What if your SO doesn't share your passion?

[kgadley01]

It was very simple for me. If the lady didn't like Motorcycles, I would politely excuse myself. All my wifes have loved to ride My present and FINAL wife even rides her own.

[BugCollector]

We just got back from a ride to Corpus Christi today. My wife enjoys riding with me (even in the rain!). However she has a painful condition (sciatic nerve?) that causes her extreme distress after exactly 70 miles. We're riding a 2004 R1150RT with stock seat. That may need to be changed. I will see about adjustable footpegs so she can stretch out a bit. On the stock seat I can go over 200 miles without noticing any discomfort, and i would like to go 600. An over-nighter to Big Bend has a lot of appeal. Anyway, she would like to be able to go further and she talks about camping instead of moteling so we may have some adjustments to make. I am hopeful that I can make the bike comfortable enough for her that she likes it as much as I do.

[tvgal2000]

my spouse and I have an agreement - she's not interested in riding and I don't push it on her and in turn, she shoos me out of the house during our short riding season to help me keep my mental health. She knows that if I don't get out I'll just get really crabby and she'd rather have me be happy - for both of our sakes!

I'm aware of how lucky I am!

BugCollector - your wife might want to try acupuncture if she has sciatica - I had a bad case several years ago and acupuncture got rid of it. There are also stretching exercises that have been helpful.

[mvscorpio]

My SO has a passion of her own...dressage. I don't try to ride her horses, she doesn't try to ride mine.

We respect the passion we each have for what we do, and it helps to have an understanding partner who shares the winter blahs when we cannot ride. She's gotten on the bike a few times with me, but no real interest in long trips, etc.

I think in general, if a spouse or SO has something to focus their passion on, it makes it easier for us to have our passion without creating friction.

[Voni]

Passions, shared or not, ARE the ticket!

Thanks for so many great responses! Keep them coming.

Voni
sMiling

[jers99lt]

... she got her lake house for the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan and I got my second bike (1985 R80RT) to help fill the garage at the lake house. I'm not much of a beach person, especially if I can ride the shoreline roads.

Jer

[mika]

Dear Thread,

I have read this thread with great interest and envy.

What if your passions preclude your spouse participating?

I am an introvert. I love solo riding and solo sailing. A day group ride for me involves meeting in the morning for coffee and breakfast and agreeing where we will meet for the evening meal then not seeing anyone until then. A group day of sailing is a race of solo racers and I may tack away from the body of the fleet just because. My ex was a rock climber, a very good one. I don't deal well with heights. This is one of the reasons she is my ex even though we loved each other. We grew apart it seems.

Introverts regain their social energy by being alone. I enjoy being out in public and have had jobs with a great deal of public contact.

Sincerly,

Solo Rider in Fly-Over-Land

[GlobalRider]

Passions, shared or not, ARE the ticket!

Unfortunately, very few truly have passions. I feel for them.

[fatback]

It was very simple for me. If the lady didn't like Motorcycles, I would politely excuse myself. All my wifes have loved to ride My present and FINAL wife even rides her own.

Bravo!!!

[ultracyclist]

...If I could find a hack with air conditioning (allergies, hot flashes), sat radio, storage for the Nook and knitting, beverage dispenser, custom built seat with adjustable lumbar support, and sun shades...maybe...just maybe...she would ride.
In the meantime, I enjoy my afternoon rides.
She is talking about a Honda Ruckus for herself as a start.
This, Voni, is progress!
Say hi to Paul for me,
Howard

[henzilla]

...If I could find a hack with air conditioning (allergies, hot flashes), sat radio, storage for the Nook and knitting, beverage dispenser, custom built seat with adjustable lumbar support, and sun shades...maybe...just maybe...she would ride.

This one is close...saw it when we were in Wisconsin for the National...it had a knitting project sitting on the seat I recall!

[glenfiddich]

Like many others, my wife and I have different passions. I love travel and motorcycling, camping and meeting new people. Tamara likes her little flock of Icelandic Sheep, producing the wool she uses for knitting. She has no interest in going anywhere. I attempted to coax her into joining me by getting a sidecar; the plan was she would either call it her own or knit in the hack. Didn't work out.

So now she stays home and follows her passion, while my faithful companion and I travel to meet new folks and try new things in far away places.

[Quanto12]

Like many others, my wife and I have different passions. I love travel and motorcycling, camping and meeting new people. Tamara likes her little flock of Icelandic Sheep, producing the wool she uses for knitting. She has no interest in going anywhere. I attempted to coax her into joining me by getting a sidecar; the plan was she would either call it her own or knit in the hack. Didn't work out.

So now she stays home and follows her passion, while my faithful companion and I travel to meet new folks and try new things in far away places.

Hey glenfiddich,

Any more pictures of your side car?We used to have dogs, that are now passed on,and we always felt bad leaving them home! We plan to get another pooch eventualy and I was thinking of a side car like yours! Where did you get it?

Thanks!, Art.

[glenfiddich]

Art,

I don't want to hijack this thread. If you go to ADVRider.com you'll see several of my postings in the Hack sub-forum on the reasons behind my going with Hannigan, as well as how I trained Barley for long distance travel. This one is probably the most informative: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=602632

Now back to the regularly scheduled topic.

Pete

[rmcclure]

My wife of 27 years, while she does occasionally enjoy riding with me on multi-day trips, has her own passion, horses. Since she cannot get the time off that is available to me, I will solo for the part of the trip that is getting there and she will fly out to join me for the part of the trip that is riding while 'there'. We have a '99 LT with the passenger floorboards and she is comfortable on that. She does not enjoy riding pillion on any of the other bikes without the floorboards, even if I have added a topcase with a backrest. I think it is likely being able to slide her feet around and not have her legs sort of locked in position on pegs that makes the difference on long rides, as her knees tend to get sore if she is in one position too long. While on vacation, we have sometimes found a place where she can go horseback on a rented horse while I tour the countryside. In the winter when snow and ice cover the ground, we both miss our own type of riding.