RT66Rider Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Interesting article, and comments, here . Link to comment
Paul Mihalka Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 A death wish? Heck, no! I have a life wish. Said before, life is dangerous, always ends with death. I want to enjoy it while I have it. Link to comment
outpost22 Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 A death wish? Heck, no! I have a life wish. Said before, life is dangerous, always ends with death. I want to enjoy it while I have it. Yes, and just to add that the gas tank should be empty at the end of the road. Link to comment
notacop Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 I'm with Paul. Motorcycling makes life that much better. Son-in-law, 50 years old, died of a heart attack getting healthy on the jogging track. Do health enthusiasts and joggers have a death wish? How about folks that eat at unhealthy fast food providers? Link to comment
tallman Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Everyone has a death wish. Usually, not me, not now. Link to comment
RTJohn Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Statiscally you have a greater chance of being injured or killed taking a shower. More than 2 million accidents a year are reported. Life is dangerous. Everything poses a risk, even taking a shower. Everything we do needs to be weighed against the reward, not just the possible outcome. Riding is dangerous, but the reward is so great, it far outweighs the risk. I plan on riding till I can't. Link to comment
Huzband Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 It's not an interesting article, & it's a stupid question/premise. Link to comment
szurszewski Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Statiscally you have a greater chance of being injured or killed taking a shower. More than 2 million accidents a year are reported. Life is dangerous. Everything poses a risk, even taking a shower. Everything we do needs to be weighed against the reward, not just the possible outcome. Riding is dangerous, but the reward is so great, it far outweighs the risk. I plan on riding till I can't. Really? Based on deaths per showers taken vs rides taken? Minutes spent showering vs minutes riding? Or on overall number of deaths per year? Or....what? ...not trying to be antagonistic; just honestly curious. Might have to stop showering...or start wearing my helmet when I do... Link to comment
David13 Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 I don't have a death wish. But I understand the inevitability of death. Sometimes, when I'm riding my bike, I feel alive. I say so, to myself. "I'm alive". When I come back from a ride, and I'm still alive, I feel alive. I say so. If people ask, how was the ride, your ride, etc. I say, I'm still alive. dc Link to comment
Paul Mihalka Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Just a curiosity: In my (long) life I had 6 bone breaking accidents. 3 of them were not motorcycle riding events. Link to comment
RockBottom Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Here was my blog entry on this issue from last March: Thinking Back I was thinking back on those first few treacherous weeks of learning to ride. One moment in particular suggested to me that I might, in fact, be a motorcyclist. I was tooling down a road. As cars passed me going the other direction, the thought flickered through my mind that if, in that instance, I moved my hands a few inches to the left, I would almost certainly die. But rather than frightening me, I found the idea exhilarating. At first this feeling surprised me. Then it began to make sense: in this era of the "nanny state," there are very few times in life when one has their fate in their own hands, when only one's skill stands between life and death. But in motorcycle riding, there is. It was, for me, a life-reinforcing thought. People vary in their tolerance of risk, from those who avoid it whenever possible to adrenaline junkies who become mountain climbers, pilots, and entertainers. They have a "need for speed." While I might not go that far, I'm more on the risk tolerant end of the scale than risk averse. I feel most alive when reminded of how fleeting life is. (Oh my! I feel a melancholy Japanese poem coming on.) Link to comment
RTJohn Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Not making it up. Slips and falls in a tub or shower are one of the most common home accidents. I think falling off a ladder ranks up there as another of the biggest home accidents. I think the motorcycle rider deaths are way skewed because of the numbers. The bottom line...to me...no matter what you do or don't do the end result will be the same...we're all gonna end up food for worms. May as well have a good time while those worms are licking their chops in anticipation. Link to comment
Nice n Easy Rider Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Not making it up. Slips and falls in a tub or shower are one of the most common home accidents. I think falling off a ladder ranks up there as another of the biggest home accidents. I think the motorcycle rider deaths are way skewed because of the numbers. The bottom line...to me...no matter what you do or don't do the end result will be the same...we're all gonna end up food for worms. May as well have a good time while those worms are licking their chops in anticipation. I think I can believe that. http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=64847&Number=720345#Post720345 Link to comment
4wheeldog Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Statiscally you have a greater chance of being injured or killed taking a shower. More than 2 million accidents a year are reported. Life is dangerous. Everything poses a risk, even taking a shower. Everything we do needs to be weighed against the reward, not just the possible outcome. Riding is dangerous, but the reward is so great, it far outweighs the risk. I plan on riding till I can't. One of my favorite sayings is "Safety third!" If we really considered safety first, we would rot away in bed. Safety is not rationally the first, overarching consideration........If it were, we would never get anything done. The bathroom would be off limits, and the shower......Not even up for consideration. Third is just about right for safety, in the scheme of things. Link to comment
leikam Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Life is fatal. Ride fast, take chances. Link to comment
tallman Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Not making it up. Slips and falls in a tub or shower are one of the most common home accidents. I think falling off a ladder ranks up there as another of the biggest home accidents. I think the motorcycle rider deaths are way skewed because of the numbers. The bottom line...to me...no matter what you do or don't do the end result will be the same...we're all gonna end up food for worms. May as well have a good time while those worms are licking their chops in anticipation. I think I can believe that. http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=64847&Number=720345#Post720345 Fortunately, last time I fell off a ladder my running chain saw broke my fall. Link to comment
Nice n Easy Rider Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Not making it up. Slips and falls in a tub or shower are one of the most common home accidents. I think falling off a ladder ranks up there as another of the biggest home accidents. I think the motorcycle rider deaths are way skewed because of the numbers. The bottom line...to me...no matter what you do or don't do the end result will be the same...we're all gonna end up food for worms. May as well have a good time while those worms are licking their chops in anticipation. I think I can believe that. http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=64847&Number=720345#Post720345 Fortunately, last time I fell off a ladder my running chain saw broke my fall. Maybe those of us who are accident prone on ladders need to consider some "ladder" safety gear - inflatable jackets? Link to comment
upflying Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Taken from an aviation context, "There are bold motorcyclists, there are old motorcyclists but there are no old, bold motorcyclists" Link to comment
Fubar Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 A death wish? Heck, no! I have a life wish. Said before, life is dangerous, always ends with death. I want to enjoy it while I have it. Yes, and just to add that the gas tank should be empty at the end of the road. Well said, gents. Link to comment
RPG Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 2 deer accidents and even though I've thought about giving up riding, the thrill and passion always return. Death Wish? More like a Life Choice. Heard at a Graduation Commencement, "before you start your career, get a motorcycle, and travel around this great beautiful planet, and see what LIVING is about". Link to comment
JohnnyJ Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 If I had a death wish I wouldn't crash my motorcycle to achieve it. I am pretty certain I would only injure myself horribly and NOT die. My slight hesitation about motorcycling is not the fear of death, but the fear of life-altering injury. Johnny J Link to comment
moshe_levy Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 If I had a death wish I wouldn't crash my motorcycle to achieve it. I am pretty certain I would only injure myself horribly and NOT die. My slight hesitation about motorcycling is not the fear of death, but the fear of life-altering injury. Johnny J +1. That's my fear too. Since daughter #3 I've really been cutting back. I think only about 2,000 miles this year, so far. That used to be a week's worth of commuting and fun for me. There's this nagging voice in my head now and it's driving me crazy. Distracting at times - so much so I don't bother riding anymore when I hear it. Dying would be wonderful compared to life in a chair drooling on my shoulder and crapping my own pants, while the wife has to take care of the 3 kiddies on her own. It is a scary proposition - and remember, I live in NJ, not out west where you can ride all day and see 1 or 2 cars at most. It IS different here - riskier, for sure. -MKL Link to comment
ragtoplvr Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I can say I most definitely have a death wish. Only not for me, it is for the clueless moron who just ran the red light, or pulled out in front of me, for the random road crossing deer, for the moron who drives 25 in a 55 twisty bit, and will not use a turn out. For me, I want to live. But for them, better never let me have a bike mounted machine gun. Rod Link to comment
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