From motorcycle to Japanese mini truck

Après retirement...

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Carlos: I had this list you know. That was before.

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Greg: A bucket list?

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Carlos: Not exactly. Just things I thought would be good to try. One was to motorcycle around Japan.

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Greg: You had a motorcycle for 30 years, why didn’t you go then?

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Carlos: The roads were not so interesting....

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Greg: Are they any better now?

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Kei Tora

Carlos: Nope. A lot of roads are just concrete canyons, no views. There’s thousands of traffic lights. Toll roads cost. And then winters that are too cold to ride in, summers are better but sometimes too hot. A lot of rain spring and autumn. Almost thinking of buying a kei-tora*. Economical, low road tax.

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Greg: And then join the hordes of old jokers running around in white light trucks? Dreadful to drive, I hear.

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Carlos: Over time, the excitement of motorcycling around Japan just disappeared. A light truck just seems economical and practical.

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Greg: Why not just rent one when you need a vehicle? Young people do that these days.

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Voice-over

Sacrificing excitement to diminish risk seems to have come late to this old fellow. The lustre of a long-held hope dulls.

But better late than him becoming late. Issues of balance, lateral vision, strength, reaction time are a concern. And he might make some new friends in the kei tora cafe.

Better yet if he didn’t take to the road himself, but send the young bloods thirsting after adventure. Stay back and coordinate their travels. Like Carl Linnaeus. Stay on the farm.

*kei tora: Japanese mini truck

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