Giving up riding: is it even possible?

[Tpoppa]

My main hobbies are Motorcycle, shooting guns, and playing pool.  My interest level, energy, and available time fluctuates.  I've taken breaks from all of them, but I always come back.  

 When hobbies start to feel like a responsibility then I know it's time to take a break.   

 

[ricer1]

2 hours ago, DerekClouser said:

This sport or hobby, however you want to classify it, is such a physical and even more so mentally demanding activity.  I've always thought that the moment you are riding and not truly focusing on what you are doing because you are disinterested, scared, preoccupied, or for any other reason, you probably shouldn't be riding.   If you are 'forcing' yourself to get out on your bike, what's the point?   Riding should be fun and maybe even give you a nice adrenaline high, irregardless of the pace you are running.  If it's no longer fun, put it aside and try other things.  Maybe the passion will come back.  

This is usually the discussion I see as we enter winter.  You start to burnout from the entire riding season.  For those who have payments on their bikes (or high insurance premiums) start to question whether they want to make payments through months they can't ride.  It's all cyclical cause once March hits, I see a ton of people jumping at the bit to get back on their bikes.  

Personally, Nivin, I can see the track fixing a lot your issues.  You've got a boy now and that's put a lot of things in perspective for you.  The dangers of the street, which you've always known to exist, become that much more real.  The track eliminates A LOT of that nonsense.  You can go as fast as you want with no fear of the traditional street issues.  

For me, bikes is only part of the passion for me.  I enjoy the camaraderie of riding with others and enjoying it together.  Some of my most fun is when we get off the bikes at a stop and the discussions that are had.  I enjoy the motography (motorcycle photography/videography) aspect of it too.  I enjoy trying to put something entertaining together for others to enjoy.  

Just my .02.  I'd hate to see you leave the community Nivin, as you are a great person for this community. 

Derek, you brought out one of the major reasons why I ride..... when you are riding into a curve trying to hit the apex, pushing the edge of speeds you are capable riding or just avoiding people in cars, these factors force you to focus like a laser on riding and all of life problems move aside. This is helpful in reducing the stress we encounter in our normal daily lives.   

[redkow97]

Time is a valuable commodity for all of us, but life changes shift around how much free time we have, and when we can utilize it.

I was never an 'epic street ride' guy.  And that's probably for the best, since I didn't know what I was doing, and may have very well gotten myself hurt riding over my head.  I booked 5 track days before I'd ever turned one lap on a race track.  I did about 10 days that first season, bought a track-only bike, and sold my street bike in the couple of years that followed.  Upgraded track bikes, crashed it, fixed it, sold it, and bought my XR100.  Had a couple of short-term street bikes along side the XR in the garage, but never really rode them.

It's just such a production to go on a street ride...  You have to get all geared up, just like at the track, except you also have to consider where you're going and what your'e doing when you get there. 

It got to a point where I couldn't (and still can't) devote an entire day (or weekend) to riding.  That's as much based on the time commitment as the costs involved.  There are plenty of days that I still wish I could just take a ride, but I know I wouldn't do it often enough to make it worth while.

for me, riding has become a catch-22 situation.  I enjoy the small bikes on kart tracks, but I don't enjoy having to drive 100+ miles, trailering the bike in order to ride.  So I think, "i'll get a street bike."  But I don't have fun riding on the street, because it's dangerous, full of debris, and the bigger, heavier bikes hurt more to crash and cost more to operate.  Plus I'd have to ride close to 100 miles to get to any decent roads anyway.

the only thing I haven't tried is dualsport riding.  Slabbing it a ways to to explore fire roads, and the like.  

Mountain biking has become more physically beneficial, and I can spread out the time better, with trails a lot closer than good riding roads or race tracks.  When my kids are old enough to spend time with me at the track, I'd like to think I'll get back into racing.  But then we're doubling or tripling the cost of a race weekend once they're on 50's or 100's...  And there's no guarantee they'll enjoy riding anyway. 

I think every parent wants their kid to enjoy the things they enjoy, but I'm not out golfing with my dad on weekends, and while I can sew a button on my shirt just fine, I'm not making clothes for my kids with my mom either.

What it boils down to is that I enjoy riding a lot - but I romanticize it as well.  Anticipating a big ride almost makes the actual event a let-down.  Especially when you think about the stuff you're missing at home.

[TimTheAzn]

2 hours ago, Tpoppa said:

I'm pretty much exactly the opposite.

I found the track to be kinda boring.  20 minute sessions just weren't enough to scratch the itch.  I remember leaving the track day thinking...I'd like to go for a real ride now.

I also felt like being on the track was more risky, but that could have been because of the people in my group.

All depends on the itch you want to scratch. The feeling of it being more risky may have been due to the people in your group. If the only day you did was a Novice track day, you need to give that another shot because Novice track days are a crap shoot more often than not. Huge difference in riding abilities.

There's hardly anything better than rolling out of hot-pit with your buddies and chasing them around with your knees on the ground. I still get the butterflies when I'm taking my warmers off for a session.

For @NinjaDoc, I think track riding is a great option.

1. You can find a cheap track bike for cheap that will keep you more than entertained riding the hell out of it on the track. You wont feel bad about that sitting in your garage while you aren't riding it because it was cheap and you don't have to put insurance on it.
2. Since the bike is cheap, you wont care when you drop it.
3. You wont have a bike payment, or an insurance payment to pay when you aren't riding.
4. The environment you ride in is safer than street riding although some in this thread may argue this.
5. You can push yourself harder than you ever did on the street and feel better about doing it because of points 2 and 3.
6. IF there were something to happen, medical professionals are closer than they ever would be on a SEO ride.
7. Having a dedicated track bike as the only 2 wheeled vehicle in your garage may re-ignite your passion for riding because it's something new, you cant do it whenever you want so your riding is even more carefully planned than it is now, and there are completely different challenges. 

The only thing with Nivin is, you need sleep damnit! Don't pull a 12+hr no-sleep shift and show up to the track the next morning! You need to be sharp and on your A game for your safety and the safety of others.

[Tpoppa]

26 minutes ago, TimTheAzn said:

All depends on the itch you want to scratch. The feeling of it being more risky may have been due to the people in your group. If the only day you did was a Novice track day, you need to give that another shot because Novice track days are a crap shoot more often than not. Huge difference in riding abilities.

I did a KTM track day at mid Ohio on a RC8R.  I liked the bike, it felt pretty similar to the 1125R I owned at the time.  I saw more crashes that day than I did in the previous 5 seasons on the street...not just in my group.

After doing that track day, I've never had the slightest interest in doing another one.  Not because of the crashes...I just found going around the same track over and over to be less fun than a street ride.

I know lots of people get the track bug.  I didn't.  We all ride for different reasons.

[redkow97]

There are more crashes at track days.  I think that's to be expected when you get a bunch of egos together and tell them, "it's not a race," and then set them loose 25 at a time.  Mid Ohio makes things even worse with the track surface being so slick until after lunch.  I tend to think people take more risks at trackdays because they have an inflated sense of safety. 

I guess I understand how people could find lapping a circuit boring, but it also provides 60 or 70 opportunities to get each corner right, and string together a full lap of getting it all right.  If that's not your brand of fun, then track days won't be enjoyable.

But you're inviting people to call bullshit on you...  "I just didn't have that much fun" is going to be turned around on you.  "You didn't have fun because you weren't as good at it as you expected."  Only you know whether or not that's true.

[redkow97]

that doesn't just go for the track, btw. 

I know a lot of us have followed Danimal's adventure thread.  I remember him saying that some of the guys at his Chinese bike group ride were "white-knuckling" the stuff that he was having fun with.  He had fun because he was skillful enough to find it enjoyable.  Others didn't, and were more stressed than entertained.

[Tpoppa]

4 minutes ago, redkow97 said:

But you're inviting people to call bullshit on you...  "I just didn't have that much fun" is going to be turned around on you.  "You didn't have fun because you weren't as good at it as you expected."  Only you know whether or not that's true.

Not the case at all. 

I was by far the fastest person in my novice group & had no problem lapping to catch the back of the pack.  I kept the control rider in sight the handful of times when he got a little sporty.   I left with my ego in tact 

 

[TimTheAzn]

19 minutes ago, Tpoppa said:

I left with my ego in tact 

Didn't do it right.

Keep in mind that CR was probably falling asleep running those demo rides, even when you thought it got "sporty".

[2talltim]

Here  we go. 

[Tonik]

6 minutes ago, TimTheAzn said:

Keep in mind that CR was probably falling asleep running those demo rides, even when you thought it got "sporty".

Those fuckers can ride, never been so impressed with a rider after seeing them in advanced and when they went out on their own. Even the really old ones, like way older than me...holy crap. Saw a couple of them light that track up while 2 up.

[JustinNck1]

4 minutes ago, 2talltim said:

Here  we go. 

We're just street peasants, we wouldn't understand. 

[Tpoppa]

4 minutes ago, JustinNck1 said:

We're just street peasants, we wouldn't understand. 

Right, you can ONLY learn to ride fast on the track.

[JustinNck1]

Just now, Tpoppa said:

Right, you can ONLY learn to ride fast on the track.

If that's true, you learnt alot in that one track day. 

[2talltim]

[Tpoppa]

11 minutes ago, JustinNck1 said:

If that's true, you learnt alot in that one track day. 

The one area where I felt my skills were not up to par on the track was hard braking.  It's just not something I practice.  If I brake hard on the street it means I misjudged something.  Ideally, I'll never need to hard brake on the street.   

  

Edited October 9, 2017 by Tpoppa

[JustinNck1]

Before everyone gets all butthurt, yes the track is cool, yes it helps hone certain skills. I want to do a track day. It's just not for some people, much like dual sport riding or touring. I hone my skills out riding the dangerous and spooky mountain roads, where a perfect apex is laughable in most cases. It's not ideal, but I have fun. The skills I've gained from riding on the street works great for the street. To each their own, just don't look down from your high horse when someone thinks different.

[Tpoppa]

1 minute ago, JustinNck1 said:

The skills I've gained from riding on the street works great for the street. 

This.  Where you practice is where your skills are going to apply most.   

In all my years and miles, I've only met just a small handful of riders that I'd say are truly excellent on both street & track. 

[durk]

I personally was pretty much forced to give up riding when my wife and I had our second child. We both used to have our own bikes. She got rid of hers after the first born and then told me to get rid of mine 18 months later when the second came along. She was wise to tell me to give it up. I was young, dumb, and had very little idea of what I was doing. I did negotiate getting a quad as part of the deal.

We both ended up with quads and had a great time with them. I still missed the bike, however. (I injured my self way too much with those quads. I would argue they were more dangerous.) After some time she lost interest in the quad and 1 night we were sitting on the porch swing and a crotch rocket went by and I did my normal neck snap to watch it fly by. She responded with if you want sell my quad and get another bike. 

About 2-3 weeks later I was trading her kfx400 for a 01 F4i. I fell in love all over again. It was like I got a second lease on life and it was way better than the first. Back in the 90s I was not trying to access the web to find roads to ride as I began to do after a couple months with the F4i. I took my first long trip the day before Thanksgiving to Wheeling, WV. I had the day off, her and the kids had school. I never told her what I was up to. I sent her a picture at lunchtime of the bike under a Wheeling sign. Little did she or I know that would lead to me discovering a love for all day rides to SEO. Then I did some trading and swapping around to end up with a 600rr and discovered OR through 600rr.net. Through OR I have learned and ton and have greatly improved my skills as a rider. Now I jump at every chance I get to head out on all day trips either solo or with guys I've met through OR. 

2 hours ago, ricer1 said:

Derek, you brought out one of the major reasons why I ride..... when you are riding into a curve trying to hit the apex, pushing the edge of speeds you are capable riding or just avoiding people in cars, these factors force you to focus like a laser on riding and all of life problems move aside. This is helpful in reducing the stress we encounter in our normal daily lives.   

^^^

That is great summary of how I feel. I love riding to the edge of my capabilities keeping in mind I have 2 girls and a wife at home that want me to come back alive. 

@NinjaDoc I can relate to what you're feeling. I kind of feel that way about 4-Wheeling. I have lost the itch some, but I keep the quad around to ride my track to try to keep my fatness down a bit. Occasionally my buddies can convince to give up a weekend of riding the bike to hit the trails with them, but I prefer the bike for sure. I sure hope you don't give up the bike. You're the only guy I know that is within an hour that likes to ride my kind of ride. 

[Ron505]

I've "quit" a few times throughout my life for one reason or another.  But I always come back.  I started riding when I was about 8 years old (now 48), and it has always been at the top of my list of things to do for my own enjoyment.

Good luck with your decisions! 

[redkow97]

I didn't come here to debate whether or not @Tpoppa can ride, or how fast he can ride.  I commented to preempt the people who were going to call him whatever they were going to call him, because he didn't love the track. 

I don't claim to understand that, but we don't have to be so militant about our disagreement...  We could post up three objectively attractive women, and debate all day about how they "rank" for us personally.  Riding styles aren't that much different.  There is something to enjoy every time you put a leg over a bike.

[TimTheAzn]

26 minutes ago, redkow97 said:

There is something to enjoy every time you put a leg over a bike.

Same thing goes for women.....

[NinjaDoc]

Thx for all the input guys, what I was looking for and was sure to find were some personal experiences some of you/ many of you went through in the past regarding quiting and coming back. It's looks almost like a unanimous thing, that's it's gonna come back. Seems like who ever was really into riding, the pure passsion even if it went away or had to be suppressed or lost it during busy life, found it again or got hit again. I guess I will still keep riding as a borderline priority in the back burner just in case  

 

After all this discussion, I guess I should accept, and many who know me personally know that the most likely scenario is the first warm day on 2018 I be posting a ride hahaha 

Regarding the parallel discussion here I tried track once, like tpoppa said didn't work for me. I am not much into that break neck max speed or high velocity stuff, but love the acceleration part of motorcycling as in hitting and exiting corners hard. I guess that's why I love street more because of ever changing perspectives and challenges. But I am going to give it another go, this time having more friends on the scene might make things different. Like it was mentioned here trying to perfect that lap might seem interesting or  safer than street for sure. 

And off roading attempt needs to happen at least once heheh Atleast just for experience. I mean I grew up riding back roads in rural India which is either a tier 1 or 2 off road here lol 

Regarding the other discussion of speed, except for few folks here most regular street riders here enjoy all types of ride touring/ sport touring/ but prefer one over the other little bit. Personally I was never trying to go fast for the sake of going fast. As miles and exp rake up, the comfort zone gets pushed higher and higher in the speed limit. For e.g: u never feel like ur pushing the limit when cruising freeways on a car at 85-90. U only realize the speed when u check the speedo. Same thing happens in riding, when I was riding good with no fear, many times only when u peek down to realize this. And many times it's just on corners ur really working it and then on straight u mostly going just cruising 15+ Ur never flustered shaken sweating panting to keep pushing. just enjoying the day. And some times u try to get into the zone and push a bit. I won't say it's safe but I won't say it's totally crazy either. I guess it's a grey zone we live in for anything in our life. But these days that comfort zone is starting to slowly crumble ending up in this discussion. 

I know for sure I will  miss meeting new folks, taking pics, and making videos etc shooting the shyte at breaks etc. Many rides even if time doesn't allow I used to show up riding 3-4 hrs just to say hi to some old faces and leave without even able to join the ride. 

But all in all good talk lol 

Edited October 9, 2017 by NinjaDoc

[Tpoppa]

18 minutes ago, NinjaDoc said:

And off roading attempt needs to happen at least once heheh Atleast just for experience. I mean I grew up riding back roads in rural India which is either a tier 1 or 2 off road here lol 

I've been getting into this a bit lately, but have not fully committed.  I rode about half of the Kentucky Adventure Trail a few weeks ago.   I did things on 2 wheels that I'd never attempted before.  I was in mud and water above the tops of my wheels with the throttle wide open...riding up steep grades trying to carry speed where the entire trail was covered with rocks the size of softballs...riding down slick muddy hills with zero traction for braking.  Some if it was challenging and fun, some was extremely difficult to the point it was risky and not much fun.       

I think every experience on 2 wheels will teach you something.  That one definitely tested limits.     

[jbot]

i thought about posting something when you first posted this thread and changed my mind cause it was so ordinary and just not at all profound...  which is a lot like what happens when you just sort of fall out of love with riding.

that's not what happened with me, actually, but it sounds like it's what's happening with you, or maybe your other commitments and subsequent guilt is just getting to you.  I dunno.  it doesn't even matter.

i've been street bike-less for about 3+ years now, and while I still find myself searching for random bikes I get it in my head that I am going to buy, my mind gets back to my current priorities.  this is coming from a hardcore track slut for a good 5 years, straight to just absolutely no riding... ambition/running a business and/or kids will do that to you sometimes.  a lot of my friends on track had kids and didn't stop riding track, but i've always been like that.  i just don't have the emotional capacity to maintain multiple of anything that takes up my attention and thought and involvement.

i'll get back at it one day once i'm feeling like i have that breathing room in my mind for it.  right now, i'm too involved in making sure my kids start better than I did, that I'm present (really truly present) for everything while they're young, and making money while the money's good.  and occasionally buying stupid shit when i get antsy.

best of luck to you on your present conundrum.  the monkey on your bike will never go away though... that much I know.