Sigh...
Well, Doctor, I sure need your help.
This past autumn I completed my rookie season of being a motorcyclist. My ride is a red / black 2004 California EV named "Il Gallo Rosso," a.k.a. The Red Rooster. The thing is, Doc, I think I have a serious case of cabin fever. Here are my symptoms:
I live in Minnesota and winter just hit the calendar a few days ago. It will be another 90-plus days before I dare venture out onto the public right-of-way. The Rooster is in the garage hibernating under an old bed sheet. A few weeks back a local, longtime Guzzi rider gave me several years of back issues of the MGNOC newsletter and Motorcycle Consumer News. Now, I'm hooked on both and fresh monthly issues of each are starting to show up in my mailbox, taunting me, never letting me forget the snow and the ice and the cold.
I log onto http://www.wildguzzi.com for an hour or two each day. I stare longingly at the wallpaper photos of The Rooster on the home and office computer monitors. I'm waiting for luggage and passenger floorboards to show up to be put under the Christmas tree before the tree is taken down in a few days (wishful thinking...). My co-pilot / travel-planner wife is keeping an eye on the travel section of the newspaper for ride ideas for next season. I bought a new U.S. atlas, just to keep current (hey, did you know there are 50 states now?). I keep thumbing through the RiderWarehouse/AeroStich catalog. I look at the Guzzi North America website every few days just for some amusement to see if it has been resuscitated yet; then, hop over to the UK Guzzi site and see the shiny new models. Yearly license plate tab renewal notice for The Rooster came in the mail a couple days ago - just a little salt in the wounds. Even my other life passion / hobby (woodworking shop) can't distract my mind for even a few hours. I'm trying hard to avoid going out to the garage and pulling the cover off The Rooster and climbing into the saddle. I suppose I could go down to Betty's Bikes and Buns in Minneapolis to watch Speedvision and chew the fat with other "patients" in the recovery ward.
Help me, Doc. This is my first bout with "post-riding season winter syndrome." Is this normal? Is there a pill I should take? http://www.webmd.com offered no help for my specific ailment. I used to be Minnesota's biggest complainer of summertime, wishing every blasted summer day that winter would hurry up and arrive. Now, I find myself taking little pleasure in pulling the starter cord on my big snow blower, like I've gleefully done for 25 years. This has my summer-loving / winter-hating wife happily concerned and I think a little giddy as she watches me watch the days on the calendar slowly go by in anticipation for when the April page finally gets flipped open.
Ohhh, whimper-whimper, ooooooooo... Make the pain go away, Doc, please.
