonably priced (under $10k), and comes with excellent hard bags.  The reviews are pretty good so far.  The kicker for me will be airflow.  If it's really buffeting it will not do.  I loved my Tiger 1050, but the airflow was horrible and I had to cut the windscreen down to a bare minimum.  The windscreen on the 660 is manually adjustable (even on the fly) so hopefully there's a position that will work.  I really like everything about the bike and I want it to work for me.  Once I've saved up enough money, I will give it a test ride.  Having this bike will put me back into longer distance street riding adventures.  These are often more relaxing than my offroad adventures, but still very enjoyable.

So this will be a great year for me.  I get to see my granddaughter grow, see my European kids, have some camping trips, and maybe a new bike toward the latter part of the year.  It's going to be great!!