At my age (67+) I don't pay much attention to someone that trys to give me a safety lecture. Riding a motorcycle is a lot safer than some of the other things I've done in my life. A little danger in ones life is good for the soul and makes you really appreciate being alive.

Anyone care to go skydiving?

 

I had a person start this with me once while she was blowing cigarette smoke in my face. I explained to her that my riding hurt no one but me and that it was none of her business. I also explained to her ther her smoke was poluting the whole damn world.

The real answer here, is what you do is not someone else's business, unless you are affecting them. Keep in mind that everybody dies, but not everybody truly lives. When I am riding I am truly alive.

Regards,

Bill

 

For a while my mother would e-mail me every article she could find about someone dying in a motorcycle accident. Evey now and then I still get one. Got back from Daytona and the first thing I head is "I heard it was the deadliest rally ever". I just listen and then move on to another topic.

 

My best friend,(who's 53), said to me,(I'm 51), when I pulled up on my bike," look, another organ donor". He spends his time in his garage working on cars & drinking beer. I told him that we're both going to die. He'll die of loneliness, carbon monoxide poisoning, or liver damage & that someday someone will just find him dead in his garage. My death on the other hand will be spectacular. I'm just starting my life over where I left off when I got married, & had kids. This is a new challenge for me, & to me, a challenge with no risk, is a victory with no glory.

 

I don't think the people making these statements are your problem. Seems to me it's a family thing. Talk to your family so they understand you really want this and show them that you are doing everything you can to reduce any potential risk. MSF, safety gear, riding videos, etc. If you and your family are all on the same page then these comments just won't matter anymore. Just my .02.

 

I get the same thing from a variety of people and usually politely tell them that I have been hit by a car before so I know first hand what the risks are. Then if they persist I just tell them to f**k off and enjoy living forever. I know a young (mid 30's) couple who are literally multimillionaires and have no kids and now are obsessed with their own health to the point where they spend thousands of dollars a year on useless medical treatments to prolong their life. I just tell them: Sorry but when the Lord has decided to call you home....you are goin...period. It's just that simple. So, thanks for the concern anyway but I like living my life.

 

There is no way you can stop people (who are well meaning but kind of ignorant) from relating all the horror stories about friends of friends who were killed/seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. You just let it go in one ear and out the other. Why they do this is kind of mystery...maybe someday someone will do a research project on why people dredge these things up relating to motorcycles but not automobiles or snowmobiles or airplanes.

My standard answer to "You are too old to ride a motorcycle" (I am 67) is that I am in my second mid-life crisis and I am going to start a third one when I get over this one.

 

We are dying from the moment of birth. Its how we live that maters to only ourselves. Thank them for their concern.

Seems that all the folks that I have known who have died on the bike, all lived well and died quickly, I can't see anything wrong with that!

 

Best story I ever got was from a family member.

He told this long winded story about these two guys that were 'good buddies' of his that used to ride but died. They did all kinds of crazy stuff on their harley's, etc...

Anyhow, at the end of this 10+ minute story, they got in a bar fight in the 70's and got themselves shot. Somehow, he felt this was relevant tome and would make me not want to ride. It was his reason for why he loves bikes, but can never ride.

[&:]

 

All this negativity. Bummer.

Yeah, ain't it cool?!