Sacrifices, trade-offs, growing up, these are all popular words used when justifying what you might be trading in your Suzuki for a stroller. Sometimes, you might use all three words in a single sentence if you’re feeling the need to get really defensive. You might be trying to make your biking buddies understand why they saw your collection of gear listed on Craigslist. Does it all have to end, does having a baby mean selling your bike?
Time, Its A Valuable Thing
Shopping through the online classifieds I once found, then purchased, a four-year-old motorcycle for roughly half of i’s original selling price, with around 1800-miles on it. The seller had bought it off the showroom floor and put 1500-miles on it that first couple months he had it, then stored it for the winter. The following few summers he had managed to put on an additional 100-miles each season, picking up milk and mail etc. He still changed the oil each summer, still washed it and prepped it for winter each season, though the bike never made it far from his house. Why, he had a baby the following year after he bought it and there wasn’t much “time” for riding. That and he mumbled something about his wife worrying about him widowing her and orphaning the child.
Do parents take the same risks?
It’s one thing to go popping wheelies on your rocket down the highway, or jumping dirt piles on your dirt bike, to impress a girl you just met. She probably thinks you’re cool and maybe a little crazy. Chances are if you are required to be able-bodied to hold down a job, this girl won’t be quite as impressed with these stunts if she’s pregnant. Maybe the tables are turned and you’re the mother-to-be of a cute set of twins. I’m thinking, if you’re a dirt-track racer that’s ripping around that track with a baby in your belly, this would be frowned upon. The risks seem to be grander when you’re not just thinking about yourself.
Cha-Ching!
I read a number of peoples posts on online forums who have been “saving up” to buy a specific bike they have longed for, or even get their hands on some gear they fancy. It’s hard to beat that welcoming scent of new helmet smell, or the feel of a new set of tires that have never touched the road, maybe the embrace of a seat that has never been sat in. All so welcoming to the senses once they are finally yours. That feeling might not be some welcoming if you should be saving up for training wheels for your three-year-old, or dance lessons for your daughter.
Balance, its what life’s all about
Shifting gears into your new-found life might mean trading in your 500cc for a 50cc and teaching the next generation to ride. It could mean your next new helmet is listed “Child, ages 5-7”. Then, maybe the only new riding pants you’ll see in a while are pink and usually covered in mud. To make it work, make it work for everyone, and incorporate your motorcycle lifestyle into the whole family. Even if it means more watching than riding for a while.
