View Full Version : Taking a break from biking?
-Ralph-
14-03-10, 09:59 PM
Have you done it? How do you do it?
I took a 12 year break from biking, but that was necessity because my job required I had a car and I couldn't afford both. After a year or two I'd "kicked the habit" if you like, but always promised myself another bike as soon as I could afford it.
I SORN'ed my SV at the end of October to do some work, new suspension, etc. I'd been toying with buying an off road/adventure bike for at least two years, it's a bit of a hobby dreaming over bikes on autotrader, but never buying anything, and by December I had such two wheel withdrawl symptoms, it drove me to find and buy my XT600, just so I had a bike to ride.
Now I've been working on the SV today, trying to get it roadworthy for the Abersoch run next weekend and even though have the XT I'm absolutely desperate to ride the SV again.
This biking lark is a habit, like an addictive drug! I just can't manage a break from the bike for more than a couple of months, without getting a really frustrated.
Good man, I thought you were going to be a fanny and give it up then.....
454697819
14-03-10, 10:41 PM
I had an accident, then sold the bike because of my wedding and hav ebeen skint ever since, i would call it an enforced break from biking..
frustrated.. ill say
you never give it up.. once a biker your always a biker...
sometimes you do not own or ride a bike but your Still a biker at heart.
dizzyblonde
14-03-10, 10:44 PM
If only men could get pregnant:rolleyes:
demonicus
14-03-10, 11:01 PM
parked my cbr up with a minor fault on the day my eldest was born, 6 years later i told my missus i would not talk to her until i had a bike that worked. cbr was so b^ggered up after 6 years under tarpaulin she bought me an sv, longest time i have been without a bike previously was 6 months in 1990 when i fancied a capri 2.8,dont plan to be without now till i get my motorized scooter in 2041
Dicky Ticker
15-03-10, 09:05 AM
Bit like indicators me---yes--no--yes--no--yes--no--yes. 45years since I got my full,or is that fool,license.Longest time without a bike probably about 3-4years.Currently been riding for the last 10 years and had my present bike for 5years.
Last bikes being an ER5 to get back to grips with it ,SV for 3 years and then Sprint ST.
It might be addictive but till I give up I will not know:)
maviczap
15-03-10, 09:14 AM
Had to sell my GSX750 when I bought my first flat, then had a break of about 10years I suppose before I got something else, sold that then got a little run around, before buying the SV.
When I was bikeless I would always hanker after something when I saw a nice sounding bike. Think it was a copper coloured pinty Sv with a lovely exhaust that made my mind up to get another bike.
But it had to be a V twin.
I had a 2 year break when my kids were small- at the time a large car was more important than the bike. back to normal now they have grown up
kellyjo
15-03-10, 10:34 AM
Last week i had to seriously consider the possibility of selling my bike and it broke my heart just thinking about it :-( There has, thankfully, been a temporary reprieve :-)
Because of the kids routines i have to go a whole 5 consecutive days every fortnight without the chance to ride, and i find that seriously difficult sometimes. I don't think i could take a break, my sanity would seriously suffer!!
my sv was off the road for a month last year because i couldnt afford the insurance, but in the end i just got pi*ssed off not being able to ride it so i wacked it on the credit card!!!
couldnt and wouldnt want to, it is addictive, one of the things i like most about riding a bike is you cant really think of much else when you are doing it, you have to stay focused on riding otherwise you'll prob end up in the bushes. :)
PsychoCannon
15-03-10, 03:07 PM
For the most part yeah :) but I still scare the sh*te out of myself on occasion where I start off from work and get lost in a thought only to then "snap back" to find myself filtering through traffic on the M1 20 miles later and wonder "how the f*rk did I get here"....
I think I'm getting senile already :(
That said I don't think you'll ever be at risk of falling asleep while riding like you can in a car :)
Longest break in the 10 years I've been riding has been about 6 months due to a written off bike and it drove me insane!
Maybe having a car as backup would sate some of the urge as at least you're mobile...but I doubt it will every replace the bike or kill the need for 2 wheels....
I'm like DT - yes, no, yes, no, yes.
Got my full licence in '78. Kids etc got in the way in '82. Dabbled again in the '90's.
Back on two wheels late last summer, and lovin it.
Got a decent car but prefer to use the bike for the buzz!
timwilky
15-03-10, 05:16 PM
I gave up playing with bikes around 1981, ill health forced me to change my life in 2002 and another bike appeared in my garage. Basically I was too busy working to enjoy life.
Dicky Ticker
15-03-10, 05:38 PM
Unfortunately that work thingy interferes with biking,always brilliant weather when at work and naff when you want to go and play. One of the disadvantages not associated with retirement
Unfortunately that work thingy interferes with biking,always brilliant weather when at work and naff when you want to go and play. One of the disadvantages not associated with retirement
A hint of smugness??
Working from home helps - pinching an hour or two isn't too difficult either
andreis
15-03-10, 07:11 PM
For me, this is my first year riding, and my first winter. I couldn't ride during the bad season, and haven't done so for 4 months... Right now, I feel like the weather is playing mind tricks on me as it's still snowing here (and it has never snowed for this long since I can remember). I have dreams almost every night about riding, I try to sedate myself with youtube videos shot on board. I sometimes blow them up full screen, squint my eyes till the room disappears from view and then picture that I'm the one riding..
I know it's sad, but there's nothing that I can do and I do feel some serious withdrawal symptoms and the worst part is I've got a bike, I've got the money to insure, my boss is an ex biker who understands me and lets me skip a couple of hours from work to ride when the weather's fair and the only things keeping me back are the weather and the roads (which I can live with).. And it keeps on snowing just to spite me!!! :(
Impossible to give up.
Money is the only thing that will ever stop me.
Hopefully see you out and about soon 'Ralph dude'. :)
A hint of smugness??
Working from home helps - pinching an hour or two isn't too difficult either
+1
definetly helps.
I have dreams almost every night about riding, I try to sedate myself with youtube videos shot on board. I sometimes blow them up full screen, squint my eyes till the room disappears from view and then picture that I'm the one riding..
pmsl, that is funny sh*t.
to be fair, when im not working or riding or whenever i get a spare minute, im looking at bikes or bike vids or on here.
I had a 9 year break from shortly after first-born child, and was also studying for post-grad exams. I didn't miss riding for quite a while but by the time second-born was 6, I noticed I was looking at bikes on the road, then started buying bike mags, then browsing bike shops then bought a friend's unwanted GSX550 which needed a bare-frame restoration. Rode for a further 13 years regularly until 12 months ago, comminuted leg fracture and am still waiting on broken leg to unite enough to weight-bear. I can tinker but can't test-ride. Very frustrating. People can't understand why I'd even think of getting back on but once it's in the blood...
People can't understand why I'd even think of getting back on but once it's in the blood...
that is very ture.
i was talking to a girl the other day who said her dad was paralised in a bike crash when she was very young, but he still in love with bikes to this day and always tries to go and watch the racing.
pmsl, that is funny sh*t.
to be fair, when im not working or riding or whenever i get a spare minute, im looking at bikes or bike vids or on here.
+1
the only way to stop me riding now is probably to shoot me:smt067and I'm not sure that would work:cool:
-Ralph-
16-03-10, 09:41 PM
Thanks for all the replies and comments guys. :thumright:
The SV breathes for the first time since October! :smt026
It's all back together, running, and waiting for a new tax disk! :D
I'll report back on the new suspension once I've ridden it.
about 6 months due to a written off bike and it drove me insane! Maybe having a car as backup would sate some of the urge as at least you're mobile...but I doubt it will every replace the bike or kill the need for 2 wheels....
I hadn't even been riding for that long, wrote off a bike, and went bezerk for about 3/4 months til I got a new one. Car is little/no consolation, actually I find it just reminds me of the bike and frustrates me more.
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