Flying an airplane, controlling the risk of getting killed was mostly on me. My sense of it is that’s not true for riding motorcycles on public roads.Originally Posted by OlongJohnson
Flying an airplane, controlling the risk of getting killed was mostly on me. My sense of it is that’s not true for riding motorcycles on public roads.
If we have to march off into the next world, let us walk there on the bodies of our enemies.
I was having a little fun with Nephrology, as opposed to fun with nephrology. Get it? Never mind.
For the risk averse, I offer Theodore Roosevelt, who said, “Life is a great adventure, and the worst of all fears is the fear of living.”
"Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA
Beware of my temper, and the dog that I've found...
Certainly not since the advent of smartphones.
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776
Like real estate, I think a lot of this boils down to "location, location, location." I used to ride a couple of motorcycles, when I was still in the Army and stationed at Ft. Hood. I would generally ride to/from work daily (weather permitting), or take longer rides to Austin/Waco on weekends. I would generally pick my routes to take lesser traveled country roads, to minimize my potential interaction with other drivers.
Now, in NY, where full contact homicidal driving is the norm, on roads whose condition can only be likened to those I encountered in Haiti and other vacation spots? No f'in way would I get on a motorcycle, even though I still have the M designator on my license. Not for love or money...
If you live somewhere that the roads are decent, weather is nice, and traffic is light - enjoy yourself. If not, you're REALLY putting your life in the hands of all the mouth-breathing f-tards driving around you...
Unfortunately, there are a lot of idiots on two wheels as well.
When riding, ride. I'm not one for combining riding with listening to tunes or podcasts or ball games inside my helmet.
Everyone is free to make their own decisions in that regard but when on two wheels, I was all about the ride.
There's nothing civil about this war.
Probably some corollary between flying in (into) sketchy weather and riding in traffic.
I should mention that I am for damn sure not as bold as I once was. I wanted to ride anywhere I could, anytime I could, no matter the weather or traffic. Now not so much, I know there will probably never be something I walk away from, just getting too fragile (I am nearly sixty). One spring I couldn't remember how to reset my clock back to daylight savings time when it occurred to me that I should probably just leave it the next year cause I really didn't need to be riding after dark (hard to avoid when it gest dark about the time you get off of work) when the rut was approaching.
And when they get killed while they were shit faced and racing each other after bike night they contribute to the stats that support the fact that motorcycles are dangerous.
Last edited by mmc45414; 10-09-2018 at 09:48 AM.
This ^^^^^ x 1 million. I'm driving, part time these days and while on a recent drive into NJ, some Daredevil on a crotch rocket exploded past me on a very busy RTE. 287, going at least a hundred. He actually scared me because I never saw him until he was at my door. The sound and sight of that idiot is etched into my brain. Shitheads like him absolutely ruin things for guys that ride within the law.
Its been interesting reading through this. There are a number of thought provoking posts, on both sides, and some things I hadnt thought of when considering getting back into riding. I think location has some bearing, as does the reasons why many ride. To many, and I was in this group to an extent in my youth, was "having fun" by going fast, at least under some circumstances, not as a full time habit. Smoking through curvy roads, hammering it to the limit to pass in tight windy mountain or canyon roads used to be a part of the reason to ride. Such has little appeal at this point. "Having fun" by drinking is also a player in many negative outcomes related to motorcycles.
Does any of this say motorcycles arent or cant be dangerous and beyond the control of the rider? No. The discussion does put some sober perspective on the matter though. I havent changed my desire to ride, though I think I understand a bit more of why I want to and what it means to me to ride. Its partly the experience, its partly love of the machinery, and partly the putting oneself in charge of their existence in ways that some that only consider safety as the desired goal may not understand or appreciate for whatever reasons. All those things are individual and can change over time. I understand that many arent willing to put themselves at a higher level of perceived risk for whatever the perceived benefit is,....though some obviously are, for their own reasons, and those reasons may not be what others priorities are.
Some like sports cars. Why? I dont know. They never appealed to me in any way. Surfing? Fine art? Fine adult beverages? Some value experiences that others have no understanding of or interest in. Concerts? Some love the solitude of wild and silent places, to others, its annoying and boring.
Riding is for the most part a heightened experience from driving. A more elemental experience. Some value that, others, it doesnt compute. Why take the silly risk? Obviously the perceived risk varies in comparison to the perceived benefit or reward for having the experience.
I've known too many good dudes that died way too young on motorcycles. Most of the time, they were being a little dumb and it caught up with them. Some of the time, though, they were safe and did everything right and the idiots out there still killed them.
My Father rode motorcycles as his daily commuter for decades. As a kid, the sound of him getting home was a Yamaha V-twin on one of his Viragos or other old cruisers. So the itch for a bike was firmly entrenched in me long before I got a drivers license. He'd been hit a couple times, but mostly he managed to mitigate the impact because had a very proactive philosophy when riding - "Ride as if you're completely invisible to everyone else, and assume they will kill you if they can"
That kept him in good stead for a long time, and adopting that mindset when driving a car has kept me out of a lot of problems too. But one final accident a few years ago, when he got rear-ended by a teenybopper girl on her cell phone did it in for him.
He stopped at a 4-way stop sign, made a right turn, and was accelerating up to the speed limit when she blew the stop sign entirely at about ~60mph (20 over the limit) and hit him without even touching the brakes. He had full gear and that saved his life but his right arm and shoulder will never be the same despite multiple surgeries on his rotator cuff.
Girl claimed he just pulled out in front of her, denied ever running the stop sign, and didn't even get so much as a ticket. That really irked me. My Dad blamed himself because he assumed she'd see the stop sign and stop.
Nonetheless, sometimes I see a Triumph Speed Triple and I just *ache* to own a bike.
In addition to the other sound guidelines other folks laid out - I would consider a GoPro or similar camera setup to be a mandatory. Front and rear, if possible. That way, if something *does* happen you'll have video evidence of exactly what went down.
And always always always assume you're invisible to everyone around you, and that they'll kill you and not even notice if you give them the chance.
Bikes are cool. More people are killed by doctors than on bikes. BUT more motorcyclists are killed while on bikes than by doctors. You’ve got to define the population you’re talking about...
Bikes are cool for dirt, track days, country rides in areas with ready access to hospitals, and tootling around low speed-limit urban areas. Bikes are not cool for heavy traffic of any kind and especially not freeways or highways.
I still have a Street Triple and maybe I’ll ride it again one day. More likely it’ll be sold soon and I’ll get a dual sport bike when the kids are grown.
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