I just wanted to pause and reflect on the last year and it's events.
I've been riding street bikes since I was of legal age (and a little before that too), and this has been the most doubt & thought provoking season I've seen.
Every ride (save one) I went on this year had at least one wreck or in the least, mechanical breakdown that could have caused an injury. I went on three rides in a row in which I saw a rider go down in my mirrors behind me.
In the last week I have heard of 3 deaths (2 crashes) on one board (hayabusa.org), 2 more on another (suzukihayabusa.org) and one on sportbikes.ws in the last month (riding a Hayabusa). Each was unrelated and on a Hayabusa only. I’m not counting the other types of bike fatalities or stunter deaths. Of the 6 recent deaths, I knew and considered 4 of the riders friends, and knew them on a personal level. Hell, one of them was using my stock windscreen/handlebars and bar ends (went down on his bike and he didn’t have the dough to repair a lot of items, so I mailed them to him as a gift).
One of the deaths that occurred this week particularly hit home because of how much the guy who died reminded me of myself. Mike was within 5 years of my age and also owned and managed a computer repair shop.
It really scares me to think about the risks we take. Especially the ones I've taken this year (70+ MPH in a decreasing radius 20mph corner or 150mph in a sweeping corner with a passenger or 10o'clocking a 560lb bike with people I don't know behind me, for example). I’m not bragging…. Quite the opposite, I’m showing how stupid I’ve been lately. What scares me more is that despite my recent wreck and injury, the $$ and marital problems it caused and the recent deaths and crashes of my riding buddies, I still can't bring myself to stop riding. If I were this addicted to drugs or alcohol, I'd identify the problem and get some help.
I’m sure some of you, if not all, have had doubts about the safety and sanity of this sport. My question is this:
How do you justify the risks? Rationalize the addiction? Convince or reassure your SO it’ll all be ok?
I've been riding street bikes since I was of legal age (and a little before that too), and this has been the most doubt & thought provoking season I've seen.
Every ride (save one) I went on this year had at least one wreck or in the least, mechanical breakdown that could have caused an injury. I went on three rides in a row in which I saw a rider go down in my mirrors behind me.
In the last week I have heard of 3 deaths (2 crashes) on one board (hayabusa.org), 2 more on another (suzukihayabusa.org) and one on sportbikes.ws in the last month (riding a Hayabusa). Each was unrelated and on a Hayabusa only. I’m not counting the other types of bike fatalities or stunter deaths. Of the 6 recent deaths, I knew and considered 4 of the riders friends, and knew them on a personal level. Hell, one of them was using my stock windscreen/handlebars and bar ends (went down on his bike and he didn’t have the dough to repair a lot of items, so I mailed them to him as a gift).
One of the deaths that occurred this week particularly hit home because of how much the guy who died reminded me of myself. Mike was within 5 years of my age and also owned and managed a computer repair shop.
It really scares me to think about the risks we take. Especially the ones I've taken this year (70+ MPH in a decreasing radius 20mph corner or 150mph in a sweeping corner with a passenger or 10o'clocking a 560lb bike with people I don't know behind me, for example). I’m not bragging…. Quite the opposite, I’m showing how stupid I’ve been lately. What scares me more is that despite my recent wreck and injury, the $$ and marital problems it caused and the recent deaths and crashes of my riding buddies, I still can't bring myself to stop riding. If I were this addicted to drugs or alcohol, I'd identify the problem and get some help.
I’m sure some of you, if not all, have had doubts about the safety and sanity of this sport. My question is this:
How do you justify the risks? Rationalize the addiction? Convince or reassure your SO it’ll all be ok?