Earlier this year, or maybe it was last year, I shared that I was going to learn how to ride a motorcycle this year. I’m not really sure why this desire overtook me. It’s one of those things I wanted to do as a child, but then put it away as a low, perhaps nonexistent, priority as I became an adult. When you’re young and you want something, you only see the pleasure of it. You never factor in all the miscellaneous time and money costs it entails. Pertinent to this topic, you don’t think about insurance, additional rider training, buying rider gear, cleaning and adjusting the chain, or not being able to ride during inclement weather (rain/storms). There’s also a mental cost of it potentially becoming a chore, one more thing to do. I mean, I can’t ride in bad weather, but when the weather is good, I would feel obligated to ride, so then I have to factor that into my free time.
There’s also the picking the bike aspect of it. For the life of me, I can’t decide whether I want a naked bike, a sport bike, or a cruiser. I have no intention of buying new. It doesn’t make sense when I can find some incredible deals on Facebook Marketplace. It’s surreal, almost. I’ve found more than a few listings of people who bought their bikes, and within a few months decided they didn’t want it anymore. In one particular case, this young woman bought a brand-new Yamaha MT03, rode it home, and that was it. How did that happen? She got bit by the bug, decided she wanted to learn to ride, signed up for the MSF course, spent at least a couple of months waiting for the course date, had enough fun in the course to decide she wanted to get a bike, then changed her mind. Then there are the bikes that are as old as a decade but have no miles on them. I saw a listing for a 2015 Kawasaki Vulcan S with only 2,500 miles on it. That’s only 250 miles a year. Why buy it, then never ride it.
That phenomenon fosters some second guessing. Do I really want to do this? It is clearly not as fun as I’m anticipating. Is this going to be another activity that I sink money into then never do? I mean, I have bicycles I don’t ride anymore, guns I don’t shoot, a Kindle I seldom read, and a PC with library of games I don’t play. I can kind of justify my guns at least. I don’t have a lot, just a couple of rifles, a couple of pistols, and a shotgun. Having a stockpile of guns and ammo is like having a stockpile of canned goods. You may never use them, but if just knowing they’re there if you need them provides peace of mind. I do practice my draws and target acquisition with every day carry pistol, so I’m at least doing some regular gun training. I may randomly download and read a book, or practice mountain bike manuals on my manual trainer, but beyond that, they kind of just exist in my house. I’d hate to spend the money on a motorcycle and have that become one more toy I never play with.
Then again, I’m in my mid 40s. If I’m ever going to learn to ride a motorcycle, I should probably do it now. I have the money to make this mistake, and I can always sell the bike if it’s not for me. For some bikes, like the Ninja 500, I could sell the bike for not much less than I bought it. I need only be patient to find a good deal. If I’m going to start riding, I need to be able to make the time to do so.
This brings me to my next point. I want to work out less. I currently work out four days a week. Typically, my schedule will be something like the following:
Sunday: 20 minutes on the Krank Cycle, Bench Press, Forearm Grips, Lateral Raises, Rear Delts
Monday: 15 minutes on the Stair Master, 15 minutes shadow boxing, Dead Lifts, Preacher Curls
Tuesday: 10 minutes on the Stair Master, Bulgarian Split Squats, Glute Drives, Hamstring Curls
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 30 minutes shadow boxing, Isometric Stretches (front and straddle splits), Bench Press, Forearm Grips, Pec Flys
Friday: Off
Saturday: Off
It doesn’t seem that bad, but that schedule leaves like nothing for downtime. On my “off” days, I’ll mow my lawn, do meal prep for the week, clean my house, and take care of various other chores. Sometimes, I have to move a workout to Saturday, and that kills the entire day. I don’t feel like I can enjoy my Saturday until I finish my workout, and I always end up spending more time at the gym than I intended. Once I’m done, the day is half over and I don’t have the energy for much else. Even if my Saturday is completely free, I always feel guilty for lack of a better word. Like I should be working ahead so I can have a night off later. Then when that night off comes, I feel like I should still be working ahead to accumulate another night off.
I want to restructure it as follows:
Monday: 20 minutes on the Krank Cycle, Bench Press, Forearm Grips, Lateral Raises, Rear Delts
Tuesday: 15 minutes on the Stair Master, 15 minutes shadow boxing, Isometric Stretches, Dead Lifts, Preacher Curls, Glute Drives, Pec Flys
Thursday: Either Krank Cycle or Stair Master, Bulgarian Split Squats, Hamstring Curls, Bench Press, Forearms Grips
I’d be getting mostly the same exercises over 3 days. The one non-negotiable item is that I must do my stretches on days when I do heavy lower body cardio. My body is much more pliable if I pair those two on the same day. Just doing 3 days a week would at least grant me an extra “off” day. At least, it would give me more flexibility to spread out the chores I perform on my “off” days, so I can at least enjoy part of them.
A few entries ago, I wrote about my summer curse. Every summer, something happens to drain at least part of my savings. This year, it was a combination of a speeding ticket and repairs to my inground sprinkler system. It looks like the curse is in play until summer ends because my oven is dying. The range still works, but the oven won’t heat up to beyond 350 degrees, so that’s another $700 - $800 to spend. I also accidentally dropped my phone in the toilet yesterday. I had it in my back pocket, and as I was sitting down the bending of my legs forced it out. As soon as I heard the “plop,” the horror swept over me as I knew what had just happened. I did what I had to do. I took it out of its case, scrubbed both the case and phone thoroughly with disinfectant, then replaced the screen protector. Still, it feels like there’s not enough disinfectant in the world to ease my mind. That might be another $300 I have to pay.
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