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

When I talked about not looking down on those with children that continue to race, I wasn't trying to single out anyone.

I'm with you on people's perceptions of "being selfish"... To a certain extent, everyone must be... it all started with that self-preservation thing that got programmed into us at some point.

 

I didn't think you did, you just brought up a point I wanted to make clearer.

 

I like what you said there Cletus...

 

I considered hanging up racing when I adopted my wife's son, the whole responsibility thing. She left but I still have him. :up:

But I hung it up because of too many injuries. I loved racing, but suck at it... slow reflexes and slightly clumsy... not good qualities for a high speed environment. I have so many injuries to my spine (some racing, some not) that I live with chronic pain 24/7.

I did four laps at beginning of 2005 season and had to have someone hold the bike while I rolled off, and I decided that was it.

Being a dad got me thinking of quiting, but the realization that I don't belong out there sealed the deal. When living in the US I satisfy my racing urge by working occasional weekends for WERA.... gets me close, involved, but remaining upright.
Eric

 

I have been struggling with the idea of getting back on the track as well...........I am only 23 and have no dependants but even at that age a devastating accident can cause more problems than for only yourself.......

I came about as close to death as one can get when I broke my C1 vertebrae in a car crash......a car crash that was just me driving home from a restaurant at night not involving anything but a deer and just a bad series of events that no one could have foreseen........my doctor says if I wouldve severed my spinal cord I wouldve been dead but there is that slight chance I couldve wound up like Christopher Reeve, I simply cannot imagine that and what my parents and friends would go through in order to help care for me......things were shitty just being in a neck brace and confined to my house for 3 months, cant imagine a lifetime

My doctor says Im supposed to give up racing (and pretty much everything else that I enjoy) however this accident gives a good idea of how something can happen at any point in your life doing anything, and its more likely that you will be seriously injured or killed doing something like driving a car or falling on ice than riding a motorcycle...........while some days I have doubts about riding again, other days I just think about everything I did and how happy it made me, I want nothing more than to go back to everything I love and sometimes I feel if I dont then I am wasting my second chance, but I dont know

I fear being maimed entirely more than death.........everyone dies, there is nothing you can do to stop that, ever, so live everyday as if it were your last because you honestly do never know when it could end.....

 

The percentage of profound comments in this thread exceeds the BBS norm, with some very thought-provoking posts.

 

AND IT MUST BE STOPPED!!

We have a reputation to uphold


carry on...

 

That's why you're here.

 

Touché

 

This is actually one of the better threads I've seen in my short time here. On a personal level.

 

That's what I'm sayin'! (I concur.)

 

also I know most people that race participate in other activities such as bicycle riding and skiing/snowboarding and even swimming

those activities statistically produce far more maiming injuries than racing a motorcycle in my research, and I had plenty of time do that research when I was stuck in my house for 3 months..........yet people view racing as much worse of a thing to do when you have a family, does that mean a father cannot take his kid skiing, bicycle riding or into the ocean for a swim??

When I lived in Ocean City MD one weekend there was a big swell.....there was probably up close to 10 cases of people breaking their necks cause the waves just knocked them down, couldve been anyone that happened to

My physical therapist told me a story of a father sitting on a bar stool in his kitchen, his kid ran by him and he went to just grab his arm jokingly.......he fell backward off his stool and his now paralyzed

John said it best..........life is scary and full of dangers in which you could be maimed or killed, all you can do is put it out of your mind and enjoy the present.........just make sure that even if you DONT have dependants, everyone around you can be affected by your decisions so make sure you have some insurance to cover your own ass in case the unfortunate would happen........

Or just live in a bubble

 

I've read most of the thread, but not all of it and I'm going to give you my 2 cents worth. Yes motorcycle racing is dangerous and I'm not good at it, but I love it. I've loved it from the time I was eight years old and got my first Kenny Roberts t-shirt. I am a Dad and my daughter is in college. So I've watched her grow up, but some day she may get married and I might have some grand kids to play with (and I really want to do that), but ... we never know what hand life is going to deal us. My brother passed away two years ago at the age of 51. He had two young sons that he adored and loved. Now, I'm one of the male influences in their lives. If my brother were here, he'd tell you ... live life and don't be a spectator. Lying in bed dieing from cancer and seeing people that just sat around, that weren't living life to the fullest crushed him. He wanted to be in the middle of everything ... riding motorcycles, four wheelers, shooting basketball, wake boarding, riding bicycles ... he wanted to do anything that his boys wanted too. So now I'm doing this stuff with them. They built a bicycle jump and the youngest one wouldn't jump, so what did do ... give me that bike. The first jump was great, the second one ... I broke my wrist in three places and separated my shoulder, so we didn't go play golf that day. This past summer I really pulled some muscles in my neck after crashing on the wake board from the highest air contest with them. So not matter what I'm doing ... I'm likely to injure myself. Not sure where I'm going with this, but I'm living life with them and they love the time I'm spending with them right now. I am also getting them involved in Church and letting them know how important Christ is in their lives and mine. That is what is really important. The decision to race for everyone should be considered with care and in the end, we each have to make our own choice. I choose to live my life to the fullest with God as my Co-Pilot.

 

good points IMHO

 

I think we all can agree


people that live in glass houses, should wear clothes

 

You guys that want to compete but have issues with rr or mx should really try observed trials. I competed or practiced basically every weekend from 95 to 98 and never saw anyone get more than a bruise. I rode with people of all skill levels, from rank beginners to national champs and there were no broken bones that I know of [ except for one collarbone while laying out the loop. His 3 wheeler fell over on him ].

Some of the stuff the expert and national riders do will boggle the mind and even the upper mid level guys can do some amazing stuff. If you avoid tossing the bike the maintenance is nearly zero. Look at the filter once a month or so, adj the chain every now and then. Check the air in the tires pretty often.

Many people have enough of a yard that they can set up some practice sections at home or in nearby woods. The bikes are so quiet that they don't attract negative attention. I promise you that taking up trials will improve your skills and confidence dramatically. It's also a great aerobic workout.

 

This has been a very thought-provoking thread. I am a father of three kids, aged 27, 20 and 18. All threee are in college, and I have provided for their education and support to this point. My wife also works and makes excellent income, so that aspect of the discussion is well-covered.

Eleven years ago I was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer, and have had over 50 surgeries related to that illness plus chemoptherapy and radiation teatments.

I have worked in the motorcycle industry since I was 19, I am now 54. At 25, I was a crew member on an AMA Superbike team that tied for the championship. I have been involved with racing from the technical end for almost 30 years. I have been street riding for 33 years. I taught my kids to ride dirt bikes when they were small, and when my son turned 16, he and I took a 7,755 mile road trip across the US, he on my old SV650, me on my BMW.

I am a motorcycle mechanic by trade, and a physical injury could prevent me from producing income. I never was able to put any amount of savings together, with three kids and a crappy-paying job, so I must work to stay afloat financially.

I started doing track days with Reg Pridmore in 1988, and started doing a lot of them in 2001, riding with Team Promotion and STT.

Anyway, that's my background. In the end of 2005, a fellow track day rider convinced me to try roadracing in WERA with him. I was hesitant, to say the least. I have been racing for two seasons. It has been wonderful and rewarding on many levels. I far exceded my original goal of finishing a race "in the hunt," actually winning my fourth race of my first season. I went on to place 2nd in Senior Superbike Novice in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. This year I won the Mid-Atlantic Senior Superbike Heavyweight championship, and placed third at the GNF in Senior Supebike HW Novic.

I have had six "hard" crashes in two years, three of which caused injuries severe enough that I missed a total of over ten weeks of work, during my busiest season. I also now live with chronic pain from each of those injuries, a little memento of racing that I will carry into my dotage.

Beyond the physical injuries, the financial cost of racing has consumed more than half of my income in the last two years. Of course, if I continue to race I will need more and better equipment with the associated expense.

Considering just the last two paragraphs, I do not see how I could justify racing when my children were younger and dependent on me for their daily nurture and care as well as my support. Now that Their futures are well-provided-for, I can focus on my desires and passion. Every day brings new challenges, both on track and off. I plan to continue racing, but having achieved Expert level, where I seriously doubt that I will ever be remotely competitive, I will probably curtail my racing to some degree. I definitely have overspent my racing budget.

The part that I will miss the most on any race weekend that I miss will be the wonderful family that I have found in the paddock. You are a very special group of folks, who have shown your integrity and compassion in a thousand ways. I think that even when I hang up the leathers, I will show up at
WERA events and seek out a way to participate meaningfully.

For this season, my goal is to get my family to come to a race event with me (none have ever attended any WERA event) and participate firsthand in the excitement, atmosphere and fraternity of racing. I also hope to get a few decent finisheds in Formula 1 Expert and Senior Superbike Expert Heavyweight.

Great thread. Thanks for letting me introduce myself as well as "think out loud" a bit on a subject that is at the forefront of my thoughts.

You guys rock!:up:

 

Not if your in the infantry. I lost more friends in training (2 helicopter crashes, 1 from a bad chute and 2 in an explosion when static electricity set off the fuse) a ranger battalion is a dangerous place. Than I saw killed in the gulf, Columbia and Bosnia.

 

I like riding on the track because it is more safe than the street to me. I've never been interested in winning. This is what I do for fun, I won't make it a job and I won't tie it to aspriations of success. I race expert because it is more safe than novice.

My wife comes to every event I attend and if she couldn't come, I wouldn't attend. She knows that whenever I'm on the track I'm comfortable and just riding my bike. I don't call myself a racer, racing means you intend on winning something. I go for a ride. Ed Bargy says I should have a long carreer riding like that. Long as I don't do anything stupid that is.

Take Care Bros.

Deomgraphics ? I just joined AARP and my kids are 28 and 30 years old. I started racing in 2001.

 

I'm cool with that and even tried it during my last year on the track. I moved to N. FL and got to know Jennings like the back of my hand. At first, I was cool with just lapping. Then my lap times got better and I wanted to go even faster. That was good and that was bad. IMHO, the faster you go, the quicker things happen which then raises the odds of getting more seriously hurt or having your equipment fubar'd.

So, I backed off a little. Just out for a ride. Lapping away. Enjoying the scenery. Working on technique. I was bored out of my skull. There is something about having to hang on for dear life that is a complete, total rush. For me that fix is on or off. Because I'm the sole breadwinner, I hung it up. Street and track.

One question for you, you're cool with lapping and enjoying the scenery. What about that 17yr old racer-boy who doesn't know asphalt and concrete is VERY hard? The youngin' with the blue tights and the big S on his chest? He's the guy that will chop your front tire going into T1 at a 120mph because he wanted that spot and "thought he could make it"...