Total Motorcycle Community Forums

On another thread there was a debate about instinct. I do not know what it is but when I get on "any" bike, there is this shift and I become hyper alert. There is no fear but I am somewhere different from "normal". As usual I am having difficulty putting this into words. Any freudian fans out there??????

I understand your fear. A friend of mine was parked at a traffic intersection and a truck (18 wheeler) hit him from behind. He was not seriously hurt, the insurance paid for the bike. The driver never saw him. If you are unable to ride in traffic you can always go off roading. I am sure that can also be very enjoyable. I have known people that will not ride on the hiways. A little fear is good, a lot of fear is dangerous. I hope you will be able to conquer this fear.

Don't think about it.

I try to think about naked 20 yr old women, takes my mind off of the bad stuff.

niterider wrote: I have known people that will not ride on the hiways.

Ben spies said he doesn't ride on the street...too dangerous. That was in an interview on two wheel tuesday. It's very interesting to think about a superbike racer saying that! He has also crashed badly...puts things in perspective.

in response to whoever had a friend hit by the rig, when i am at lights i try to keep an eye on traffic behind me and i also will stop at a light a little outside or inside the car on front of me so that if something is coming in from behind to fast i can move up and the cage takes the hit instead of me. maybe im paranoid, but i live in a big city with several universities there is always some stupid girl on the phone changing her cd and painting her nails out there waiting for me to slip up so she can hit me. sorry bout the stereotyping, but i see it way to much.

I agree...I always look behind me when I'm at a stop...I've been rear-ended before in my car while at a stoplight. Its no different than looking to make sure no one is barreling down at you head on.

Hi nike_soccer. Yeah, I get scared once in a while, when I think about all the possibilities for getting seriously injured on a bike. It's worth being aware of all the kind of things that can happen so that you can take rational action to prevent them, but if the fear is big and debilitating then it doesn't help you stay alive - just the opposite. I've had my share of moments when I got fixated on something in a dodgy situation and nearly lost the bike.

When you think about it, there are a million ways to get yourself killed, so maybe there is a question for you about why you are fixating on those particular possibilities. The best way to deal with a persistent fear is to let it go, but before you can do that you usually have to understand and accept it.

Instead of getting caught up in the fear itself, you could try just mentally watching it. You just observe what you are doing with the fear and what thoughts you are having around it - how your thoughts affect the fear and how the fear affects your thoughts. Watching your own thoughts and emotions seems to change them somehow and helps you let them go.

Flyrider, that's an incredible story you told. What an experience! I've never been struck by lightning but I've been right in the middle of an electric storm on the side of a mountain. I recognise what you are saying about everything turning blue. On one occasion, the metal rings on my backpack went luminous blue and started to humm. That was really scary.

I'm amazed how well you came out of it. Lightning can do crazy things. But at least you have one hell of a story to tell.

I think the moral of these stories is that no matter how safe we are we can't control other people...or nature...

nike_soccer wrote:I think the moral of these stories is that no matter how safe we are we can't control other people...or nature...

The best way to approach the traffic is to understand that you must assume every single person out there doesn't see you, or doesn't care. You're always ready if you think like this. People are scary on the road, but I really don't fear it since I try to make sure I know what's going on all around me all the time.

you said! pay attention and assume noone sees u! thats what i try to do and i have yet to be surprised by someone trying to kill me.[/quote]