Motorcycling- Hobby or Work?

A hobby is work you enjoy and usually do not get paid for.  Work, on the other hand, is work you must do to keep bread on the table, and the wolf from the door.  When your hobby becomes just work without the pay, get a new one or rethink the old one.

When Jerry and I first got married, we spent a lot of week-end time at his Grandparents place on the river, about two hours from home. He was determined to teach me to fish. There's just something about worms and minnows wiggling around in your hand that deters my interest in fishing. I am a softie. I love to eat fish, but I do not want to catch them and kill them.

One week-end when we arrived, the nearest neighbors, Pat and Wayne were there. They were an older couple, and spent a lot of retired time on the lake. As we were unloading, Jerry started telling them about the fishing news he had heard at the minnow place.  The crappies were reported moving into shallow water, and biting hard. I've never seen such enthusiasm. "Let's Go Buddy," I heard Wayne say. The two men begin to throw tackle boxes, rods, reels, flashlights, running lights, life preservers, nets, drinks, a few food supplies and two buckets of minnows in the boat.  The motor on the boat was revved up and they were out on the water with hardly a wave. The last words I heard either of them say was Wayne's "Wait to cook.  We'll bring in some fresh fish."

Pat looked over at me after they left. "Come on Honey," she said. "I'll show you how to catch the real fish." We walked down to her boat and hopped in. I looked around. I saw one cane pole. No rods, reels, or other tackle was in sight. Having never learned how to swim, I looked at the old ragged life preserver seat cushions with great concern. "Don't you worry," she laughed. "I'll save you if I have to. I guarantee we will have fish for dinner and it will be fish we brought to the table." Being a fishing newbie, I had no idea how that was going to happen without bait or tackle, but she had been fishing a lot more years than me. Pat cranked up the boat and off we went the opposite direction from Jerry and Wayne.

"Do you have a secret fishing hole," I asked. Jerry had told me most fishermen, who knew the river, had favorite places they fished and rarely shared these secret places. Pat just laughed. The twilight was ending and darkness coming on. 

In Alabama in the spring, days are warm, but the nights cool off quickly. On this late spring day, darkness was fast approaching. Crickets were chirping. Bats were flying around looking for food. The moon was coming up. I was just wondering how far we intended to go when the motor started puttering and the boat begin to slow down. I looked around to see where we were. Pat was pulling up to an old broken down dock.

"Grab that rope and toss it around the piling, she said. As soon as I got it tossed around, she took out the oar and began to paddle us to the edge of the dock. "We will get out here. The boat will be easy to see when we get back." She said.

"Get Back," I thought. Where in the world are we going? The dock gave me the willies. I was pretty sure Pat was going to have to make good on her word to save me, when I fell through the rotten boards. The house I could see in the distance did not look much better. Dogs begin to bark. I know a lot of you love dogs, but  the truth of the matter is not only can I not swim, and am afraid of the dark, but dogs, especially big dogs, make me want to climb the nearest tree and wait for  rescue. I admit it. I am a wimp! These were very big dogs racing toward us with their jaws open and teeth showing. I prayed.

Pat took all this in stride. She called them by name and they calmed down somewhat. My Dad, who tried his best to help me for year to get over my fear of dogs, drilled one home truth in to me. "If you show fear, the dogs will know it, and then become more nervous themselves. You want to put a brave front on and ignore them. Never run. Stand still until they get used to you" he used to say.   I remembered his words. I looked at the dogs. Baloney, I thought I am running like the hounds of Satan are after me, and climbing the first tall tree I find. I was so preoccupied with the dogs I had failed to notice the man walking toward us. His shout at the dogs sent them all running back to the house.

In the failing light he looked like one of the moon shiners my Mother used to describe to me, when she was cautioning me who to stay away from as I entered my teen years. Being from the hills of Northern Alabama, where the counties are "dry" meaning they do not allow alcohol sales, moon shining was a way of life we all heard about. It flourished. The man coming toward me was dressed in a pair bib overalls.  He had an old hat pulled down low on his face. He had a shot gun in his hand. As he got closer, I could see his overalls were torn, ragged and covered in what looked like dried blood and dirt. Murder immediately came to mind. Who I wondered had he killed, and are we to be next?  I pulled on Pat's shirt, which I hadn't even realized I was holding on it. She kept walking to meet him. He opened his mouth and in the flashlight Pat shined on his face, I saw a perfect set of white teeth. Now surely, a man can't be all bad if he cares enough to keep his teeth looking good.

"Hello Pat, what can I do for you two nice looking ladies," he asked.

"John, I'm training Judy on how to put fish on the table after every fishing trip. We need a stringer of nice crappies if you have them, and I think a big catfish or bass would round us out," Pat said.  John started grinning and walking. We followed along behind. The path was strewed with buckets and old foam ice boxes.  There were several boats sitting around in various conditions, none of which was good. The light from the house lit our way as we picked through the litter to walk.  We finally reached a boat house. Outside the boat house were several tubs filled with fish. Water was circulating around in the tubs keeping them alive. John started reaching in the tubs and putting this fish and that fish on a stringer. In the last tub, he pulled out a cat fish I could hardly hold it was so big. "That ought to do it John.  Just put it on my bill and I'll catch up next time." said Pat. John just smiled and walked us back to the boat.

I could hear him laughing and talking with Pat about retirement. Said he was never going to retire, not as long as there were fish in the river. Back in the boat, Pat stored the fish in the fish well. "Who is that man," I asked.

"He's a trot man. Every day he baits his trot lines and goes back later to check them. He's got hundreds of lines running on the river. He ties a trot line from bank to bank or floats a line across creeks that feed into the river. He spaces hooks on the line and baits them. Then later, maybe even the next day he goes back and checks for his catch.  Most of the time he sells his catch to the local restaurant, but he always keeps back a few to sell to people like me, who like to count on real fish for dinner," Pat explained. "Trot fishing is his hobby and he also makes a little pocket change." This hobby sounded like a lot of work to me.

To be honest, I never used Pat's approach to putting fish on the table. I had confidence in Jerry's skill to catch them. Fishing was his hobby for years, and he worked hard at it. Like he used to say, sometimes he got the fish and sometimes the fish got him.

A hobby is just work you enjoy.  If motorcycling is your hobby, you already know it takes work. First you have the expense of the bike, insurance and license. Then you have the expense of equipment, Saddle bags, sissy bar bags, tools, clothing, and helmets. We can help you with your search for Motorcycle Helmets and clothing at our web store www.agelessparlor.com  In the store we carry top quality leather jackets, vests and chaps for men women and children. Also you will find Dot Certified Helmets and novelty helmets. Our new DOT M&M Licensed Full Face or Motocross MX Helmet is a jewel to own.  These helmets are limited editions and all are numbered.

If your motorcycling is just a hobby, get the maximum fun out of it. If your bike is sitting in the garage, basement, or driveway, more than it is being ridden because you do not have the time to ride, the bike is broke down and you do not have the money to get it fixed, the weather is bad every off day, you have other obligations that must come first, you do not have the equipment you need to ride, or etc. prepare ahead.

Living across the street from us is a couple who have been riding for years and years. In the summer we see the husband cutting the grass as soon as he gets home on Friday. His wife goes by the grocery on the way home and stocks up the kitchen for the next week. They do laundry on week nights when they get in from work. Saturday mornings they are out of there on the bikes. Most of the time, we do not see them again until Sunday afternoon. If you want free time to ride, you must make it available by getting organized with your other obligations.

Decide where your priorities lie. Getting your bike up and running correctly has to be the top priority of your biking hobby. Getting this priority in line with all the other projects you have that need and require money is a key joy to enjoying your hobby. Jerry and I save our coin change. We roll the change and deposit in our hobby savings account about every two weeks. Small amounts deposited regularly add up.  Every day we empty our pockets in our change jar.  We do not dig for change at checkouts. We fish out the next dollar. We keep the change and put it in the jar.  We put left over allowance money in the jar.  If I cut coupons and save money at the grocery store, I pay myself the savings in my change jar the amount I saved. If Jerry gets an invite out to lunch and doesn't have to pay, he puts his usual lunch money in the jar. Sometimes we give up eating out all together and save the money we would have normally spent in our jar. Especially, if something special is coming up we know we will need money for. Do we have more money than you? No.  We live and breathe on a budget. We get by on less so we can use this money for our hobby, whether it is for gas, repair or new equipment. We plan ahead for emergencies by having a savings going for them with our change. There are areas you spend money on where you too can save a little here and there. By the time warm weather arrives you bike will be fixed and on the road with the money you have stashed away.

Acquiring the equipment you need to ride is another priority. Saddlebags, Tool bags can wait. A helmet cannot. Buy it first. Your head's protection is the most important part of your ride. Live to ride another day when you have a spill, wear a good quality Dot or Snell Helmet. Our Bell Sprint Helmets are Dot and Snell Approved. They are terrific!

www.agelessparlor.com  for more of these fantastic helmets at great prices and free shipping.

Controlling the weather is out of my realm of ability. What I can do is when the weather is too poor to get out of the house is use the time to catch up on jobs that need doing, spend time on the phone with relatives who haven't heard from me in a while, cook a few meals ahead and freeze them, call up the kids and invite them to dinner, spend some quality time with Jerry. I like to spend time scrolling on the net, talking to other bikers, seeing what is out there to buy or trade. Rainey days and short winter nights are great times for these activities.  One thing I'm not going to do is bemoan the fact I am stuck in the house. Jerry's boss use to say "fight the battles you can win and let the rest go". I cannot win any battle and win with the weather. I can just get ready for another possible riding day. When it comes, I am the first one out of the door. 

Take charge of your hobby. Make it fun. All hobbies are work, but it is work you enjoy…… Come visit us with your motorcycling needs. We want to do business with you. www.agelessparlor.com

Judy