Been riding since the end of the season 2006. Log around 8K a year and for Connecticut where we have about a 6 month season thats not too bad.
Anyway.. I have owned a ton of bikes and currently I have a 1990 FLHTCU
My wife rides on the back 90% of the time.
Lots of dudes have been getting killed around here lately. It seems like every week somebody dies. I am a very cautious rider and very alert but many of these deaths were the result of a cager not paying attention. I have been getting really nervous and hesitant about riding lately.. especially with my wife on the back. We have 3 kids almost 21, 18 and 16.
Anyway.. I have been nervous to the point of almost wanting to sell my bike and get a car or a boat. Lately I have been thinking that everytime we go out riding and we come back in one piece we am 1 step closer to the inevitable horrible accident that won't be our fault.
Its a crappy feeling. Many of the guys I ride with are total risk takers. They ride motorcycles mainly for the speed and the risk. They love it fast and live life on the edge. I don't ride with them much anymore. I prefer to go out with my wife for a nice ride but even these rides are freaking me out lately. I am almost obsessed with the "rolling the dice every time I ride" theory and the "eventually everybody crashes" theory.
Just needed to air my thoughts on this since I have been an active member here for so long.

 

Hang in there, hopefully that feeling passes and you feel better about the ride.

 

The mere fact that you have trepidations each time you go out means you are aware of what could happen. Reality is, if you're not doing a constant 360 virtually every second you're on the bike and expecting that fool to pull out or change lanes, then you are accident/victim in waiting. There was a time when drivers saw a bike and gave the "wide berth". Unfortunately with the invention of cell phones and text messaging many are preoccupied. The truth is there are many scenarios that could occur besides these I've mentioned. If you remain cognizant of what is around you while riding (which I glean you do), then you biggest issue is overcoming the fear that is slowly taking over. Ride because you love to, but remain on point.

 

I hear ya man, it is scary out there at times but there is risk in all that we do. I recently got back in after 35 years and it is definitely different today.Can't dispute anything you say but I agree with the other post, just try to get your arms around it and get past it, nothing in life is and absolute guarantee.

 

There is an old oriental saying that goes, "danger only enters where fear makes an opening."
The more you think that something is going to happen, the more likely it is to happen...

 

Fear can be very strong... I know people who have sold their bikes because of the same fear that you are telling us about. You can overcome it or succumb to it but if you are going to ride in fear everytime you ride eventually you will make a mistake that will cause your fear to become reality. Like a fear of heights or what ever you may need to get some help to overcome it... just my .02

 

I relate to what you're saying.I had a friend that got killed on a bike 3 yrs. ago.He was going to a benefit ride one Sat. morning and someone turned in front of him.I wonder every morning when i leave out for work whether i will see my family that afternoon.It makes my ride so intense i don't enjoy it as much as i should.But at the same time it has made me a better rider.

 

grow a set..

 

yeah i live in orange county ny and it's been really really bad here, peoples commutes get longer, the economy is terrible, their jobs are gone and they bottle that anger up and let it loose on the highways.

for me i try to stay very very defensive, i basically assume that that driver on the left is going to come over, i assume that driver on the right at the stop sign isn't going to see me and come out and i slow down or move to another side of the lane accordingly. i already have it played out what i'm going to do if that driver comes over before he does (and they always do)...

but your kids are kinda old they can get by fine at this point, they've probably learned all they're going to learn from you anyway. my kids are young so i do get nervous, but my pops died when i was 12, i turned out ok... as long as you have good life insurance that's all they really need. no matter what you think they really rely on you for the money and can get by with just mommy (my wife rarely rides with me)...

at the end of the day we all die every one of us, so get good life insurance, hope for the best and enjoy your time on two wheels.

 

the old guys on the road when I was drivin truck use to tell me this

"the day you're not nervous anymore is the day that it is time to go home"
and they were right
fear isn't always a bad thing it keeps us alive and makes us look out for stuff

I wish you luck and hope you don't give up riding because of the tards on the road but it's your decision not ours