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

“Guys who have families should not race”.

Having just re-read the Cal Rayborn piece over at Soup, I have become curious.

Who said it? When was it said? In what context was it uttered? What motivated the originator to say this?

It ticks me off every time I see this quote and want to know who to be mad at.

Does this mean only orphans can race?

Joe

 

I googled the phrase. You will have to settle for being mad at an unidentified old sage. Go for it.

 

I googled as well it before I posted. My hope was that the all knowing WERA BBS would know. Afterall some heart surgeon was on here asking for advice on open heart surgery.

Joe

 

Well, the phrase puts alot into perspective. Who said? Propbably 10-15 people I have ever met. I never really think about the consequences much. But recently when i found out that I am going to be a father, I really became concerned about what my family would do if I was not there..

It's not exactly a statement that any of us should be unfamiliar with.

 

To me it really means "People with young dependents should not race".

 

...or worse yet in some cases , what would happen if they had to take care of you

 

How many people do you know, mostly street riders, that sold their bikes when they got married and had kids? It's not unheard of, but to each his own.

 

I think Mongo said it, you know how he gets sometimes. Although, he will need to recoup some of the money for the plumbing and communications mishaps over the weekend, so anything is possible now!

On a side note, one of my team mates is 99.9% quiting racing because of his job. He is the bread winner and his boss told him not to come back to work with another sling or cast caused by racing! I don't fault him one bit having 2 kids and a wife to take care of. I feel sorry for him because he loves it just like the rest of us on here and I know it's killin' him!

 

I suspect that there have been more than a few racers that did the same. Some come back after the kids are older. Some don't.

 

I've had two friends that I used to ride with sell their bikes because they had kids. I think there are two reasons for that. They dont want to end up hurt or killed, and they figure getting rid of the bike is the best place to start. The cost of raising kids comes into play as well. Owning a motorcycle isnt a cheap hobby. Some cant afford to have a bike and a family. Giving up certain lifestyles happened with all our parents at some point in life, the only difference between then and now is what was given up. I'd say everyone here has heard a story or two about how our parents lived until we came along.
With that being said, I've also had two other friends die from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. Both of those guys left behind families. It all comes down to a personal choice of whether or not to do certain things. You make a decision based on what you think is best for you and your family.

 

After having raced for 4 years and loving every minute of it, a bad crash to end last season really got me thinking. While laying on the couch unable to get up and down with a broken vertebra I realized that I was lucky. My wife works (makes as much money as I do), and so three days off really didn't hurt us much, but what if three days turned into three or six months? As a factory worker anything broken is disableing. I had never thought of it much either till I was unable to get up off the asphault on my own.
I renewed my liecence for this year, but the probability of me racing is very slim. I'll miss the racing (best schedule I've seen since starting too, damn), but I'll miss my WERA family more.

 

If you don't mind that your children grow up w/o one of their parents. Even if you have a million dollars worth of life insurance or more. Go for it. But you should have at least enough insurance to cover the cost of your house AND higher education in case you die. At any matter generally it could be considered selfish to race knowing you might become disabled or worse.

 

So far i've had 2 crashes on the street and 2 while racing. Both street crashes caused me broken bones, on track i've walked away. In fact i'm currently dealing with a scaphoid that refuses to heal from the last one. As i sit here on short term disability (a whopping $250 per week ) it makes you wonder a bit. What my next track bike will be, that is . Racing...probably not. Tracktime, most definately. I can't live in a box but as a family you must understand the risks and accept them together. You make preparations to cover the worst case scenario with life and/or disability insurance. I've been on two wheels for over 30 years now. Bikes are a part of me and my family and prolly always will be.
Cheers, Lee S.

 

A family guy that doesn't take care of his family ain't much of a family guy.

Joe

 

So why do you have a problem with the statement?

 

It may have just been a longer way of saying '+1'

 

The statement makes me ill because it implies that family guys -only- shouldn't race.

There is an implication there that a racer family guy is irresponsible. If the same guy dies in a crash on his way to work in the morning, does that make him more responsible? He's just as dead, and his kid(s) still grow up without him.

Look, I don't want this to get too terribly derailed. I was sincerely curious as to the origin of the original statement.

Joe

 

Oh poop, I though R Acree was referring to the original.

Yes. that was a long winded way of saying +1 to Morph.

 

I had a friend of mine post something like that after a near fatal crash during a race this last year. Now that I'm a father, I do see a point behined the post/ comment.

 

Life is dangerous. Death stalks us all. So...

Don't drive.

Don't smoke.

Don't live anywhere where there may be a disaster (hurricane, earthquake, tornado, landslide, tsunami, fire, oil refinery explosion).

Don't smoke or drink.

Don't walk around on city streets for fear of errant cars ramming you or muggers mugging you.

Don't ride a bicycle.

Don't ride a skateboard.

Don't run.

Don't ride anything, dirt bike, mini bike, ATV, etc. Don't eat out, you could get e coli.

Don't fly.

Watch out for packs of crazed dogs.

And for God's sake don't have kids, because they bring home every type of hideous germ known to man, which make you a lot sicker than it makes them!

In short, don't breathe. Life is way too risky.