Live to ride or ride to live?

Burger King

Burger King

breakin' the law
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Lately I've noticed a lot of people expressing fear for riding after high profile crashes like Ben Rothenberger or a friend, boardmember or maybe a racer on the track getting injured or dying.
If you ride with fear you shouldn't ride. You're endangering yourself and others. Riding should be fun. If thats gone then the only reason to ride is because thats the only transportation you have.
There is nothing wrong with anyone losing interest in riding. If the joy has passed then do what you enjoy. Maybe one day it will return, maybe not........no big deal either way. Just don't jeopardize yourself or your family by riding on a bike worrying about whether you're going to get hit or die riding.

I guess I'm just a fatalist. I believe we all have our appointed time. It doesn't matter if we are on a bike, in a car or laying in a hospice dying of cancer. I would rather go doing something I love rather than "tip toeing through life only to arrive safely at deaths door."
I have been in a car that hit a huge oak tree head on flipping the car and throwing 3 guys out. No one was seriously hurt. I was the driver of a Bronco that hit a train in the middle of winter. I was thrown out right beside the moving train. I have been in the hospital 3 times from motorcycles twice spending a week with broken bones and collapsed lungs. I developed a sever allergic reaction to wasp and fire ant bites. 3 times I've been in the hospital knocking on deaths door from them little buggers.
I refuse to live in fear of what is my ultimate destiny. I hope to meet it with a smile on my face!

Everyone...... be safe and ride smart but if you are fearful take a break.
 
I for the most part ride with fear to some extent as it's always keeping me alert or keeps me in check from not doing stupid things.
 
(Greg B @ July 06 2006 said:
..edited by BiG-T...

Everyone...... be safe and ride smart but if you are fearful take a break.
Click to expand...
smile.gif
Agreed!
 
You need a bit of fear. It's what separates us from the squids and the sausage creature.

Fear makes me put gear on.



<!--EDIT|shortBoarder
Reason for Edit: None given...|1152216009 -->
 
Yeah No-Fear? Allways a bad Idea.

But Riding Scared or not managing risks properly that is a problem. Fear is what keeps you alive, dress it up however your ego will allow, call it what you like, but it's still fear, plain and simple.

I haven't seen anyone talking about being too afraid to ride though.

We are all familiar with the "live Life to it's fullest" rhetoric, it's nothing new and I agree to a point, you cannot be living scared, it's not really living at all. At the same time though, you cannot hand over your survival to the fates and "Hope" for the best. Obviously that doesn't seem to work. This isn't what WWJD and myself are talking about anyway though.

No, What WWJD, and Myself are talking about (I believe) is simply being bored??? Maybe just tired of hassling with two wheels. The Rush is gone, and the pleasures are no longer worth the hassles. I dunno, I haven't made any decisions and I am kinda speaking for WWJD and that's not a good idea.

Now I did mention friends dying, nearly dying as an issue.

It's come to the point where I am out of friends left to die almost. I have one riding buddy left and he's in Kuwait. So what, that makes like three within a year and a couple of months? WTF kind of ##### do I have to be to continue to subject my wife and family to that? What justification? "Oh it's fun?" Is that enough? Enough Reason to Fuggin risk your spouses happiness? I dunno... It used to be the answer was a clear and simple yes, yes it is worth anything, but now I dunno. I am having a blast in the fun car, and when I am sitting in traffic in the rain and I see a couple of guys on bikes I certainly am not wishing I was out there.

Like I said before elsewhere, I come from a family that rides, All of them, 4 Uncles, both Granddads, prolly a dozen cousins. It's in the blood and oddly enough, NONE of them have died on two wheels, hell I don't even think anyone has had a bad accident. So I dunno what the hell to do with myself, me without a bike makes no sense...

I dunno...
 
Fear is good...

Fear doesnt mean that you are afraid to ride - it means you are afraid to crash. I have NO FEAR of taking a 80mph corner at 120...bring in the paramedics and close the road and I will do it...I will still be afraid to crash...

I need to ride to live...but I live to ride as well. I make sure my schedule revolves around my "ride plans" and NOTHING gets in the way of this personal time.
 
Watching out for the other guy because of fear or having fear to keep the macho in check is a lot different than watching out for the other guy because you're a proactive (I label it being offensive the right way) or having self control to keep the macho in check. Fear always has you looking over your shoulder worring about you or someone else making a mistake. You have to let fear go and self conrtol to rule.
There's nothing wrong with doing a burnout or riding a wheelie or sliding the rearend in or out of a corner in the right context. Your maturity should make those decisions, not fear.

The first time I was in the hospital from a motorcycle accident I had a broken collerbone, broken ribs and a collapsed lung. After the doctor came in and put in the chest tube one of the nurses said that she would like to bring her son in and show him what happens when you ride motorcycles. I wondered to myself if thats what she said when she came across a patient who was in an automobile accident. It really burned my azz when she said that.

Just for the record this isn't the only board I've been hearing alot of concern for riders safety. We need to all be vigiliant because thats how we ride and live not because we fear.



<!--EDIT|Greg B
Reason for Edit: None given...|1152220878 -->
 
Uh... I think you're missing what's being said, or you're just pretending...
 
If the joy is gone then its time to not ride. That decision says nothing about our value as individuals. Deciding to hang on out of what others will think is our pride, ego, vanity, bs etc. Do what YOU need to do and live it the way you want despite the opinions of others. For me I always ride with a bit of fear I guess or maybe its an awareness of how quickly it can all go bad. Lost my old man that way in an instant. Even rode by the wreck in a cage and wondered what happened then got the call, all this a month after I got my first bike(not the Busa). Yes, he was on a bike. He had 30 years of experience but I sure wished he had put on some armor not just some crappy windbreaker and a helmet.

For me I put on the armor, kiss the new wife bye, say a prayer and keep my eyes and ears open. Riding is optional, coming home isn't.
Busafng
 
(busafng @ July 06 2006 said:
If the joy is gone then its time to not ride. That decision says nothing about our value as individuals. Deciding to hang on out of what others will think is our pride, ego, vanity, bs etc. Do what YOU need to do and live it the way you want despite the opinions of others. For me I always ride with a bit of fear I guess or maybe its an awareness of how quickly it can all go bad. Lost my old man that way in an instant. Even rode by the wreck in a cage and wondered what happened then got the call, all this a month after I got my first bike(not the Busa). Yes, he was on a bike. He had 30 years of experience but I sure wished he had put on some armor not just some crappy windbreaker and a helmet.

For me I put on the armor, kiss the new wife bye, say a prayer and keep my eyes and ears open. Riding is optional, coming home isn't.
Busafng
Click to expand...
Thank you, this is what I am saying. All the romantic, idealistic, cliche's mean exactly #### when it comes down to real life and why we ride or consider not riding.
 
I think your thread title said it best. Live to ride or ride to live. It's both. If I feared death, I wouldn't ride at all. As REV stated, our deal is more of a passion dying down or being replaced. I doubt I will EVER totally loose the urge to ride, and most likely always have a cycle, but the more I open up on the track, the less I do on the road. Everyone is different, and there is no reason to be the same. Some buy a bike for 2 months, and sell it never to ride again. Some have had 37 bikes over their life and probably have 7 in the garage right now. Some pose, some stunt, some race. It's all good. My post was mostly about me noticing I don't ride as much as I did last couple of years. I'm not hanging it up - just wondered about others that go thru this. I'm kinda glad my buddy is selling his bike: he has a new 2nd child and his wife NEVER liked the bike - he bought a convertable stang that the whole family can enjoy. Good for him. He usually slowed me down anyway ;)
 
(WWJD @ July 06 2006 said:
I think your thread title said it best.  Live to ride or ride to live.  It's both.  If I feared death, I wouldn't ride at all.  As REV stated, our deal is more of a passion dying down or being replaced.  I doubt I will EVER totally loose the urge to ride, and most likely always have a cycle, but the more I open up on the track, the less I do on the road.  Everyone is different, and there is no reason to be the same.  Some buy a bike for 2 months, and sell it never to ride again.  Some have had 37 bikes over their life and probably have 7 in the garage right now.  Some pose, some stunt, some race.  It's all good.  My post was mostly about me noticing I don't ride as much as I did last couple of years.   I'm not hanging it up - just wondered about others that go thru this.  I'm kinda glad my buddy is selling his bike:  he has a new 2nd child and his wife NEVER liked the bike - he bought a convertable stang that the whole family can enjoy.  Good for him.  He usually slowed me down anyway   ;)
Click to expand...
You're exactly right. When I was racing I didn't much care for riding on the street. In fact I might as well of had a cruiser or Goldwing as a sportbike on the street. I think it was because the thrill I was looking for was the constant adrenelin rush I found on the track compared to short spurts on the road.

After a 10 year break from bikes during the length of my second marriage I got the busa to renew my love of riding. I picked it over a liter bike or GSXR750 because I wanted something that would haul a passenger (if I was lucky) or all my gear for touring and camping without being underpowered and still be relatively comfortable. I find riding, especially in the mountains, to be a great thrill again. I would love to get back on the track even if it was just for a track day but I worry that my addiction to speed on a track would grab a hold of my wallet. Besides I have to finish raising my daughter for a couple more years...........I need an excuse not to go back out there! Racing can be as addicitive as golf and a whole lot more expensive!!
 
(Greg B @ July 06 2006 said:
I have been in a car that hit a huge oak tree head on flipping the car and throwing 3 guys out. No one was seriously hurt. I was the driver of a Bronco that hit a train in the middle of winter. I was thrown out right beside the moving train. I have been in the hospital 3 times from motorcycles twice spending a week with broken bones and collapsed lungs. I developed a sever allergic reaction to wasp and fire ant bites. 3 times I've been in the hospital knocking on deaths door from them little buggers.
I refuse to live in fear of what is my ultimate destiny. I hope to meet it with a smile on my face!

Everyone...... be safe and ride smart but if you are fearful take a break.
Click to expand...
Remind me not to ride anywhere with you
tounge.gif
 
I have always been told that whenever you no longer fear the beast, it's time to park it cause your an accident waiting to happen. I have the utmost respect for my ride and the road. What's gonna get me killed is my damn ATV cause I have no fear at all of it. I'll point it anywhere and take there and not even think twice about it, sooner or later that's what's gonna bite me.
 
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