Melancholy moment

[beyond]

Been a while for yours truly to throw a reality check into the cauldron :)

I don't ride my bike during the week, normally. I would like to and those who know me understand that I could ride all day everyday :)

Trouble is I work long hours so the opportunity doesn't present itelf as much as I would like.

Today I dropped my 1400 into the dealer for it's 24,000km service which means an overnight stay for the black mistress as valve clearances need checking cold. Darn, I miss it already :(

Today got me thinking yet again :mellow:

Shit I love riding and yeah, I couldn't live without a bike now. I've read as many good books as I can on riding and riding fast. I've practised on roads I know well and ridden them over and over again until I know I can't ride them any better. I,ve gone through the same corners over and over again until I know you can't ride through them any quicker without things going seriously pear shaped.

I'm not into blowing my own trumpet but I try to be the best at whatever I do and when I was into shooting I perfected those skills until long distance shots came second nature.

Yet, I come to my senses every now and again and when you are nearly 52 years old you really start thinking , maybe more than you should.

For instance, if I had a bad bin and I'm off for months, will my employer keep me on and if not what are my chances of getting another job?

Worse, if it's a real bad one and these days it's more likely through no fault of my own, I could end up in a wheel chair or totally incapicitated and is it fair to my wife to have to nurse me for however long?

Is it selfish to continue riding when you are the sole breadwinner when the risk is so high?

Man I love riding and when I first got back into it there was no way I was going to ride hard and fast so I buy a good old codgers sports tourer.

But, as I have found out these sports tourers are nearly as good as a sporty and trouble is I can't honestly be satisfied with the 100kmh everywhere approach. I just have to get my kicks and the 1400 is such an amiable machine in this respect. I enjoy a good fang and love to boogie with the sporties. A fast ride sets me right for the week and gets the mental jiuces flowing.

Tough call I suppose. Even if I am real careful I have seen many cagers just pull out on me and my number could be up at any moment. I know you can't live life wrapped up in cotton wool but are we tempting fate??

Feedback please...... :confused:

[pete376403]

You could crash driving a car and be just as badly injured.

[Number One]

I live with fear everyday but sometimes he lets me race...like this weekend in fact :lol:

Seriously though these kind of thoughts give me the shits and are a big reason why I gave up riding for the time that I did. SO how do I reconcile it as the mother of a young child? I ride defensively, ensure I am always fit to ride, wear all my gear, and try to keep the red mist from rising...that's what the bucket racing is good for - an outlet for my shenanigans but it's only buckets so chances of really doing myself a damage are relatively low. I know this because I have managed to bin several times now..I get better and better at it too :shutup:

BUT when your number is up it's up and it could be up just walking across the street...had a pretty close call crossing the road actually. I was very lucky the girl walking in front of me not so much. She ended up with broken ribs, arm, legs, shattered pelvis and a fucked back. She is now in a wheelchair and won't walk again - all because some loser hooning in a 50 Km area in the middle of town decided he didn't want to wait behind the bus that was stopped to let us cross on the pedestrian crossing :angry:

So I guess my point is - I protect myself as best I can. I ride with my husband and little boy in mind and well it probably does help that I'm a nana on the road too :lol: Try not to dwell it's Margarita time!!! :woohoo:

[SlashWylde]

Yeah, I see where you are coming from, but without putting too fine a point on it, you could just as easily be injured or killed crossing the road; driving the car to work or eating a bad curry.

The important thing, as you say, is to be mindful that there are others who love you and depend on you and to think about that each time you feel like opening the throttle wide.

I don't think it's selfish to continue riding when you are the only income earner in the household, but maybe you need to be extra careful when you do ride. Pick and choose when to go for a fang. Maybe when conditions are at their best rather than just because you feel like it.

Some vague thoughts there off the top of my head. I can empathise with you. Though I don't have a family to support, I am feeling my mortality more than ever before and I no longer feel as if nothing could go wrong when I'm out on the road simply because I'm a good and careful rider.

I still like to go fast, but I temper that with the knowledge of what the consequences of a crash could be. I pick and choose my moments for letting loose.

[eelracing]

I always try to think of the alternative,.....? Nah can't think of one.
But i know i don't wanna be sitt'n in my rocker on the porch wish'n i had'nt stopped riding all those years ago.

[zeocen]

I think it's good to think of others, but sometimes you need to have "me" time.

The help you have given me and offered to me personally is unfathomable Beyond, I don't know you from a bar of soap but you decided to help me any way you can with riding, this wouldn't have happened if you had thrown in the towel!

So if you ask me it works both ways, there's always going to be a risk but I think the satisfaction and benefits outweigh it all, and almost 52 years on your family must be understand and also get the risks, but also the pleasure! I bet you're a calmer husband/father for it, I know my old man is!

I'll have to finally take you up on the ride offer when I find some free time, you can ride behind me. If you're behind me then there's absolutely no way you would be going too fast to crash! :yes:

[SixPackBack]

The fear of death or injury is ever presant on a bike and it sounds like your issue is how that may affect others. Life and medical insurance takes care of it!

Reducing the risk of riding in your case could possibly include trackdays, or a complete change to something like adventure riding.

[Pwalo]

Yes bad things can happen, but worrying about them won't stop them.

You can just as easily get hit by a trolley bus, or one of those awful hybrid cars, strolling along on the way to work. Or fall over in the shower and smack your head.

Life is inherently dangerous. If you enjoy your riding, and you're not being a prat, it's probably safer being on your bike than sitting around at home where most accidents occur.

[CookMySock]

Gidday old fella. :laugh:

I know what you're saying. I decided a couple of things - I'm not going to come off the bike. I don't crash cars - so why should I crash bikes? Sooo I'm not going to. I decided not to insure - if I fuck up, the dream is over. DONT fuck up!

So I started off with a self-enforced sharp dose of reality. Next I have a 14 y/o daughter who loves her daddy sooo sooo soo much - I never thought I would have such a perfect person worship me so. So I don't want to wreck this part of my life.

I enjoy the road greatly, but remembering that I could lose it all in the blink of an eye, or smash something unbelievably valuable to me - I have many moments where I stop and think - and regulate my actions.

So what's important in your life? Theres more than just biking for me.

Steve

[Blackbuell]

I hear what you are saying Paul,i have definately slowed down on the road,ive decided to get into offroad riding on my insane Quad that certainly gets ya blood rushing,then i,m planning on getting into more trackdays were there are no cages to think about,&buying a armchair cruser to ride around on the weekends to sip latte's at the local cafe's.

[boomer]

Dude, ride! There is plenty of other bad shit that can happen in life. Don't be afraid to do things you enjoy !

[MarkH]

Shit I love riding and yeah, I couldn't live without a bike now.

You have to ride, because you enjoy it so much. You have to take some risks in life - can't be helped. Don't emulate Ghost Rider, take care, but don't give up riding.

There will be enough time for not riding and staying inside a protective box after you are dead. While you are alive you need to live!

[CookMySock]

ive decided to get into offroad riding on my insane Quad that certainly gets ya blood rushingdamn, those things look more dangerous than big road bikes!

Steve

[OutForADuck]

Funny isn't it how as we get older we get more cognative of our own mortality.

I used to race, wheelie and stoppee all the time and ride way way too fast on open roads. But now I see someone bin in on tele in the MotoGP and my stomach turns, my muscles tense and a light sweat takes over :shit:

But life always has risks and its not about avoiding those risks its about mitigating them.

These days I still ride hard and can put most of these young guys behind me, but hardly ever wheelie or stoppee anymore and I pick my moments very intelligently, both for threat of license and life as both would stuff me up dramatically.

Given those parameters I have crashed once in the past 25+ years and walked away from that. I still love my riding and get great passion for my life out of it, just pick my moments and calculate my risks.

Live, ride and be whom you need to be to be happy... when the risks outway the enjoyment you wont be asking the questions... you'll just stop or slow down because the passion will have gone. :love:

Ride on...

[MSTRS]

The trouble with living, is it's all dangerous. The risk assessment is up to the individual, as is the decision on what to do (or not). At the end of your life, it will be the things that you didn't do (but wanted to) that you will regret.


... or a complete change to something like adventure riding.


Remember our mate Zukin? There are no guarantees.

[imdying]

Yeah, I see where you are coming from, but without putting too fine a point on it, you could just as easily be injured or killed crossing the road; driving the car to work or eating a bad curry.No, riding a sportsbike at pace (as he describes) is more dangerous than those activities.


The fear of death or injury is ever presant on a bike and it sounds like your issue is how that may affect others. Life and medical insurance takes care of it!Yep, mitigation plans like insurance are a wise idea.


Yes bad things can happen, but worrying about them won't stop them.But being complacent and ignoring them won't either.


You can just as easily get hit by a trolley bus, or one of those awful hybrid cars, strolling along on the way to work. Or fall over in the shower and smack your head.Really? Just as easily? As easily as binning a motorcycle when you're giving it death? Really? Don't know where you live, but they must be some crazy bus drivers.


Dude, ride! There is plenty of other bad shit that can happen in life. Don't be afraid to do things you enjoy !I don't think he's afraid to do them, I can see why, as you get older, and you're the sole bread winner, you'd want to reevaluate the risks to pleasure ratio on an infrequent basis.

[vifferman]

Remember dude, that life has a 100% mortality rate. :shit:
Just enjoy it while you can. You'd be really pissed off if you took it easy, or gave up biking, and ended up with an incurable cancer or summat.

However, if you feel riding on the road's a bit dicey, you could take up racing or off-road riding to get your fix.

[Blackbird]

Paul, that's pretty much the same introspection that I periodically go through and it's the most healthy thing you can do mate, because it shows you're aware of the risks but are not consumed by them. That gives you enough detachment to assess the risks properly.

I'm 61 (err tomorrow:laugh:) and have been riding an awful long time. I've gone through what it would mean to my family to either be dead or seriously incapacitated many times and have even discussed it with them. Their feedback and my thoughts are pretty much the same in that stopping riding or changing my bike and slowing right up would have a serious (and genuine) impact on who I am. Along the same lines, that's why Jennie and I retired (well, semi!) at 60 so that we could have real fun whilst we were in pretty good nick for the reasons that Vifferman described so succinctly.

Whilst I might not be a great rider, I'm a great believer in continuous improvement and that you never stop learning; thereby reducing risk. I think this is probably what you were alluding to in your motorcycling and shooting comments. Being aware of my limitations is a powerful means of staying fairly safe!

Sometimes, I'm more than happy to just pootle along and enjoy the scenery but having said that, I do enjoy cutting loose occasionally! In today's politically correct and over-regulated world, doing something exciting is good for the soul and makes life worth living.

Great post Paul - something we must debate over a feed sometime!

Geoff

[vifferman]

That's an excellent post, Geoff! Good comments there for all of us to take note of.
Happy Birthday for tomorrow (in case I forget). :niceone:

[OutForADuck]

Remember dude, that life has a 100% mortality rate. :shit:
Just enjoy it while you can. You'd be really pissed off if you took it easy, or gave up biking, and ended up with an incurable cancer or summat.

However, if you feel riding on the road's a bit dicey, you could take up racing or off-road riding to get your fix.



So true.. there's that old saying "Perhaps we would write the stories of our lives differently if we could realise they all have the same ending".

It how you get there that counts!!!!

[vgcspares]

... and don't lose sight of the fact that while the chances of getting hurt riding are higher than when driving, they're still pretty small - most off's just collect bruises, a few a broken bone or two, but if you can get past the headlines the real tragedies are pretty few and far between. No consolation if it's someone you know of course.

[Bass]

Remember our mate Zukin? There are no guarantees.

True, but all the stats say that with adventure riding the odds are better and isn't that what this is about?

Actually, isn't it true that most of life is about playing the odds in one way or another? We simply choose when not to bet.

[MSTRS]

True, but all the stats say that with adventure riding the odds are better and isn't that what this is about?



Agreed. And the odds of drowning in an inch of water are pretty low, but it can still happen. That's all I was pointing out...

[Bass]

Agreed. And the odds of drowning in an inch of water are pretty low, but it can still happen. That's all I was pointing out...

I understand, but it seemed to me that many of the responses that Paul was getting in here indicated that life is full of risks. We would probably all commit suicide from boredom if it wasn't. I believe that there is even a point of view that we are all genetically programmed to deal with some degree of risk - that we actually NEED it.
What differentiates us, is what we each define as an acceptable level - where we set the bar, so to speak.
I personally think that Paul is asking us where he should set the bar and of course, none of us can really answer that for him or anyone other than ourselves.
We can tell him where we set it for ourselves however and what we take into account when making that decision.

[Ixion]

I am unconvinced that, for an experienced, prudent and cautious rider, the inherent danger of motorcycling on the road is any greater than that generally concomitant to the activities of daily life.

I think myself to be at greater danger in the workshop than on the road.

Of course, it is a very different matter for Bikie-boi. And a good thing too, or the makers of Gene-O-Kleen ("Evolution you can see"), would be out of business.

[Bass]

I am unconvinced that, for an experienced, ........... concomitant to the activities of daily life.

.

No doubt you have heard the old adage that:-
Good judgement comes from experience but that unfortunately, experience comes from bad judgement.

Yes..... stretching relevance there a bit, I know

One other thing, do you not think (for argument's sake) that the logical final outcome of a society that liberally applies Gene-O-Kleen is a society that takes no risks at all and therefore makes no progress since all progress necessitates some degree of risk?

[slofox]

I am in the happy position of having no dependents any more - live alone and kids are grown up - so that part of the problem does not exist for me.
That said, I still have a sense of self-preservation (seems to kick in around 160km/hr...hurhurhur) which bids me to ride within my limits......which I do. I usually ride alone because, being a competitive bastard, I just know that in a group I would be wanting to keep up (or at least not lag behind) which might well involve pushing out beyond my own personal comfort zone. When all is said and done, I ride for the sheer pleasure that it gives me and there is a lot of that, even within my limits. I don't scream into a corner I can't see the exit of. I don't roar over the tops of hills if I don't know what is on the other side. If there is traffic around I expect the worst and ride accordingly. I prefer roads with low traffic volume. On the busier roads I am more circumspect. Risk management is what it is about for me. I don't believe that I unduly increase my personal risk by riding in this way.
I also don't think this means I ride like a granny. I did used to race on the track once upon a time. But I don't feel the need to ride like I was on a track when I am on the road. The two circumstances are very different and demand different approaches.
When all is said and done, I would prefer to have some unused margin and all my bones (and brain) intact.

[riffer]

I share your concerns.

I'm 41, married with four dependent children aged 10, 9, 8 and 3.

Gini and I've talked about this a bit and she supports me in my need to ride.

I use the bike for transport mainly to and from work, and mucking about in the weekend. I ride over 500kms a week and it's a constant danger that someone might take me out. But I generally ride sensibly. I also have medical and life insurance. The family would miss me if I died but they wouldn't be destitute.

[raftn]

You are not the only one that thinks that way, we all do from time to time. I have young kids to, and a partner that loves me............but all said and done , i take as many precautions as i can, ..every body dies..........not every body lives!

[vgcspares]

insurers calculate the average motorcyclist has one serious accident every twenty years ... where you fit on the bell curve is down to your common sense and luck - life's a crap-shoot, no surprises there then

[Katman]

The family would miss me if I died



I caught my wife tampering with my brakes the other day.







:msn-wink:

[MSTRS]

I caught my wife tampering with my brakes the other day.


Ahhh...but who paid her to do it? :shifty:

[Ixion]

No doubt you have heard the old adage that:-
Good judgement comes from experience but that unfortunately, experience comes from bad judgement.

Yes..... stretching relevance there a bit, I know

One other thing, do you not think (for argument's sake) that the logical final outcome of a society that liberally applies Gene-O-Kleen is a society that takes no risks at all and therefore makes no progress since all progress necessitates some degree of risk?

I will distinguish between calculated risk and stupidity. One of the features of Gene-O-Kleen ("Evolution you can see"), is that it is deactivated in the presence of common sense and good judgement. So long as common sense and sound judgement are there risk does not cause the activation of Gene-O-Kleen.

[MarkH]

I caught my wife tampering with my brakes the other day.

Goddamn that woman! I told her to wait until you were asleep!

[Swoop]

There are plenty of comments about "the rider" and "the family of the rider" here. Medical insurance and life insurance will aid you and your family because of it.
Perhaps, if we are going to delve deeply into an introspective moment, thoughts need to be made for the pedestrian, other driver/rider or their passenger/s whose lives may be changed by your actions.

[yungatart]

It is your life. You must live it as you see fit. Obviously, sitting in an armchair watching the world go by is not your thing..
It would be a crime/sin to not live your life fully, and such a waste too.
As Mstrs said "remember Zukin". His motto was "Die with memories, not with dreams".
Enough said really!

[beyond]

Thanks for the replies peeps.
I suppose in some way we all think along the same lines and yep, you gotta enjoy life and what you do.

Many have mentioned insurance etc.
Interesting point. What medical and accident cover do people have and how much is it? Can get pricey I've heard?

[Blackbird]

What medical and accident cover do people have and how much is it? Can get pricey I've heard?

We used to have comprehensive medical cover because my company paid for it.

We now have specialist and surgery cover only at ~$220/month from Southern Cross. When we were talking to our company superannuation actuary before retirement, specialist and surgery cover was his recommendation. It's cheaper than full cover including doctor's visits etc. His rationale was that our kids are all grown up and earning a crust and we won't have any problem paying cash for relatively minor ticket items so we can save ourselves some dough. Because we're getting older, specialist and surgery is the area we really need coverage for.

That's my 2 bob's worth!:done:

[Drum]

I've had such thoughts as well. But they always go away in a few days.

Insured to the hilt though!

[scumdog]

Get a big sluggardly Harley without a screen, it will still get you there but you tend not to want to go quite so fast.

Well it works for me.:laugh:

[Timber020]

Beyond, come work with me for a day, bikes will feel safe afterwards.

[beyond]

Beyond, come work with me for a day, bikes will feel safe afterwards.

What do you do then?? Bond 007? :)

[Ixion]

He molests Ents.