Melancholy moment

[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.
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) 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).

[OutForADuck]

Remember dude, that life has a 100% mortality rate.
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:Me]

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