Calling all midlife riders

[camera56]

Friends

For a bunch of reasons, I blog at www.midliferider.com/blog on owning and riding motorcycles from the perspective of someone who came to motorcycling relatively late in life . . . either for the first time or after a long time off bikes. I fit into the later category.

Someday I might even write a book, but in the meantime, I'm just interested in exploring riding from those two perspectives. I've allocated a pretty big chunk of my time to this project over the next year . . .

• Getting certified as a Lee Parks Total Control instructor
• Working with Puget Sound Safety in the on-track, advanced rider clinics
• Three big road trips
• Doing interviews with folks on the topic
• Attending a bunch of club events and local ride ins.

So to my question . . . and keep in mind that I won't mention your name in anything I blog about unless you tell me to but I will blog about this . . . If you're one of these people . . .

What made you decide to start riding (again)? Short or long answer is just fine.

In addition, if you'd be interested in being interviewed at greater length on the topic (we'll do it via email most likely), PM me.

For me, the short answer was that I didn't have anything I did that was just me and mine. All my recreational pursuits, and there weren't nearly enough of them, tended to involve other people. Motorcycles appealed to me for a couple of reasons . . .

• I grew up loving anything mechanical that moved: cars, bikes, motorcycles, airplanes, etc.
• There was gear involved. Always a good thing in my book.
• There was technique involved. I love the idea of attempting to master something that can't ever be mastered.
• Although it could be social, I loved the idea of being alone in my helmet on my bike.
• I remembered loving all the sensations involved with riding, particularly when the roads turned twisty
• And I suppose there was a part of me that liked the fact that there was some "danger" involved.

In the end, I just decided I wanted a bike. Those were the stories I told myself. I was at that point nearly 50. Kids were gone. SWMBO blessed the activity. If not now, when?

 

[Khunajawdge]

Friends
What made you decide to start riding (again)? Short or long answer is just fine.

Camera56'

I had to park somewhere more convenient to my office at work!

...you can PM me.

chiao!

 

[squeezer]

I'm a returned-after-a-long-break rider, getting back into the sport about 10 years ago around age 40.

Two big influences on returning to riding:

1. I moved to a place where the riding is great. Mostly rural, two lane winding roads are everywhere. I needed a new hobby in the new locale and it was one that made sense here.

2. I was at a place in my career where I could afford a bike as a second vehicle. Earlier, it was my only source of transportation. Later, I had to have a car for family reasons and couldn't afford a bike too. By 40, having both was affordable.

And I suppose that it didn't hurt that we moved here for my wife's job. She knew I didn't want to leave my old job and move back north, she also knew I really missed riding. She's not interested in bikes at all, but I think she sees the bike budget and the time I spend on it as a little bit of payback for me helping her chase her career goals. Mutual support for our interests is a good thing and a source of strength in our relationship.

 

[mdisher]

I rode a lot as a kid and teenager. First (and only street bike) was an FJ1200 in the 80's

I got married, and my wife was concerned with the way I rode (fast, as you'd expect most teenagers or young folk would).

I wasn't going to live long if I kept that up. Then came kids, which put an ever greater premium on my need to be alive.

You could say I was grounded from street bikes in a sense, until I matured some. A few years ago I started to realize I didn't heal up as fast from dirt/off-road related injuries as I used too, and given my new found maturity, was able to make the case that street riding was probably safer

the rest is history.

It is also what I do that isn't 'shared'. While I will often take the kids and sometimes even the wife, it isn't their thing.

 

[HaulinAshe]

I started riding motorcycles at age-3. Had to be pushed off and rode until I fell or parked against a tree. Odot?

I've been riding and racing for many years, albeit mostly on dirt. The FJR marked a milestone that I can only term as a return to riding. I logged some miles over the recent years on my brother's GoldWings, but the FJR was my first "performance" street bike that was all mine.

* Kids are old enough now to allow some "me time".

* My body won't stand any more pounding from MX racing.

* You can buy more "stuff" for a Feej than for a fishing boat.

* If you pilot it hard (especially two-up), it definitely qualifies as a physical activity.

* I come from generations of crazy motorcyclists who really want to know what it's like "out yonder".

* Every gathering reminds me of the Batman movie where Joker says "Where does he get all those wonderful toys?"

This list could go on and on.

PM me.

 

[fjrob1300]

Well now, as a wild youth my first bike was an RD250 1974.The year was 1979. I had my bike lic. before my car lic. I rode that poor thing into the ground. Then I swtched to a '82 RD350 then onto a 83 750 Maxim. I had a 750 Nighthawk too for a little while. Then the kids started coming. Total of 4. Then on a trip to Florida in 05 I picked up a RZ350 to try and relive my youth. Realizing I needed something a little bigger, but sporty, it was off to the local Yamaha dealer. The dealer owner is a RZ freak and collecter. So I traded my RZ350 and some extra coin for the 2003 FJR he had on the lot. I am very happy with my bike. The kids ride with me now and then (no not all at once) and my Wife will also go on a ride but it's mostly "MY time". .

 

[LDRydr]

I'd learned to ride before I was 6, my uncle was a Suzuki bike mechanic at a dealership. I'd ridden friends bikes over the years, but only when I could talk them into letting me take it for an hour or two. I had never got my endorsement, although I'd learned to ride as a kid. I'd never had my own bike, unless you count my minibike.

I was 37, single, bored with my job, and was looking for an activity I could do on my own that didn't involve exercise (hiking, biking, marathons, etc). I had lunch with a friend who's always owned bikes and classic sports cars, and mentioned I'd always thought about getting my own motorcycle. My friend asked why I didn't just get one. I told him I was holding out for a Harley and knew I couldn't afford one. He said a friend of his at work was selling a Harley, and thought it was about $6,000. I had no idea I could get one for that little (it was a Sportster of course). I went to look at it, and when he started it up I was sold. I got my endorsement a few weeks later, and have been riding ever since (at least one time in each month since Feb. 1997).

My family, friends, and even my boss at the time all asked what was wrong with me and assumed I was having some sort of mid-life breakdown. I may have been drinking too much at the time, but I certainly wasn't broken down yet. And being single didn't bother me at all. I think I was just looking to learn something new, prove something to myself. Five months after getting the Sportster I finally did a ride longer than an hour or two, riding it down to Hollister, CA for the annual July 4th Rally. I was hooked, and now it's a part of me that I don't see going away until I'm unable to get a bike off the stand on my own.

I can share a lot more if you'd like, feel free to PM me.

 

[Sherman]

I wanted a nice sports car but I have 3 teenage daughters. So I got a bike instead.

 

[twowheelnut]

*Snicker*

I've mentioned this before, but here it is again...

I've always wanted to ride as early as I can remember. My neighbor buddy got a 5 HP Rupp mini bike and I begged my folks for one, "No! You'll put an eye out!", was the constant response. In reality, we were dirt poor, but I had no idea what poor vs. rich was so, I typically punched the wall, then packed my Timmy and Lassie lunch box with a PB & J and a thermos (matching the box, of course) of Ovaltine, tossed a bag of clothes over my shoulder and ran away from home. Usually until dinnertime, anyway.

After that, it was all I could do to afford college and really had no cash for a ride. My roomie had a CB350 that he let me ride once. But after my 'ride' his mom was less than thrilled with how a trimmed her prize winning rose bushes, so I kinda put any further riding out of my mind.

Then, I got a job, got married and soon had money for fun things. When I mentioned to my new bride that I had been shopping for a bike she said, "No! You'll put your eye out!", and promptly placed my nuts in a hermetically sealed jar which she locked in her nightstand, complete with a wailing alarm system. She did, however, agree to boats, but that's another story.

13 years later, I disabled the alarm, shot the lock off the nightstand, retrieved my balls and divorced that controlling bitch and met my new bride. Luckily, my new wife is not much for ceremony or tradition, so we spent no money on the wedding or wedding rings. Rather, we just asked each other what we may want as a wedding 'gift'. I said, "Ya know, I've always wanted a motorcycle. How do you feel about me getting one?"

Her reply was simply, "Oh Sweetie, the only way you can have one is if I can have one too!" :wub:

That was nine years, eight bikes and one crash ago. Sadly, Patti no longer rides and pillions rarely owing to our borked work schedules, but I'm still riding!

 

[caryb]

I'll be the first to reply as a new rider.

I started riding about two and a half years ago. I was 44 at the time. I had always wanted to ride but it simply was not an option in my younger years. The kids got to the point where they did not need as much of my free time any longer so I was looking for recreational activities. My wife, concerned with the activities I might find on my own, set me up to participate in a basic riders course one weekend. The rest is history.

FYI, I did not start on an FJR! My first bike was a BMW R1200 CLC. BMW's version of a Harley dresser. I rode that for about a year and decided it really was not for me. Saw the FJR at the Yamaha shop and had to have it.

My oldest developed an interest in bikes and it is now something we share. Me on my FJR and he on his Wee Strom.

For me it has become an utterly enjoyable activity. It is 100% recreational for me with the biggest upside being that the activity starts when I pull out of the driveway.

I also figured out what a midlife crisis is all about. It really has nothing to do with strange behavior that starts at some magic age. Its all about a point in your life when you finally have enough money and time to indulge the strange behaviors you have had all your life.

Let me know if there is any other information I can share with you around these points,

CaryB

 

[wfooshee]

I had access to motorcycles on and off all through college and since. I never owned one, never had the disposable money for the bike I wanted, and wasn't going to ride some kid's thousand-dollar throwaway. I felt I should get a bike I want, or don't do it.

When Mom passed and we (finally) sold her house and paid off her mortgage ("we" being myself and 4 siblings), suddenly there was 5 digits of dollars sitting around with nothing to do. Did some fix-up to the house, the kitchen, got the wife a 2000 Mustang she wanted, and still had some cash. My brother had a friend who'd just upgraded to an '07 FJR from an '03, and the '03 was on the block. And I've said this before, Mom was as fanatically anti-motorcycle as anybody who ever lived. I rather like the irony (justice?) in the fact that she bought my first bike!

So I've bought the FJR, first bike I've ever actually owned. Now I have to go get an endorsement, which as an infrequent rider the past 20 years I've never bothered with. Took the MSF course mostly so I wouldn't have to lug that giant FJR through the exam course and was astonished at what bad habits I'd developed, especially cornering. I was mostly coasting through turns rather than pulling. I was on board already with SEE, and anybody who isn't while on a bike is not right in the head. I've actually been driving with that philosophy since I've been driving, so it wasn't a new experience. But the right eye placement, and the right shifting and throttle while cornering; let's just say the course was a good thing.

Before owning the FJR, I'd been on a bike once or twice a month at the most, occasionally not ride for a couple or three years.

Since buying the bike in June '07, I've put nearly 8000 miles on it, and less than 800 on my car. I guess you could say my assimilation was instant and complete. My wife loves to ride 2-up with me, but is not the least interested in her own bike. A bike big enough for her to be comfortable on was a condition for getting one, so I started looking for Gold Wings when the FJR came up. A Gold Wing for the price I gave for the FJR would have had to be 20 or 25 years old, though. No way was I going to put her on a sportbike, or even myself, actually. How goofy would an overweight 50-year-old look with his gut hanging over a gixxer tank? The other choice would be a crusier, and I am definitely not a cruiser guy. I've had numerous chances to pick up a Harley in the years I've not been riding, and never even considered it. Just don't like the style, the riding position, the feel of the bikes, etc.

 

[OhioFJR1300]

I have ridden dirt bikes since I was in my early 20's. Never owned a street bike until 2003 at 50 years of age. A friend of mine says to me, " hey, I know a guy that is selling a 750 Ducatti, lets buy it and take it to the track." That started the ball rolling, and we ended up buying new sports bikes instead of the Duc, I got a new Honda CBR600 RR and he got a new Yamaha R6 in the spring of 2003. We ended up not putting on that many miles, and while I was having fun, the 600RR was not all that comfy on a long ride. I took it in for service in the summer of 03, and had to walk past some new Honda Gold wings. I asked a sales guy how much they weighed, he says " 800 pounds." I laughed and said, "who would ride something that is SO heavy." He said, "why don't you take it for a ride?" So I did, and then the wife got on with me after I took it around the block. She loved it. Make a long story short, we bought a 2003 Gold Wing, got a matching Bushtec trailer and took a great 8000 mile vacation from our home in Ohio to visit my son in San Diego, Ca., stopped in Vegas, and back home. We were hooked. And still ride the Wing, heck we even did an Iron butt ride 2 up a few years ago. I traded the 600RR for my FJR and have been happy with the FJR as it is "my " bike and the wing is "our" bike. Feel free to PM me.

 

[MrTwisty]

I've always loved motorcycles and rode dirtbikes from my teens until my late twenties. One day, after a crash where another rider accidentally jumped on top of me and broke my thumb, my wife told me that my son needed a father more than I needed a motorcycle. Realizing that she was right, I sold the bike and never rode again until about 3 years ago.

I had never ridden or wanted a street bike, but one day I just deciede to go buy one. I'm not really sure what prompted the decision. I think it was a typical mid-life crisis decision based on the feeling of morality and the fear of dying without experiencing something that might be very special. I was right, it is special, and I am now addictied to riding. I think I am addicted because it is something that requires so much concentration that you cannot think about other things, like all of life's problems. For me, it is an escape.

I am probably the epitome of a mid-life crisis rider. You are welcome to PM me if you want to hear more, but I pretty much gave you the summary.

 

[mattster31]

Seems to be a theme here........................I was 39 when I bought my 8th bike. This was after a 12 year hiatus. Bought my first bike when I was 18. Raced up here in Canada at Shannonville for about 5 yrs, and continued to ride until I met my wife. Sold the bike 2 weeks after meeting her (no she did not make me sell). I have always loved riding and although my tastes have changed (touring) , my brand loyalty has not. YAMAHA ALL THE WAY.

1st '85 RZ500

2nd '87 FZ750

3rd '88 FZR1000

4th '87 RZ350 (racing)

5th '85 RG500 Gamma (the only non-yama. this bike was sweet)

6th '86 FZ600 (racing)

7th '89 FZR1000 (my favorite) :clapping:

12 years of "I WANT ANOTHER BIKE" :angry: :angry:

8th '85 FZ750 (then I realized I was not 20yrs old anymore. I think I rode it 6 times......ouch) :blink:

9th '03 FJR1300 now I am riding in style!!!!! :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

Cheers Guys

Mattster

 

[zzzzip]

I didn't jump on a bike because of a midlife crisis....

I had just retired, and was no longer a productive member of society. My kids were grown up and gone, and the wife no longer considered me her boy-toy and was financially well enough off. Just because I was crying myself to sleep every night, didn't mean it was a crisis.

I'll have to admit that I did miss the frequent adrenalin jolts I got from the old job, and needed an occasional fix. Ah, ha!! Buy a motorcycle and hit the road. Now is the time, because if you screw the pooch, nobody will miss you. I was, and am, such a piss poor rider I could get a fix quickly, just about anytime and anywhere. Hell, I've high sided and low sided just sitting still on the drive way.

So I got a new challenge with riding, and the chicks check me out, which is cool (unless I open the visor). Then they get to have a jolt too...puts the fear in them, I tell you, ya young whippersnapper....

B)

 

[sonicspeed]

i rode a lot back during the mid to late 80's, then due to several close scares and the birth of my second daughter i gave it up and sold both my bikes. after my last back surgery last feb. i started to get the riding fever again. so once i was healed up i bought myself a used suzuki marauder and started riding again. that was in april of 07. by june i realized i needed something bigger and in august i finally bought my FJR.

i have had a total of 7 back surgeries with the first one in oct of 91. after this last one i decided it was time for me to live again.

 

[Auburn]

I have ridden mostly dirt bikes since I was in 3rd grade or there abouts. Started road racing in 1994. Had blast. My friends were all MSF instructors and talked me into getting certified, which meant I needed a street legal bike to ride.

1st wife didn't like the motorcycling thing. So I did the TWN thing and fired the bitch in 1992.

2nd wife and I had our 1st date at the Cycle World Motorcycle show in 1997. Got her own dirt bike, all of our kids ride dirt bikes, and we have had a street bike ever since I have known her. She is a great pillion and loves three day 1000 mile twisty get-a-way rides. :yahoo:

 

[SockMonkey]

I definitely fall into the "Returning Rider" category. I sold my previous bike (pic below) in January, 1988, having purchased it new in May, 1980. The "itch" never left. But, life being what it is, job, extended travel, living abroad, marriage, kids, etc., intervened and wouldn't let me scratch that itch for almost 20 years. I finally said, "F*** it, I'm doing it", and did. My wife says it was the best thing I've done since she's known me as I now seem much less wound up than usual...(?)

As an aside, I really miss this bike... Some seriously good times! (And maybe it was those memories that drew me back onto a bike??)

 

[camera56]

These are great guys. Just what i was looking for. Keep them coming!

Friends
What made you decide to start riding (again)? Short or long answer is just fine.

Camera56'

I had to park somewhere more convenient to my office at work!

...you can PM me.

chiao!

Thanks. Will do