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The Darien suit I’m wearing in this picture is a prototype AD1 HiViz jacket and a pair of AD1 Darien pants. You can’t tell from the picture, but I am armored to the max with every piece of TF3 armor Aerostich sells for that gear: hip and knee pads, elbow, shoulder, and back pads. I also have a pair of Aerostich elkskin gauntlet gloves, a Shoei X1 helmet, and my Gaerne Goretex boots. Along with every other piece of riding gear, special motorcycle tools, and my last motorcycle (a Suzuki TU250X) every thing connecting my 60+ years on a motorcycle found new homes this past week.
I am finding it difficult to choke down how emotionally attached I had become to my riding gear; even more than the motorcycles. In late 2020, I had sold my two all-time favorite motorcycles and clung to the unlikely possibility that I might find my way back on to a motorcycle. I hadn’t let go of any of my gear, which turned out to be more precious to me than the actual motorcycles.
My physical problems were compounded this summer and I could no longer justify pretending that a comeback was possible. I failed my baseline test and, worse, found myself riding with almost no confidence when I lost the feeling in my hands at the end of a piddly 20-mile ride. When our water heater began to leak and I started looking at the opportunity to replace it with a heat pump unit, I had to clear out the storage shelves surrounding the water heater to do that work. That was when I decided it made no sense to put all of that stuff back in the same place. It was time to do some Swedish Death Cleaning. Unlike the characters I met during my Cheap Bike Challenge hunt, I was not going to be clinging to my stuff hoping for some fantasy price. I was emptying the basement shop, my two garages, and my closet of everything I will never use again.
I would be lying if I said that was a fun exercise. It was almost as painful as I imagine giving away a favorite pet would be (something I have not yet had to do). I have pictures, memories, stories chronicled in this blog, and friends to reminisce with, so nothing is really gone as long as I am alive and my tiny brain still works. I lived in and with my Aerostich gear for so many years, miles, and hours that my relationship with that clothing became very personal. I hope the new owners get as much fun, satisfaction, protection, and adventure from my equipment as I have had.
2 comments:
You just reminded me that I need to start getting rid of gear I have in storage for years, hoping that I would use someday in the future again. The bigger the room, more stuff I save.
Kofla it's a fact that our hoard expands to fill the available space. When I have a choice, I prefer "walking room" in my home. but Ms. Day can't stand an empty spot on a wall or the floor. So, I just try to keep my own two little rooms (of our 10-room home) as uncluttered as possible. One of those two rooms is a fairly large shop area in the basement and that is where I always had to face the collection of never-to-be-used-again motorcycle gear hanging on the rack and filling the shelves. Giving and selling the gear to someone who will use it is less painful than it seems.
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