Go back into my podcasting archives you will see that the last five or six episodes were recorded at the end of 2013 but not published until almost a year later in late 2014. It was a result of a very big push I made in December of 2013 to record a bunch of shows. Why all together? Well, I was having a hard time getting people to talk to, and also having them actually show up when scheduled. And that was a week-long period where I could get people to talk to me. So I did. But many, if not all of them did not get published every 2 weeks as I had planned. 2 or three were 8 months in the waiting as life had taken me down a, particularly twisty road. But this one. This one never made it at all. This one was recorded on the 8th of December 2013. And is seeing the light of day almost exactly 8 years after it was recorded.
I am going to put the podcast here for those of you anxious to listen to it. But I am going to continue waxing poetic about this period of time below. Please enjoy!
Episode 33: Zero Owner’s Roundtable from December of 2013
I have a few sentimental thoughts on this episode. I just listened to it and it’s not bad. It’s a time capsule of opinions and experiences of a diverse group of Zero owners, and then me. In today’s social climate, some may ask if it could have been more diverse. I suppose it could have, but I put out a call on the internet for people to volunteer, and these were the brave souls who showed up. I turned no one away. Moving on, for me, it was the last real podcast I did. I feel like I have to now add . . . “of that era”. It feels like forever since I was truly active. You can check the dates on my site and you’ll see I have consistently put out a hand full of posts a year ever since. And if you ignore the news aggregator style of podcast I tried to start back at the end of 2016, and have started doing again in the last month, then yes. It has been 8 years since I did a real episode where I interviewed someone, which was what I did on top of the newsy editorial-type stuff. 8 years! What is weird (and one of those life experience things I assume) is that 2016 doesn’t feel that long ago. But 2013 . . . that feels forever ago. It’s 10 years since I started this site and podcast. Actually, I think I had recorded my very first interview with Thad Wolf before I had written any blog posts. I hesitate to call them articles as I am no trained journalist and definitely have made no money on this site. I have received a few donations, but that’s it.
2013 was the end of an era. But almost a forgotten era that few elmoto enthusiasts seem to know about. A few of us were there to experience it though, and we all seem to remember each other in the forums and such. But in October was the last World Final of the TTXGP. We didn’t know it was though. I was at a very low-paying job that was at least a bit fun. I had been there almost 2 years having worked my way out of homelessness. At Daytona, I was someone of significance for a few brief days. Coming back from that was like crashing off of drugs, but only with emotions. I wrote about it at the time. As you will hear I put in a paywall right about this time. I was putting in very long days and I deserved at least enough to pay the yearly website fees. One, maybe 2 people paid. That’s it. It was crushing. Then I got really sick. The flu killed something like 32 people in Clarksville, TN that season. I wouldn’t be that sick again until I’d get COVID-19 7 years later. And then there was no TTXGP and no FIM series. Just some local series that are still going, I think. Going into 2014 Brammo folks kept up the racing by taking on gas bikes in the AFM series in California. But at the beginning of 2015, Brammo finally sold out to Polaris and was given to Victory. And a year after that Polaris killed off Victory. Back to the winter of 2013 and spring of 2014. That trip to Dayton sparked something because I started searching for a better job in earnest. And in February of 2014, I got a job in the oil industry and made the most money I ever have, and that was the turning point in my personal life. I was laid off a year and a half later. But by then I had righted my ship and was in steady waters, and had already met my wife. But electric motorcycle news was nil, and the prototype racing I knew was shriveling up. And it would continue to, slowly for years. Zeros wouldn’t change much at all for another 6 years either. Only Energica would catch them snoozing. But that is for another post on another day.
It was a truly pivotal time. Both for me personally, and for the electric motorcycle industry. It feels to me like a trough or lul for elmotos. But maybe that’s what they needed. A chill time to stow the sails and wait for the winds to come back to you. I’m sure that’s not how it felt for people working in the industry. And I’m leaving a lot of motorcycle companies out that have come and gone. It was a time when Tesla started coming on strong, which is a good thing for elmotos. If people aren’t driving cars that are electric, they are less likely to ride a motorcycle that is. We thought we were going to lead the world to better EV tech. But the realities are the world does not want motorcycles to lead in tech. They prefer to have all that tech sorted out on something that can’t fall over. Then when it’s sorted. THEN you can put it on their bikes. *cough Yammie noob cough*
I sincerely hope you have enjoyed and can appreciate this little nugget in time.
Thank you and . . . KTRSD!
TTXGPMatters 