I did it cause one of my dumbass friends said I wouldn't do it. Mother fucker KNEW I'd do it just because he said I wouldn't. He knew that shit would piss me off and MAKE me do it. You see...I NEVER turn down a dare. And if someone tells me I can't do something, I by God go do it. I can't effing STAND to be told I can't do something. Hence the reason why I injure myself a lot. I still do it today because my ol lady keeps telling me to quit. NOT because she's concerned about my safety or well being mind you, it's because of the cost. She say's she could use that money to take her hellions to the beach or some shit. I'm like wtf? Bitch is crazy. 2nd reason why I stay injured a lot.
Touche. I've been getting in the karts. 12 Hours of Atlanta is next month, same weekend as the next RA round.
This is the best explanation thus far. Pretty much nailed it. Thing is, my mind has slowed down pretty much everywhere, and on the track the rest of me has slowed right down with it.
Damn that looks ugly. Hope you aren't in too much pain/discomfort. Mine was in about 5-6 fragments right at the sternum. One clean broken rib and two others with cracks. Several torn muscle groups as well. I go in for more pics Monday to see if things are knitting well. If they are, and if the bones bind to the sternum without needing pins, I hope to be able to ride in October at Putnam, to celebrate turning 60. To be accurate, my racing days are over after only two seasons. My reaction time is clearly lengthening, and as you age, you don't bounce nearly as well as when you are younger. I got into this late - Track days at 53, racing at 57 - and being in a race brings out the super-competitive side of me that I remember from HS sports. It is all consuming when it takes over, and I've decided that I can't allow that to happen, so I'm limiting myself to track days. It still feels good to go out and pass nearly everyone in the I group, but I don't take the personal risks that I will if my mindset is in a "must beat the guy in front of me" mode. Heal up, and we'll see you back out there.
I know it opens a whole can of worms, but I have to disagree. I think you are much more likely to crash on the track. But the chances of being injured in any particular crash are less on the track due to the run-off, gear we wear, etc. In other words, over any given timespan somebody might crash 1-2 times on the street. But if they raced full time, they would likely have crashed 6-8 times on the track in that same timespan. The chances of being injured are more likely in a street crash, but you will have crashed more on the track...and you can only be lucky so many times. At some point, one of those crashes is going to result in injury. I have close to 150k street miles under my belt and have never been injured on the street. I have had a couple of minor crashes, but no injuries (luck?). I seriously doubt anyone could log 150k race miles without multiple crashes and/or without sustaining an injury.
I have chucked several race bikes down the road but have always managed to keep my street bike under me.
this discussion is totally relevant on where you live.. come to FL or any major meto area for awhile and you may change your opinion on this. It's not the rider that needs worry in most cases, it's the friggin idiot drivers (texting, multi-tasking, etc.) that just don't see bikes, and routinely run them over on accident. Just sitting at a red light isn't safe. I love bikes, but will likely never own another street only bike.. sad. totally agree you are likely to crash on track, likely gonna break a bone or 2 (not if, when..) but you are more likely to DIE on the street. Especially if you do a fair amount of commuting in a large city. chances go up if you do the 90mph lane splitting thing to garner youtube hits
Still disagree. I live in a crowded city that has a lot of idiots and distracted drivers (3 Universities in the area). And I have taken many long distance trips, which included driving through Atlanta, Houston, New Orleans and many other cities, many times. Including during rush hour. I agree the other idiots are what we have to worry about. But I still feel like somebody is much more likely to crash on the track than on the street. And in my 150k street miles, that has been my experience.
If you ride on the street like you do on the track thats true. You will very likely be injured worse in a street incident than a track incident. If you assume that everyone in a car is an idiot with full intentions of killing you and ride like a sane human (that means no 90MPH lane splitting) your risks are considerably lower.
I can honestly say I have never gotten a speeding ticket on a motorcycle. Im not saying I don't speed; I actually feel safer going 8-10mph faster than the ambient traffic. I feel like I am "in control" and can drive "offensively" and comfortably work through traffic as needed...rather than worrying about passing some people, while other people pass me. But I don't blast down the road at 90-100mph, I don't pop wheelies, I don't drag knees, etc. I save that shit for the track. On the street, I just enjoy being on a bike. And riding like that, I feel the street is much safer.
Do you guys ever look at other "adrenaline" sports and say WTF are those idiots thinking? I do. But when somebody asks me the same about racing I just shrug because I know nothing I say can make them understand. Does that make me an idiot or just hypocritical? (Btw, that's a rhetorical question.) *Edit* - Perfect example, just read the Guy Martin thread. What on God's green earth would possess a man to do that? I don't get road racing. There I said it. Much respect, but y'all are fooked six ways from Sunday! Vaya con Dios.
This. I predict a lot of good times ahead, especially now that Olivia is making noises about doing it as well. This was my mom and dad, difference is they didn't live long enough to have regrets. How I wish they had done some things just for themselves.
A customer liked to jump out of perfectly good airplanes. He and I would poke at each other about how foolish the other was. He died in a jump accident in 2013. We all have that passion that fuels our internal fire. I don't need to understand the passion to understand the need to feed the fire.
