Decent ride today

[Freebird]

Eileen and I got on the bike around 1:00 today and rode down to Salk Fork State Park. We were by there a few years ago but really didn't remember and were just checking it out to see if it is a place that we wanted to explore on the Waverunners. Really a nice place.

 

We had a late lunch there at the resort and then headed back home. We got back home around 8:30 and rode about 270 miles round trip.

 

It was a bit hot on the way down but nice on the way home. I tell you folks, I just am not enjoying riding as much as I used to. Been riding since I was about 14 years old and it's always been a big part of my life but something is missing now.

 

Have any of you gone through this and then had the passion return?

[10spd]

It did for me. I got my passion back when I bought my Venture.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

[videoarizona]

Comes and goes for me. Every time I hear about a biker fatality in the area, I wonder why I still ride. Then there are days where I can't wait to get back the scoot and find some lonely road.

 

But yes......

[slowrollwv]

Don it happens to me. I don't like to ride much anymore on the local roads or by myself. Get me with friends or a two or more day trip and then I want the bike. I guess that feeling just comes natural after riding so long.

[Marcarl]

I find that the more time I spend on the Spyder, the more I want to use it in place of the cage. But! I also find that I used want to do it more and then I wouldn't take to it as well for a while,,, yep, it comes and goes.

Guess maybe it has to do with what else you have that takes your interest, singly or together. We only have the Spyder, nothing else, so I guess that might make a difference. If we had a boat or what ever, then the time available and the desire would have to be divided by what ever you have.

One thing that keeps me riding, and I'm not saying it's the only thing, but it does play a part, is that if I no longer were riding, I might start to miss the friends I have made here. Like I said, my interests would be elsewhere and so would the time spent here.

 

So there!!! It's all your fault that I'm still on a bike.

This is called: Carlogic

[relic]

Comes and goes for me. Every time I hear about a biker fatality in the area, I wonder why I still ride. Then there are days where I can't wait to get back the scoot and find some lonely road.

 

But yes......

 

This also has been bothering me lately as well with traffic getting worse and worse all the time. We just bought a Mustang convertible and seem to be taking it out more than the bike now but it is definitely not the bike. Not ready to sell the bike yet as I still really love it when we are on it. Who knows what the future will bring.

[Dano]

I kinda wish I had gone riding yesterday instead of diggin' post holes and settin' privacy fence sections all day....

Guess I'll have to find another reason to ride due to workin' like I did last Monday...

[ReinyRooster]

I have to say as much as I wear a smile when I'm riding, with the aches and pains that I get more and more often from riding, that smile wears off a lot sooner then it used to.

[Oldodge]

With my riding being mostly commuting to work these days I often think about hanging it up. I did just that once before. I gave up riding for about five or six years when my daughter was little and I was just too busy with other obligations to ride. Then the fire re-ignited and I got right back into it. So yes, the desire to ride can go away and then come back. My fear now is that if I quit I will probably never get back to riding again. When I am on the bike, I don't even consider it. When I am just sitting around thinking about stuff I keep thinking what I could use the extra garage space for, or what I could trade the bike for. A camper, a boat, another old car maybe, or a convertible? Then I ride to work and the thought vanishes.........for awhile.

[bongobobny]

Yah Don, as I get older the passion has subsided a bit, but then when I get on and ride the passion comes back at times, especially if everything is working right and the weather is perfect, etc. Sometimes it's more fun riding with others, sometimes it's better alone. I think that age is the single most important factor, as we get older we get more fussy, our bodies go on strike, and we become cranky old men and women! Interests change too! When's the last time you wanted to get together with the guys and play sports, then spend the evening in a bar ogling the pretty young maidens??

 

Riding is still very enjoyable to me, but not like it used to be...

[Condor]

I think it effects us all the older we get. I may be the senior citizen on this board or close to it.... The days when I'd ride everywhere.. to the post office..to the store.. pick the kids up from school.. to have a cup of coffee.. are long gone. Now I'm lucky to do a Venture West once a year. I still like to talk the talk, but not big on walk the walk... Even the VW's are not enjoyable any longer. It's always something. I used to have big plans on doing a western US ride-about for a couple of months, and visit family and friends spread everywhere. That's no longer possible. So all I can say, to those members over 60, go now while you have the desire. It's gonna fade fast.... Some will fade faster than others...

[Venturous Randy]

Last year I did a lot of upgrades on my 83 with R6 front brakes, MKII forks and calipers and SS lines. I already have the 2nd gen trans and the V-max rear and to me, that is the perfect gearing for the bike, lower 1st gear and higher 5th gear. I rode it about 250 miles and that was solo as Linda has said she is just not comfortable being on the bike and to be honest, I am feeling the same way. With me being so inseam challenged, it is more noticeable than ever to me how top heavy it is to me. Add a passenger and it is even worse. Right now, the bike is sitting on the carport and has not been started since last fall. I have a power draw and if I keep the battery plugged up, it goes dead. In the past, that would have been a quick project to trace it down.

But, I guess the biggest thing for now is with having two Miatas, this is now our "Let's take an evening ride" fun, and they are fun rides. Yeah, they may be low and not the easiest thing to get in and out of, but it fits like a glove and putting a lot of miles on seems no more tiring than my Infinity I35.

My grandson, who also has an 83 Venture, and almost lost his leg after crashing his CBR 600 thru a fence and down a bank and could have died with the blood loss without his cell phone, keeps me in mind when thinking about some of the remote places I have ridden. He also crashed his Miata when a woman cut through two lanes of traffic into his lane and he hit her going about 30 mph. With the airbag and seat belt, he had no injuries. I have seen pictures of some pretty bad front end crashes on Miata.net where people walked away. But, like motorcycles, people seem to not see them well.

I have put over 150,000 miles on this bike and loved it, but will I ever get the passion back to ride like I used to? No, and it is a bit sad because for much of my life, it really was a passion for me.

Randy

[mm482]

I am at the point in life that my brain still wants to ride, but my body likes the comforts of a cage. If I am going to ride, I want to go explore new roads. A good days ride is only about 300 miles.

[wizard]

I have not lost that loving feeling. It's what keeping me young!

[beastwood]

Riding is still an adventure for me. My car is in the shop, and I don't even miss it. This is only my eigth year riding, and as long as my body can take it, I'll continue.