Ahhhh, anti-biking mother

**Askelon** · 22nd June 2009, 09:31

I just turned up home one day and said look what I bought.. Did the same with my first tatt.. My parents werent happy, they got over it..

**James Deuce** · 22nd June 2009, 09:38

Ignore the people trying to get you to "convert" your Mum. They're ignoring the basic premises that people only change if they want and that you can't change anyone's mind on based on your own opinion.

Your Mum is risk averse on your behalf for a whole bunch of reasons that I hope are obvious to you and you obviously respect her enough to to pay a small amount of attention to her objections.

Your Mum isn't going to accept any of your reasoning while you are living at home. If you really want this you have to cut the apron strings and move out. If the benefits of staying at home in the short term outweigh the negatives of doing your bike license and buying a bike then wait until you are in a position to achieve your goals. Don't turn it into a "kicked out" scenario.

**Winston001** · 22nd June 2009, 10:15

Originally Posted by James Deuce

Ignore the people trying to get you to "convert" your Mum. They're ignoring the basic premises that people only change if they want and that you can't change anyone's mind on based on your own opinion.

Your Mum is risk averse on your behalf for a whole bunch of reasons that I hope are obvious to you and you obviously respect her enough to to pay a small amount of attention to her objections.

Your Mum isn't going to accept any of your reasoning while you are living at home. If you really want this you have to cut the apron strings and move out. If the benefits of staying at home in the short term outweigh the negatives of doing your bike license and buying a bike then wait until you are in a position to achieve your goals. Don't turn it into a "kicked out" scenario.

I completely agree with James. At 19 it is very hard for you to understand your mum's perspective. Lets just say that no parent should ever have to bury their child........

**RT527** · 22nd June 2009, 10:22

Originally Posted by Ixion

I done a course in it. Misery 101.

Ahhhh so you got married too

**thecharmed01** · 22nd June 2009, 12:31

Originally Posted by DangerousBastard

My young fella is the same. He'll stand up at the gates of hell for his mother.
Get some training bro - lots of it. There are courses for africa over your way.
Get an $80 pocketbike and race it on the track. Tell your mum the road is for touring and the track is for racing.
Buy some books and read them until they fall apart.. leave them lying around on the coffee table - explain that it's critical safety information and tell your mum about the cool things you learn.
Get some old fart on a boring bike and introduce him to your mum as your mentor. Go on rides with them.
Buy ALL of your safety gear BEFORE you go anywhere near any bike. Make it all the good expensive stuff. Tell your mum why its imperative to have all the safety gear before you even OWN a bike. Explain all the features of the safety gear to your mum.
Get someone to teach you to steer properly.
Tell your mum how much she means to you, and that you are not going to get your stupid self bent.
Don't tell her not to worry. She IS GOING TO WORRY.
Live up to your promise, and DON'T BE AN ARSE on your motorbike. Picture your mums tears when you are dead. Remind yourself of this every time you ride.
Tell your mates to fuck off and do stupid shit on their own - you want no part of it.
edit: ask your mum to help polish your bike. Polish it like you have never polished anything in your life.
Is this helping?
Steve

I have to say this is a really well thought out post..... and I agree wholeheartedly.

I am a mum and I know that even now my son LOVES motorbikes. He giggles at the sound of a 2-stroke starting and you cannot keep him away from them - he is not even a year old yet.
I have had to resign myself to the fact that seeing as his father and I ride, he will to so my way of dealing with that is that I will make sure that he starts out right.
He will have people teaching him how to ride, how to stay safe (well...safe as he can) on the bike and how to ride defensively.
I have already told his father he will have the most expensive gear if that's what he needs. Cost will not be a factor in keeping him in good quality helmet, body armour and clothing. No cheap stuff for him. The thought of him being hurt is just heart-wrenching, but I wont stop him, just prepare him as much as I possibly can.....then pray LOL
If he wants to keep his bike however, he WILL have to learn to look after it. He will be cleaning his own bike and gear after rides and he will have to learn to do at least basic servicing on it from the get go. Disrespect the bike, and lose it.

I think you have to show your mother you are serious about getting and keeping the bike and show her you are going to ride properly, not be an idiot about it and not go into it in a half-assed manner.
Buy good quality riding gear, as said above, learn to ride, and learn about looking after a motorcycle.
If you can show her you will be responsible about it, and that you are keen enough to learn to fix & clean it, it will make a big difference to the time it takes her to speak to you again after you buy it LOL

For most mothers, seeing their teenage boy CLEANING something is huge. They wont clean their rooms, bodies or clothes themselves, so cleaning anything is a big sign of how much they love it!!!

**vifferman** · 22nd June 2009, 12:56

My Mum wasn't too keen on me getting a bike at 15, but my Dad had a bike when he was younger, so he talked her round. I wrote my first bike off the day after my 17th birthday.

Now it's my kids who give me a hard time, with #2Son talking about me riding a "Dangercycle" or "Murderbike". I suspect he's just taking the piss, as he worked part-time at a bike shop for a while, and aspired to owning a bike a coupe of years ago.

**Headbanger** · 22nd June 2009, 13:00

Apparently my dear old mum was 100 percent against it, I never noticed.

**idleidolidyll** · 22nd June 2009, 13:07

You are 19, ignore your mother and do what you have a legal right to do.

I bought my first bike at 15

**Winston001** · 22nd June 2009, 13:14

Originally Posted by thecharmed01

I am a mum and I know that even now my son LOVES motorbikes. He giggles at the sound of a 2-stroke starting and you cannot keep him away from them - he is not even a year old yet....

You sound just like a lady journalist who interviewed me a couple of weeks ago. Her 4 yr old notices bikes everywhere he goes and wanted a real one for his birthday.

His friends take no notice - just him.

If a child gets the bug for something then usually it doesn't go away....

**vifferman** · 22nd June 2009, 13:22

Originally Posted by Winston001

If a child gets the bug for something then usually it doesn't go away....

That's not entirely true. I've noticed that small kids are almost all fascinated by motorbikes, then when they get to a certain age, many of them have lost that, or learned that they are 'bad'. I suspect an awful lot of people would feel differently about bikes once they'd sat on one and felt the exhilaration of twisting the throttle and rocketing off into the distance.

**thecharmed01** · 22nd June 2009, 13:24

Originally Posted by Winston001

You sound just like a lady journalist who interviewed me a couple of weeks ago. Her 4 yr old notices bikes everywhere he goes and wanted a real one for his birthday.

His friends take no notice - just him.

If a child gets the bug for something then usually it doesn't go away....

Hehe, unfortunately we have the bug, so I knew it would happen.
We have been taking him to Trail Rides since he was 6 mths old and he has always loved bikes and the noise. He has no fear of the noise, even 200 bikes caning past the pram doesnt make him bat an eyelid - he just gets upset if he can hear but not see them!! He often plays in our carpark round the bikes when the guys are tinkering and sits on them while they rev them up LOL

**crazyhorse** · 22nd June 2009, 15:25

Leave home - easy answer, then she won't know what you're up to

**Squid** · 22nd June 2009, 17:12

Originally Posted by crazyhorse

Leave home - easy answer, then she won't know what you're up to

then arrive for dinner one night on a bike

Before I got my 1st bike the condition from Mum and Dad was that I had to have my full car licence and a car 1st. Looking back that was a good way to do it. Didnt think so at the time but I survived.

**Badjelly** · 22nd June 2009, 17:38

My cousin died in a motorbike accident aged 19 or so. I took up biking a year or 2 later aged about 17. My Mum must have been worried sick. She let me know about her concern, but she never stopped me, bless her. "I'll be careful, Mum," I said. And I was, quite a lot of the time.