Fall has fell.

...and with fall comes a bit of doldrums and boredom, and general grumpiness.

I was lurking in the Oilheads forum and having failed to find any thread so lacking in expertise that I could hope to contribute anything, I note that there seems to be some amount of this angst or grumpiness going on.

I would suggest that the season itself is contributing more than its share.

Let's be civil please.

I wish motorcycling would be all about riding. For me it is a lot about projects and maintenance also. I am really not going to be bored in the "off"- season. To an extend - believe it or not - I look forward to the time I cannot ride and do some wrenching on those bikes that need it.

scott.lambert said:

...and with fall comes a bit of doldrums and boredom, and general grumpiness.

I was lurking in the Oilheads forum and having failed to find any thread so lacking in expertise that I could hope to contribute anything, I note that there seems to be some amount of this angst or grumpiness going on.

I would suggest that the season itself is contributing more than its share.

Let's be civil please.

Click to expand...

Been noticing it at work too so must be seasonal and not bike related. IMHO

Fall doldrums

As I get older I find fall riding to be prefferable to riding in 90 degrees. That having been said, I'm a psychologist and with fall/winter comes an increase in Climatic Affective Mood Disorder due in no small part to decreased sunlight. A psychologist I know of in Boston tells me that in the fall/winter months his caseload is 45-60% these folks.

will3hawks said:

As I get older I find fall riding to be prefferable to riding in 90 degrees. That having been said, I'm a psychologist and with fall/winter comes an increase in Climatic Affective Mood Disorder due in no small part to decreased sunlight. A psychologist I know of in Boston tells me that in the fall/winter months his caseload is 45-60% these folks.

Click to expand...

Ah good, maybe you can "lend" me some authority - I'm no psychologist, leaning more toward the patient (client?) end of that spectrum; how does it go? I don't know karate but I know karazy?

Anyway there is sometimes a tendency in myself anyway to shut down and mope - or to spread the misery by being hard to get along with - this is the wrong thing to do.

The right thing to do is go out and go through the motions anyway.
Be nice to people. Act like you're having a wonderful time. Pretend to be enthusiastic.

The truth is you can't really separate thought from behavior - fix your thoughts and you fix your behavior, fix your behavior and guess what? - your thoughts will follow.

will3hawks said:

As I get older I find fall riding to be prefferable to riding in 90 degrees. That having been said, I'm a psychologist and with fall/winter comes an increase in Climatic Affective Mood Disorder due in no small part to decreased sunlight. A psychologist I know of in Boston tells me that in the fall/winter months his caseload is 45-60% these folks.

Click to expand...

I am not a fan of the fall. I have 2 family members that have issues when the days get shorter. One seem to be doing OK this year but the other one has increased her medications and I hope it works. I think this time of the year is when a short hospital stay is frequently required to get some people back on a level keel. Besides, I live in the mountains and a 90 degree day is unusual.

We call it a different name,

We call it Seasonal Affective Disorder Syndrome or SADS. I think it's real. The snake oil salesmen sell a ton of "Sun Lamps" that are supposed to help. I know at Winter Solstice, we have about 6 hours of sunlight. When I traveled the Arctic, I saw a glowing ball off on the horizon for maybe ten minutes, otherwise perpetual night. Then again, in the summer, 24 hours of sunlight.

Winter for me is a complete change of gears. Sometimes I look forward to the change of season and winter. Social habits change and recreation shifts gear. Still nothing better in my opinion on a blizzard day when you can't get to work and you grab your sweetheart and climb under the covers for a day of canoodling.

This year, first year of retirement, firewood is done, sleds ready to go, ice auger has a new plug and fresh fuel but age has gotten to my hands, knees, back etc. more than I ever remember.

I'm not even going to attempt to get my snow blower ready. Every year that I think it's ready to go, same thing happens: Half way through the driveway on the first snow, usually at the road, something breaks.

On the bright side, I have my R1100RT with a wonky tranny and an engine rattle. Add warm shop and a newer TV with a beer fridge that seems to be perpetually full with beer and friends dropping in to get the short, fat,old, bald guy to fix something, anything, I'm good.

Here in New England fall did indeed arrive with a thud. After weeks of slightly above normal temps and sunny days we suddenly got 10 to 15 below normal, frosty nights, and sunny days. The foliage has been spectacular this year, better than I can remember. So what's not to like? I love riding in 45 to 70 degree weather with glorious red and yellow colors all around. (Watch out for those leaves under your wheels!) Unfortunately the leaves are coming down by the bucketful today in a gusty wind tho the temps are supposed to moderate for a while.

I don't ride much in the winter. Salt and sand are slippery and kill motorcycle paint, chrome and alloy. Washing after every ride is a pain. So I find winter-oriented activities and get out and enjoy the snow. The biggest bummer for me is the short days/long nights. So I find winter evening-oriented activities (let's keep it clean, guys) like working DX on my ham radio set.

And when spring comes around it's even better to get back on the RT and ride!

pete
GO RED SOX!

na1g said:

Here in New England fall did indeed arrive with a thud. After weeks of slightly above normal temps and sunny days we suddenly got 10 to 15 below normal, frosty nights, and sunny days. The foliage has been spectacular this year, better than I can remember. So what's not to like? I love riding in 45 to 70 degree weather with glorious red and yellow colors all around. (Watch out for those leaves under your wheels!) Unfortunately the leaves are coming down by the bucketful today in a gusty wind tho the temps are supposed to moderate for a while.

I don't ride much in the winter. Salt and sand are slippery and kill motorcycle paint, chrome and alloy. Washing after every ride is a pain. So I find winter-oriented activities and get out and enjoy the snow. The biggest bummer for me is the short days/long nights. So I find winter evening-oriented activities (let's keep it clean, guys) like working DX on my ham radio set.

And when spring comes around it's even better to get back on the RT and ride!

pete
GO RED SOX!

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Fixed it for ya!

Thanks, sibud! Now see if you can fix the umpires.

pete

scott.lambert said:

Ah good, maybe you can "lend" me some authority - I'm no psychologist, leaning more toward the patient (client?) end of that spectrum; how does it go? I don't know karate but I know karazy?

Anyway there is sometimes a tendency in myself anyway to shut down and mope - or to spread the misery by being hard to get along with - this is the wrong thing to do.

The right thing to do is go out and go through the motions anyway.
Be nice to people. Act like you're having a wonderful time. Pretend to be enthusiastic.

The truth is you can't really separate thought from behavior - fix your thoughts and you fix your behavior, fix your behavior and guess what? - your thoughts will follow.

Click to expand...

It is just Joplin, we need to move away. Either to year round riding, or to someplace with snow
Ha

Rod