Jump to content
  • entries
    21
  • comments
    51
  • views
    154,071

Midlife Crisis?


Eric Hall

5,707 views

 Share

I saw this article featuring Bill Dragoo this morning and it reminded me of how offensive I find this kind of labeling that what we do with big adventure bikes is some kind of “midlife crisis.”

This is a midlife crisis
download (17).jpeg

I was just 43 at the time, hardly mid-life, when my ex wife first saw the 2011 BMW GS Adventure I’d bought a few months earlier.

Midlife crisis!” she said, nodding her head, in a way intended to cut deep. It reminded me of this girl in the fourth grade, Susie Webster, who upon seeing my new feathered hair style (all the rage in ’76) one morning at school said to me “your hair looks stupid.”

Thanks! That’s really nice of you to say that.

I told the ex, listen, if this was a midlife crisis I’d be riding some shiny Harley with a 25 year old girl on the back. Or driving a Porsche…. with a 25 year old next to me.

This is a midlife crisis
download (18).jpeg

See, chicks just don’t get all that excited about an adventure bike. Guys? Absolutely, but that was hardly what I was aiming for. I’ve seen grown men bound across a parking lot with hearts in their eyes looking at my bike. I’ve seen the wistful longing look of the dads in minivans packed with their squabbling teenagers on vacation wishing they could snap their fingers and be riding with us.

This is called living your life to the fullest

28423883_950362141782603_8426566406633761436_o.jpg

 

If you ride a big adventure bike like I do then you just get it. That whole "midlife" crisis is irritating not just for its inaccuracy but because it completely misses all that is wonderful about how we are choosing to live our lives. See, the crazy cat ladies HATE being called crazy cat ladies because it's true. All I can say about us big adventure bike riders is if this is midlife now, it just goes to prove that the first 43 years of childhood are the hardest. :lol:

 Share

10 Comments


Recommended Comments

Great article. I'm 56 and never thought about having a mid-life crisis. Everyday seems as new to me as the day I moved away from home. I enjoy remembering the good times from years gone but have no desire to live in the past. I want to ride down new trails and roads!

  • Like 3
Link to comment

Like dirt being roosted from a torqued rear hoop , it winds up behind us in an instant just like the long strange trip our lives travel. Moving forward ,ever forward to see what's up around the next bend. Midlife crisis ? Bullshit I say. Daring ourselves to be in the wind in the now , if for only a moment , getting all of our senses nourished. So says I.

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Call it what you want I say!! I've been riding my entire life, an ADV bike is just normal progression as far as I'm concerned and a much MUCH better and cheaper form of therapy trying to move past those CRAZY X's ! ! ! ! ! ! !

  • Like 3
Link to comment

too funny!  I walked in to a local dealer to test ride a couple of sick bikes and folks sitting in front of the sales rep were asking him "how many folks come in here that are having a midlife crisis purchase?"  So true, but so stero typical! ha!   I dig our moto head community, it made me snicker :)

  • Like 1
Link to comment

I'm leaving for Big Bend National Park in two days to work on my midlife crisis issues riding the mighty DR650! We are having great winter riding weather here in Tejas. Perfect for addressing these pesky midlife issues!

:ride:

Edited by kojack06
  • Like 1
Link to comment

It depends on the chick! I get excited about bikes and cars alike.... especially when it's obvious that the rider/driver has put effort into their vehicle. I realize I'm also part of a very small percentage of women who feel that way.

I was also accused of having a midlife crisis when I bought my Triumph Tiger even though I had been riding street 8 years prior. It's like the people who are afraid of trying something new want to scoff at those that do...

  • Like 2
Link to comment

At 62 I'm still waiting for the "midlife crisis" I am however thinking about taking on a girl friend, I would prefer someone who's deaf and non speaking and owns either a liquor store or bar and has an problem with nymphomania.   just sayin

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Guest
Add a comment...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...