Decisions, decisions

I got together with a group of riding friends last week when one friend came into town on work-related business.  As he was driving up from Ohio, Chris made a bunch of calls in hopes we’d meet him for dinner.  A few hours later, 6 of us sat in Peppino’s in downtown Grand Rapids reviewing our trip to Deal’s Gap last Fall.   By the end of the week, we’d spent several evenings together talking about how we want to spend this riding season.

Snow has melted for the second time this year already, and we’re eager to get out and ride.  Regular riding isn’t yet possible- temperatures are still dipping down into the 30’s- so we’re restless.  The six of us huddled around appetizers with mugs of beer in hand and talked about the trips we want to take this year.   A couple of us want to revisit the Gap with a few changes in the planned rides.  I’m looking forward to a lengthier trip further into Georgia.  Austin has some great routes all mapped out courtesy of a local rider he encountered while there a few years back.  We talked about breaking up into small groups for extended rides rather than short loops around the house.  We talked about skipping the Dragon one day in favor of new roads, new routes.

There is a diversity of experience and interest in the Deal’s Gap crew.   Some ride dirt, some track on sport bikes.  Some ride supermoto and some just ride street every day because it’s the way they prefer to get around.  It seems that for some of us, exposure to a new type of riding brings a desire for a new way to ride.  For example, when I went up to Brevort a few years back with Aaron, Phil and Joe, I fell in love with dirt riding and especially single track.  I’d started on dirt and hated the deep sand so I didn’t think I’d like it much all these years later.  But after a full weekend of it, I was in love.  Riding in dirt requires a whole new set of skills.  It was challenging and took all of my mental energy- much like when I first started riding.  To top it off, it was physically demanding and I liked the way my body felt afterward: stronger, more aware, alert. Austin and Mike have dual sport bikes as well and are also interested in a trip up north for a weekend of dirt riding.

For some of the Deal’s Gap crew, sport bike riding has become an engaging pursuit.  After a few track days last year, Austin and Amanda bought bikes for the track.  Before long, they outfitted themselves with leather suits, boots and gloves after some savvy internet shopping.  I haven’t yet ridden on the track.  I plan to do a track day this year simply to improve my riding skills.  I’m a little nervous about it - I may fall in love with track riding, too.  It leads to a question I don’t have the money for: how many bikes is it reasonable to have? 

But perhaps I’m asking the wrong question.  How many bikes will it take to make my riding life as diverse as the rest of my life?  Now that’s a good question.  And of course, if money weren’t an issue, the answer is three.  Money is always an issue though, and still the answer is three.  My ideal fleet would include my current getting-around-the-city bike, a dual-sport for off-roading and a sport bike for laying it over in the twisties.  Maybe I could squirrel away a little cash and get a used-dual sport this year and get onto the single-track up north again.  Aaron’s up for that and I’ve got no doubt we’ll have quite a group signing up for that trip.  Off road riding is another sport of itself though and means I’ll need more gear- a chest proctor, helmet and jersey- as well as spare parts and the accompanying tools - shift levers, clutch levers. And I’ll have to know how to work on her- break downs are to be expected when navigating over stumps, around tree limbs and into sand pits.  I think it’d be worth the investment.  I just have to decide whether I want to be paying on two bikes this Summer or pay one off first and get the second one next year.  It would be an easier decision if I wasn’t trying to be responsible about it at the same time. 

My third bike will be a sport bike- they don’t grab my eye like the Bonneville did in terms of styling so, much like with the dual sport, I don’t have my eye on a particular bike yet but rather I know I just want to do the kind of riding I can do on that sort of bike.  After riding Joe’s for a few miles a few years ago, I understand the allure.  Sport bikes are built for speed and for agility.  When I was on Joe’s (I can never remember what kind it is- except fast) I couldn’t feel the wind on my body.  The bike wanted to go fast.  In fact, I’d be going 40 or 60 with such ease it didn’t seem real.  On my Triumph, I feel her speed up at around 70.  It’s not that she doesn’t go faster than that, it’s just that she doesn’t feel like she needs to.  The sport bike however, begs you to go faster and harder still.

Unless I win the Lotto (which will be especially difficult because I don’ play) I won’t be getting both a dual sport and a sport bike this season.  It’s often the case that what I want to do doesn’t really mesh with what my finances, or my time and even my energy will let me do.  When I think about what I really want out of life and from myself, I get bogged down by it.  How am I going to make it all happen?  Or even, how is it possible for all of this to happen without a great deal of energy and effort?  And do I really want to do all of these things- spreading myself that thin- or just pick a few and really devote myself to them. 

At this point I’m not just talking about which kind of bike to ride.  I’m talking about starting a new hobby vs. continuing to work on my other love- writing.  I’m talking about whether I plan on making another trip to Deal’s Gap when there are so many other roads that I haven’t explored.  Do I finally pick up that guitar in the corner and start practicing or do I save that energy for writing?  When I start thinking these  kinds of questions, I understand that I really don’t know the answer yet.  These are the questions I’ll just have to live my way into.  With Chris here, I went out with the cycle crew 4 times in one week.  Chris was poking fun at me saying he was “getting me out of the house.”  That’s when I realized that I have in fact, been staying in more.  It’s not that I don’t have other things I can do- it’s just that most nights I’d rather be writing so that’s what I’ve been spending a good deal of my time doing.  So even though I don’t often make a formal decision to do something, I find myself doing the things I really want to do anyway. 

Of course, getting a second or third bike are gonna require definitive action but I still don’t know what feels like the right choice just yet.  So despite the email spam I’m getting from Mike with used dirt bikes for sale, I’m unsure which direction I’ll go in - second bike this year or next?

By the end of our week together, 6 of us had laid tracks for several trips- Deal’s gap this Fall, dirt riding up north this Summer.  Aaron will teach again this year with Class Schools and Austin plans to do some racing.  I hope to make at least one trip camping with the bike and explore roads I haven’t yet travelled.  There’s even a snowboarding trip planned for next Winter.  I’m not thinking about Winter yet, with this one barely over but I like Mike’s philosophy on this- with a Winter hobby you can keep occupied doing something you love all year long.  It makes the Winter fun instead of loathsome.  I’d like to find another way through Winter besides holding my breath until Spring gets here.  I could probably get a good deal on snowboarding equipment now that it’s the end of the season.  See?  There it is again.  Do I do this or that?  Now or later?  Guess I’ll just have to sit on that one, too.  Maybe I’ll put on the heated gear and go for a ride - let the road help me decide.