beyond
28th May 2009, 19:55
How long will you live?
Are you really aware of your own mortality?
How many of us know exactly how many hearbeats
are alloted to us in the short time we have on
this world.
What will it be that finally extinguishes
the flame of your life? Will it be cancer, an
accident,a disease or some new virus that sweeps
the world or simply old age.
We live in an extremely complex world with so
many things that can go wrong and yet the
millions of things that can affect our intricate
bodies are dealt with by an awesome immune
system in many events.
We think nothing of the fact that we live
and breathe when so many things could go
wrong and end our lives in so short a time and
yet, all of us on this site ride a motorbike.
How stupid is that? We throw our legs over a
machine that in comparison to bikes that existed
30 years ago, are so much faster, more powerful
and able to end your life with the simple
twist of the throttle in a blink of an eye and
all that with no protection whatsoever.
We totally rely on the oncoming motorist to
stay on his side of the road, or we have
little chance of surviving if they decide at
the last second they prefer our side of the
road to their own.
Between our legs is a tank full of highly
ignitable substance, gleaned from the bowels
of the earth from extinct creatures that
lived millions of years ago, that could also
make us extinct in a second.
What is it that causes us to risk our lives
astride these mechanical monsters full of
fossil fuel? The naysayers will tell us that
we are mad, that we are temporary citizens
of this world and we won't see old age. What
if our bones and their bones and the goop from
billions of people before us,are what powers
the machines of the future? Will they say the
same thing and complete another cycle of life
and death the same way we do?
It has nothing to do with how you ride. You
can be the best rider in the world and on the
open road, anything or anyone can take you
out and there is not a darn thing you could
have done about it. Simply put, when your
numbers up... it's up. Sure, you can minimise
the risk by improving your riding skills, by
riding within your skill envelope, by wearing
the best gear, but when things go belly
up, there's not a lot you
can do.
I often weigh up why I ride against what I
have to lose and what those left behind will
feel. Like any risky activity, this is both
healthy and normal and makes us stay within
the bounds of common sense to aid in self
preservation. In the end, every person that
lives is merely a temporary citizen anyway.
I love riding. I love a good twisty road
and I am so pleased I found out the thrill
and enjoyment of riding a powerful motorbike.
There's not too many other activities that
can take your mind off the cares of the world
and have you concentrate totally on the task
at hand and arrive at your destination,
exhilarated, refreshed and enjoying the
freedom of being on a bike on the open road.
Riding is truly an awesome experience :)
So, we weigh up the risks as do many other
people in different pursuits and hobbies and
we decide that what we want to do, is worth
the risk. If didn't do this, every human being
would simply sit at home in front of TV too
paranoid to move or do anything a little
adventerous.
But, the freedom of the ride, the sense of
oneness with the universe,the road, your bike
and you and an awesome ride alone or with
mates will get you hooked forever.
We live, we breathe, we share our experiences.
Some take it upon themselves to villify the
way another rides and some enjoy the comments
of others. At the end of the day we take the
good and the bad because we all have one thing
in common..... to ride, for us, is to live..
Are you really aware of your own mortality?
How many of us know exactly how many hearbeats
are alloted to us in the short time we have on
this world.
What will it be that finally extinguishes
the flame of your life? Will it be cancer, an
accident,a disease or some new virus that sweeps
the world or simply old age.
We live in an extremely complex world with so
many things that can go wrong and yet the
millions of things that can affect our intricate
bodies are dealt with by an awesome immune
system in many events.
We think nothing of the fact that we live
and breathe when so many things could go
wrong and end our lives in so short a time and
yet, all of us on this site ride a motorbike.
How stupid is that? We throw our legs over a
machine that in comparison to bikes that existed
30 years ago, are so much faster, more powerful
and able to end your life with the simple
twist of the throttle in a blink of an eye and
all that with no protection whatsoever.
We totally rely on the oncoming motorist to
stay on his side of the road, or we have
little chance of surviving if they decide at
the last second they prefer our side of the
road to their own.
Between our legs is a tank full of highly
ignitable substance, gleaned from the bowels
of the earth from extinct creatures that
lived millions of years ago, that could also
make us extinct in a second.
What is it that causes us to risk our lives
astride these mechanical monsters full of
fossil fuel? The naysayers will tell us that
we are mad, that we are temporary citizens
of this world and we won't see old age. What
if our bones and their bones and the goop from
billions of people before us,are what powers
the machines of the future? Will they say the
same thing and complete another cycle of life
and death the same way we do?
It has nothing to do with how you ride. You
can be the best rider in the world and on the
open road, anything or anyone can take you
out and there is not a darn thing you could
have done about it. Simply put, when your
numbers up... it's up. Sure, you can minimise
the risk by improving your riding skills, by
riding within your skill envelope, by wearing
the best gear, but when things go belly
up, there's not a lot you
can do.
I often weigh up why I ride against what I
have to lose and what those left behind will
feel. Like any risky activity, this is both
healthy and normal and makes us stay within
the bounds of common sense to aid in self
preservation. In the end, every person that
lives is merely a temporary citizen anyway.
I love riding. I love a good twisty road
and I am so pleased I found out the thrill
and enjoyment of riding a powerful motorbike.
There's not too many other activities that
can take your mind off the cares of the world
and have you concentrate totally on the task
at hand and arrive at your destination,
exhilarated, refreshed and enjoying the
freedom of being on a bike on the open road.
Riding is truly an awesome experience :)
So, we weigh up the risks as do many other
people in different pursuits and hobbies and
we decide that what we want to do, is worth
the risk. If didn't do this, every human being
would simply sit at home in front of TV too
paranoid to move or do anything a little
adventerous.
But, the freedom of the ride, the sense of
oneness with the universe,the road, your bike
and you and an awesome ride alone or with
mates will get you hooked forever.
We live, we breathe, we share our experiences.
Some take it upon themselves to villify the
way another rides and some enjoy the comments
of others. At the end of the day we take the
good and the bad because we all have one thing
in common..... to ride, for us, is to live..