Is biking REALLY dangerous or only midly dangerous?

oh and, see my signature for my view on life

Originally Posted by Monkey

oh and, see my signature for my view on life

What, your totally a surfer dude?

and mine.... no wait.....

Originally Posted by Iansv

and mine.... no wait.....

Thor old bean,

Biking is potentially dangerous - but at least you have a choice whether to do it or not.

Living is dangerous - extensive research has proven that 100% of those who breathe, eventually stop doing it, and die. Since you didn't ask to come into the world in the first place, you might consider it a tad unfair that you should then be forced to leave against your will too.

So, in between one event and the other, you might as well enjoy yourself....and if you want to have a bloody good time, meet some cracking REAL people, get to a few bustingly good events, create envy amongst your peers etc, go get an SV.

Get proper training and ride it within your limits; assume every other road-user is a complete tosser....because they probably are. Do that, and you'll probably get to be as old as me - AND enjoy yourself.

But if you want to sit in a tin-can in a traffic jam queuing for the M25, breathing pure CO2 whilst your blood pressure soars, if you want to prepare for membership of the Reigate Over-60s Nudist Crown Green Bowls Club, if you want to collect butterflies and wear cavalry twills, if you want one day to hear your kids say "did you EVER take any risks Dad?", then DON'T get one!

You might live longer. But you might get smacked on the head by a block of Blue-Stuff dropping out of an overflying 747; you might be wiped out by a drugged-up **** in a BMW whilst walking down the pavement. Hey, what the heck, life ain't REALLY dangerous is it?

(Off for a blat now with the skinny-chick who claims to be my daughter...says she rides her SV better than I ride mine....she probably does. Hell, I'll enjoy finding out though!)

Bocco you make some good points. When I was 12 I managed to poke some copper wire into a mains power socket and nearly zapped myself. I lived only coz I had rubber soled shoes on. So I spose after that anything's a bonus

Originally Posted by leesimons

For you maybe; the rest of us are sitting here wondering how some people escape natural selection and foil Darwin's theory!

death will come after you, do you not watch the movies?

Originally Posted by Rich

What, your totally a surfer dude?

Can't surf to save my life But I totally dig the lifestyle dude

As all the peeps above have said, biking is that life less ordinary.

I mean how else do you get free flights in helicopters

[Sid Squid]

Originally Posted by thor

Is biking REALLY dangerous or only mildly dangerous?

None of the above. Biking isn't dangerous at all.

Think otherwise? Well then if you go outside and stand really close to your bike, will it bite you? Infect you with a nasty ailment perhaps? No? Well it wasn't very dangerous then was it. Biking carries an element of risk of course, but this is fundamentally different from suggesting it is inherently dangerous.

No, I'm not playing with words, I'm using them as they ought to be used, saying that something is dangerous means that it causes danger, quite different from saying that you are at a degree of risk should you use one. Plenty of people think that this is an entirely semantic distinction, they are wrong, the words we use build impressions, understandings and even pictures in the minds of others, use them carefully or forever be viewed as a danger - to yourself and possibly others too.

Originally Posted by jonboy

Biking is dangerous, full stop. Just before I got into bikes again I persuaded myself (and others around me) that with the proper gear, proper road sense and training, and a responsible attitude biking really wasn't very dangerous at all. It wasn't true, I was kidding myself.

WRONG*, read the above carefully.

(*as usual)

Remember folks, guns don't kill people... rappers do.

Seriously, biking isn't that dangerous, it only really becomes so when you factor in the rest of the world - unfortunately.

What you can do as someone with some degree of self preservation is to minimise the risks that you can control (your riding), and be aware of those you can't (other people).

By the sounds of your decision you've got your head pretty much screwed on once you really think about it, you're going forwards in a manner you feel comfortable with. That's all anyone can ever do, so good luck.

Biking is like Marmite, you either love it or hate it - given time you'll discover which it is for you. Best of luck.