Holiday Depression

Interesting. I reserve my depression for the other 10 months of the year.

I am the opposite I guess. Cold Weather, football in the background, pine scented candles, annoying Christmas music, hyper, loud kids and the only time of the year we cook bacon.
It is a fantastic month and a half that brings back so many nostalgic feelings and memories. The house smells great and the plane flies a little faster.

Come January, its back to "reality". Blah.
 
I am the opposite I guess.

So, do you say goodbye when you mean hello and say hello when you mean goodbye..??

Do you bathe in sand and dry off with water..??

But ya, I get what you are saying. My wife says they put up their Christmas decorations in the Philippines for the 'ber months.....September, October, November and December....and caroling is still a thing for them.

I make her wait until the day after Thanksgiving to put up a tree.
 
Honestly I’ve been finding motorcycling far more therapeutic than flying was and am riding as much as I can. YMMV
 
Im depressed right now. electric out no heat unless i fire up the generator and run extension cords out the door. iphone hot spot is keeping me connected right now

the loss of sight in my right eye does not help
 
Honestly I’ve been finding motorcycling far more therapeutic than flying was and am riding as much as I can. YMMV

I don't know if I can go that far but I've taken a couple of longer rides on the bike this week and greatly enjoyed rolling along some two lane back woods roads in search of some twisties. Just installed a set of the Michelin Commander III tires and so far I'm quite impressed with the handling and the ride.
 
I don't know if I can go that far but I've taken a couple of longer rides on the bike this week and greatly enjoyed rolling along some two lane back woods roads in search of some twisties. Just installed a set of the Michelin Commander III tires and so far I'm quite impressed with the handling and the ride.

I threw some Pirelli Night Dragon tires on the Harley. Supposedly they have terrible life mileage wise and I don’t care. Reality is me riding as much as I can is still not very much, the tires will probably year out before they wear out. I’m happy with the the traction, I will probably buy a pair for my wife’s Harley as well.

The Guzzi will also need tires, have to decide what to put on there. For motorcycles I tend to go fit max grip over life.
 
I threw some Pirelli Night Dragon tires on the Harley. Supposedly they have terrible life mileage wise and I don’t care. Reality is me riding as much as I can is still not very much, the tires will probably year out before they wear out. I’m happy with the the traction, I will probably buy a pair for my wife’s Harley as well.

The Guzzi will also need tires, have to decide what to put on there. For motorcycles I tend to go fit max grip over life.

I would argue max grip extends life, if you know what I mean.
 
I would argue max grip extends life, if you know what I mean.

I had that thought after I hit post. And yes, that’s the exact reason why for motorcycles I don’t care about tire life, I want traction first.

With auto tire purchases it tends to be more some combination matrix of grip, noise, and tire life expectancy. And of course for the RV the tires will rot far before they wear out, so it’s traction and noise first.
 
Look into Vitamin D deficiency, it is most common in the winter we we get less sun and common symptoms are tiredness, depression, fatigue, etc. After being told this by my docotr, and having blood work to confirm it, I take a vitamin D suppliment in the winter and it has really helped with the "winter blues."
 
I threw some Pirelli Night Dragon tires on the Harley. Supposedly they have terrible life mileage wise and I don’t care.

The ones I took off were Pirelli tires. They weren't Night Dragons but I don't care for Pirelli tires in general. Best grip I've gotten from tires were the Avon Cobras I ran for years. They would stick but they didn't last very long.

I got many recommendations from riders for the Michelin Commanders so I thought I'd give them a try. I haven't rode them real hard in the wet yet but they were still new when I came home in the rain. So far they feel really good ...
 
Is it me, or are good grip and good tread wear inversely proportional?
 
Is it me, or are good grip and good tread wear inversely proportional?


Generally true, but....

Motorcycle tires wear in the middle, since miles and miles are ridden upright and straight. So bike tires can be made with a hard compound in the center and a softer one on the sides. This gets good grip when leaned over in a corner, but with good wear in the middle.

Pirelli Angel GTs are made this way. I have a set on my Triumph Daytona and have been very pleased with them.
 
Is it me, or are good grip and good tread wear inversely proportional?

It seems that way but there are other factors involved. Money being at the top of the list. But that is one of the reasons for the Commanders. It is pretty widely reported that they give good grip and longer tire life. Like most riders I'll take grip over tire life.
 
The ones I took off were Pirelli tires. They weren't Night Dragons but I don't care for Pirelli tires in general. Best grip I've gotten from tires were the Avon Cobras I ran for years. They would stick but they didn't last very long.

I got many recommendations from riders for the Michelin Commanders so I thought I'd give them a try. I haven't rode them real hard in the wet yet but they were still new when I came home in the rain. So far they feel really good ...

For the Harleys (i.e. big and heavy) the reviews I saw recommended the Night Dragons as the top for traction. But most of the tires for that size bike are on the hard/touring/high mileage side and so there aren't very many "sport" options available. I'm sure that for the Moto Guzzi or anything that doesn't weigh 800 lbs that there are better options.
 
For the Harleys (i.e. big and heavy) the reviews I saw recommended the Night Dragons as the top for traction. But most of the tires for that size bike are on the hard/touring/high mileage side and so there aren't very many "sport" options available. I'm sure that for the Moto Guzzi or anything that doesn't weigh 800 lbs that there are better options.

Good point in that what you ride and what you like determines what you use. I'm currently riding a middleweight cruiser (~600 lbs) so yes, the tire requirements for a much larger, heavier bike will be different. I will also admit that as I get older, and hopefully wiser, I'm not quite as aggressive on the bike as I once was ...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ted
Good point in that what you ride and what you like determines what you use. I'm currently riding a middleweight cruiser (~600 lbs) so yes, the tire requirements for a much larger, heavier bike will be different. I will also admit that as I get older, and hopefully wiser, I'm not quite as aggressive on the bike as I once was ...

Really I’m not super aggressive on the bike. For one, this is Kansas. We don’t have turns in the roads. But, given how it’s hard to ride a motorcycle without someone or something trying to kill you at some point, I figure may as well go for the best traction I can. In college, I ran whatever came on the bike no matter how flat spotted they were. Leaning with no response until the bike then finally decided to go on the curved part. Yeah, I’m too old for that.
 
Are there no more real men left in this world?
Have we become a bunch of limp noodle tenderfoot girly-men?
Get out of the Kleenex aisle and read a few pages of history. You will feel much better.

Read about our suffering pioneers , our soldiers in mud trenches in WW1 , survivors of WW2 & holocaust.
Talk about horrible conditions during the "holiday season"

Those men came back and built our country.
Just so we can have a 200 foot Kleenex aisle .
Swarming with politically correct speech police.
 
Everything is upside down. My flying has been greatly reduced. Flying around the cotton patch is starting be feel like a chore. Thank goodness I still fly PAWS flights but with winter coming, those are numbered.

I hear the OP, Jan will be here soon enough
 
Generally true, but....

Motorcycle tires wear in the middle, since miles and miles are ridden upright and straight. So bike tires can be made with a hard compound in the center and a softer one on the sides. This gets good grip when leaned over in a corner, but with good wear in the middle.
.
Not for everyone. A friend of mine got new tires on his Harley Street Glide, and the mechanic was amazed that the sides were worn more than the center.

Me, I’ve always had - and probably always will have - chicken strips.
 
Are there no more real men left in this world?
Have we become a bunch of limp noodle tenderfoot girly-men?
Get out of the Kleenex aisle and read a few pages of history. You will feel much better.

Well if the internet goes down the world will end! :rolleyes:

I was quite amused at what my brother said to his two grandboys after Church this morning that our father used to say to us. They were wailing about being ready to leave and he was still talking to a friend. So he turned to them and said, "Walking ain't crowded!"

Yep I remember walking barefoot to school, in the snow, uphill both ways ...

PS: But you are quite correct. This generation has no idea of the great courage, work, and suffering the people of this nation went through to get us where we are, but I digress before I get into the forbidden waters ...
 
Are there no more real men left in this world?
Have we become a bunch of limp noodle tenderfoot girly-men?
Get out of the Kleenex aisle and read a few pages of history. You will feel much better.

Read about our suffering pioneers , our soldiers in mud trenches in WW1 , survivors of WW2 & holocaust.
Talk about horrible conditions during the "holiday season"

Those men came back and built our country.
Just so we can have a 200 foot Kleenex aisle .
Swarming with politically correct speech police.

There's a lot of things in there worth thinking about - Holidays tend to make a lot of people either aim for perfection or bring back memories from years ago that they try to re-create. When that doesn't happen, self-pity or disappointment can creep in and people can blame depression.

But I've seen real, honest to God, clinical depression in a friend of mine. It's devastating. All I could do was offer to be an ear to listen. He eventually solved the problem when he took his own life. If it's real depression, get help. If it's something else, go for a walk.
 
Airplane is down with a bad squawk, but I did get the bike out the other day for a little ride, pretty late in the season for me. Now we have forms of liquid and sold water falling from the sky, so no more motorcycling. Had to send my aircraft to the local shop for repair, boy is that going to hurt.
 
Last edited:
Are there no more real men left in this world?
Have we become a bunch of limp noodle tenderfoot girly-men?
Get out of the Kleenex aisle and read a few pages of history. You will feel much better.

Read about our suffering pioneers , our soldiers in mud trenches in WW1 , survivors of WW2 & holocaust.
Talk about horrible conditions during the "holiday season"

Those men came back and built our country.
Just so we can have a 200 foot Kleenex aisle .
Swarming with politically correct speech police.
Can you talk to my daughter please. She is college edumacated and does not understand this concept. I have failed as a father in this aspect.
 
Back
Top