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Have I lost it?

We just had another bout of snow, high winds, freezing rain, so I had to cage it again. If I am running really late sometimes I will also drive, but I make up for it by getting bulky groceries and such.
Between the weather and the insane workload which is the norm of late, sometimes it seems better to drive anyway, as the current situation makes me a bit of a zombie in the morning.
OTOH, even when it is in the teens, but no ice, I really would rather ride. I am more awake, alert, and in a better mood whenever I arrive at work, or anywhere else, on two wheels.
I find the car tends to make my mind dull and lazy.
Perhaps because I spent many years carless, it is just typical for me to use a bike for mundane things. My bikes have always had, among others, a very utilitarian aspect to them. Riding is a very normal state for me.
 
Be nice, I am not referring to my mind (Of all the things I have lost, I miss my mind the most).

It's a beautiful day today and I took the car to work.

Let me explain. I live 15 minutes from my store. The temps this morning are high 30's low 40's. I just can't bring myself to take the 10 minutes to put the liner in the coat and gear up for a 15 minute ride. Coming home it would be the opposite.

And now I feel guilty. I feel like I shouldn't let the bike sit and I shouldn't mind the hassle as long as I get some saddle time. Have I lost the spark?

Is it just me or do others feel the same way?

Let's look at this another way.

It is not yet May and riding skills are as rusty as a cast iron pot left out in the snow.

Get some practice, take your time, learn to watch for cagers that cannot see motorcyclists. Come back at the end of May and report. :thumb
 
My 2 cents

Commuting on a bike is not my idea of fun riding. Finding a quiet back road with lots of curves, now that's just good mental health care.
I went from being a high miler 20,000 per year to 2,000 a year just by moving across the country to where good roads were out my back door not 200 miles away (Houston).
Sometimes if you don't feel like riding DON'T, wait for that feeling to pass, it will.
 
Be nice, I am not referring to my mind (Of all the things I have lost, I miss my mind the most).

It's a beautiful day today and I took the car to work.

Let me explain. I live 15 minutes from my store. The temps this morning are high 30's low 40's. I just can't bring myself to take the 10 minutes to put the liner in the coat and gear up for a 15 minute ride. Coming home it would be the opposite.

And now I feel guilty. I feel like I shouldn't let the bike sit and I shouldn't mind the hassle as long as I get some saddle time. Have I lost the spark?

Is it just me or do others feel the same way?

Sometimes in the FL summer heat & humidity I take the cage to work and bask in the a/c. I bought a naked bike HD Softtail just for local riding in the summer. Local trips can extend N to Savannah, W to Valdosta, and S to Orlando. I'm looking forward to the Rally in Redmond. Ride Safe :usa :usa
 
I rarely ride to work.

My commute is about 13 miles, 9 of it on Interstate, 1 of it threading my way through an industrial-park. Most days it takes around 15 minutes. As many here have stated, the routine of putting on/taking off the gear often doesn't seem worth it for the short ride, even with the rather nice perk that I can park the bike inside the warehouse when I get there.
Another factor that often discourages me is that I often have no idea what time I'll be going home, or how worn-out I'll feel by then. I'm a field service technician, and every day is different. Getting off at 5 is much more the exception than the rule, and I am often not home until well after dark.

So most days the car is just plain easier, both physically and mentally. But as busy as my personal life has been lately, I'm really wishing that commuting on the bike was easier. While commuting isn't fun, at least I'd be riding more than I am.
 
Is 15 minutes enough time to properly heat up the bike and park it without unnecessary condensation forming in the muffler or engine? I figure if it is less than a 20 minute ride, why bother with the ATGATT as well as prematurely wearing out the machine. Could be wrong, but that's my approach. If you are driving in rush hour traffic, why not reduce your odds of being hurt and continue taking the cage? I don't think that you have lost it.
 
Hey Steve,

Relax, it happens. I think there is an ebb and flow to everything and you're not the first to lose enthusiam for riding. In our part of the country sometimes the "Combat Mentality" necessary for safe riding takes alot of the fun out of it! The population size alone just makes finding peace and enjoyment on a bike very unlikley. I've done everything from short commutes for work, to the absolute combat of a commute to Queens on the Van Wyck, Cross Bronx Exp, and the Belt Pkwy. These days unless it's very early in the morning before the cages really get cranked up I find myself taking the pick up far more often than the bike.
I've got a couple of trips planned for the spring and summer, and I still enjoy riding, but after 40 plus years on a bikes I kind of feel the same way. I'm not selling off my gear yet, but I do find myself grabbing my fishing poles and heading out on the resevoirs alot more often!
 
I use to commute to work on a daily basis and I miss it; it was usually a great way to wake up in the morning. Now my "commute" is 12 paces from my back door to my studio. My yearly milage went WAY down!
 
I have 50miles of mostly slab between work and myself. I leave before 4am. Sometimes I have the urge to ride...sometimes I feel like sitting back with my tea, radio and cruise control.
I never feel guilty, whether I'm in the wind or not. It's my decision...who would want it any other way.
I finish early, and pick up the kids in the sidehack whenever it's nice. So even if during the pre-dawn hours I decide to '4wheel' it, I get to ride at the end of the day.
Do whatever feels 'right'!:evil
 
I find I am driving the van more.

even at 20 MPG, its cost per mile is less than the bike.

commuting on the bike is kind of hard on the clutch and brakes, and we know how much BMW clutch jobs cost, either lots of money or medium amount of money and lots of your time, although I do enjoy working on the bike. Plus I have noticed that things tend to break at the most inopportune time, and usually in threes. (right now it is Mower, final drive pivot bearing and sump pump)

I agree with Paul. SMile day or mile day. If I am not going to get some SMiles, I take the van. I STILL ride every chance for SMiles I get, hot, cold, perfect, even rain. But to/from work, probably went from 100 days a year out of the 200 we work to 50.

If I had a weekend free, I would be strapping on gear and heading OUT!

I took one 20 year break from riding to raise my kid, and I can see where things could happen I might take another break, but always in the back of my mind will be that urge to ride getting stronger the longer I go without.

Rod
 
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