Ok, first thread I've made in a long time, so here we go.
I've only been riding a couple years now, July made it one year on the 6R, and for some reason, I just feel tired of riding. I don't feel that exhilaration anymore, and it feels like a burden more than anything else lately.
Background: for two years, my wife and I have had the cage, and my bike. It has got me back and forth to work (at first only 2 miles, now I have maybe 8 miles when my office moved). Even though its only a few extra miles, I've just grown weary of riding it everyday, and I actually enjoy having the cage when my wife is off work (very, very rarely).
I've grown tired of waking up, checking the forecast, and still getting rained on every single day (it's rained like 12 out of the last 14 days here - where is this drought they're talking about?). Even with rain gear I still managed to get soaked, I've had my fair share of close calls in the rain with slippery pavement and idiot drivers, and even with Rain-X on my visor, I can still rarely see crap. Its never just a sprinkle, but a thunderstorm.
When it's not raining, it feels like 105 degrees, and the gear just gets unbearable. I can't bring myself to Squid out, because I like my skin being attached, and even if I could, this pale irish skin sunburns on a moonlit night.
I honestly quit checking these forums for a while, because every rider that got killed, and every 6R that went down just made me that much more nervous. Add quite a few close calls from idiotic soccer moms in SUV's, and I'm just having trouble relaxing anymore. Did I mention that statistically, Mississippi has THE worst drivers in the entire nation?
I should be enjoying it the same way everyone else does, but instead I just feel...tired, and questioning where precisely everything went wrong.
This weekend I'm finally breaking down and buying a second car. It's a brand-new Hyundai Veloster Turbo Ultimate, in Marathon Blue. I'm driving to Nashville to pick it up. I'm actually excited about having a cage, and I know how blasphemous that should be.
So, I'm left with the question - what exactly went wrong, and can I fix it? I'm left with the question that if I'm not enjoying it - will I begin to enjoy it again when I can *choose* when to ride the bike, on the nice cool days between seasons? Should I consider just selling it, putting that money on my cage and paying it down? I put a lot of effort into finding my bike, and modding it where I was happy with it. It makes me happy when I *look* at it, but the tiredness and trouble of riding it day-in and day-out just takes the joy out of it anymore to me.
So in the end - does this make me a terrible person, or less of a 'rider' than the rest of you? I don't see how some of you still find joy in riding 60+miles every day, rain or sleet or hail or snow. Maybe it just comes down to the fact I'm a lazy cager at heart.
Anyway, if you actually read all that, props to you.
I've only been riding a couple years now, July made it one year on the 6R, and for some reason, I just feel tired of riding. I don't feel that exhilaration anymore, and it feels like a burden more than anything else lately.
Background: for two years, my wife and I have had the cage, and my bike. It has got me back and forth to work (at first only 2 miles, now I have maybe 8 miles when my office moved). Even though its only a few extra miles, I've just grown weary of riding it everyday, and I actually enjoy having the cage when my wife is off work (very, very rarely).
I've grown tired of waking up, checking the forecast, and still getting rained on every single day (it's rained like 12 out of the last 14 days here - where is this drought they're talking about?). Even with rain gear I still managed to get soaked, I've had my fair share of close calls in the rain with slippery pavement and idiot drivers, and even with Rain-X on my visor, I can still rarely see crap. Its never just a sprinkle, but a thunderstorm.
When it's not raining, it feels like 105 degrees, and the gear just gets unbearable. I can't bring myself to Squid out, because I like my skin being attached, and even if I could, this pale irish skin sunburns on a moonlit night.
I honestly quit checking these forums for a while, because every rider that got killed, and every 6R that went down just made me that much more nervous. Add quite a few close calls from idiotic soccer moms in SUV's, and I'm just having trouble relaxing anymore. Did I mention that statistically, Mississippi has THE worst drivers in the entire nation?
I should be enjoying it the same way everyone else does, but instead I just feel...tired, and questioning where precisely everything went wrong.
This weekend I'm finally breaking down and buying a second car. It's a brand-new Hyundai Veloster Turbo Ultimate, in Marathon Blue. I'm driving to Nashville to pick it up. I'm actually excited about having a cage, and I know how blasphemous that should be.
So, I'm left with the question - what exactly went wrong, and can I fix it? I'm left with the question that if I'm not enjoying it - will I begin to enjoy it again when I can *choose* when to ride the bike, on the nice cool days between seasons? Should I consider just selling it, putting that money on my cage and paying it down? I put a lot of effort into finding my bike, and modding it where I was happy with it. It makes me happy when I *look* at it, but the tiredness and trouble of riding it day-in and day-out just takes the joy out of it anymore to me.
So in the end - does this make me a terrible person, or less of a 'rider' than the rest of you? I don't see how some of you still find joy in riding 60+miles every day, rain or sleet or hail or snow. Maybe it just comes down to the fact I'm a lazy cager at heart.
Anyway, if you actually read all that, props to you.