Live to ride or ride to live?

[WWJD]

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

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!!

Hey, your right! Those short spurts dont cut it anymore! I felt that on my last ride. oh, I can tear up THIS section or those next 3 curves, but then it's back to speedlimit and just cruising until I find the next open spot.... so I feel like I'm not using my bike like I should or could. On track, it's there for you 100% of the time if you wanna hammer it for 20 minutes solid and speed and lean and drag constantly. Pre track days, those 3 curves on the road were a challenge, exciting, begging me to get better and faster at them... but now they are dull - yeah yeah, easy to drag a knee there going 20mph than I used to, I think to myself while yawning, hanging off the side of the bike, checking the watch, pondering when the next track day is... You hit it, brother, exactly. That is why I need to get out on the open road and just enjoy the ride - to remember that I do love that part of cycling too!

Thanks! Eye opener for me there

 

[FastBusa]

Sorry to inform you, But B.S. You don't know what the heck you are talking about. Whenever a car looks like its going to pull out in front of me, yes the fear comes up fast, so what? I still ride, and still love it. But today I now know from first hand experience what it will feel like sliding down the road! That is something I will always have to live with, and ride with. As for you, just keep your uninformed opinion to yourself unless you've traveled in our boots.

 

[sageronin]

I also ride with a healthy amount of fear ... keeps me sharp!!

 

[TALYN]

Uh... I think you're missing what's being said, or you're just pretending...

+1... everyone is saying the same thing just differently.... fear or alert or intelligence or safe all equal getting to our destinations alive....

 

[rlachermeier]

Fear hightens the senses.
Fear is a gift from God.
Fear is Good.
I hate those "No Fear" Stickers you see on vehicles.

Although Webster uses the word "afraid" in the definition of "fear" it also uses words like "awe" and "revere" which I think most people hear are referring to.

 

[shortBoarder]

I hate those "No Fear" Stickers you see on vehicles.

I like those stickers. They're a good barometer of the attitude of the driver within the cage. Helps prioritize the danger.

 

[busa_boy_69]

Alright heres how I see things when I ride. Do I have fear? Of course I do....no one wants to crash. I have also had a near death crash. Does it make me fear the bike? No but what little bit of fear I have transforms into respect for the machine. I am a firm believer in motorcycling is the most enjoyable sport there is BUT the second you don't RESPECT the bike is when it will kill ya. People judge bike riding so quickly for being dangerous or how you can get killed so easily on a bike yet they tend to forget that their car they ride in everyday can be just as dangerous.

I think peoples lack of FEAR and RESPECT for a car is what creates a lot of the problems we see on the road everyday. You know the ones I am referring to.....passing someone talking on a cell phone, putting on makeup, and hell I have even seen people brave enough to be READING a book and driving. That lack of fear is what usually causes the daily rush hour back up you hear about due to a car wreck.

If we as bikers lost that fear and respect then we would end up crashing just like they do. So my point in all this babbling is just like it was said above....a little fear is a good thing it keeps your dumb side from making you push past your abilities but TOO much fear is just as bad. They are two totally different areas. I have a little fear but it doesn't make me too scared to ride ride the bike it just keeps me in line. (most of the time) lol.

 

[PDBusa]

I have seen the carnage and cleaned up some miserable looking stuff.
I have seen buddies crash first hand.
What it does for me is send a reality check. Yes, going down will suck. Riding on the street is dangerous. It makes me constantly rethink my strategy.
Unchecked fear can be a hinderance. Respect can be a savior.
My .02

 

[jdevarie]

Fear is one thing, respect for the sport (if you want to call it that) is another thing.

I do not think anyone that rides a bike does so with fear. I do believe that some of us has respect of such action knowing what can happen. Then there are the squids.
If by stay away you mean that if I am not willing to carve corners and ride fast then I should stay away you are wrong. I enjoy riding a lot and get on my bike any chance I get, however I do so with respect and with the desire of making it back home in one piece.
I watch for oncoming traffic and for careless cagers/riders. Again, noone is in danger if there are cautious riders around here. I think that it is wrong to assume that all riders ride in the same way and to think that someone that does not ride like me is in fear or is a danger.
I have no control of what can happen to me, nor do I have control of others around me when I ride. I ride defensively and sometimes offensively as situations change.

Again, it may not be fear but respect,

jd

 

[moeluv]

I've read all the post and it's alot to think about.  Here's my take, i went down last Sunday  

Going down is not fun My family and friends, that don't ride, are concerned about me and i love them for their love.  They have asked me if i am going to give up riding I told them no.  I love to ride put i do ride with respect, awareness and fear. but not frighten (fear that is so intense that you cannot enjoy yourself. when i stop enjoying riding then i will stop riding if anything is not enjoyable because of risk factor then it is okay to say enough is enough.

when you ride you must ride with more respect then when you are driving a car but when you do everything to  minimize the risk then gettting home is greater.  If it had not been for the MSF course i probaly would not be typing this right now.  It would not have mattered if i was on a bike or in a car. it was respect and awareness and mostly the grace of God on me that it was not worse.

 

[Burger King]

Great point! I see fear and respect being different entities though some may lump them together. A healthy dose of respect is always good to have for anything you do especially the greater the consequences. Fear would be something to have for a raging bull or bucking bronco but an inantimate object has no power on it's own.
Teddy said it right when he said "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." Yeah I know, another cliche' but none-the-less true.
You can have all the right equipment, the best setup possible and plenty of time in the saddle and you come to a realizatation that going faster or being smoother is in your mind. It is your mind that you must struggle with to wait until the next marker to brake. It is with the mind that you must struggle with to not chop the throttle when the rear tire steps out. Fear has no place there. The place where fear use to live is now replaced by adrenalin and control.
Fear on the track makes a person slow or dangerous or worse yet slow and dangerous.
It's normal to have fear after pain and a natural safety feature but WE control fear or should learn to master it. When riding fear makes us hesitate. It makes us apprehensive. You are always focusing on the "what ifs" rather than on the important things like being aware of our surroundings.
I believe it was Keith Codes' book, A Twist of the Wrist, that talked about with a dollars worth of change, how much of it are you spending on paying attention to your surroundings and how much are you spending daydreaming or worrying? You need the whole dollars worth on your surroundings using awareness not fear.

If I could suggest one thing to learn to master the fear often felt in riding it would be to get on a track and learn what your bike will do. Do you have any idea how well tires grip these days even in the rain? (stay off the paint stripes) How far can a bike lean into the corner without losing traction (it feels like it's laying on the ground). Most people panic and stand the bike up going off the road causing a crash or even worse to themselves. As Ed Bargey told us in riders school 15 years ago "You're only a foot off the ground. If the bike slides out from under you it's just like laying on the ground BUT if you stand it up when you crash it is going to be like hitting a brick wall". Do you know how to use engine braking? Do you know how to trail brake?

The point I was trying to make in this thread is this:
Learn your bike and what it can do. Learn not to ride with fear and panic and you will learn how to act calmly in otherwise very tense situations. It can make your riding experience much more enjoyable and better yet it can save your life!

 

[mynewbusa]

This has been a great post. I've learned alot from you people on this forum. Personally I think about this type of stuff more now than ever. I'm 42 years old with 3 young children. Obviously I always want to be there for my family and hope nothing happens to me on my bike. Do I have fear? Yeah, to some extent. I also have respect for the bike and the power it has. I don't ride above my abilities and I am extremely aware of what is around me at all times. I love being on the bike, and always have. I fear someone causing me to crash more than I fear a crash from my own mistakes. I DO NOT like to ride with my wife simply because of the fact that we have three kids. I don't plan on dying on this bike, but if it ever did happen (god forbid) I want to be alone. I ride for pleasure and not the speed. I enjoy a twist of the throttle as much as the next guy, but the monetary penalties keep me in check for the most part. I drive 40 miles to work evey day in my car on a two lane road. I have tractor trailers and buses coming at me the whole way. I think I'd have a better chance of getting killed on my way to or from work in my car than I would out enjoying my bike. What makes me think about getting hurt on the bike the most is when you guys post pictures or videos of bike wrecks. That always makes me think.