Suicide weather

[1911]

I don’t have bonafide stats, but the trend for far too long is decent weather during the work week and soggy gloom and despair on the weekends. I’ve not gotten but a single spectacular ride in so far this year

There are bad thoughts passing through my head. Contemplations of drastic actions that certainly lead to regret, awful deeds like moving to Florida.

I’m trying some home remedy image therapy. A mixture of scenes from our not too distant past. Equal parts good roads, interesting scenery, tolerable company, and sky that doesn’t suck. I’ll run this in a loop on every screen in the house-TV, phone, tablet, whatever, to see if I can purge this nonsense from my melon.

Wish me luck.

https://vimeo.com/312325965

 

[philter]

Whatever you do, do NOT move to South Florida. Comfortable riding season it ONE month {January} and two hours in the morning four other months. LOL

 

[Bounce]

Best of luck. Never heard of such a thing where weather is so bad that people want to kill themselves. Must be something about not having enough to keep them busy.

 

[Cookie]

Gee, we've had two days in a row with sunshine and cloudless skies in Minnesota. Maybe you should be riding around here. Of course it was -4 F this morning. Yesterday the wind chill was a lovely -25. My wife and I even took a very short walk on the frozen lake. She wasn't up for any ice fishing. She hates winter. The good news is the local bar had heat, great nachos and live music in the afternoon. It was a great day.

Maybe SC weather isn't as bad as you think. Your riding season will start a bit sooner than our riding season. It's even too cold here to sit on the bike in the garage for more than a couple of minutes.

 

[CollingsBob]

-30c this morning in Winnipeg, Manitoba..our riding season ends in late October, maybe early November and doesnt start until mid-April, early May...

 

[Bugnatr]

If you get to the point of no return might as well go sitting on the FJR in the closed garage on the center stand running through the gears for an hour or so.

Nice video.

 

[RBEmerson]

It's probably just a story to scare tourists away, but, according to a couple of people I know in the Seattle area, the weather can turn to non-stop clouds, rain, and generally depressing weather to the point where (Seasonal Affective Disorder) becomes a very real problem which can push up the suicide rate. Follow the link to Mayo Clinic for more on SAD.

At least SC does improve on occasion.

Florida, particularly south of about JAX, is rider's hell. Hot, humid "air you can wear" from late spring into early fall, Mid-fall through mid-spring is marked by snowbird drivers who manage to exceed the extremely high bar of being worse drivers than most Floridians. The only real curves are found at cloverleafs and on/off lanes. Twisties are found only on some wine and beer bottles. Why ever would you want to go to Florida?

 

[SwollenRaccoon]

Yup, -10F when I came in to work this morning, and windy, on top of that. One of those mornings when you can tell within one nanosecond after walking out the front door whether you zipped your fly up or not.

Last ride for me was mid-October. Weather was uncooperative after that. Not feeling too sorry for you.

 

[RBEmerson]

Grounded for three months by a broken thumb (bicycles am de debil!) followed by 1 1/2 month road trip on four wheels to AZ then three weeks in Germany followed by icy roads and stinkin' cold. Short on sympathy here, too. ;P

When your videos wear out... Disgustingly sunny weather, downright hot in places, and roads often refuse to run straight (OK stretches to and from there to hotels omitted).

The playlist...

 

[Bounce]

It's probably just a story to scare tourists away, but, according to a couple of people I know in the Seattle area, the weather can turn to non-stop clouds, rain, and generally depressing weather to the point where (Seasonal Affective Disorder) becomes a very real problem which can push up the suicide rate. Follow the link to Mayo Clinic for more on SAD.
At least SC does improve on occasion.

Florida, particularly south of about JAX, is rider's hell. Hot, humid "air you can wear" from late spring into early fall, Mid-fall through mid-spring is marked by snowbird drivers who manage to exceed the extremely high bar of being worse drivers than most Floridians. The only real curves are found at cloverleafs and on/off lanes. Twisties are found only on some wine and beer bottles. Why ever would you want to go to Florida?

I actually was waiting for the PNW contingent to bring this up. I lived in Kirkland for a bit and my brother lived in the greater Seattle area for 20 years. He was on something for that seasonable stuff but he's a real touchy-feely kinda guy anyway. I always suspected it was because he hated his work environment and it came out in other ways. Get other hobbies or do work around the house when you can't ride. Keeping busy is the trick.

 

[Uncle Hud]

Get a big topbox and start delivering packages on your FJR.

 

[1911]

Oops! I didn’t mean to start a serious discussion about S.A.D.

Would my tongue-in-cheek intent have come across better if I’d used a different emoto thingy at the end of this sentence?

I’ve not gotten but a single spectacular ride in so far this year

I’ve not gotten but a single spectacular ride in so far this year

I thought mentioning that I’ve already had one great ride in the first couple weeks of the new year would be an obvious stick poke at the snowbound.

Or did my sarcasm come across but cross a line? I note that the serious responses come from folks up north. I’ll assume this SAD stuff is a little more prevalent up yonder. I’ll hope not too many of you are standing at the ledge. Being educated mostly against my will, my first exposure to the phrase “suicide weather” came from noted discusser of serious topics, Robert Earl Keen. I’m not really having bad thoughts. Not even really considering moving to Florida (New Mexico or Arizona maybe).

A couple links to somber discourse on SAD sent me (I posted this in two sandboxes) were eye opening. You guys be careful with that stuff!

Now for a little more positivity, except maybe for those stuck in a fluorescent light, Joe versus the Volcano cubicle life.

Winter in upstate SC is when it pays off to be working the night shift. Highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s is the good stuff, for both riding and playing around the farm. Work outside and play without sweating through your belt. Me and the dog are out running amok while all you day shift types are burning up all the daylight slaving away. No mosquitos, no flies, no snakes.

Playing in the backyard December 26

https://vimeo.com/312666960

A little from our Jan 6, 2019 ride

https://vimeo.com/310269445

We even get in the occasional ride before work and sometimes to work. Not quite as good as retired but it will have to do for now.

REK commentary

 

[SwollenRaccoon]

Cripes, that's beautiful country. You're killing me!

(Not literally, so calm down, everyone. Well, don't take that personally. I'm not telling you how to act, or trying to control you, or putting you under some kind of new-age mind control. Oh, what the hell, don't calm down then! What the f**k do I care?! It's butt-cold outside! Yesterday morning, it was 15 below, today, it's f**king freezing drizzle! So even if I could somehow stand the single digit temperature to ride in, the roads are covered in ice! Get it? I CAN'T RIDE! And it's killing me! Oh, wait, not really. Oh, here we go again......)

As I said, very beautiful.

 

[RBEmerson]

Somehow I think could live with that compromise.

 

[1911]

Get a big topbox and start delivering packages on your FJR.

 

[samamoto]

Yep, in PNW it rains and rains and rains and than it rains again. Not worth coming this way at all. The riding season starts in late July and ends in early August if we're lucky. And even then it rains a lot! Sorry for the late answer to the thread I was busy drying my driveway but it started to rain again...

;-)

 

[harper]

Work week? It seems you've already diagnosed the problem.

 

[Uncle Hud]

Get a big topbox and start delivering packages on your FJR.

Hell yeah, brother! Get paid to RIDE?!?!?! Where do I sign up?

(And lest my sarcasm -- though only slight -- is not recognized ...

)

 

[Mortenk]

Yep, in PNW it rains and rains and rains and than it rains again. Not worth coming this way at all. The riding season starts in late July and ends in early August if we're lucky. And even then it rains a lot! Sorry for the late answer to the thread I was busy drying my driveway but it started to rain again...
;-)

This is what we always tell people. We have enough traffic up here already, and really don't need any more people moving up here. I moved to Seattle from Houston six years ago. Houston actually gets more rain during a normal year, but it comes down in buckets (dangerous riding conditions), while it just drizzles in Seattle for about half the year, with some nice breaks in between really. IMO the area is near perfect for motorcycle riding. Mountains and world class scenery is around every corner, it rarely gets too hot/humid, and snow is very uncommon in the lowlands, and winds are fairly calm most of the year. I commute on my FJR year round, except for maybe a handful of days when my wife talks me into taking the car...but please keep all this a secret folks!