After writing about the three rides previously I came to see that they were just a rehash at best. The past season was really so much more and deserved a better writeup. I'll try to do a better job this time around. There were many things that made the season stand out. For one, I was spending a lot more time on the Kawasaki, which it deserved. 
In its day the Kawasaki was a hot rod. Quarter miles in twelve seconds, a top speed near one hundred and twenty miles an hour and real Touring capability. I bought it ten years ago for just that reason but it spent too much time in the garage while I rode the other bikes. The first time I took it to Lake George for Americade I struggled badly dealing with its power and weight. I would like to think things have improved and the two of us are doing a better job together. I ride it more and have become much more familiar with its needs in moving about the streets. We did a great job hanging with the younger riders at the last Americade despite it being older than the young men I was pursuing. It gave me forty-seven MPG most of the time and coupled with its near four gallon fuel tank capacity could have gone much further on fuel than I asked of it. My other bikes all did well last year but the Kawasaki stood out the most.
The other big break-through was my finally trying other motorcycles at the demo days in Lake George. Previously I had alarm bells go off in my head when presented with the chance to ride another motorcycle. I finally said to myself, "Look! You've been riding for a long time. There's no reason to choke on doing a test ride." It was good to see what a modern motorcycle can do and my stint on a sport bike was amusing and enlightening. It also showed me that I could step down in size and not lose anything in doing what I want in everything I need a bike to do. I'm not a young hotrodder, if I ever was, and some of the lower displacement motorcycles are pretty impressive.
I did a few more motorcycle events last year than I usually do and had a marvelous time. What stood out most on my event mileages was that, for the first time ever with the Kawasaki, I had clocked just over a thousand miles in a season. It was gratifying to see and the other two road going 250cc machines did a couple of hundred miles each. So while not being the most miles I have ever done in a year it's more than I had done in quite a while. In addition I used all the bikes, except for the little scooter, on at least two motorcycle events.
It was a good year. Hopefully 2026 will be as good or better.