Well, maybe not all by themselves, but they sure don’t help matters.
One bit of my life’s history is repeating itself. It works like this:
Step 1. Get a motorcycle.
Step 2. Ride all the time, get lazy about any other method of going places.
Step 3. Gain weight.
It’s a vicious pattern, one I’m sure lots of people who ride have dealt with. I think a lot of them give up. Think about it – how often do you see a skinny guy on a Harley? You may see the occasional wiry dude on a sportbike, but he probably hasn’t had it all that long. Eventually he’ll stop walking to get anywhere. Why walk when you can do 100+, right?
I’m trying to stem the tide this time. I walked to work a lot last fall (before I got the first bike here), and my apartment is 3 miles away from the school. I’m very much in love with riding, but I also enjoy the sight of my own toes. Compromises must be made.
Towards that end, I haven’t ridden for the last two days. I’ve walked to and from work, and have been walking to run errands instead of riding. Sure, I’m missing it, but I should probably view the riding as more recreational than functional. I mean, it’s too damned fun to be just transportation!
And I know it’s not the bike’s fault, so I’m not blaming it. Owning a motorcycle won’t make you fat. Looking at one won’t get you chubby. (Well, looking at a Hayabusa can have that effect on a part of you.) If it weren’t the bike, I’d probably be blaming videogames, or renting movies or some other thing. Anything but blaming myself! It can’t be my fault, right? Of course it can. So I need to be the one to fix things. But, hey, walking everywhere’s not so bad when you’ve got a loaded iPod laying down a soundtrack for the trip.
^.^
(Oh, if you didn’t click the link, this is a Hayabusa. See what I mean?)
