KB = Mourning

[Maha]

Almost 11,000 memebers on Kiwibiker and 8 or so have tragiclly gone from this Earth over the last five years. Example: A small town has a population of around 11,000, over the the past 5 or so years a handful of the population (lets say 8) have died, yes its a bastard to those who love and know these people but its an acceptable % given the numbers. Not acceptable to those that have lost loved ones, but thats the circle of life. There will be more I and dread the day that its someone i know personally.

[Mikkel]

Almost 11,000 memebers on Kiwibiker and 8 or so have tragiclly gone from this Earth over the last five years. Example: A small town has a population of around 11,000, over the the past 5 or so years a handful of the population (lets say 8) have died, yes its a bastard to those who love and know these people but its an acceptable % given the numbers. Not acceptable to those that have lost loved ones, but thats the circle of life. There will be more and dread the day that its someone i know personally.

11,000 registered members mind you. Some of which are inactive (who knows why?), some of which are lurkers...

What the usual number of members visiting the site? I'm guessing somewhere between 500 and 1000 a day.

My point being of course that if you don't interact with the community both on- and offline noone here will have a clue that you've binned and gotten yourself hurt or worse.

[Kittyhawk]

Greyghost....another lost kber...

[Deano]

Slightly off topic, and I'm not in any way trying to downplay road fatalities (or track) as any fatality is tragic to those involved.

But - if this was an interest group concerning hazardous substances, we would be mourning 480-700 people per year in NZ. That's more than the road toll - but it just doesn't make the headlines.

After the Puke tragedy, I looked at my 5 month old son and it certainly made me think.

But we each have to live our own lives and assess the risks in our activites.

With that in mind, there's no way I'm giving up racing.

[Finn]

I never post on "biker down" threads, especially the serious ones. Sure I care and sure I'm shocked and saddened, but after all it's a numbers game with the added risk given the physics of 2 wheels and the disproportionate number of k's traveled by the average biker.

Life is cruel and one thing for sure, it will end one way or another. Still, I'd rather die by a Lancer than Cancer.

We're bikers, life with it.

[Str8 Jacket]

During my life I have lost quite a few mates for various reasons, mostly suicide. Those types of deaths are harder to mourn and harder to understand. Motorcycle accidents you can understand, even if it just doesnt seem right. Its real, cause it can happen to you. Since my time on KB I have made sooo many great mates and life has been awesome since I have started riding. The loss of others has really served as a reminder to me about how dangerous motorcycling really is and that I need to look after myself out there! Losing Uncle B was hard but it has been made easier through my mates on KB, we have all been there to support each other and to help "keep things real". I know that riding is dangerous but I would rather lose my life to riding than to depression.

[Joni]

I never post on "biker down" threads, especially the serious ones. Sure I care and sure I'm shocked and saddened, but after all it's a numbers game with the added risk given the physics of 2 wheels and the disproportionate number of k's traveled by the average biker.

Yup me too... I will only post if I knew the person.


KB is an unnatural thing in a way.... In “real life” a person would never be exposed to this amount of riders on a personal level. Bikers do go down, they do get hurt and at times pass away... but with so many riders concentrated into one place like KB, it becomes a lot more common to hear about.

[SpankMe]

What the usual number of members visiting the site? I'm guessing somewhere between 500 and 1000 a day.

February 11, 2008

[WRT]

Wow, see that spike on the 9th/10th. First thought is "what a bunch of vultures" but I was one of them - checking on those I know.

[Maha]

I never post on "biker down" threads, especially the serious ones. Sure I care and sure I'm shocked and saddened, but after all it's a numbers game with the added risk given the physics of 2 wheels and the disproportionate number of k's traveled by the average biker.

Life is cruel and one thing for sure, it will end one way or another. Still, I'd rather die by a Lancer than Cancer.

We're bikers, life with it.

Yup me too... I will only post if I knew the person.


KB is an unnatural thing in a way.... In “real life” a person would never be exposed to this amount of riders on a personal level. Bikers do go down, they do get hurt and at times pass away... but with so many riders concentrated into one place like KB, it becomes a lot more common I to hear about.

Both posts put way better that i managed but in some weird way we are saying the same thing...thank you Finn and Joni for making clear what i was trying to say.

[007XX]

It's still important to be reminded that we're not bullet proof.

It is only human to get into a comfort zone when you practice something on a daily basis , be it racing or road riding, or even crossing the street...

Sure it is a daily occurence that people die, but all need to be looking after themselves and be respectful of the risks we all take just living...

enjoy every moment though...ya only get one chance to make it good!

[SixPackBack]

Like any other addiction we make excuses for our motorcycling habit, the recent Pukekohe double tragedy was a great example. two people die at the event and the event rolled on like nowt has happened???...cries of "that's what the victims would have wanted"..."HTFU"....."that's racing"...and "riders have put a lot of time and money to be here this weekend" , only reinforce how twisted the motorcycle mind can become. Life has become so cheap to us that we make any excuse to continue on with our deadly pursuit.

Just like junkies!

[Mikkel]

Table of forum visitor numbers.

That's impressive!

Both posts put way better that i managed but in some weird way we are saying the same thing...thank you Finn and Joni for making clear what i was trying to say.

+1

Like any other addiction we make excuses for our motorcycling habit, the recent Pukekohe double tragedy was a great example. two people die at the event and the event rolled on like nowt has happened???...cries of "that's what the victims would have wanted"..."HTFU"....."that's racing"...and "riders have put a lot of time and money to be here this weekend" , only reinforce how twisted the motorcycle mind can become. Life has become so cheap to us that we make any excuse to continue on with our deadly pursuit.

Just like junkies!

Either that, or society has become permeated with an unreal appreciation of the value of the individual and other socialistic and humanitarian virtues, perpetrated by the bleeding hearts, the ideologists and the artists. A set of morals that are only vaguely in touch with the harshness of reality.

Personally I think the truth(TM) is to be found somewhere in the gap between these two extremes.

[Mental Trousers]

I usually count on attending 1 or 2 funerals a year of biker mates. It's a pasttime/lifestyle that has inherent dangers, particularly if a mistake is made.

KB is still growing (quite rapidly I might add, just had the 10,000 registered member on 04/03/2008) so people are being exposed to a larger number of bike riders than ever before. It's just a numbers game - the more we're exposed to the more often we'll find out about deaths.

[Crasherfromwayback]

KB is an unnatural thing in a way.... In “real life” a person would never be exposed to this amount of riders on a personal level. Bikers do go down, they do get hurt and at times pass away... but with so many riders concentrated into one place like KB, it becomes a lot more common to hear about.

In my 21 years in the motorcycle industry, plus 30 years of riding/racing I've known thousands of bikers...and losing them is a sad part of it. You're right Joni....a site like this just makes it easier (but harder if that makes sense) to read about it. Motorcycling is going through a huge boom...more riders = more nasty things happening too. We all love bikes...but they can be cruel.