Contemplating my mortality (and bike habit)

Hi Talman,

Been watching your thread for some time but had held off from joining in mostly because I didn't have the time to sort out my thoughts, much less set them down in text. But tonight, I found a way around doing the heavy lifting! I realized that this thread would make the basis of a great article.

I don't know weather or not you're inclined to compile and edit it into a finished form. Are You?

There's at lot of KZR in there with more coming, I'm sure.

In the mean time, I'm going to move this thread to the Bike Related forum so that it doesn't get purged. Besides, it is bike related.



kzcsi

KZCSI-

Thanks for keeping the thread alive. I saw it was moved but wasn't too concerend with why. The question was originally intended just for my own use...to see how other riders view their hobby and balance that with other parts of their lives. I hadn't intended on compiling it but it sounds like a good idea. I talk for a living (both as a corporate trainer and as a voicover artist) but I'm not an accomplished writer...I tend to write like I talk which means I subscribe to the philosophy that 10 words are better than one. It's also hard to insert dramatic pauses and vocal inflections when writing. That having been said, maybe I will take a crack at creating an article out of it. Anyone here consider themselves a good writer/editor who would be interested in collaborating with me?

-Jonathan

Hi Jonathan,


Check you personal messages.

kzcsi

Yes, motorcycling is dangerous. We all know that. I was in a bad accident 12 years ago, and many more not so serious ones in my younger days. I ride alot different, like someone said, ride like your invisible, and to add to that, anyone making a left in front of you should be treated like they have a gun pointed at you. However, How many people get struck by lightning on the golf course? Or hit by a bus crossing the street? Or eat Mcdonalds till our arteries are like corn syrup? And does anyone actually know how many ppl are killed by falling coconuts?? Its a darn epidemic. And the truth by the way.. You get my point.. Learn how to countersteer, and tuck and roll! I didnt get back on a bike for 11 yrs, and like someone else said, its in my blood.

Broke both bones in my right leg, one came out one side, one came out the other. A little gangreen, some skin grafts, and hell, a year later i was walking again!

As recommended by KZCSI I plan on taking a shot at turining this thread into an article. I have another question that feeds right into the first one and should offer some good information to include in the article.

Lots of you found the balance of the risk vs. the ride to be a good one because you "loved to ride" (or something similar). What would be helpful to me is to get more detailed answers to the question "Why do you ride?"

I think I'd like to take the article in a direction that compares and contrasts the Risk vs. the Ride. (Maybe that'll be the title of the article, come to think of it).

Thanks,

Jonathan

Why do we ride? Thats a good question and i cant wait to see some of the replies.
I dont think its ONE THING, i think its a combination of things. For starters, for me, its alone time. Included in that alone time is a change of mood. If your depressed,angry, you get on the bike and ride and it changes your mood.I liken it to music, depending on what you listen to, your mood changes. In the case of riding, the way you ride on that particular ride is what changes that mood.
Second, the feeling of open-ness. Not being enclosed in a car, having the field of vision that we do, feeling the wind and the air.
And third, the speed and the power. Nothing feels as good as a bike when it comes to that. Same as a roller coaster. In an open car, rushing along at speed, leaning into corners, feeling the g's.. Now, im not a type "A" personality, but i do know theres not much thats as much fun as it is to ride..

Very well put vvc! Mirrors my thoughts exactly! When I go riding I feel very relaxed and free. The field of vision, the smells of the land, the temperature changes, the power of the bike. All thoughts of stress, bills, etc go out of my head. The art of riding my bike (riding safe, etc) replaces all other thoughts. Plus, riding with other bikes adds another whole dimension to the ride!

Interesting thread we've got going here.
Why do I ride ??? Hmmm....well, as most of you may have realized it's not often I run out of words....
However, this question is almost akin to the one about "What do women want??". It's a toughie and I'm not sure there's a definitive answer cuz riding is certainly different things to different people.
As I'm in semi-retirement now, life is very low-stress compared to your average 30-something with kids, mortgage, social obligations, a boss to satisfy, etc etc......and to top it all off, I've never really given much thought to what other people think of me. WYSIWYG...that's me.
However, the biggest thing for me about riding is the fact that you really can't worry about other things AND ride, as well. Kinda like the old saw about "You can't fish and worry at the same time.", and you serious fishermen out there will back me up on this, I'm sure.
If you find yourself worrying about what you left behind at home/work, you fer shure are looking to have an accident. Concentration on the task at hand (read nice twisties) should be farrrrrr more important, absorbing and, if I may say so, rewarding, IMO.
My .02....until something else bubbles up in the old brain cells.....LOL