Mid life crisis or a change in interests

[pistonchris]

Hey all,

Not sure if this is a midlife crisis or just me changing interests, but here goes…

I’ve totally fallen out of love with cars. I used to be really into them, but these days I get zero enjoyment from driving. It’s just… meh.

Lately though, I’ve been to Matlock a couple of times for fish and chips, and for the first time ever, I started paying attention to motorbikes. Some of them are absolutely stunning, and it’s really sparked something in me. The vibe was great too—people were just chilled, chatting, and happy to talk about their bikes. It felt good seeing people of all ages and backgrounds connecting like that.

Now I’m 37, never ridden a motorbike before, and wondering if it’s too late to learn? It seems like most riders started young, and I feel like the newbie. But at the same time, I’m at that point where it’d be nice to have friends who are into the same things—people you can have good conversations with and share that kind of experience.

Has anyone else gone through something similar? Maybe fallen into bikes later in life or changed interests completely? I’d love to hear your stories.

[Neal H]

I was 39 when I passed my bike test 23 years ago and my only regret was that I left it until then.

Best thing I ever did.

[vindaloo79]

During Covid I started biking after doing the CBT as something new for a bit of fun (also due to my friends ceasing to come mountain biking and snowboarding as families came to the fore).

I haven’t looked back, also the best thing I have done since snowboarding got the better of my knees as I hit 40….

[black-k1]

There are several members of my local biking group who came to riding later (after turning 40) in life and love biking. It is definitely not too late and has a good chance of giving you a past time you'll really enjoy.

Take a CBT to confirm you are happy actually riding a bike. It takes less than a day and is the fist step to getting a full license, It's necessary to ride on the road.

[Biker9090]

You're hardly too late.

I was the only one of my friends to get my full licence at 17 (I'm now 34).

Sometimes it feels the opposite to me - that I'm one of the only ones in my age group that actually did get their licence then and not at a much later age.

[Waynester]

You’re never too late to learn.. and you’re only 37 years young!

I have been into cars on & off, had a succession of TVR’s, Focus RS, Corvette etc.. but bikes have always been part of my life. Now, it’s just bikes. If I’m not riding, I’m working on them in my garage. I just fine they’re great therapy, either riding, or working on them.

Get the test passed mate

[Krikkit]

It's never too late to learn!

I did my licence at 33, one of the best things I've ever done. I still love cars, but this is another way to enjoy the roads and much easier to appreciate. Approach it like you're learning to drive again from scratch, because aside from roadcraft riding a bike is very different.

Do a CBT with a decent school, then do a taster on a proper bike - don't just take your impression from a 125cc bike during the CBT.

If you decide to continue then get yourself some decent gear, and a bike you really like the look of.


Being near Matlock you might be near other folks, where do you live?

[Pench]

Get stuck in, I passed mine at 17 (now 32) and we always need more of us. I have no friends that ride unfortunately.

[pistonchris]

Look's like I will be booking a cbt and having a go worst that can happen is i don't like it.

[the cueball]

The only thing I would say about the CBT is be mindful that you're only on a wee 125 bike...

I nearly gave up riding one of them, I thought wow.. is this it!

I am way too big for one.... I found them really dangerous and that was 26 years ago, I would really hate to ride one now with all the fast off the line EV cars out there...

[KobayashiMaru86]

pistonchris said:

Look's like I will be booking a cbt and having a go worst that can happen is i don't like it.

Once you pass that, ask them can you have a go of the bigger bike they train on. I found that far easier than a 125.

I ride to work every dry day instead of the car which is telling too.

[Jester86]

I did a taster around my 38th birthday last year to see if I did actually enjoy riding. Just trundling around the tarmac pad on a 125cc and I thought to myself I could definitely enjoy this.

So a CBT, Theory and DAS 4 months later and I am trundling around loving it.

Completely different experience to driving, the freedom and feeling on a bike is really quite something. Also as has been said, I much preferred riding the 600cc machines for my DAS than the weedy 125cc on my CBT, the 125 made me feel vastly more vulnerable.

I definitely think every driver should take their bike licence.

[greeneggsnsam]

I'm also an older new rider and contrary to the above, I found instant love for the 125cc and bought one for myself straight away after doing the CBT. It's absolutely brilliant. Who knew 15hp was all you need.

[Pench]

the cueball said:

The only thing I would say about the CBT is be mindful that you're only on a wee 125 bike...

I nearly gave up riding one of them, I thought wow.. is this it!

I am way too big for one.... I found them really dangerous and that was 26 years ago, I would really hate to ride one now with all the fast off the line EV cars out there...

Loved my 125 and spent nearly 2 years on it.

A lot of these EV cars will take a majority of sub 1k bikes. Probably even most of those too off the line.

[MesoForm]

KobayashiMaru86 said:

pistonchris said:

Look's like I will be booking a cbt and having a go worst that can happen is i don't like it.

Once you pass that, ask them can you have a go of the bigger bike they train on. I found that far easier than a 125.

I ride to work every dry day instead of the car which is telling too.

I'd go one step further and say plan (in your head at least) that you're going to do an hour lesson on a bigger bike regardless of how you feel on the CBT. I was another one who thought the 125s were scary on the road and the 500 I was training on instantly made me feel much more confident as it was much more stable.

[STe_rsv4]

I'd say don't do it.

Your family and children will suffer constant hours of neglect when you are out for hours on end riding toward no particular destination every night the sun is shining, or when the weather is bad, you will be scouring marketplace and ebay for additional bikes that aren't required. Your bank account will be crippled from buying all the latest carbon tat that will fit on the bike and your friends will disown you once you constantly start waffling on about how countersteering works after a few beers at social functions.

Taking up biking was the worst decision of my life

[mikey_b]

The level of involvement that a rider has when riding a bike is on a completely different level to that of driving a car. If you always enjoyed driving, but have now fallen out of love, then you've probably just got bored of sitting in a chair whilst trundling along over-crowded roads.

At a simple level, a regular bike requires all four limbs to operate the controls, and up to a point it needs your whole body to move around to ride a twisty road, so you're always doing 'something'. You're much more part of the process, instead of basically being a passenger along for the ride. You'll love it.

[rhamnousia5]

I passed my test at 36, having never been on a bike before. I did it purely to get from home to work on a 6 month contract as it was a long drive in a lot of stop / start traffic. Six months later I decided to go out on a Sunday for a fun ride as there seemed to be a lot of bikes around. Then I did a trackday and got hooked on that and carried on road riding. Then a few years after that I went racing in my mid / late 40s. I retired 5 years later having qualified for my National licence. I gave up riding for a couple of years but came back it last year and still love it, although I’m now on a litre naked bike as my aching old fat man bones can’t squeeze onto a totally impractical sports bike anymore.

In summary. You’re not too old.

[markymarkthree]

52 years of riding and still loving it.
Crack on and start doing whatever you have to do these days to get a full license before the Gov ruin things.
It aint a cheap hobby though with all the kit you have to get but that can be part of the fun having a "garage wardrobe" with a selection of different gear.

[P675]

I got my license at 25 and had people saying it was a midlife crisis. Apparently getting blackout drunk every weekend is a more socially acceptable hobby.