D. Brent Miller, writer and photographer

January 4, 2023

New Year, New Me?

I never make New Year resolutions. Really. New Year goals? Well not exactly. Is that a problem? Maybe, and here is what I am going to do about it.

It has been on my mind for some time. A couple of years maybe. Since I have semi-retired … let’s face the reality … fully retired, I have not done much writing or photography except for on Facebook and photography on Instagram. Why should I post my creative material on those social medias when I have my own? That question was driven home by an article posted on The Verge, and shared on FB by a good friend, Bring Back Personal Blogging.

This year, with the weather cooperating, I managed to get in my first ride of the year. January 1, 2023, I took the Moto Guzzi V85tt Adventure for a short ride. Proof is in the second photo, a photo I always wanted to capture.

I have ridden past this sign many, many times, but it always seems to be in the afternoon when the sun is on the other side of the sign and the light is wrong. On this day, it was perfect, and my ride is documented by the date and time of the sign. “Welcome to Morrow” Ohio, a small town near my home. I suppose I can mark this item off my list of motorcycle ride photos.

So, I’m going to do a little more motorcycling this year including some long-distance travels. I’ll be writing about those.

I’m going to be writing about other things too, ideas that harken back to my earlier web site, Sojourn Chronicles. More photography, and especially Black & White photography. I love B&W. Nearly all of my documentary work was shot on B&W film, as was much of my newspaper work. Oh, those were the days. Now, it’s all digital for there is no dark room space here at the galactic headquarters.

The plan is more frequent posts right here. And, I’d like to get that frequency to weekly. Stay tuned.

See you on the highway.

Brent

November 13, 2022

First Snow

It was bound to come sooner or later. First snow.

See you on the highway.

Brent

October 25, 2022

Reaching a goal for 2022

“Hey, Google. How many miles does the average motorcyclist ride per year?”

Around 3,000 miles

While the average annual mileage of a car ranges between 10,000 to 15,000 miles, motorcycles spend much less time on the Conyers roads. In fact, the average annual mileage for a motorcycle is around 3,000 miles.

That does not surprise me. Of course, that is an average. I have a riding buddy, who reports that he has only put about 600 miles on his Harley this year. We have not been doing a lot of rides together.

I have a few friends like Bob Stransky and Kith Birkenstock who put about 3,000 miles or more on their bikes per month. We tease Kith, who lives in the Atlanta area that he frequently rides to Colorado for lunch. Bob is either riding his BMW GS or his Honda ADV 150 scooter to grab National Park stamps.

As for me, my riding in the past few years has been dismal. The most miles I ever put on a motorcycle in one year was 13,367 in 2010. That was a year that I was riding my 2008 V-Strom 650 on several trips in the East and West. I have several years with five-digit mileage.

And that brings us to today, and the achievement of a goal. I planned to ride at least 6,000 miles this year. That’s a lot more than the past few with Covid and all. A measly 6,000 miles—not even half of my record 2010 year.

But I did it.

Today, I only needed 30.5 miles to reach 6,000 miles for the year, and about 1.5 miles north of Blanchester, Ohio, on SR 123, I pulled over to document the moment.

At 2:40 p.m. EDT, with 4,093 miles on my Moto Guzzi V85tt, and 30.5 miles on the trip meter, I reached the 6,000-mile mark. Everything from here to Dec. 31 is just bonus miles.

Three motorcycles were used to reach this moment. My 2017 Suzuki V-Strom, which I traded on the Moto Guzzi V85tt in March, and my Moto Guzzi V7iii Rough. Love those Guzzis.

See you on the highway.

Brent

July 3, 2022July 3, 2022

Sunrise in SW Ohio

Rising early to nature’s call,
the pulling back of the patio-door curtains
revealed some of nature’s finest.

That moment before sunrise,
when the sun’s light shines on the bottom of clouds
and turns the scene beautiful hues of pink and orange.

All is silent except for
the occasional visit by the hummingbirds
and the beating of their wings hovering at the feeders.

See you on the highway.

Brent

May 19, 2022May 19, 2022

Motorcycle Updates

I did something I never thought I would do. I ended my 14-year run of owning Suzuki V-Stroms, by trading my 2017 DL650. Not because they were not good. To the contrary. Excellent bikes. I think I just wanted something different.

And so, on March 1, I rode the V-Strom to Cadre Cycle, in Blue Ash, Ohio, and traded the bike on an inventory clearance, Moto Guzzi V85tt Adventure.

I never thought I would find a bike that I would like more than my V-Stroms, but I have. It fits me perfectly, and the performance is wonderful.

Since March, I have put about 2,000 miles on it. I rode it to the Horizons Unlimited-Virginia event in April. That was about 1,000 miles round trip. I was glad to have the heated grips riding through the mountains of West Virginia in 40-degree weather with snow on the side of the road. And, the cruise control came in very handy blasting home on the Interstate. It’s a keeper.

While at HU-Virginia, my friend Chris Smith and the Moto Photo Adventures crew did a short video of me and the bike. Here is that YouTube video. https://youtu.be/IjU5Y3qxMWA

I took a hard look at this bike because of owning the Moto Guzzi V7iii Rough, the Urban Scrambler. It is just a blast to ride, but not necessarily a touring bike as such. The V85 has the bags and utility for long distance or trips to the grocery store.

Do I miss the V-Strom? No. I was ready for something else. Do I like the Guzzi? Absolutely. Both of them. I guess I have become an old man on a Moto Guzzi.

See you on the highway.

Brent