How do you know?

[billincentraljersey]

This is not meant to be a wise a$$ comment ... You guys think too much.  As I get older, life got more complicated.  House, marriage, kids preping to head for college, career ... I seek to simplify my life anyway I can.  Cars and bikes are no longer something I get emotionally attached to.  I don't want to throw tons of money into them.  Don't want to throw tons of time into them.  I have very little of both.  The bike and the car is just a disposable item.  Keep your bike(s).  You'll miss it when you don't have it.  Even though you don't ride as much as before, you will be glad to have taken that 2x a year weekend or day ride.  Cost of keeping it is minimal, even if you let the dealer do all the oil change.  The life time cost is minimal for the return of joy it brings you.  

Get a side car and you can haul your friends and family around.  I intend to get a side car when I have grand kids.  It'll carry diapers for all of us  

[JReviere]

Hey Vid:  Contrary to how it may seem, not riding is not death.  There's a lot more to living than riding. Deciding not to ride due to loss of interest is well removed from a one way trip to a grave.  

Frankly, I've never totally comprehended the passionate narrow focus of people for whom life seems to revolve around a single activity or individual for that matter. To me, being that way always has seemed to be too narrow and misses out on so much more life offers.  

Sure, at times I've been passionate about photography, about flying, about snorkling/free diving, about camping, about boating, about cars, about riding, about touring, .... but no one thing has ever commanded my total interest to the exclusion of all else over a prolonged span of time.  

JR

[skyrider]

JR,

Ft. Benning?!  Ugh, sorry about that (I'm just not a fan of the South's weather).  I loved the Huey, it's amazing that some guard units are still flying it and a few still popping around Ft. Rucker.  I did drop parachutists, but nothing fancy, just some guys doing demos up at Ft. Lewis.  We did kick some guys out on fast rope while wearing NVGs, that was pretty cool.

As far as the pottery...so far, most of my bowls are plates and most of my plates are a form of ash tray or clay pigeon.

[JReviere]

The Huey series remains to this day a really great bird.  

My favourite coordination exercise was to cruise along just over the pine trees until I spotted a deer... then the chase was on...  I was amazed how a large deer can turn 90° in it's own body length while doing about 45 to 50mph...  

A guy got a cable strung across the Chatahoochie south of Lawson and bought the farm, so the river down below the tops of the trees was "off limits" after that.    

Other than the Hueys, H=13's, Bird Dogs, Beavers etc. to fly, the two golf courses part of the O club were my favourite part of Benning.  

I don't like the humidity, but I don't like cold, ice and snow either...  I guess I ought to move to Hawaii....

JR

[Vidrazor]

Lighten up dude, it was a joke. I wasn't implying that you should ride above all else. I did think however that you were concerned about dying on the bike from that statement. Hence my comment "die living".

Sometimes people put things off in life for fear of dying or the high risk factor of something. Sometimes it may be justified if there's family or other responsibilities involved. Other times it's a matter of "fear of the unknown" or just plain fear.

But if you're just tired of it all, just walk away from it. What's the big deal? If you find yourself coming back to it, as apparently you have, then accept that it's simply a part of your life that you cycle back to (no pun intended).

Then it's simply a matter of deciding if you want to keep ONE favorite bike (or a small stable of favorites) or if you want to try out a new "flava" each time you get the urge to ride off again. Doesn't matter if you lose money on it, you can't take it with you anyway. Spend and enjoy. I don't have to tell you life is short, right?  

C'mon, you know you love it...  

[JReviere]

Vid, you are right about two major things.  

You aren't the only person to suggest I'm a bit "too serious".  I've often been told I'm too much of a "head" person, always thinking, almost never reacting.  And FYI, I don't mind at all being called up short about this.

The other thing about which I agree you are right is: Life is too short. I'm 77 and feel like a kid just getting started in a lot of ways.

My biggest problem, as I see it, is the residuals of a strict fundamentalist Calvinitic Puritanical upbringing.  Some things, regardless of their being irrational, are very hard imprints to alter.  

JR

[Red01]

I loved the Huey, it's amazing that some guard units are still flying it and a few still popping around Ft. Rucker.

The Marine Corps still uses the Huey as a mainstay. The Corps versions are the "newer" twin engine N models... and beginning in 2008, brand new 4-blade main & tail rotor equipped Y models start replacing the aging N's - first of which were procured in 1970. Still "new" compared to the CH-46's (where most of my flight time comes from) the Corps is still using that have been around since as early as 1962.
(I guess we weren't lying back in the late 70's when we used to joke that the last H-46 pilot hadn't been born yet.)  

[JReviere]

Evidently, what I've long heard about the Navy equipping the Marines with hand-me-down left overs must be true.  Frankly, I think handing a FIRST RESPONDER unit anything but the absolute BEST is a CRIME.  

I first heard this from some F-4 troops during Nam... How the Marine Air Wings got the war weary B mod. Birds when the AF and Navy Fighter Wings were getting the E mods, for air to air work over NVN.  

I saw a Marine Lt.Col. do about the stupidest thing a man can do...  At Wake Island one day a Marine Fighter Squadron stopped for fuel going West.  

They had one "Whale" for each pair of F-4's.   One of the F-4's had mechanical problems and was left behind. The pilot was a Light Col. His GIB was a "brown bar" Lt...  

Maintenance got the bird ready to fly in about 2 hours, but the aft main fuel tank would not feed.  The GIB calculated they had enough fuel without an air top off to get about 400 miles short of Agana NAS, Guam.  

I heard the argument.  Gung Ho Charlie wearing silver oak leaves insisted on "We're going! I'll make it!"  

The GIB didn't stand a chance...  a brand new brown bar arguing with a guy pushing to make bird... no way...  

I don't know where the jerk thought he'd get J-4 or J-5 for that last 400 miles.  By the time he was getting airborne the TransPac flight with the Whales was out of radio range and long gone, no calling a tanker back to juice him.., but he was (his own words) "A #$%^@$# United States Marine Colonel and he'd #@$%^&* well make it."  

They roared away and headed west...   I got word from Air Traffic Control later, they put it in the drink abut 400 miles short of Guam.  

He might have been a Colonel, but he was STUPID at that time and in that decision.  I'd have gladly testified at the young Lt's courts martial had he refused to fly with the JERK.

Sorry for the jargon but Military Pilots will understand every word of it....  

Talk about some antiques still flying... Marine CH 46's are but one example...  the B-52's just go on and on...  The same seems to be true of the  CH-47's.    

I see where the Navy finally retired the last of the F-14's and went with the FA-18 Super Hornet as the Navy's main deck launched "bomber".  

JR
Never flew fighters.... only Bombers and Transports

[Red01]

Evidently, what I've long heard about the Navy equipping the Marines with hand-me-down left overs must be true.  Frankly, I think handing a FIRST RESPONDER unit anything but the absolute BEST is a CRIME.  

In many cases, the rumor is true, but on occassion, we got new equipment designed for us. The V-22, the CH-46's replacement, is one example, as is the CH-53 series. I don't think any Marine will argue with you on your feelings though. :)

Talk about some antiques still flying... Marine CH 46's are but one example...  the B-52's just go on and on...  The same seems to be true of the  CH-47's.  

At least all the Hooks were totally overhauled and zero timed when they were converted to D models, and BUFF's have been thru several extensive upgrades and the B-52H models (all that's left in the inventory) are only a year older than the H-46.

I see where the Navy finally retired the last of the F-14's and went with the FA-18 Super Hornet as the Navy's main deck launched "bomber".  

Back when the F-14's were new, they had been forced onto the Marines, too. The Corps didn't want the 14 because they felt it didn't fit their role for close air support and had wanted the F/A-18, which originally had been in the same contract competition as the F-14. They Navy argued the Marines couldn't have both the 14 & the 18 and the Marine Air powers that were, said, 'Fine, you take all these F-14's away from us and give us F/A-18's!' Lo and behold, it finally happened. In '83, the last USMC F-14 was transferred over to the Navy. Had it not been for that little arguement, there may have never been any 18's around today.

For you swing-wing pilots and enthusiasts out there, I'm sure you can appreciate the cojones it took to do this:
(And this is a civilian Boeing 107-II - not some military op)

[JReviere]

If that guy wasn't pulling back HARD on the cyclic, his forward rotor would appear to be about to make fatal impact.  I did a lot of CRAZY things, but nothing close to that.

Saw in the news a few min ago the AF is moving to have some retro work done on the B-2 to enable it to haul the 'in development'  deep penetration "bunker buster" that weighs on the order of 30,000lb.    Look out IRAN...   Bush is dead set on doing you dirt.

JR

[solman]

My dad rode a bike for years and then all of a sudden, he quit riding.  He hasn't had the desire to ride since.  Me personally, I had a bad bike wreck that altered my life and I still continue to ride.I guess when one is done, they quit.