I need some honest advice...

[sv-wolf]

Enjoy your new ride, Braveheart.

[Lion_Lady]

Thanks for the replies, they really help how I view the possibility of riding. I'm still not sure, but I am getting ready to enter another msf coarse. Time to look for a bike and gear.

I think it's more the opinions of my loved ones that have stopped me. I have a girlfriend that really supports me, but my relatives are really opposed. We'll see what happens this summer.

All I can offer is... if folks see that they're getting to you, they'll continue. If you are still undecided, then they'll get to you. All you can do is take advantage of every possible avenue to increase your knowledge of the risks and do whatever you can to improve the odds in your favor.

It also helps to have a response ready for folks who want to tell you their horror stories... Riding instruction wasn't available commercially until 20 or fewer years ago. Chances are, the first two folks you mention died as a result of simply not knowing how not to die in a particular situation. Protective gear was no where near as effective (if it was even available) 20 and more years ago. So many things have changed in our favor (protective gear, education). Not to sugarcoat the risk, things have changed against us as well (more traffic, SUVs). All you can do is educate yourself and start smart.

P

[Bravehearted]

All I can offer is... if folks see that they're getting to you, they'll continue. If you are still undecided, then they'll get to you. All you can do is take advantage of every possible avenue to increase your knowledge of the risks and do whatever you can to improve the odds in your favor.

P

This is exactly my train of thought recently. I have been reading and trying to learn as much as possible from others who ride. I even look at threads(at other boards) describing crashes and I try to discern from the post how to prevent it if I were in their shoes.

One thing that can be said for here is that it seems that the people on this board are more safety oriented than on other forums from my experience. Thanks again for the help everyone.

Now I'm just waiting on a ninja...the wait could be up to a month or two...

[BusaEater]

Man up, grab your balls, and go get a bike.

[jonnythan]

Man up, grab your balls, and go get a bike.

[Grey Thumper]

I get this argument a lot from well-meaning people who are supposedly concerned about my safety (but whom I suspect, deep down, are compensating for the fact that they've killed every sense of adventure or excitement in their own lives).

The only thing I can say is "Do you drive a car, go cycling, ride a horse, play a sport, cross the street, cook, take a bath?" The fact is, pretty much everything you can possibly do, no matter how mundane, has some sort of associated risk.

I don't think of motorcycling as inherently dangerous in the same way I don't think scubadiving is inherently dangerous. It's just that each activity has certain inherent risks, and proper training, gear, and your awareness of your limits (and ability to stay within them) helps in greatly minimizing those risks.

[TrueFaith]

I had a lot of friends who weren't crazy about me getting a bike. They used to go on and on about how I was going to kill myself. Recently, I had the misfortune of sliding on gravel on a curve and dumping my bike. I was looking "through the turn" and didn't notice the sand and gravel that had washed into the road from an earlier downpour until I was right on top of it. Stupid mistake on my part, but I didn't critically injure myself because I was going pretty slowly at the time. Next time I'll go even slower and I've learned a lot from the crash.
Those people who warned me about motorcycling are just dying to tell me "I told you so"', but no one's actually come out and said it. I don't really care if they do, as it will have the same effect on me as their earlier warnings did...none. They really don't know how to react when I tell them I plan on continuing to ride after my bike and I have healed and that I never once considered quitting because of the accident. Sure, motorcycling is a risky sport, but if you eliminate all the risky things in your life that bring you pleasure, you won't have much of a life. You can only do whatever you can to mitigate the inherent dangers, like gearing up completely and learning to be the safest rider you can be. Life isn't safe and the more things you eliminate from it that you love doing because of risk, the less you'll have to show for it when that unexpected danger you weren't counting on, like a heart attack or a plane crashing into your house while you're sleeping, finally takes you out.

[ofblong]

you can die by eating bad food,

you can die in your sleep cause some bug/spider decided it wanted to munch

you can die for no apparent reason

you can die of a heart attack at any moment

It all depends on when God thinks its your time to go live with him. it might be on a motorcycle it might be in a plane who knows. Everything has risks just like everyone on this thread has mentioned.

[olebiker]

I have told most people that if I ever die on a bike then you will know that I died happy. Would I want to miss out on something that makes me feel more alive than almost anything else. At 56 years of age I look back at there are times on a bike that I remember so vividly that they seem like yesterday. Some of those memories are 43 years old. Some are a few days ago. Life with your nose in the wind, to me is life well lived.

[BusaEater]

Man up, grab your balls, and go get a bike.

Some of us tend to grab more air.

Seriously though, if you want a bike....and your fear doesn't outweigh your "bug" then go get one.