Have you ever considered giving up riding?

[Conquiztador]

I was sitting here pondering (as you do after a JD or two...) about my biking. And I started thinking back on how life has panned out. There has been travel, change of countries, relationships, a marriage, and now single parenthood.

But I dont think I have for one moment ever thought of giving biking up. Never crossed my mind.

Yes, there has been times when I have not been on a bike, and even short periods I have had no bike that has been working. But giving up... nope.

I have at the odd occasion seen threads started on here by riders who have decided to not ride again...

How could you do that when it is your blood??

Have you ever gotten close to giving up? (as you are reading this I assume you have NOT given up, probably need to go to that other side "ExBiker.com" to find them...)

[Jerry74]

I did for ten years - oh my god why?????

[smoky]

NO











But my wife has considered it on my behalf

[Nagash]

Err, when I was first learning to ride, it was during winter and I was having aparticularly bad period. Dropped it at low speed maybe.. 4 times in 6 months.

Was seriously thinking if biking really wasn't for me, but I kept at it and haven't since considered stopping. Still haven't driven a cage as of yet, so that's not too bad I reckon..

[alanzs]

Never really thought about giving it up. Even after a serious crash, I remember thinking how long will it be before I can ride again.

Sometimes when I am riding and its really cold and I am freezing my balls off, I think how it might be nice to be warm.

I can't ride for about a month, and it really sucks. I even cleaned and polished the bike. Riding is in my blood. Live to ride, ride to eat, ride to live, eat to ride. Something like that.

[Conquiztador]

NO

But my wife has considered it on my behalf


Ai, so considerate creatures they can be...

[beyond]

yep, all the time.
I love riding and yes I couldn't think of anything worse than not riding again.
BUT: if you ride slow or ride fast or ride careful.... you are at high risk all the time. That's a sad fact and one I don't like to dwell on. For the sake of my wife and daughter, then yes I should give up, but how? I certainly can't and yet I still hope to leave this life in my sleep at a ripe old age which is why I posted this some time ago:

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=75347

[dino3310]

well bro, i didn't have my own ride for 15 years with my first missus, i was lucky enough to have mates that would let me have the odd blat.
no matter how hard i tried not to think about riding, ya just cant. it can even make ya feel a little depressed. no matter what ya ride i think once you get the bug you always have the bug weather you hang out for a ride or just fancy a play every now and then or just admire from a far the bugs still there.
Ride on.

[dino3310]

yep, all the time.
I love riding and yes I couldn't think of anything worse than not riding again.
BUT: if you ride slow or ride fast or ride careful.... you are at high risk all the time. That's a sad fact and one I don't like to dwell on. For the sake of my wife and daughter, then yes I should give up, but how? I certainly can't and yet I still hope to leave this life in my sleep at a ripe old age which is why I posted this some time ago:

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=75347

kinda know what ya mean i got five rug rats.
even though theres a heightened risk on a bike theres a risk of the inevitable
no matter what your riding/driving.
lifes to short to dwell on the inevitable i just do my best to be safe an enjoy it while i can.

[Motu]

Sometimes I don't ride for a while....sometimes I stop working on my bikes....but I don't stop thinking bikes.

[justsomeguy]

Yes. YES. YES!!!

I wish I was rich. Then I would go race cars in my free time and would never have discovered bikes.

Bikes are so bloody dangerous.

But then I would have never felt what it would be like to enter Jennian at 200 totally blind, smile knowing that my past lap felt just perfect, time myself from one end of Scenic Drive to the other, spend all day racing your mates around the Loop and at night when you know there will be less police in the country, get a chance to meet so many nice people and make so many friends...

I also would never had to learn what it feels like when you know you've just past that point of no return and a bed at the hospital or morgue awaits you. Seen your friends dead on the road, the aftermath of your friends dying on the road, see parents bury their children, see your parents look at your broken unconscious face. Have your non-biker friends ask you "WHY?" with a level of seriousness only non-biking people can muster.

I'm bikeless at the moment and have no realistic idea when I'll have another one. I can't really afford to ride the way I do but I can't bear riding any other way either.

The worst thing is I can't seem to find anything to replace biking with. Damn bikes, they are worse than women.

DON'T click this to visit this site. (http://ride2die.com)

DON'T click this to watch this. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJvakt5MzWY)

I'm currently saving up to buy my second Gixxer Thou (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvzT3r2R1V8) :(

[swbarnett]

I did for ten years - oh my god why?????
Ditto.

13 years in my case.

Why? Changed countries to one with an awesome public transport system. Combine that with the fact that I arrived in the middle of winter to a decent amount of snow and by summer I'd gotten out of the habit. It wasn't until two years ago with the petrol price starting to climb that I got back on. I instantly rediscovered what I'd been missing. Can't wait for my wife to finish her PhD and get a job so I can upgrade.

I will never be without a bike again. I will probably even ride to my own funeral!

[Blackbird]

Stopped riding when I first got married, moved to NZ and had kids, simply seemed too busy (and maybe short of cash :yes:). All that changed in 1987 when I went to Auckland to pick up a yacht sail. Right next door was a Honda shop and in the window under spotlights was this brand new stunning midnight blue metallic GB400. I was smitten all over again and after some tricky negotiations with Mrs B, ended up buying it.

Haven't been without a bike since then and simply couldn't be without one. I'm 60 now, and the family are financially secure so there's no worry from that angle. I have thought about my own mortality or risk of serious injury but have come to the conclusion that playing safe and giving up bikes would be like losing part of my soul and that's not what living is all about. I'm a lucky guy because my family totally understands.

[portokiwi]

After my 2nd crash I did for 12 years, Getting hit by drunk drivers do that to you and it was 2nd by drunks that gave me the shakes. I had a 150 trail in Afghanistan but that was just for around the compound.
It was my brother in law (Thanks Andre) in Portugal that got me back onto bikes. But he knew not to push me when riding after dark. Still that a few years ago and I am back on bikes and loving it.:scooter: just as not as fast as i use to.

[NZsarge]

The only reasons that I can think of off hand (although it's not something that bears thinking about) are financial hardship or it being too painful via an accident or whatever.

[McJim]

Selling one bike. If I get enough I won't have to sell the other bike.

Not giving up - selling up.

Rather than give up though I think a lot of riders should just buy a slower bike. I'm happy with my choice f'rinstance. 53hp at the wheel. It really is enough for the open road. For decades bikers lived on 50hp bikes and enjoyed them. all these race bred 750's thou's and more are too rich for my blood. Too easy to go far too fast. My rush is cornering though - not straightline speed.

[old git]

I'd rather be dead.

[Blackshear]

Selling one bike. If I get enough I won't have to sell the other bike.

Not giving up - selling up.

Rather than give up though I think a lot of riders should just buy a slower bike. I'm happy with my choice f'rinstance. 53hp at the wheel. It really is enough for the open road. For decades bikers lived on 50hp bikes and enjoyed them. all these race bred 750's thou's and more are too rich for my blood. Too easy to go far too fast. My rush is cornering though - not straightline speed.

YES!!!
I know i'm a squid and all in this game, but 45hp is enough for me! (At least for a year and a half :shifty:) And far too often find myself creeping up to 70, without noticing. Far too much concentration on the road to listen for changing engine notes. Even in my *considerably* short 6th gear, it takes all of 2 seconds to lose my license if caught.
How the hell do you guys keep so much power tucked away (Most of the time).

I hate you all, secretly.

[dino3310]

YES!!!
I know i'm a squid and all in this game, but 45hp is enough for me! (At least for a year and a half :shifty:) And far too often find myself creeping up to 70, without noticing. Far too much concentration on the road to listen for changing engine notes. Even in my *considerably* short 6th gear, it takes all of 2 seconds to lose my license if caught.
How the hell do you guys keep so much power tucked away (Most of the time).

I hate you all, secretly.

it's not the size its how you use it.:bleh:

[Pogo2]

NO











But my wife has considered it on my behalf

Must be the twin of my wife. She's forever trying!

[Blackshear]

it's not the size its how you use it.:bleh:
With my forefinger and thumb. :headbang:

[Slingshot]

I've only seriously considered giving up riding once.

After the untimely death of Uncle Bruce. At the time, my wife was about 6 months pregnant and I did some real soul searching. In the end, it was her that convinced me not to sell the bike and give up.

It's funny how non-riders don't understand the passion that motorcyclists have for riding (speaking generally).

At the moment I'm pretty much just commuting but I get my fix from racing buckets once a month.

[scumdog]

Every time I go to a fatal/serious bike crash it flits through my mind, once I've ridden about 10km the thought has flitted out of my pea-nut brain and I cease to worry about it.

[scumdog]

YES!!!
I know i'm a squid and all in this game, but 45hp is enough for me! (At least for a year and a half :shifty:) And far too often find myself creeping up to 70, without noticing. Far too much concentration on the road to listen for changing engine notes. Even in my *considerably* short 6th gear, it takes all of 2 seconds to lose my license if caught.
How the hell do you guys keep so much power tucked away (Most of the time).

I hate you all, secretly.

Meh, after a bit you get to 'know' your bike and get into the zone, then you never have to consciously think about what speed you're doing etc.

Of course I ride a cruiser so it's easier for me.

[saul]

Used to take my lad out on the back with me, I dont do that anymore.

Always good to reflect and see what is important. :hug:

[FJRider]

Every time I go to a fatal/serious bike crash it flits through my mind, once I've ridden about 10km the thought has flitted out of my pea-nut brain and I cease to worry about it.

And EVERY time I go to a funeral, with the helmet being lowered down with the coffin (not necessarily caused by a motorcycle accident), I wonder when its going to be my turn. After an off and I break something (on me or the bike) I think about it.
EVERYBODY DOES...for a while, then they go for a ride. The first question to the doctors...when can I ride again ???

[Bruiser]

After my biggie, almost 3 years ago now, I lost "it". Lying in hospital for a month, and another 2 years recovering at home, I had too much time to think, and those are lonely, painful memories.

You lie there willing yourself to remember the good rides, the exhilaration, the pure joy of laying a 700lb bike around the twisties, the laughs with a dozen othes in the outside cafe as our bikes pink and gleam on the opposite side of the street, passers-by wowing and photographing our steeds.

But you can't help but think, "I could so easily have bought it, this time". Just to remind myself, a mate, who like me, was married, kids, own business, lost his life at a railway crossing. This was a week after he'd visited with others as I lay in hospital. Couldn't even go to the send-off for him!

Two years on, the new gleaming, better-than-new beast glares at me every time I painfully get in the car to attend yet another physio appointment, daring me to get my shit together, lift her off the stand, spin that v-twin and hear and feel the gorgeous throb.

Then I place it back on the stand, wonder if or when I'll ever feel ready to do that bike justice again. Yes, confidence is mistress you can never control. You want to ride, you need to ride, but something deep, brooding, holds you back. You excuse your loss of confidence as just "my leg isn't up to it", or "one day soon", and yes, you wonder if it is all worthwhile.

Yes I considered selling, moving onto something more safe, respectible, start acting my 50-mumble years.

The day I overcame my fears, took a deep breath and rode my bike again, all the fears disappeared. Yes I still have confidence issues, I defy anyone who has experienced such any accident that costs you a lifetime of pain, the loss of your business, pushed your body and mind to limits never believed possible, to not have a gut-wrencher every time you lift the bike off the stand.

But I love riding that bike more than I even realised, and I live for the times where I can ride the wide-open roads. The constant throb in my crushed leg simply reminds me that I am alive, and to enjoy every second!

[Pedrostt500]

I gave up for about 10 yrs after a bad low speed crash, found I had lost my self confidence in cornering, geuss I thought to much about the bin, and it got to me, back riding, no where as near as hard core, and happy to play at low speeds.

[Duke girl]

I gave up riding for 20 yrs due to getting married, having 2 daughters and running a business and that was the 1 thing in my life I never ever thought I would do as I have always been around motorbikes my whole life and am very passionate about them. I raced back in the 80's for a few yrs and then gave that up due to fallin pregnant with my first child. That was the start of no longer owning or riding a motorbike. I am now pleased to say that I am now back riding thanks to my wonderful partner and it feels so great to be finally back in the riders seat instead of being on the back. I was amazed at how quick riding a motorcycle comes back to you and I now feel like I have never really been away from it. I hope to get out riding as much as I can once this blessed weather improves as I have alot of lost time to make up for.

[beyond]

Some bloody good responses on this thread.
I was out of biking for about 25 years due to mortgages, kids etc.
Now that I'm back into it for three years it's exactly like you never stopped riding and it does all come back so soon.

Yep, a bin plays with your mind. It takes a while to get your confidence back or "mojo" as some call it. I went like a nana the first month or so after getting my bike back and my ankle sorted. I've has some real bad ones in my teens and it didn't seem to affect me as much back then as it did the last time recently.

From all the posts it is clear that motorcyling is addictive. If any of us give up we are going to have to go through cold turkey, pure and simple :)

Hell, the weather has been such crap most weeks I am suffering from cold turkey anyway.

[DarkLord]

After I wrote off my first bike in a crash and spent the following week dealing with the sobering reality that I wasn't quite as awesome as I thought I was and all of the insurance bullshit, I considered getting myself a cage instead.

But it just did not sit right with me, I knew it wasn't the right thing to do, especially when another bike came up that was newer and better and that my insurance payout would just cover.

Once that happened I knew that it was not only the right thing to keep riding but that I'll probably ride for the rest of my life.

:scooter:

[avgas]

i managed 18 months once. But i imagine my future may have a longer period in mind for me to be bikeless.

[toebug]

I'm not so sure you can give up! Reading the posts it seems most of us have times when we have "gone without" but we all seems to come back. I've had a few bins, the last about 2 years ago which was my first with kids and a mortgage, It shook my confidence but I just went and bought a slow bike and rode that for 6 months.

But at the end of the day I'm pretty sure I have a addiction, and there are no rehab clinics for this one, nor should there be!

[Jantar]

I haven't ridden a bike since 25th May. That's 13 weeks tomorrow that I've given up.

However, tomorrow afternoon the bike comes out from undercover and gets a good clean and check over. Sometime this coming week will be my first (tentative) ride to the end of our driveway and back, then within another week, back to regular commuting and rebuilding my skills. :ride: :2thumbsup

[Blackbird]

I haven't ridden a bike since 25th May. That's 13 weeks tomorrow that I've given up.


That's because Alexandra has been under 2 m of snow all that time:2thumbsup

[Jantar]

I wish. Plenty of snow on the hills, but none on the ground at all. Weeks of lovely motorcyling weather wasted.

[Highlander]

So how is the shoulder healing Jantar?


I had 12 years "between bikes" thought about it nearly every sunny day. Regularly talked about getting back on.

[Joni]

Yes!

And at the risk of another KB flaming, Im still in that zone.

Has not stopped me from loving bikes, being around them... in fact I could never have a life without bikes.

However 3 people, 2 in South Africa and Loosebruce passing away has really shook me up. Where I used to get on a bike and be ok, I now get on one and Im scared, and I mean deep down petrified... If Clive can die, anyone can, he was one of the best riders I have ever seen, I am a novice compared to him...

Something clicked in me, that I have not managed to unclick it yet!

I'll get there... love them too much to not ride ever again... but for now Im hiding in a comfort zone. :(

[Jantar]

So how is the shoulder healing Jantar?...

I'll be able to answer that better next weekend. At the moment I believe I Have regained sufficient strength to wheel the bike out of the shed, so should be riding within a week. Then to build up strength, skills etc ready for next year's Southern Cross.

[Disco Dan]

Hmm okay, thought I should post in here...

I have always been a huge fan of mini's (the cars and the skirts). After owning close to 15 different cars in about 10 years with 4 of them being mini's I went and got a bike. Four bikes later and I saw a mint cooper on trademe and within 2 hours my ZX11 was on trademe and sold. It was a easy decision.

My family (in England) have always been motorcyclists and my Dad used to be a courier in his younger days on his Goldwing Interstate. He told me lot's of stories of him traveling across Europe for various jobs on it. It was also a one of a kind in the country.

However my uncle lost his life to motorcycles and my parents where very upset when I arrived home one day on a motorbike.

When I began getting all the training I could get my paws on they saw I was making a good go of it and being safe etc they felt much better. Then when I started the AWNMR they were almost comfortable with me riding!

But when I visited my parents in my new mini cooper after selling the rocket ship that was the ZX11 the look on their faces said it all....

When your own mother is unable to sleep properly at night for fear of the "phone call" it just wasn't fair on her.

I have been into mini's for much longer than bikes, and know my way around a mini better than a bike!

I remember one weekend three friends of mine had their bikes itching for a good ride (blackbird - xxxblackbirdxxx and ZX11 - astrocat). So we left Auckland - the two bikes and me in my mini following down to Big Bay (http://maps.google.com/maps?daddr=271+Big+Bay+Rd,+Rd+4,+Waiuku,+Awhitu+Pe ninsula,+New+Zealand+(Big+Bay+Motor+Camp)&geocode=835706066444522819,-37.043000,174.642000&dirflg=&saddr=Auckland,+Auckland,+New+Zealand&f=d&dq=big+bay&sll=-36.847385,174.765735&sspn=0.39123,0.24747&cid=-37043000,174642000,5461422480870673743&ie=UTF8&ll=-37.068328,174.851532&spn=0.793337,1.032715&z=10). Awesome twisty roads, and yes I had no chance on the straights but on the corners I kept up. I still laugh when my friends tell people how they stopped at a gravel turn off (to our batch) ...I came zooming around the corner and saw them stopped, handbraked turned and slid around the corner doing at least 100kph right past them down the turn off. They told me later that the look on my face was amazing - flicking the car around and the whole time looking as cool as a cucumber as if it was nothing.

That same trip, on our way back to Auckland I managed to force one of my tires off the rim from going too fast sidways around a corner... I had forgotten my jack... so we loosened the wheel nuts and two of them lifted the mini onto two wheels - spare tire went on, nuts went on and they let the mini down. The looks on peoples faces was fantastic!!

For those of you that have never had 'the pleasure' of being in or driving these classics they are truly amazing and still ahead of their time even by todays modern car standards.

So as you can see - the decision for me to sell my bike was an easy one. But i'll be back... when I can afford to run two vehicles at the same time i'll no doubt buy another bike. Probably a blackbird or a concourse.

See my profile for a picture... (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/member.php?u=8187)

And even more pictures here: http://homepages.xnet.co.nz/~dsoutham/Site/Home.html

[FJRider]

After I wrote off my first bike in a crash and spent the following week dealing with the sobering reality that I wasn't quite as awesome as I thought I was and all of the insurance bullshit, I considered getting myself a cage instead.

But it just did not sit right with me, I knew it wasn't the right thing to do, especially when another bike came up that was newer and better and that my insurance payout would just cover.

Once that happened I knew that it was not only the right thing to keep riding but that I'll probably ride for the rest of my life.

:scooter:

Self proclaimed awesomeness comes with lack of age and experience... you either GROW out of it, or DIE of it...

[FJRider]

That's because Alexandra has been under 2 m of snow all that time:2thumbsup

Not sure how much... the guage was buried in snow...

[TLDV8]

No,maybe tomorrow,who knows.
What i do know now is, life is not short (generally) but it is a one shot item and even with the risks involved i have no intention of wrapping myself in cotton wool when you can live it in Colour.

Yesterday was a 600 km round trip on the DR to the Oenpelli community in Arnhem Land.
Guess what that is in the red circle sitting out in the middle of the Cahill Crossing on the way back :laugh: life be in it even if sometimes it has big teeth.

[Henk]

Left the bike sitting for about 18 months once, can't remember why.

[Big Dog]

I gave up riding once.
Reason? To spend more time with my kids and eventually have them live with me.
Those were the six hardest years of my life.
Every day was a constant challenge not to find some crackpot way I could have a bike.
When I finally got another bike I thought I would keep my car. I love my falcons, after 6 months of not driving it decided it had to go.

Will I ever be without a bike again? Who knows what the future holds, but should that ever be the case you can bet I will be scheming right from day one how to get back on something with two wheels and an engine.

Having to humble myself to commuting on the scooter to afford to keep the busa has alos taught me a new lesson. There is a greater challenge to a smaller bike and no real shame just small minded peers.

[Big Dog]

So how is the shoulder healing Jantar?


I had 12 years "between bikes" thought about it nearly every sunny day. Regularly talked about getting back on.
Just the sunny days? No wonder you lasted so long! Even in the wet I longed to answer the call of the wild.

[phantom]

gave up after being bowled on a roundabout 30 odd years ago, got back into it again after about 5 years , then had to sell it due to an " unsatisfactory financial postion ". Back yet again a few years ago , but even with the absences motorbikes have always stayed in my mind. Occasionaly have rides when I ride like crap and wonder whether it's for me but as long as I accept that I ride like a Nana all is good:sunny:

[swbarnett]

My father rode heavily in his youth (50s) and gave up when he got married. When I started university in 82 he encouraged me to get a bike. When I moved up from the CB125T he kept it and commuted on it for a few years until he was side swiped and ended up with a compound fracture in the lower left leg and a resultant embolism that nearly killed him. The bike was written off and he's not been on one since. He has no problem with me being on one though (and neither does my Mother).

[imdying]

No, haven't considered giving up... but have realised that there are plenty of things as much as if not more enjoyable as riding bikes. Bikes are fun, but they're far from the be all and end all of life.

[Evo1132]

Probably stop for a while when I hav babies, coz ma leathers wont fit me, lol, and of course the safety of the wee one, but should be about it, hopefully

[gunrunner]

No , But i have considered giving up working:scooter:

[Bloody Mad Woman (BMW)]

Stopped for 13 years - got rid of a husband and bought a bike - best deal I ever did. Now I am not allowed to ride - doctor's orders - so haven't ridden since May - I know my health does not allow it - the only time I cried since being diagnosed was when Col took my bike away to garage it. Remove the temptation of me riding. I miss my bike so much but I will ride again. No two ways about it. At Christmas I hope to pack up my tent and airbed, hop on the bike and go up the east cape again. Aaah freedom.

[roadracingoldfart]

Stopped for 13 years - got rid of a husband and bought a bike - best deal I ever did. Now I am not allowed to ride - doctor's orders - so haven't ridden since May - I know my health does not allow it - the only time I cried since being diagnosed was when Col took my bike away to garage it. Remove the temptation of me riding. I miss my bike so much but I will ride again. No two ways about it. At Christmas I hope to pack up my tent and airbed, hop on the bike and go up the east cape again. Aaah freedom.

That sounds like an awesome plan for a trip . you go for it and i hope its fun and sunny .

I gave up racing last year and it was mainly due to my fear for my safety and the future of my wife and my kids. Now i have the delemma of having a lovely person race my bike for me and take all the risks . :( . I crashed several times on the road and have never been badly injured (but i was badly hurt friggen heaps) .

The sadest thing about giving it all up would be if i didnt still have involvment . Its a wonderfull sport / activity to be part of and i will never leave it for that reason but i dont think i will ever pull the cow skins on again ( especially on the road) full time. But i said that in 1995 as well so who knows lol.

Paul.