This is a collection of experience and incidents such as I can remember some of my misspent youth and thrash through my later years.
The beatings will continue until moral improves.
Am I Tired of Motorcycles, or Just Bored?
Several months ago I committed to attending a motorcycle rally. Paid in full and even ordered an event t-shirt. As the time drew nearer, I became less and less enthusiastic and now that my step off date is within a few days I’m not interested at all. Partly through circumstances and partly just my ever growing lack of interest in riding my motorcycle in the desert. I no longer share these rides with anyone else. It’s me riding to a group camping site where I’m the old guy who rides in on the big bike. I’m not going to go hairball enduro ride any rough and tumble routes, I’m not excited about getting away from home, because I’m leaving comfortable digs to be basically uncomfortable, spend money and not ride my bicycle.
Last time I rode to this rally two years ago it was very hot when I camped in Death Valley. And it was even hotter on the ride up. None of that ride was really much fun. I was nursing a shoulder injury that was only sort of OK and flared to searing pain the very first few hundred feet of unpaved road I rode. That cut that rally short.
This year I’m healthy enough. No injuries, but I’ve been fighting a cold the last several weeks and now I’m feeling better, I’m more inclined to get back to working on my fitness than spending money on gas and food in places I’d rather not be.
I need to finish the year stronger and with more regular exercise. My fitness was just beginning to come back the first week of October, then colds set me back a good amount. I figure I’ll save my motorcycle riding for winter when it is much cooler out there and use that time for day trips to the dry lake for suspension tuning and skills practice.
Ever since riding to and from Colorado, late summer 2018, I think I burned myself out on the heat and the desert. That trip saw my motorcycle overheat several times. It never boiled over, but on my last leg riding home, a valve dropped or something and blew the engine, damaging the piston, head, valve of course and barrel. That was at 73,720 miles. The motorcycle is at a bit more than 91,000 miles now and just past a decade in my hands. All but about 2,000 miles of of that distance is my travels, but mostly commuting. All that, age and mileage is likely part of my growing boredom.
I had loaded the motorcycle with the luggage, found all my breakfast making stuff and got the camp kitchen together. Loaded a route into my navigation tablet. I was ready Saturday night to leave Wednesday mid-morning. I figured to leave the beach around 9:30am to miss the tail of morning rush hour in the inland empire freeway run up to the high desert where I would jump to 395 then cut off that through Trona to get to the 190 through Death Valley and over to Pahrump.
Sunday afternoon my head filled up on my right side. I couldn’t hear out of my right ear. People were trying to talk to me and ask me questions and I couldn’t tell half the time what anybody was saying. That block finally popped around 8pm, then I could hear people but that side of my head felt like I’d faceplanted. I got to bed early and woke late to no head ache and I could hear so I went ahead and met my friend to help with his electrical problem. We solved that quick, made repairs and even got the horn relay and horn wired in. The sinus thing returned the next morning, so I called off my planned trip.
The other side of all this without the sinus thing is I’m tired of the motorcycle. Well, until I go for a short ride then, I’m back to planning a trip, arranging gear and planning maintenance. That maintenance planning is where I begin to tire of the whole mess. The bike is wearing out. I’m wearing out on just having all the stuff around me.
I think what has tired me out is the desert. I miss trees. I like the ocean view off the coast. It’s probably time to plan a trip to the Sierras or through the coastal redwoods.
So, I think this winter, I’ll workout a short trip up the central coast and as much further as I can stand the cold. Then the ultimate plan to ride back from Colorado after some loop riding, through lower Canada and British Columbia and back down the coast. Get my tree fix, fixed.
Along The Way 