BOMBSHELL..."Guys who have families should not race”.

Not in DC, thats the "hood"

 

I'm pretty sure I would feel the same way.

Hell it bugged me to be out of work for 2 days with my broken collarbone and I'm a salaried employee that didn't lose a dime plus I have no kids. I can only imagine what it would be like if I had a serious accident with a family to support. :wow:

 

I don't see what this has to do with respect. I did not say you are a bad person. I think that a racing when you have children is a selfish act. Should I not say that because you disagree?

And by the way, acknowledging my own selfishness is the main reason I never had children, so it's not like I'm passing judgment here.

 

I'm not telling you to say or do anything.

I believed (and believe) that my family was best served by me racing--and racing kept me from going stir crazy. It's easy for somebody at a keyboard to say Cal Rayborn should not have raced because he had kids. It's how he made his living.

Would it have been different for his family if he worked at a 7/11 and got killed in a car crash going to work? Yeah, they wouldn't have had as much money when he was alive.

 

This is something I agree with.

One of the things I realized when my baby was born was that my ultimate responsibilty is to teach her not to be timid about life.

Joe

P.S. still am curious about the origin of this old saw

 

I understand my accident wasn't nearly as bad as many others, but it put a lot of these issues directly in my face in a way I had never considered before.

I decided to keep racing, in fact, it wasn't even a choice, the thought of quitting never even seemed reasonable. Granted I don't have kids, but if I ever do, I won't give up racing because of it.

 

What about people in the military who have children? Is that selfish? Or a dozen other professions that might run a higher risk than motorcycle racing?

I'm not quite dissagreeing with you Papa. To be absolutely un-selfish, I think we'd have to admit that there's risk, we have kids who need us, so we won't race. But there's got to be a drawing line on that risk. Like I said, there's sooooo many other things in the world more risky than motorcycles, but because they don't carry the same "crotch rocket racing" connotations.

 

That is an interesting point. I see it differently for guys that are good enough at it to make a living and this is usually known before a guy has a family.

I think the selfishness would be there for someone doing it as a hobby only.

Should a Navy fighter pilot give up flying because his wife has a child? It's a very dangerous job landing on a carrier.

It's an interesting delima for someone that really loves the sport.

 

Well, unless you have come up with a teleportation device to get to from home to the racetrack, I would say you are risking just as much driving yourself to work, and then a whole lot more once you get there.

By the way, the people I am talking about in my first comment (selfishness) are the ones who make their living away from the racetrack. Like probably more than 90% of the people here.

 

If one of your parents die while serving, your basicly taken care of until your 18. Free education, medical and housing. And serving your country is NOT a hobby. It is a profession, futhermore MOST jobs in the armed forces are only dangerous in times of war. Which in the big scheme of things, is not that often.

 

You weren't in the Navy were you?

 

My Army Captain daughter got out of the military (safe and sound, woohoo!) after 12 years and is now working for an electronics company. I'm still trying to get her to convince the company to make a car-evaporator-ray I can use in traffic jams or when comebody turns left in front of me. I'm not asking about a teleportation device until after they get the car-evapo-ray up and running.

 

Sorry, but I think the comparison is ridiculous. I know racers tend to think highly of themselves, but you are not saving lives or defending freedom. Unselfish activities by definition.

Look, I am a licensed pilot, licensed diver, and I raced motorcycles until it cost me my life. So it's not like I spent my life sitting at home trying to avoid risks. But that doesn't keep me from being realistic about these things.

 

It's called a tank.

 

I think the problem I have with Morph's logic is that he is clearly delusional. Sportbikerchic is going to be my baby's mama. That is all.

 

Nope 3rd Bat 75th Reg... But I don't have kids

 

She don't date Brothers

 

That's just dumb. Do you really believe this statement?

 

As a recent dad, I have thought about this quite a bit. My feeling is that the potential consequences I'm facing as a racer aren't as severe as the potential consequences of living the only life you get in fear of such consequences.

I think the benefit my son will have as a result of me following my dream of racing motorcycles and being a happy, fulfilled individual outweigh the risks of potential injury or death on my part. If there is one thing I hope to impress upon him aside from the obvious stuff like "be nice to people," it's to always keep in mind that life is very short, and you only go around once.

That isn't to say that there's not a valid argument for "well, you're not going to impress anything on him if you're dead," and I really don't have an answer for that. I believe that the choices I make regarding the class I race in, my diligence with regard to my equipment, and my conduct on the track all contribute to managing the risk of racing...I guess I can only say that I hope I'm right.

 

Damn grunts.