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Reepicheep
| | Posted on Monday, April 08, 2013 - 02:49 pm: | 
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I'll second Craig's comment relative to the Dirt. Taking a dirt bike for a fun ride in the woods is wonderful accessible fun. And while you can and will get hurt, you can have a ton of fun without anything even remotely life threatening.
I'd give up my street bike before I gave up my dirt bike. |
Jb2
| | Posted on Monday, April 08, 2013 - 05:06 pm: |
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Wesley - Sorry to hear. Had similar experience... kinda. To ride or not to ride. Riding became the therapy that I needed to stay in the saddle. Instead of detailing it here you can just read the struggle for yourself.
http://www.bikenutz.com/storyteller/twowheeledgroo ve/
Ride Safe, JB2 |
Macbuell
| | Posted on Monday, April 08, 2013 - 05:42 pm: |
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I call it body language. There are usually subtle clues you can pick up on when a car is about to change lanes or pull out from an intersection. Anyway, if you assume they are going to pull out in front of you and prepare yourself ahead of time, you are literally one step ahead.
That said, I sold my bike last summer. Ever since my son was born I found myself worrying about what might happen whenever I took a ride rather than enjoying the experience. That was my clue that maybe it was time for me to find a new hobby. I just couldn't stomach the thought of my son going through life without me if something horrible did happen. And my wife too, for that matter. She would be destroyed. She already lost both parents suddenly and it left a very lasting emotional scar on her. I don't want to be the cause of another.
I know some say you can't live in fear, and I agree with that. In the end, I just determined the rewards didn't justify the risk. That was a my decision though and everyone needs to make their own.
That said I still miss riding, especially now when the weather is nice. I will probably by a dirt bike some day soon but I think my street riding days are over. Just too many idiots and too much to lose.
Ride Safe Out There. And While I'm not riding with you now, I will forever have your back. |
Psykick_machanik
| | Posted on Monday, April 08, 2013 - 07:53 pm: |
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My deepest condolences to the family. May god bring peace to your heart.
The most useful skill i have learned is to watch the front tire of the cars that are in possible threat positions to me. I NEVER look at the driver. Looking at the driver is a complete waste of precious time and is NOT any indicator of their intentions. If that tire is turning my way or starting to roll is all the cue i need to take action to maneuver to safety.
Also I ride like I own the place. MY LANE! Not like a jackass but in the assertive sense. I wont slow at dangerous intersection because I believe that might alter what the cager might do, if they see you slow they might take that as a cue that your letting them out. But already be riding at a safe stopping speed with hands ALWAYS on the controls.
Got this out of a book that I cant remember the name of even tho ive read it 3 times.....
I'll get the title and post it tonight.
Ride safe, dress for the crash not the ride and remember, they ARE out to get us. |
Ratbuell
| | Posted on Monday, April 08, 2013 - 08:56 pm: |
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I don't subscribe to the "they're out to get us" mentality, because in order to be out to get us (an active action as opposed to passive ignorance)...they'd have to know we're there in the first place and that, in my experience, is giving them too much credit.
I think they're just f'in oblivious.
That said, you can minimize - at least, as well as you can in any other facet of your life. I ride as close as I can to the center/dotted line so I "show up" better to people who want to merge into my lane. I also look at the wheels of a car - if they're rotating, I'm covering the brake and looking for a way out. I also have a Stebel for when they DO start to pull out. All my bikes have reflective pinstripe tape of one color or another - accent pinstriping in the daylight, PAY ATTENTION markers after dark (I have red pinstriping on the rear of my helmet too, and white on the front). All my brakelights have flashers on them.
I guess riding is like anything, though - use common sense, because they won't. Beyond that...you have to make your own choice. But as I said before - STOP target-fixating and looking at accident movies and statistics, unless you've already decided you want to quit riding. The more time you spend pondering those incidents, the easier it will be to visualize yourself in them. Put all that energy towards PRACTICE, and focus on riding instead of focusing on crashing. That, right now, is the best advice I can give. If you can't force yourself to re-focus on riding...it may be time to take a break for a bit. |
Littlebuggles
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - 06:28 am: |
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There is a lot of great advice flowing here. Read it well and put it to use.
While the loss is terrible, it is good to have one of our own bring the news of a brother down, keeping it in the family so to speak. Thank you for sharing the news Wes and your concerns and fears here. I think it's very sobering and the unfortunate loss of Chuck's life may serve to remind us how precious life is.
Many get the itch to ride as soon as winter weather starts to break. This may serve to keep us all a little more sane.
One thing to add, that has surprisingly not been mentioned by even our other MSF coaches here. SLOW DOWN. Lower speed equals more time and distance with which to react to those sudden, stupid moves drivers make. While riding a little faster than the normal flow can help you move from one safe pocket of traffic to another, riding over the speed limit as a regular practice reduces your available reaction time, and is just looking for trouble. I'm not saying to ride slow but habitual speeding is dangerous for a lot of reasons. I say that knowing I don't know you, this is not an accusation but advice to the general audience. Take an MSF class, in addition to the basic skills I learned and later taught there I was helped swiftly along in developing a proper defensive skill-set of mental tools.
Ride safe guys, it sucks to loose a badweb brother.
Rest in peace Chuck, pegs down. |
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