2025 was a year full of firsts for me. First time riding a snowmobile, first time doing a track day, first time riding a BMW R 1300 GS (let alone learning how to ride off road on one), and more. Probably my real ECA for 2025 should be "trying new things," but that's a bit too nebulous to really write about.
Plus, it's kind of a cop-out, isn't it? I enjoy a lot of things, and I enjoy trying new things and having new experiences. Don't get me wrong; a reliable, everyday routine is nice, but getting out and having new experiences is one of the things that makes life worth living, in my book.
So, for this year's Editors' Choice Award, I'm choosing the once-in-a-lifetime experience of touring Twin Peaks filming locations on the Ural Neo prototype. Riding a prototype motorcycle (let alone a prototype sidecar motorcycle) was unique in and of itself, but taking it to see a place that's loomed large in my imagination for most of my life was truly on another level. It also didn't hurt that this was a self-guided tour, so I could allocate my time as I chose (within certain constraints; I still had to return the bike and go home, after all).
