This is not your normal OC/ADV rider post, at least I dont think it is. Here I am, at work, half way around the wolrd, and longing/wishing to ride, I wonder what YOU do for a living. If you are willing to expose yourself...not physically...please entertain; I'd love to know. How often do you get to take off and go on a prolonged adventure? Maybe I need to get into your line of work, because riding is a top priority for me. For me, I'm a Soldier. I get to ride to/from work, but that doesn't really count. I take longer rides on the weekends when I can and I'll get a prolonged ADV in a couple times a year tops...thats not enough for this guy.
I own and manage my real estate. Mostly commercial (retail) with some light office, and then 2 residential units. I'm in the middle ( well, almost nearing the end) of a renovation of a unit, so I've been busy. I have a wife, 20 month old daughter,GSD puppy, a house that always needs cleaning, along with the usual list of projects, and multiple rental properties. My riding, if I'm lucky, is one day per week. Once I finish this unit, I'll do some trips during the week. I'm in the early stages of looking into another business & property, so, if that happens, what free time I do have will be further diminished. I'll take the DR650 to and from my properties ( the ones here at least ). That's a whole 12 miles r/t
47. Attorney. Failing back. Have a 14-year-old who is a type 1 diabetic who relies on my insurance. I ride to work most days, and I wish: that I could take time off of work to ride more, that my body would let me ride more, that I had started riding earlier in life, and that I had taken that trip of a lifetime when I could have. I know of no one who has walked away from "normal" life to explore who has returned to say that it was a mistake. I know of plenty of people who regret not taking the trip. I have a 70-something friend who for years talked about shipping his Vespa to Italy and riding the entire country. He recently sold the Vespa after he lost vision in one eye from a stroke. In retrospect, life is very, very short. Ride the world.
23 I am a US Marine station out at the ever so scenic 29 palms. I ride when I can but am in the process of retiring for medical reasons due to a severe back injury after my second deployment. So my rides are hit or miss. sometimes i will ride alot and other times i'll ride less than 200 miles in a month. So if/when I get Time off and away from the responsibilities of a pregnant wife and 3 dogs I ride...
I did 10 years Active duty, I feel your pain OP. I ended up going to a Federal job with the National Weather Service. Your Army time counts toward retirement (if you haven't already retired from the .mil) and you get hiring preference if you've been deployed. It's a 40 hour a week job, but you get all federal holidays off, and more leave than the military if you play the system a little. Plus you get to keep your TSP (gov 401k for you non serving hippies reading along). Something to think about...
Great to hear all of your replies. It is interesting to see the wide spectrum of employment vs. riding; looking forward to more replies. BTW, I'm 31, got a wife, 2 x kids, and a dog, and am active duty Army, currently deployed to Afghanistan. Tacosupreme, you've got me thinking. Nice to know you can relate to my current situation/dilema. What'd you do when you were in if you don't mind me asking? I'm gonna shoot you a PM. Mr. Snips, sorry to hear about your back, that sucks. Sounds like you've got your hands full at the moment. Orangesicle, +1 on your #4 bullet. I can look across my own family (uncles) and see that ring ture, unfortunately. motoracer51, 1 x day/week and a 12 mile r/t, thats pretty rough, but better than nothing I guess.
10 years active duty Navy, then medically separated. I currently work at a nuclear power plant just west of Phoenix Arizona. I'm in Operations and we work rotating 12 hour shifts. Meaning one week is dayshift and the next is nightshift. Out of a 35 day rotation we work 18 days. Every 5 weeks we get 6 days off in a row and a couple 4 day off stretches. Plenty of time for multi-day trips. You can take 40hrs of vacation and get up to 2 weeks off if you schedule it right. I'm not sure what the security folks have for a schedule, but that's something you can probably get into getting out of the Army. Even operations isn't bad to get into if you can pass the POSS test. There is also mechanical and electrical maintenance.
Fireman. See username. One of the best kept secret occupations out there. Not easy to get but well worth the effort. Love my job and never met a Fireman that didn't. Can't say that about most professions. Also it's common for us to have 4 days off if you know how our schedule works. Our schedule is so good it allows me to live 400 miles from my station. Wouldn't trade my job for anything. Unlike a lot of people on this board I will never get rich doing my job but it provides me with a comfortable income and ample time off if I need to work a 2nd job. Let's hope it doesn't come down to that though. We work 10 days per month but work 24hr shifts. That's 240 hrs per month. The normal 9-5 guy works 160 per month so we work 80 more hours per month. Some will argue but you get paid to sleep. For the past 5 years I have worked at one of the busiest stations in the US and believe me sleep doesn't come very often. But I choose to work here and love it...
I am 46, technically unemployed at present , work as a Quantity Surveyor in Construction in New Zealand and been working the last 13 years for myself, wouldn't mind a change to be honest. Ellen my wife is 44, she is an Accountant and was working for a company, same boat for the rest of it pretty much. Lucky enough to be on a two yearish plus RTW trip which we saved our arses off for three years and sold a bunch of stuff to get here so no lotto wins, silver spoons or successful bank robberies, just hard work and went without luxuries for a while. Once back to New Zealand it will be back to reality plus or minus cash neutral so we don't wonna go home with lots of cash but don't wonna go home to a debt either. So that will determine the length of our trip essentially and will be determined by spending and of course no majors cost wise either health or bike. Don't have any children or none that I know of, never had a fathers day card so I think I got away with it That is the short story of TMK, enjoying reading about you fellas around the globe.
I'm just wrapping up an MS degree in Biomedical Forensic Science from BU. I'm 26 and still trying to figure out what to do with it! Took a few years off after undergrad to work, decided I didn't like boring jobs, and went back to school. Now I'm almost done my thesis and have all but decided that I'll probably get bored in a standard, entry-level forensic lab job in a few years (don't kid yourselves, CSI-watchers; the cool jobs that involve going to crime scenes are few and far between, and often staffed by sworn LEOs). So I'm debating going for MORE school (medical this time, with the intent of becoming a medical examiner). Downside: massive debt and no time to ride. Upside: six figures after 4 years school and 4 years residency, plus pathologists work pretty chill schedules so I'll have time to ride and cash to afford it! I am put off by the prospect of negative net income for the next 4 years, and in the short term would rather get an ok-paying entry level so I can feed the bike habit. I know I'm ADD and will get bored though, and at that point will be even further behind the curve for going back to school. Anyone want to sponsor an RTW trip so I don't have to make these decisions?
First off, thanks to you and the other posters who are active duty/retired. It takes a special person to put country above self. I don't have many "i wish i would have's", but not serving our country as active duty military is one thing I regret. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Now for me.... Cartographer/GIS Specialist. 51 yo. 18yrs at current employer. Have wife, dog, cat, and two horses. No children. Been a full-on motorcyclist since age nine (9). Enjoy both off-road and sport touring. Had a bike for each style up until April 2012. That's when I went full "adventure" with the purchase of my 990R. I travel a lot for work in support of military facility planning and airfield safety. I've seen the world as they say. Often fantasize about taking a long MC journy (within CONUS), but usually chicken out due to any number of things with the most common being available vacation time....seems I have a hard time storing enough for both family and MC time. Over the last nine years I have settled in to a nice pattern where I go on 4-5 three-day rides each riding season (this in addition to regular day rides). Living here in Colorado provides ample riding choices so I don't need to spend extra "vacation" time just riding to and from where the good riding is located. Recomendations for you?......If you are US ARMY or USAF, put down Colorado Springs as your next "choice" for assignment. Even better if it's going to be your last one. Many folks remain in the area after completing their military service. They don't call Fort Carson "The Best Hometown in the Army" for nothing . Did I say Colorado, particularly SW Colorado, has the best on/off road riding in the USA? (IMO).
Past...In no particular order. USMC Vet (20+ years ago). Owned a snowboard shop in Crested Butte, Co. with a few friends. Worked in the car biz for a few years (mostly service but a little F&I). Worked for Harley for a bit. Worked in the bicycle biz most of my youth and early adulthood (whatever that is). Current...Local 399 Hollywood Teamster. Mostly work on commercials, but I do a few TV and movies as well. This might be the last job for me...I am too old to be "retrained". I often work 100 hour weeks and equally as often work 0 hour weeks. Kinda have to have your finances in order and your mind right or this job will break a brotha down. However, I am pretty sure I cannot fit in any other career (at least at this point). We are kinda like Carney's with a good dental plan. I see crap on fire, blowing up, people falling, cars jumping, guns going off, motorcycles sliding, etc...on a daily basis. Good times. :dllama
I run a two-way radio shop in Northern Ontario. I only do one or two multi-day trips per year (got one coming up this Friday, in fact!) but I off-road commute to work on the bike(s) in the summer and on the sled in winter. There is no end to dirt roads around here and I ride 'em pretty much every day
32 Master Sgt. 1 daughter(Valja), 1 more on the way(4 monthish) Deployed to ISAF, 08 and 11. Got separated between the deploymets, most stupid decision ever made. Found out that i had my head up my ass, Got the separation cancelled and we just enjoy family life. Medicine against my self was to build my 1190 project. I´ve just started riding it. Enjoy it, but the urge for longer trips are really itching. I try to teach my daughter about biking. Nanna and I. Nanna says that this girl is our daughter...i doubt it at times. Good DNA from the mom ;-) Hope you get home in one piece. I´ve been staggin for countless hours in the FOBs. Keep rocking the thought of riding...i did.
Retired from the Navy after 20 and stepped over to a Dept of the Navy Job supporting the EOD community. It's a 100 mile round trip to work so I get two hours of riding through mostly rural roads almost every day. About twice a month, my daughters and I go ride at a local trail. Usually, I can get in a trip to West Virginia for some dual sport riding a couple times a year. If the federal furloughs kick it...I get to ride even more (gotta look at e bright side )
TV News producer in Chgo. Cover politics, corruption and gov't. Here this is thriving business. 57. Married for an eon. Two sons both in college. Commuting here by moto is suicide. I try to ride dirt once a week on an old rail bed. Couple trips/year. Knee replacement a year ago. Hope to transition from enduro to two-track.
Used to wrench on bikes snow machines and cars, 2 bike shops -Idaho then Ca + 1 long love affair with my auto shop, worked on every thing that you can't imagine from GT 3500 Legesemo's to a ratty Honda civic oh and let's not forget boats in and out board, no fortune but a good time was had , even with 2 kid's, don't know why just blind luck. The old guy. Walks with the wind
I work for a company that makes filter paper. We make paper for many of the major filter manufacturers( Fram, HiFlo, Delphi, etc.) We are a supplier to the company that makes OE filters for KTM and BMW. I have also worked part time for a KTM dealer for the last 19 years. Otherwise, I work too much....usually 56 hours a week, which obviously doesn't allow enough moto time. Ride to work is 20 miles and luckily, I can do 8.5 of it on dirt roads!!
Dad. An old dad. After 30 years self-employed in commercial photography, I closed the studio a couple years ago. I still work, but most of my time is volunteering at school, on a board of a local non-profit and taking care of the executive wife. It's harder than you might imagine ; )
I'm a firefighter in the KC, KS metro area. As it's been said already, it's a great gig... 9-10 days a month, 24 hour shifts, a 4 day break every 5 days. Sounds rosey, huh. Not always, but mostly. I also own & operate a small business. I use to work a lot in the "green" industry, but have recently headed up this new venture. Concrete repair and waterproofing... sounds sexy, eh?! The 10 day/month job doesnt quite cut it with a wife, kids, house, and cool hobbies, but all are reminders to me of life at its fullest, and are worth it. What a great thread. I was just talking with my wife the other day about these exact thoughts. I asked her... Are we making the most of life? Why am I doing what I am doing? I work too much? I just wanna retire (34yo, btw) and play. I havent quite earned that opportunity yet, but hope to some day. In the mean time, I aim to play hard! I love to ride, talk about riding, wrench, fish, etc. There is not nearly enough time for "enough" of each of those things. My wife often reminds me that "who & where I am is largely a product of decisions I have made. If I dont like something look in the mirror'" I know... some circumstances are uncontrollable. But, largly if I have beef with something, it should be myself. I pray God's continued love & sufficient grace in my life. I hope for the lifelong chance to be a husband and a father more than anything. I hope that my wife and kids see the way I pursue my dreams and are challenged to pursue theirs. Soon to be riding buddies: Practicing! Thanks for the chance to share. Sometimes life's a grind and less-than-perfect. Most times, it's just right and I wouldn't have it another way... hence my signature.