The basics
This was my first bike and I bought it at the end of 2008. As with everything else in my life, I jumped head first into the deep end of riding. I went from not riding, to commuting day in and day out. I had no car, just this cranky, tired little bike. I learned to endure the cold, and the wind, and the rain, as I rode to work every day of that winter in the Pacific North West.

In many ways, this early experience helped to shape my future outlook on riding. When I bought a bigger and better bike some months later, I was attracted to the same sort of all purpose riding. I was not crouched over it like a loaded weapon and was not stretched out and laid back in comfort like a long distance touring bike. I found a bike that was in between and I believe it started with this little Yamaha.

My riding style, also, was likely shaped by those early months. To this day, I ride in a rather practical manner most of the time. I'm commuting. Maybe I am commuting from one hilltop to the next or one state to the next. I'm still just enjoying a ride of getting somewhere even if I don't know where somewhere is.