Goals, Not Resolutions

Ahh, the new year! This one’s so new it still has that new car smell. Or should that be “new motorcycle smell”, though I can’t say I noticed any particular odors when I had my own new bike experience — I was too busy trying not to go 45 in a 25 zone through downtown Salem!

The new year is the harbinger of resolutions. I’m not much of a fan of those. Resolutions — definitive, inflexible resolutions — are simply made to be broken. So, I prefer making goals. Here are my motorcycling goals for 2009:

• Ride out of state. My SV has never ventured beyond the borders of Oregon. Sad but true.
• Take a long (several day) trip. If done in combination with the previous goal, I’d knock out two for the price of one.
• Pass 10,000 lifetime miles. I’d have to double my current yearly average, but it would lead directly into my next goal…
• Take the Team Oregon ART course. Not in the painting sense, unless you count a day spent riding around a go-kart track on the same level as viewing a Picasso. I do.
• And finally, continue working toward becoming a Team Oregon instructor. I’ve taken the first steps, but there’s still a long ways to go.

Making my goals public ought to give me some motivation. If not, someone’s going to end up embarrassed!

Happy new year, everyone! May it be filled with joy and blessed with little traffic.