Is biking too dangerous?

[Ian P]

enjoy life, its too short. As a father of two young children i now take less risks than i did, my climbing grades have gone down, i dont ride so fast, Mtn bikes are my down fall.
One day your life will pass before your eyes, make sure its worth watching

Originally Posted by jamesw1024

Thanks guys, that's a resounding 'No' then.

You asked a bunch of bikers whether they think biking is too dangerous...

I would have staked my life savings on that answer!

if you enjoy it do it.. they say 1 in 3 get cancer and its just as easy to trip and hit your head imo!

Having lost a close autie and uncle 1 year apart and them leaving two kids, it didn't change the way I felt, life has to be lived, your not born to rest,

then a distant cousin 18 years old staggered across the road and met the proverbial
bus, 18 years old gone.

I keep reading you could get hit by a bus crossing the road!!!!

Life has to be lived, get out there, don't really like hearing I wish I had of ......... or get a illness or something then think gota do this do that, get the wish list done now or sooner or later you'll run out of time at some point.

Not sure if this saying has been said yet but here it goes:

Most motorcycle problems are caused by the nut that connects the handlebars to the saddle

See it was after my dad dies that it made me re think what i wanted from life and came to the conclusion that i want to do as much as possible whilst i can. This led to me walking into a bike training centre and booking my test. Others have said it but why put off what you enjoy and why not do it now before it is too late?

life IS too short...

so then maybe someone can turn around and say 'lifes too short to risk it on 2 wheels".

No matter what we tell ourselves, riding around on two wheels, in a sea of metal death machines IS dangerous. I would never be able to convince my dad that a motorbike is justified because I could also get run over crossing a street.

Fact is, by riding a motorbike, your are adding a whole new factor to your life that can cause serious injury/disability or premature death that wasn't previously there.

It then simply becomes about the individuals willingness to take that risk, and that is something that can't be questioned/discussed - to each their own.

I know that I am increasing my chances of dying/getting hurt significantly by riding around on 2 wheels, but that doesn't change anything for me. For others it does. My biggest hurdle is that of my joy riding a bike vs what would happen to my parents if something happened to me. Sometimes I feel selfish, as it's not just your life you could affect, but of all those around you...

(although are these not just survival thoughts to make us all ride more carefully?)!

"Life is too short" seems to a common theme. My thought is that it is serves little to throw it away through risky behaviour...

[embee]

I'm one of the wrinkly bikers, the silver brigade, and I'm still here to enjoy it. On the other hand there are many who don't survive to ride again.

At the risk of being shot down in flames, I firmly believe that a large percentage of bike casualties are the subjects of a good helping of contributory negligence. Too much bravado, too much tosstesterone (sic), a bit of red mist, and above all too little imagination (what if...?). We all have different abilities, reaction times etc, and it's important to ride within your own. I ride a lot slower than many folks, I wouldn't be safe at their speed.

Ultimately it's a decision only you can take, do a risk assessment, weigh up how much risk you are prepared to accept and what are the possible consequences of your decision. If it's too risky, don't do it, it's not compulsory, and believe it or not there are other things in life (some nearly as enjoyable.... ). Above all don't do it just because someone else says "yeah, go for it".

Now, where are those comfy slippers...........?

Your life is your own and while I agree that choices you make and things you do will have an impact on the people who love you, you have to live your life the way you want to.

Yes, biking is more dangerous that many things but as with anything, you can reduce those risks, as has been said in this thread many times, by being responsible and sensible in your riding.

If you were to constantly live your life thinking "I might die if I do this" then you would never leave your front door. Every day I go to work, I take the risk of driving 30 miles on a road with a high accident rate. Upon arrival at my work, I take the risk of being injured/killed on duty. Everything in life is a risk.

Life is short. My gran hs just died at 66 years of age and has realy brought it home to me that life is short. My granma lived her life to the full and I fully intend to do the same.