otter28169
New member
I am sitting here this morning in an empty house (wife and kids went with her 2 sisters to visit mom overnight) drinking my coffee and thinking. I have passed the 5000 mile mark with "The Mistress" and my thoughts on riding, among other things, have changed since the first time I sat down on "MY" spyder.
I used to think that I was going to wait for the roads to be washed clean of salt before I would ride in the spring. I have since come to the realization that we didn't get this machine to watch it sit in a garage. I have also realized that you can wash a spyder in 45 degree weather, but if you are really smooth you will put it in your shop with a kerosene heater to dry it.
I used to think that the rain was no fun to ride in, and would spend time watching the weather. I came to the conclusion this week that I need to get rain gear. In my opinion riding in the rain is now a lot of fun, and that I should get some rain gear so that I can fully enjoy it. If you can stay dry, you can enjoy the fact that you are not having to deal with the bugs on your visor.
I also used to think that riding was not really any fun unless someone else was riding with you. Since the spyder I have realized that sometimes a short trip (less than 2 hours) by myself out and around my area is sometimes the perfect way to mellow out on a Sunday afternoon.
I used to think that riding with a passenger was uncomfortable, at best, and was only done when there was a need to get a non-rider from point "a" to point "b". Now I look forward to the times when my wife or my daughter can ride along.
I used to think that my ownership of a spyder might keep me from spending time with the kids when I wanted to go. Now I realize that my 10 year old daughter is growing up too fast and the spyder is my secret weapon in the battle to spend more time with her. As she gets older she is wanting to do things that are more "girly" and things like fishing, hiking, gardening, football, and jigsaw puzzles are becoming less interesting to her. Whenever I ask her to go for a ride on the spyder, I am guaranteed at least a couple of hours of her and I doing something fun together.
I used to think that you should not ride a toy like a spyder to work, as mundane trips like that will decrease the joy of riding. Now I look forward to my 20 mile commute at each end of the day. Granted, it is no joyride but it is better than spending that time in a cage.
I used to think that owning a spyder might seperate me from the motorcycle crowd of riders I have normally ridden with. Absolutely untrue, as I still ride with the group I have always ridden with, and it has only gotten bigger since I joined spyderlovers.
I used to think there was nothing, other than snowmobiling that could ever really hold my interest. I liked riding my motorcycle, but had nowhere near the level of obsession that I do with the spyder. I have a pretty severe case of ADD and my wife assumed that I would get the spyder and become board with it within a couple weeks. Now I spend a good bit of my time trying to figure out ways to work my spyder into more aspects of my life.
I used to think that motorcyclists who revved up their bikes before down-shifting were just showing off, boy was I ever ignorant.
pps:
I used to think I was going to have to buy a dune buggy, or one of those off-road go-karts with the 800cc engine just to have a little fun during the summer. The only reason I never bought a four-wheeler, or one of the above mentioned toys, was that there is no trail system for them. I assumed that to get my trail ride fix I was going to have to do it on a snowmobile. Now I just pick one of the many billions of miles of "trails" our taxes pay for and go.
I used to worry that I would want to go way to fast all the time if I got a spyder. Now I realize that sometimes cruising a little slower is better, because the trip will take longer.
But enough about me; What have you learned?
Just sayin'............
I used to think that I was going to wait for the roads to be washed clean of salt before I would ride in the spring. I have since come to the realization that we didn't get this machine to watch it sit in a garage. I have also realized that you can wash a spyder in 45 degree weather, but if you are really smooth you will put it in your shop with a kerosene heater to dry it.
I used to think that the rain was no fun to ride in, and would spend time watching the weather. I came to the conclusion this week that I need to get rain gear. In my opinion riding in the rain is now a lot of fun, and that I should get some rain gear so that I can fully enjoy it. If you can stay dry, you can enjoy the fact that you are not having to deal with the bugs on your visor.
I also used to think that riding was not really any fun unless someone else was riding with you. Since the spyder I have realized that sometimes a short trip (less than 2 hours) by myself out and around my area is sometimes the perfect way to mellow out on a Sunday afternoon.
I used to think that riding with a passenger was uncomfortable, at best, and was only done when there was a need to get a non-rider from point "a" to point "b". Now I look forward to the times when my wife or my daughter can ride along.
I used to think that my ownership of a spyder might keep me from spending time with the kids when I wanted to go. Now I realize that my 10 year old daughter is growing up too fast and the spyder is my secret weapon in the battle to spend more time with her. As she gets older she is wanting to do things that are more "girly" and things like fishing, hiking, gardening, football, and jigsaw puzzles are becoming less interesting to her. Whenever I ask her to go for a ride on the spyder, I am guaranteed at least a couple of hours of her and I doing something fun together.
I used to think that you should not ride a toy like a spyder to work, as mundane trips like that will decrease the joy of riding. Now I look forward to my 20 mile commute at each end of the day. Granted, it is no joyride but it is better than spending that time in a cage.
I used to think that owning a spyder might seperate me from the motorcycle crowd of riders I have normally ridden with. Absolutely untrue, as I still ride with the group I have always ridden with, and it has only gotten bigger since I joined spyderlovers.
I used to think there was nothing, other than snowmobiling that could ever really hold my interest. I liked riding my motorcycle, but had nowhere near the level of obsession that I do with the spyder. I have a pretty severe case of ADD and my wife assumed that I would get the spyder and become board with it within a couple weeks. Now I spend a good bit of my time trying to figure out ways to work my spyder into more aspects of my life.
I used to think that motorcyclists who revved up their bikes before down-shifting were just showing off, boy was I ever ignorant.
pps:I used to think I was going to have to buy a dune buggy, or one of those off-road go-karts with the 800cc engine just to have a little fun during the summer. The only reason I never bought a four-wheeler, or one of the above mentioned toys, was that there is no trail system for them. I assumed that to get my trail ride fix I was going to have to do it on a snowmobile. Now I just pick one of the many billions of miles of "trails" our taxes pay for and go.
I used to worry that I would want to go way to fast all the time if I got a spyder. Now I realize that sometimes cruising a little slower is better, because the trip will take longer.
But enough about me; What have you learned?
Just sayin'............
