From: Phil Osborn (philosborn2001@yahoo.com)
Date: Sat Jul 20 2002 - 01:32:38 MDT
I have strongly recommended to many people against
taking up motorcycle riding, even tho overall it's a
lot safer now - in the U.S., at least - than it has
ever been in my lifetime. The equipment is a LOT
better - good brakes AND good tires - and people are
not nearly as crazy in general as they used to be. I
don't mean that they're better in general, just less
crazy about things like driving.
In my college days in the '60's, I drove a tiny Honda
50 step-thru, actually a very clean design for its
time and a joy to ride. Fortunately you were really
close to the ground, because the tires back then were
SO bad that you could count on dropping the bike in a
turn about once per month. On top of that, there were
a lot of boomer crazies out there, before the war and
drugs and prison thinned them out. The good-ol-boys
in their souped-up Mercs would grin right down at you
as they turned left directly in your path, knowing
that you were going to eat pavement yet again.
There is a typical learning curve with motorcycles.
First, you learn the basics and, if you're lucky, you
don't seriously hurt yourself in the process. The
next phase is when you get cocky, or just complacent
because nothing really bad has happened and you've
been driving for a year. A college friend of mine
plastered himself over the front of a Mac Truck during
this phase. Mac trucks - 1, Mensa members - (-)1.
If you're lucky, you'll have enough close calls or
non-fatal, non-cripling accidents during this phase
that you'll start paying attention to whether or not
you're properly paying attention. Otherwise, you'll
unconsciously drift into a state in which that little
bit of failure to pay attention will kill you one day.
This also happens with cars and teenage drivers, but
with a ton or two of metal and airbags, etc., you can
do a lot of damage and eventually scare yourself into
being more attentive. That learning curve is a lot
sharper on a bike.
I like the level of awareness that driving a bike with
nothing but my wits to keep me alive gives me, but if
I do it long enough, it will kill or disable me from
doing it any more. So, I'm playing for time,
balancing risk against utility on various levels.
If you don't already have the years of driving that it
takes to internalize completely the need to pay
attention, then I suggest that it isn't very rational
to make that wager.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better
http://health.yahoo.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sat Nov 02 2002 - 09:15:36 MST