07-12-2015, 02:02 PM
Interesting. I hadn't seen this thread before...seems it lay in the back pages before the update.
I'm actually not far removed from those who're considering quitting. Maybe it's just that the combination of over-saturation of riding (put 6000 miles on the CB already) and some age-related things, are just adding up to my enjoying it less.
Take road trips. Those days of getting a bud to drop everything for a week from Cleveland to Pittsburgh, doing the clubs...long gone. I don't drink on road trips; part of aging is that alcohol hits harder. And guys my age are mostly otherwise occupied.
Then...camping out is becoming more a chore. I noticed this two years ago, when I bought an elaborate tent/cot because my back wouldn't do ground sleeping anymore. It folded up compact...for what it was, a cot. A burden to carry.
Since then, I've gone on a CPAP machine. Camping out is out. Unpacking all the junk at a motel...a pain.
I noticed that when I'd take pics of beautiful vistas...back home, I'd enjoy them less. The back would hurt more, too...takes a couple of days to recover from three days of riding.
That AND the added danger of texting drivers AND that I got incredibly lucky when I dropped...and had a couple other close calls...that is new to me. Something tells me...it was good I got all the riding in, from 2008 when I went back on it, to now...because now I'm near the end of cycle-touring.
That's not to say I'll give it completely up. I have that little Yamaha, get around town with, and it makes errands...if not a joy, at least not a drag. There's moments when I still feel the rush.
I have the CB. With the miles I've put on it, I'm not going to lose much by hanging onto it for a few years...but I think this is where I slow way down.
I'm actually not far removed from those who're considering quitting. Maybe it's just that the combination of over-saturation of riding (put 6000 miles on the CB already) and some age-related things, are just adding up to my enjoying it less.
Take road trips. Those days of getting a bud to drop everything for a week from Cleveland to Pittsburgh, doing the clubs...long gone. I don't drink on road trips; part of aging is that alcohol hits harder. And guys my age are mostly otherwise occupied.
Then...camping out is becoming more a chore. I noticed this two years ago, when I bought an elaborate tent/cot because my back wouldn't do ground sleeping anymore. It folded up compact...for what it was, a cot. A burden to carry.
Since then, I've gone on a CPAP machine. Camping out is out. Unpacking all the junk at a motel...a pain.
I noticed that when I'd take pics of beautiful vistas...back home, I'd enjoy them less. The back would hurt more, too...takes a couple of days to recover from three days of riding.
That AND the added danger of texting drivers AND that I got incredibly lucky when I dropped...and had a couple other close calls...that is new to me. Something tells me...it was good I got all the riding in, from 2008 when I went back on it, to now...because now I'm near the end of cycle-touring.
That's not to say I'll give it completely up. I have that little Yamaha, get around town with, and it makes errands...if not a joy, at least not a drag. There's moments when I still feel the rush.
I have the CB. With the miles I've put on it, I'm not going to lose much by hanging onto it for a few years...but I think this is where I slow way down.