Topic: Sobering site....

[techy5025]

I don't know if a link to this site has been posted, but it sure drives
home the point that we are engaged in a dangerous hobby.

Caution:  Some of the images are unpleasant.

http://home1.gte.net/res0ak9f/bike.htm

Jim

[GroovieGhoulie]

I take thatpage with a grain of salt since it appears to be a page designed to frighten the average public into wanting bikes off the road completely.

[cben750f0]

i tend to agree..... if they were to do a similar thing with cars we would never drive cars...... though it does bring back some real nasty memories..... BE CAREFULL PPL...


peace

[cmorgan47]

really horrific.  but i can't help laughing at the guy (near the bottom) with a fence post up his ass.

[Jeff]

I'm not going to look at that site, because by the other replies, I have a good idea of what's there.

But at this point, I'm not going to give up riding because of the increased risk of a motorcycle. I know there's increased risk, so I try to minimize it by not riding like an idiot, wearing my helmet and other protective gear. Life is not about holing up inside because you're afraid you might get hurt. Life is interesting because of what you experience.

Look at Randy Renfrow for example. For those who don't know, he was a superb 250GP racer. Won alot of races, liked by everybody. He didn't die when he was on a bike. He died falling down the stairs at his house.

Jeff

[martini]

I'm with you on this one Jeff, don't need to see it, I know the risks.

[Gordon]

really horrific.  but i can't help laughing at the guy (near the bottom) with a fence post up his ass.

Take a closer look.  He's lying on his back, not his front.

[GroovieGhoulie]

I've really taken a rather fatalistic view that "when it's your time, it's your time and there's nothing you can do about it."

I have a buddy whose hobby is skydiving.  He has over 2000 jumps.  HALO, HAHO, all that crap.  He had a friend, who I knew briefly, who thought he was nuts to jump out of airplanes for fun.  This guy was the kind of guy who never did anything risky for fear of death.  If he could, he would wrap himself in NERF and wear a helmet everywhere.  VERY cautious/conservative.

He did everything overly cautious and such and all of a sudden, one day he was sitting at a traffic light, buckled in his safe car when some guy barreled into the back of him.  He had nowhere to go.  The wreck was so bad, he died at the scene.

So here's a guy who does everything to extend his life and never take risks and he's killed.  Meanwhile, a man who jumps out of perfectly good airplanes, rides motorcycles and engages in other "crazy" activities is still alive.

I have other stories like this.  When you're number's up, it's up, and it doesn't matter what you are doing at that moment.

[Gordon]

When you're number's up, it's up, and it doesn't matter what you are doing at that moment.

So, theoretically, I could go take a leisurely stroll across I-25 this morning, and as long as my number isn't up, I should be fine?  Or should exercise a little precaution and not do that, in an effort to prolong my stay in this life just a little longer?

[GroovieGhoulie]

When you're number's up, it's up, and it doesn't matter what you are doing at that moment.

So, theoretically, I could go take a leisurely stroll across I-25 this morning, and as long as my number isn't up, I should be fine?  Or should exercise a little precaution and not do that, in an effort to prolong my stay in this life just a little longer?

I've had co-workers and family members die when they were doing everything "right", so I'm very jaded to the concept of "prevention".

However, that doesn't mean to be stupid.  You're using the Reductio Ad Absurdum argument and while that's fine, realize that you're taking it to an illogical extreme.  Would I go into battle naked?  No, but even wearing all the armor and having advanced gear, people still get killed every day.  Even with all the proper riding gear, people are still killed.  So do what you can to protect yourself, but when it's your time, there's nothing you could have done about it.

And yes, in my (impetuous) youth, I have strolled across major expressways (sober, at that) and am still here. 

[cmorgan47]

Take a closer look.

no way.  you're not tricking me into looking closer at that.

So, theoretically, I could go take a leisurely stroll across I-25 this morning, and as long as my number isn't up, I should be fine?  Or should exercise a little precaution and not do that, in an effort to prolong my stay in this life just a little longer?

that would mean that your number probably was up....or maybe not, you just might make it.

[cbjunkie]

yeah. i'm not looking either. and anyway nothing will compare with ogrish.com...

[gasguzler]

Goddam.. I wish I never looked... Sobering indeed.... who the f*ck wants to be sobered up to that extent? Thanks for nuthin.

[eldar]

I kinda feel it was anti-biker. He focuses on how your are GOING to die if you ride a bike. It is kinda like the media reporting on car crashes. If you die and are NOT wearing a seatbelt, it is all over the news BUT if you die and ARE wearing one, nothing is said about the belt.

I still think that if ALL people who drive cars were forced to ride a bike for 1 summer, people would be MUCH more aware of bikers. I think accidents would drop drastically cause cagers would be looking out for bikes.

[mennedy]

I thought the site used sensationalism to make the point that you shouldn't ride a motorcycle.

I am semi-retired and drive professionally - a school bus. I take all the defensive driving courses, have learned the value of taking a driving lesson regularly (how many of you even think of that - I didn't before I started on the bus) and I don't react emotionally to the to other peoples actions on the road. Driving is about the other drivers, not about me.

I also have realised the obvious: that motorcyclists are at risk. They do not have 2500 lbs of metal around them to protect them. In any altercation, the cyclist will lose. Might is right. The danger is inherent. That said, I also feel that every situation that poses a danger to the motorcyclist is avoidable. Defensive driving for a motorcyclist is way busier work than for the motorist. I'm not going to harp on the do's and don'ts but if you speed excessively, don't leave stopping distances for you and your tailgater and zone out while riding, you are looking for trouble. Exactly the kind you see on that site.

Motorcycling is a calculated risk. The risk can be increased or decreased by the rider's behaviour. Attitude is the biggest determinant of behaviour. It's about risk management.

I started riding, carefully, at 55 and love the rush. Riding is inherently a lot of fun. You cannot tell me that riding will result in my death. Bad behaviour will. My attitude is defensive and my behaviour is cautious. I don't get into win / lose situations.

Someone asked me, "Aren't you scared on that thing?" I replied, "I'm absolutely terrified! But without risk, what value has life? When was the last time you put yourself out there for the sheer fun of it?"

I "ride to live" in all senses of the phrase.


 

[techy5025]

The guy has a link at the bottom of the .....page...to a bunch of e-mails that he
has received.  Lots of opinions.  Having been hit three times in the rear of my car...while
stopped...the one that got me was the guy getting hit like that at the light.  I'm
not sure it's possible to avoid that situation.....who can recognize that you are going
to get hit..and get out of the way in a few seconds. I guess it falls in the "acceptable"
risk category. 

Jim

[Rushoid]

That's actually when I'm most scared on my bike: when stopped at a light. When I'm moving I can scan what's in front and to the side. Watching the mirrors and trying to judge if that SUV is going to stop is something else entirely.

[cmorgan47]

keep it in first, keep distance from the car in front and point to one of the sides.

i see that all the time, someone on the phone, yelling at the kids in the back of the hummer, and me thinking "please see me.  please have your foot on the brake!"

seriously though, till the car behind me is stopped, i'm in first, ready to launch.

[Jeff]

seriously though, till the car behind me is stopped, i'm in first, ready to launch.

+1

[techy5025]

.....how do you handle the guy who rearends the car two cars behind you and slams
all them into you? Saw this last  month...with a bike as number two of four in the
pileup?

Someone posted that his approach is to make himself think he is totally invisible to all
cars. Sounds like a great way to maintain attention, but it wouldn't work in this case.

Jim

[cmorgan47]

same way you handle pancreatic cancer, random snipers in bell towers near your work, and meteors falling from space onto your head.

[Rushoid]

keep it in first, keep distance from the car in front and point to one of the sides.

I always have it in gear, and I keep distance between me and the car in front of me. I don't keep it aimed out because I was taught to stop so you're facing the direction you want to take off. I always have the brake light on (usually flashing it) until someone stops behind me.

[Pinhead]

Also notice that there wasn't a single SOHC4 on that page!! Mostly crotch rockets and a few Harleys.

Edit:

I'm not saying that any type of bike will make you safer on the road. I'm just saying that the type of person that goes out and buys an $8,000 crotch rocket is the same type of person that is in those pictures. It's mostly about your attitude about cycling, and your alertness.

Sure, there are accidents that you simply won't be able to get away from, but I like this quote:

.....how do you handle the guy who rearends the car two cars behind you and slams
all them into you? Saw this last  month...with a bike as number two of four in the
pileup?

same way you handle pancreatic cancer, random snipers in bell towers near your work, and meteors falling from space onto your head.

[cbjunkie]

mere statistical frequency would easily account for that...
or, as we've always suspected, SOHC riders are smarter, have better reflexes and are much sexier...

well that last bit doesn't really matter i guess, regardless of the ineffable truth of it. 

[ElCheapo]

Whatever..........

You are more likely to be killed in a car accident than you are to win lottery.

There is lots of #$%* that will kill you out there that we still do them. Just living, is enough to get you killed. Everyone is is here for a certain things, true bikers are here for the experience. When its your time to get off the bus, then it's your time. 

The sobby comes from peoples greed. Greed in having you around. I tell my wife I live it, if it kills me then too bad. Just know the tears are for you not me. If you know me you will celebrate the legacy left behind.