Does the Spyder have any 'Natural Enemies'?

[bushrat]

It’s spring, and a young man’s fancy naturally turns to .................. ryding his Spyder, of course!!!
(Well, at least it’s spring north of the Equator, but Aussies and Kiwis can read on, as well.)

Given my desire to shake off winter blahs and begin fulfilling fantasies of cruising twisting backcountry roads while discovering new bistros, I began going over routine safety and ryding preparations in my mind. This caused me to wonder whether the Spyder had any natural enemies or antagonists? NO, I’m not slyly putting down Harleys, BMW’s or Ninjas. And I’m not thinking of potholes, large rocks, distracted cagers, the occasional jay-walking rodent or misguided moose. What came to mind was more common, domestic, everyday distractions that take attention and time away from Spydering. While otherwise harmless and often beneficial in their own right, these things are downright destructive of Spyder saddle-time. I give you herewith some thoughts on a few of my Spyder’s biggest opponents:


#1 nemesis: the lawnmower. This machine requires hours of my time, and always on bright sunny days; never when it rains! It swallows fuel and oil that could well propel my bike on many a new adventure. Mine is a walk-behind push mower; I don’t even get to ride it. It wears me out, means sweaty work rather than breezy fun. A Grinch of an invention for sure.

#2 is really more in the category of a ‘jealous lover’ more than an enemy; it demands time, care and lots of attention BUT, it does give back a lot of pleasure, kind of equivalent to the bike.... it’s my boat. Since both boating and biking are an ‘orgasmic’ experience for me, it makes for a difficult choice. My boat is a jealous mistress to whom I oftentimes surrender. Nice to get close, whether astride a bike or onboard a boat.

#3, #4, #5 ??? I could think of a few... Maybe the next biggest ‘thief of enjoyment’ is not so much another mechanical object, but more just something that tends to eat up valuable Spyder tyme - - - the dreaded sound of the missus asking: “Honey, would you mind doing.......” There goes another half-day’s riding (or more). Now, lest I be accused of suggesting that my lady is an enemy of my Spyder, I have to hurriedly say that we mostly ryde two-up, and that she loves the experience as much as I. No, the real enemy is simply lack of time; there is a need to build more hours into the day, more sunshine into the weather, grow less grass in my yard. It’s very tough to deny the call of my boat for a day on the water, though, so I guess I will just continue to be a ‘two-timing’ rascal.

Who or what are the enemies of you and your Spyder fun?

[vtown biker]

GOLF-

However I do ride my Spyder to the course.

It’s spring, and a young man’s fancy naturally turns to .................. ryding his Spyder, of course!!!
(Well, at least it’s spring north of the Equator, but Aussies and Kiwis can read on, as well.)

Given my desire to shake off winter blahs and begin fulfilling fantasies of cruising twisting backcountry roads while discovering new bistros, I began going over routine safety and ryding preparations in my mind. This caused me to wonder whether the Spyder had any natural enemies or antagonists? NO, I’m not slyly putting down Harleys, BMW’s or Ninjas. And I’m not thinking of potholes, large rocks, distracted cagers, the occasional jay-walking rodent or misguided moose. What came to mind was more common, domestic, everyday distractions that take attention and time away from Spydering. While otherwise harmless and often beneficial in their own right, these things are downright destructive of Spyder saddle-time. I give you herewith some thoughts on a few of my Spyder’s biggest opponents:


#1 nemesis: the lawnmower. This machine requires hours of my time, and always on bright sunny days; never when it rains! It swallows fuel and oil that could well propel my bike on many a new adventure. Mine is a walk-behind push mower; I don’t even get to ride it. It wears me out, means sweaty work rather than breezy fun. A Grinch of an invention for sure.

#2 is really more in the category of a ‘jealous lover’ more than an enemy; it demands time, care and lots of attention BUT, it does give back a lot of pleasure, kind of equivalent to the bike.... it’s my boat. Since both boating and biking are an ‘orgasmic’ experience for me, it makes for a difficult choice. My boat is a jealous mistress to whom I oftentimes surrender. Nice to get close, whether astride a bike or onboard a boat.

#3, #4, #5 ??? I could think of a few... Maybe the next biggest ‘thief of enjoyment’ is not so much another mechanical object, but more just something that tends to eat up valuable Spyder tyme - - - the dreaded sound of the missus asking: “Honey, would you mind doing.......” There goes another half-day’s riding (or more). Now, lest I be accused of suggesting that my lady is an enemy of my Spyder, I have to hurriedly say that we mostly ryde two-up, and that she loves the experience as much as I. No, the real enemy is simply lack of time; there is a need to build more hours into the day, more sunshine into the weather, grow less grass in my yard. It’s very tough to deny the call of my boat for a day on the water, though, so I guess I will just continue to be a ‘two-timing’ rascal.

Who or what are the enemies of you and your Spyder fun?

[JayBros]

#1 Rule: If it takes more than an hour to mow the lawn, get a bigger mower. A 48" commercial walk behind will solve your problem.

[easysuper]

I thinned the enemies way down by selling the house , buying a 42' fifth wheel RV, and a cargo trailer that will fir my brides and my spyder into. now if I can just hang on for another 6 months my spyder time will greatly increase.
trailer line up.jpg

[UtahPete]

#1 Rule: If it takes more than an hour to mow the lawn, get a bigger mower. A 48" commercial walk behind will solve your problem.

I just got rid of my lawn, and anything else that needs constant attention.

There's not much that competes for riding time in the winter. Summertime, we have camping, fishing ... that's about it! Loving retirement!

[asp125]

1. The other bikes in my stable.
2. Our wonderful dogs, all 4 of them.
3. My honey - although we do spend time on our bikes, she has her own too, so the Spyder sits.

[grieppc]

snow

[ARtraveler]

My enemy, currently the unseasonably cold and damp spring. I have lost a whole month of riding so far.

[vtown biker]

Do you ride south much?

My enemy, currently the unseasonably cold and damp spring. I have lost a whole month of riding so far.

[bushrat]

snow

could depend on one's point of view - see:

[bushrat]

1. The other bikes in my stable.
2. Our wonderful dogs, all 4 of them.
3. My honey - although we do spend time on our bikes, she has her own too, so the Spyder sits.

re your point #2... here's a dog that loves his Spyder; see -

https://www.facebook.com/EpochTimesC...225830369/?t=4

https://www.facebook.com/EpochTimesC...25830369/?t=16

[asp125]

re your point #2... here's a dog that loves his Spyder; see -

https://www.facebook.com/EpochTimesC...wMTU1MjM5NjA3/

Yes, but with 4 large dogs. I've wondered if there's a trailer that can haul 270lbs of dogs.

[bushrat]

sounds like a matter of "if you build it, they will ryde"

[ARtraveler]

Do you ride south much?

I am getting ready to bail and move to Arkansas next summer.

[mark4Jesus]

Overtime! Money is good, but sometimes just not worth it.

[bcer960]

WORK

That's 40 hours a week i can't ride. although, wouldn't have the spyder without it

[Pirate looks at --]

Gravel roads!

[PistonBlown]

Answers to your issues....

#1 I pay someone $25 a week to mow mine - worth every cent as it used to take me two hours not including repairing the sodding thing after it had overheated, snapped a belt, got a puncture etc.

#2 Get a seadoo, tow it behind the Spyder, problem solved:-)

#3 earplugs?


In my case work, followed by work and then work.

[bcer960]

Gravel roads!

Good one.

[Bob Denman]

WORK

That's 40 hours a week i can't ride. although, wouldn't have the spyder without it

[Gilda]

I thinned the enemies way down by selling the house , buying a 42' fifth wheel RV, and a cargo trailer that will fir my brides and my spyder into. now if I can just hang on for another 6 months my spyder time will greatly increase.
trailer line up.jpg

I love your dog trailer!! What make? Where did you get it?
Thanks!
Pam

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

occasionally the jealous wife is a fierce enemy of the .

[easysuper]

I love your dog trailer!! What make? Where did you get it?
Thanks!
Pam

It was custom made, but the company no-longer exist, but if you look up easyridercamper.com I think they make one just like it. It was spendy but our English Setter is well protected and worth it. We do not like leaving her behind as we had a very bad experience one time doing that with another dog. She has over 10,000 miles of riding in her trailer, well vented and a 4" memory foam mattress and 2' ridged foam insulation.

[gnorthern]

I just got rid of my lawn, and anything else that needs constant attention.

There's not much that competes for riding time in the winter. Summertime, we have camping, fishing ... that's about it! Loving retirement!

Same here. I highly recommend it.

[Musashi]

The wife and I both have bikes and we are now down to 1 cage. So I ride the Spyder for many local errands, part-time work, etc. thanks to the ample storage on an RT.

We're moving from a 2300 sf house w/ a 3/4 acre yard in TX to a 1700 sf house with about an 1800 sf yard in FL right now. So my 4-5 hrs/week in yard work with serious power tools is dropping to 1 with a push-mower. My wife does all the gardening in flower beds and what not. She enjoys it.

I actually love fishing and hunting more than riding. These are the biggest resource demands in my life, and my part-time work is switching from firearms safety and defensive tactics training to fishing with the move (a huge improvement). For me, these don't "steal" from riding. If anything, it would be the opposite.

Living in TX and FL, weather is rarely a deal-killer for riding. Heavy rain changes the calculus, but we ride 12 months/year. No pets or kids. Watering plants is on a sprinkler system. House plants are dry climate stuff. So we can take off and go when we please for weeks at a time.

It has taken several years to adjust, but I think we've about got it where we want it as of next month.