Ok, well heres a question that I have never seen asked before.. It will work your brain a lil bit hopefully..
On my way home from work (bout a 30 minute drive) I got to thinkin. I started thinkin about riding and my mind got to wandering. I saw a tire in the middle of the road that looked like it was from an 18 wheeler and I thought to myself what would have happened if I was on the bike, and didnt see that tire until it was too late and I was on top of it. This morbid hypothetical thought led to a few scenarios, the majority of which led to my demise or something of the sort. With this in mind, I started thinking about the consequenses of my death. Immediately my thoughts went to my family and girlfriend.. Both of which would be absolutely destroyed if I were to die on a bike. The heartache that my death would cause my parents and everyone that loved me would be unimaginable and I couldnt imagine going through it myself. After that thought, intense feelings of guilt overcame me for two reasons. I ignore their wishes to not participate in my sport of choice, or one of them at least. The second reason I felt guilty was b/c I felt incredibly selfish. If I was to die, the consequence for me would be just that, I would be no more.. Big deal.. The consequences for everyone else would be MUCH greater. My parents would have to live with the fact they had to bury their only child, and my girlfriend, the person whom helped me purchase the very thing that kills me would have to live with the guilt of participating in the death of the person she loves. As I assimilated to these feelings of guilt and thought about them a little bit more, I wondered.. Does everyone have these thoughts? Why is my picture of motorcycles such a morbid one sometimes?
This led me to answer that very question..Sometimes, depending on the scene, my impression of sportbikes is AMAZING. I picture riding and I say to myself, things happen, but usually because someone is being stupid, or lax. That straightens me up, and I picture my visor open, the sun shining, the hot road and the exhaust of my bike screaming as I cruise the highway or whip through some twisties.. On the other hand, sometimes my view is more like the above scenario, filled with death and guilt..I realised that these thoughts of death and guilt ONLY come to me when imagining SPORTBIKES.. Never on cruisers do I think of dismemberment, or death. Cruisers, in my head are very heavy, steel reclining chairs that dont pose a threat at all..
So part one of my three part question is..
1. Do you share the same initial feelings when contemplating motorcycles and do you differentiate btwn sportbikes and cruisers the same way i do?
With that in mind, answer question 2..
2. If you share my feelings, do you think its b/c we have been programmed to think that sportbikes are more dangerous, or do you think the reality is sport bike ARE more dangerous? My entire life, as soon as I bring up sportbikes, the first thing out of a non riders mouth is "omg, they are so dangerous, I know so many people that have died on those, be careful.."
With those two answered, answer 3..
3. What do you attribute SPORTBIKE deaths to? Break it down to percentages including all the factors you think affect sportbikers.. ie.. 30% Stupidity on rider half, 25% cage driver error, 40%Uncontrollable circumstances, etc....
It got me thinkin, hopefully it did the same for you.. I would never give up riding, but thoughts like this put my riding in check thats for sure.. Share your thoughts on the matter.. :beer
On my way home from work (bout a 30 minute drive) I got to thinkin. I started thinkin about riding and my mind got to wandering. I saw a tire in the middle of the road that looked like it was from an 18 wheeler and I thought to myself what would have happened if I was on the bike, and didnt see that tire until it was too late and I was on top of it. This morbid hypothetical thought led to a few scenarios, the majority of which led to my demise or something of the sort. With this in mind, I started thinking about the consequenses of my death. Immediately my thoughts went to my family and girlfriend.. Both of which would be absolutely destroyed if I were to die on a bike. The heartache that my death would cause my parents and everyone that loved me would be unimaginable and I couldnt imagine going through it myself. After that thought, intense feelings of guilt overcame me for two reasons. I ignore their wishes to not participate in my sport of choice, or one of them at least. The second reason I felt guilty was b/c I felt incredibly selfish. If I was to die, the consequence for me would be just that, I would be no more.. Big deal.. The consequences for everyone else would be MUCH greater. My parents would have to live with the fact they had to bury their only child, and my girlfriend, the person whom helped me purchase the very thing that kills me would have to live with the guilt of participating in the death of the person she loves. As I assimilated to these feelings of guilt and thought about them a little bit more, I wondered.. Does everyone have these thoughts? Why is my picture of motorcycles such a morbid one sometimes?
This led me to answer that very question..Sometimes, depending on the scene, my impression of sportbikes is AMAZING. I picture riding and I say to myself, things happen, but usually because someone is being stupid, or lax. That straightens me up, and I picture my visor open, the sun shining, the hot road and the exhaust of my bike screaming as I cruise the highway or whip through some twisties.. On the other hand, sometimes my view is more like the above scenario, filled with death and guilt..I realised that these thoughts of death and guilt ONLY come to me when imagining SPORTBIKES.. Never on cruisers do I think of dismemberment, or death. Cruisers, in my head are very heavy, steel reclining chairs that dont pose a threat at all..
So part one of my three part question is..
1. Do you share the same initial feelings when contemplating motorcycles and do you differentiate btwn sportbikes and cruisers the same way i do?
With that in mind, answer question 2..
2. If you share my feelings, do you think its b/c we have been programmed to think that sportbikes are more dangerous, or do you think the reality is sport bike ARE more dangerous? My entire life, as soon as I bring up sportbikes, the first thing out of a non riders mouth is "omg, they are so dangerous, I know so many people that have died on those, be careful.."
With those two answered, answer 3..
3. What do you attribute SPORTBIKE deaths to? Break it down to percentages including all the factors you think affect sportbikers.. ie.. 30% Stupidity on rider half, 25% cage driver error, 40%Uncontrollable circumstances, etc....
It got me thinkin, hopefully it did the same for you.. I would never give up riding, but thoughts like this put my riding in check thats for sure.. Share your thoughts on the matter.. :beer