I'm currently serving in Afghanistan, on my second deployment in less than four years. By the time I get back, I will have spent more time deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan than all of my time in the US combined, including basic training, etc.
I sold the bike you see in my avatar before moving from California to Alaska to go to my first duty station at Fort Richardson. I have decided never to leave Alaska. That should tell you something about the effect AK has on me considering I love to ride, and you can only do that about 4 months out of the year there.
I did start having a serious case of bike withdrawal though, and my ATV's weren't quite cutting it. So last summer, right at the end of the riding season I decided to get another bike and start riding again. So with a budget of $2K, I started searching Craigslist, and a couple of other local classifieds sites for a bike.
I have to regress here a bit - About 14 years ago when I first started riding motorcycles, I bought a 1980 Honda CX 500 Custom for $600. It was well-worn, but road worthy and I put over 15,000 miles on it in a year. It was absolutely riliable almost to the point of being boring. NOTHING ever went wrong on that bike. I eventually sold it, deciding that I wanted something bigger and more powerful for weekend rides with my wife. I wound up getting a 1980 Yamaha XS 1100 Special. But I always told myself if I ever found another CX 500 in decent shape, I'd snatch it up.
Okay, fast-forward back to the more recent past - fall of 2008. One morning I woke up at 4 A.M. like usual to get ready for work. My customary first stop was the computer to check Craigslist. To my amazement, there it was - a pristine, show-room condition 1980 Honda CX 500 Custom with only 5900 miles on the clock for....you guessed it, $2K. I could hardly contain myself during morning PT (physical training for you non-army types) and breakfast. At 8 a.m. I couldn't wait any longer. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed the number I had written down from the add. The owner answered on the second ring (Yes, I still remember how many times it rang.) and said he still had it. We made plans to meet on my lunch break, and to make a long story short, My truck had a Honda in the back on the way home that evening. In the three weeks I had left before the first snows, I put just over 2K miles on it. And ironically, my best friend, another soldier in my unit is my riding partner. He rides....a 1980 Yamaha XS 1100 Special. Talk about a walk down memory lane!
Now I can't wait to get back home and start exploring more of Alaska on two wheels. Happy riding everyone.
We get some pretty nasty sandstorms over here. The heat isn't bad though, especially compared to Iraq. I'm on a FOB that sits on a plateau at about 7300 ft. elevation, so it doesn't get too hot. It's only been up to around 95 degrees f. so far. Where I was at in Iraq 120 degrees was a cool day in the summer. 
