Ladies - Womans Opinion needed..

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jrdudas
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#21 Unread post by jrdudas »

Don't mean to highjack this thread, but I have a similiar problem with a wife that has no interest. I have owned several bikes over the years, the last one being about 18 years ago. My wife has never been interested in taking a ride and would usually frown when I told her I was taking the bike out. I am extremely defensive when I ride and have had my motorcycle license since age 14 (motor scooter at that age in Florida). I find that in my 60's now I have the desire to buy another bike. I'm sure she will object and really don't have a strategy to win her over. I have several hobbies that she has little interest in. Two that she's not interested in are my invovlement in music (I play in a band), and target shooting (I'm a Cowboy Action Shooter and lifelong target shooter). I also ride horses (she has marginal interest there) and I boat (she likes to water ski).

I suspect she will say that I'm crazy and way too old to start riding bikes again. I don't think that's true (in either case) cause I was never a "hot-dogger" when it came to riding, and if anything I would be more defensive now than ever.

Any suggestions from the ladies out there?

JR

LIONLADYr1150r
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#22 Unread post by LIONLADYr1150r »

jrdudas wrote:Don't mean to highjack this thread, but I have a similiar problem with a wife that has no interest. I have owned several bikes over the years, the last one being about 18 years ago. My wife has never been interested in taking a ride and would usually frown when I told her I was taking the bike out. I am extremely defensive when I ride and have had my motorcycle license since age 14 (motor scooter at that age in Florida). I find that in my 60's now I have the desire to buy another bike. I'm sure she will object and really don't have a strategy to win her over. I have several hobbies that she has little interest in. Two that she's not interested in are my invovlement in music (I play in a band), and target shooting (I'm a Cowboy Action Shooter and lifelong target shooter). I also ride horses (she has marginal interest there) and I boat (she likes to water ski).

I suspect she will say that I'm crazy and way too old to start riding bikes again. I don't think that's true (in either case) cause I was never a "hot-dogger" when it came to riding, and if anything I would be more defensive now than ever.

Any suggestions from the ladies out there?

JR
It seems to me that you've already got three hobbies that do not include your wife. Why take on another one,unless you simply are looking for ways to spend less time with her?

I'd say there are other issues here to deal with than winning her over.

P

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#23 Unread post by blues2cruise »

jrdudas wrote:Don't mean to highjack this thread, but I have a similiar problem with a wife that has no interest. I have owned several bikes over the years, the last one being about 18 years ago. My wife has never been interested in taking a ride and would usually frown when I told her I was taking the bike out. I am extremely defensive when I ride and have had my motorcycle license since age 14 (motor scooter at that age in Florida). I find that in my 60's now I have the desire to buy another bike. I'm sure she will object and really don't have a strategy to win her over. I have several hobbies that she has little interest in. Two that she's not interested in are my invovlement in music (I play in a band), and target shooting (I'm a Cowboy Action Shooter and lifelong target shooter). I also ride horses (she has marginal interest there) and I boat (she likes to water ski).

I suspect she will say that I'm crazy and way too old to start riding bikes again. I don't think that's true (in either case) cause I was never a "hot-dogger" when it came to riding, and if anything I would be more defensive now than ever.

Any suggestions from the ladies out there?

JR
Did you take up motorcycling after you met her or were you a motorcyclist before you met her?
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jrdudas
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#24 Unread post by jrdudas »

Blues2cruise wrote:

"Did you take up motorcycling after you met her or were you a motorcyclist before you met her?"

I started riding at age 14; a motor scooter that I put many miles on. This was long before I met my wife.

JR

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cherokeepati
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#25 Unread post by cherokeepati »

I was a horsewoman long before I met my husband and converted him to being more than just barn help. He was a firearms instructor long before he met me and he has made me a better shot. We were going to get into Cowboy Mounted Shooting until I broke my arm last summer. It's still on the "to do list". I bought a motorcycle on which to commute to work. My husband was not that all interested (too old to be an organ donor). I was bitten by the riding bug and want to do more than just commute. My husband took the MSF course with me. Now he has bought his own motorcycle. But, he is reluctant to ride it until it is fitted out with the Voyager Convertible Kit. (www.mtcvoyager.com). Then he plans to put our Jack Russell Terrier in a pet carrier designed to attach to the back rest and passenger seat of his motorcycle so we can all ride together. I ride solo. It's cheaper than a Trike and you can still ride solo on two wheels when she is not riding behind you with the kit on. I would respectfully suggest you think about taking the MSF, even though you are a life-long rider. There are several riders around here who have taken it more than once as a refresher, in addition to the Experienced Rider Course (ERC). After we took the course, we purchased Precision Motorcycling, First Edition, by David Hough. You probably don't need it, but it might help explain the motorcycling process to her.

jrdudas
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#26 Unread post by jrdudas »

Thanks for the suggestion regarding the motorcycle safety course; I do plan on taking it. Even though I am a long-time rider I think a refresher course is always useful. In fact a friend took the course about two years ago and has told me that if I take it he'd like to go again. Whether I can interest my wife in the course is unknown. I fear that in my first post I gave the impression that I do all these hobbies without her. That's not really true. She takes part in the boating and horseback riding, both of which are activities that we do only now and then. I try to include her in everything that I do, but she is mostly not interested. Because of her lack of interest I rarely do any target shooting since the matches are typically on a weekend day when my being away would cause more trouble than it's worth.

I think motorcycling compares favorably to boating in a ski boat. The wind in the hair, the smells along the way, getting to see new things, or choosing to just relax and putt-putt along. The problem with boating is that there is a ton of work involved beyond maintaining your boat. There's a lot of prep time and effort before you get to the water. Then unless you live on a lake, there's the travel to and from that takes up much of the day. And finally, the cleanup afterward. So I love the experience when on the water, but getting to that point requires lots of work and planning ahead of time. With motorcycling you maintain your bike (clean and repair) and ride when choose to, provided the weather co-operates.

JR

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#27 Unread post by cherokeepati »

If your wife doesn't want to ride behind you on a motorcycle, do you think she would ride in a sidecar? Or, do you think she would ride behind you if your motorcycle were equipped with a Voyager Convertible Kit (www.mtcvoyager.com)? This kit can be removed in less than 10 minutes to allow the motorcycle to be ridden on two wheels if desired. My husband bought a zero mileage, 2005 Honda Shadow Aero 750. He outfitted it with a Memphis Fat windshield, floorboards, heel-toe shifter, saddlebags, and a backrest to which he can attach a motorcycle pet carrier for our Jack Russell Terrier. After much research, he met a Voyager dealer to exmine the kit on his wife's Harley. An order was placed for a Voyager with fiberglass fenders painted to match the Aero. Total investment to date is less than $15,000, way less than a trike conversion. I ride solo and this way we (including the puppy) can all ride together.

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#28 Unread post by jrdudas »

Thanks for the suggestion of the Voyager Convertible Kit; it's a very interesting idea. I'll have to investigate it further.

JR

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