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Would you race again?

Discussion in 'General' started by mmfoor, Feb 18, 2013.

  1. HPPT

    HPPT !!!

    Not that it's any of my business, but I would say that has earned her a vote.
     
  2. A.R.K.

    A.R.K. Well-Known Member

    +1
     
  3. zbunny

    zbunny Well-Known Member

    I am thankful to be married to a great guy that hasn't since 2008 when he became self employed and didn't have disability insurance.

    I was 110% supportive of him and his racing - I was not and I am not going to be the wife that crushes his spirit as it's a big part of why I love him.

    Our situation is a little different, than most, as we don't have kids and due to his having Multiple Sclerosis, we agreed that Doug would have all the toys he wanted and could afford and that he would do all that he could, when he could and hope that the MS never kept him from anything.

    As much fun as he has, I'm thankful that he won't race if he doesn't have the finances, health insurance, disability insurance and life insurance. He doesn't want to have to think about me or our financial security when he races.

    In many ways, the break from racing has been good for both of us, he took up mountain biking and lost 75+ lbs and is in better shape than he ever has been in his adult life. We've spent a lot more time together, just us, and after 20+ years, we are lucky to still love each other and enjoy spending time together.

    I've witnessed the hardship that a few WERA families have had to endure when a crash happened and they weren't prepared, didn't have health or disability insurance or savings to get through the recovery. It's not just financial, it is definitely an emotional roller coaster.

    Three times in 20 years, we didn't know if Doug was going to be able to walk or regain any feeling in his hand, as the result of an MS exacerbation, luckily savings and insurance were in place, but, it was still a miserable experience to endure for us both. Being a caregiver is not fun.

    I truly miss the time at the track, maybe even more than Doug, and hope that someday very soon we'll be back at the track. He finally has decent disability insurance, so, I'm waiting to see who brings it up first.

    Talk it over with your wife and make an educated and responsible decision.

    Michelle
     
  4. cha0s#242

    cha0s#242 Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand

    It's hard to use rational arguments on such an emotional decision as to go racing or not.
    I retired from racing after a crash that wasn't near as bad as yours.

    I still get my kicks riding on the streets and doing an occasional trackday. I even have an offer to ride an endurance next year I might take up.

    It's the same thing with drugs being fun and all. You just need to know when to stop.
     
  5. mmfoor

    mmfoor Team Stupid!

    Karl, I'm just a simple old man. Brake late, corner low, and keep Kesler behind you.:up:

    My first X-act day is coming to Tally in March; can you make that one?
     
  6. Ed Sorbo

    Ed Sorbo Well-Known Member

    Morris,

    I got my 2000 TZ because of Bruce’s big crash at Atlanta. Bruce was still pitting with me for his big crash at Laguna. As you know I’ve been on all sides of the big crash including taking the family to the crash site at the track so they could leave flowers.

    No one gets to tell you what you can’t do.

    In many ways it’s easier to be the f’ed up guy in ICU than to be the people who love us, waiting.

    Pay off all debts before spending money on track stuff. Apply lessons learned to the amount of insurance you have.

    What Bruce is doing looks to be working for Bruce and Edie and that is the key. Edie understands Bruce’s racing and Bruce understands what she goes through when he gets hurt. They came up with a plan that works for them.
     
  7. I'd probably get into racing cars or karts..
     
  8. notbostrom

    notbostrom DaveK broke the interwebs

    That's a aracer for you. Come back and see how it feels. You'll know after a couple laps if your heart is still in it.
     
  9. SlyRy

    SlyRy Registered user

    My vote is no. I would focus on paying down the bills from your hospital stay. No offense meant, but with people fundraising, selling tshirts in your name on here, I think its time to think of others but yourself.
     
  10. mike574

    mike574 Well-Known Member

    I second the have you ever tried mini racing. When I was racing NJMini gp there were one or two guys I met that had big offs on the big bikes and were getting the racing kick on the little bikes. Bar banging on the little bikes is fun, and tires last for ever.
     
  11. jimraynor21

    jimraynor21 Well-Known Member

    +2 on minis

    It's not the same rush as big bikes but its a hell of a lot of fun(and much cheaper I might add).
     
  12. dobr24

    dobr24 Well-Known Member

    Morris,
    My brother in law was riding on a casual Sunday ride on June 24th of last year. A dog ran out in front of him and he went down. He was the last rider in a group of 8 so no one saw exactly what happened. He apparently hit his head hard enough to cause a subdural hematoma which caused him to be in a coma for 16 weeks. He is struggling mightily to recover but he is still bedridden and has very little movement in his body. He is still struggling with staying conscious willfully. My point in telling you all this is so that you realize that it could happen anywhere, anytime. I think when your number comes up it's over. This event has actually driven me back to racing and I'll be back at WERA events this summer. Make you own decision but do not be mistaken in thinking that you are hastening your own demise by racing. Life is just dangerous. Period.
     
  13. tophyr

    tophyr Grid Filler

    Absolutely, I would.

    Now granted, I am much younger and much less attached and responsible than most of you. I don't have a family to support, I don't have a wife to think of, I don't have house payments or a business to run. I still have plenty, let me repeat, plenty of reasons not to die.. I'm not trying to say in any way that I'm nonchalant about that.. but absolutely, I would race again.

    I crashed at the TT last year and tumbled for nearly a quarter mile before finally coming to a stop and crawling off the road. I ended up getting lucky injury-wise, only breaking my foot and scaphoid, but I count myself as having threaded a needle on the odds: a few feet in either direction during my tumble and I would have either followed my bike down the side of the mountain, or hit a signpost at 100+mph... with very "messy" results. The marshals visited me in the hospital later and confessed that, while they were watching the crash in progress, they did not expect me to be moving at the end of it.

    The thing is, for me, racing is my "fire". I've played other sports, I've been competitive in other ways, but I don't dream every single night about swimming or rugby. I haven't been on a motorcycle in over nine months and I still dream about it every night.

    My mom knows that I don't really fear dying, so they way she tries to get in my head is making me picture being a paraplegic or quadriplegic for the rest of my life. And that's scary, yeah. But then I look at guys like Dan Knowles (below), or the wheelchair basketball dudes, or whatever.. and I realize that the only thing that will ever make me give up competition is me. Not an injury, not an accident, just me.

    [​IMG]

    If the raw danger aspect is what's getting to you, then there are many suggestions already in the thread that can mitigate your risk: minis, safer racetracks, better equipment, taking some time to get your head right, etc. For me, however, at 27 years old and having gone through enough to realize that I am not anything close to invincible while still being unattached enough to be selfish about injuries to myself - I tend to remember something I heard in junior high:

    You can go skydiving, and your chute can fail, and you can die.
    You can go scuba diving, and you can get attacked by a shark, and you can die.
    You can climb a mountain, and get stuck in the cold, and you can die.
    Or you can stay at home, and you can slip in the shower.. and you can die.
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2013
  14. Karl_L

    Karl_L Well-Known Member

    Without a doubt! I'm going to try to work out the schedule so she & her husband came come hang out for a race weekend.
     
  15. HPPT

    HPPT !!!

    You need to think of the worst-case scenario when you make these decisions. Death isn't it.

    (This is not an opinion on whether you should or shouldn't race. Just saying your analysis might be missing something)
     
  16. MadManx

    MadManx Retired for 2013-2014

    Hopefully I will when I move to Miami. I have to get my head together since it almost came off at IOM in 2011. Things haven't been the same since then so I figured I would stop and pick it up when I'm ready.
     
  17. HPPT

    HPPT !!!

    I wasn't saying she has earned a vote on your tire choice. :crackup:
     
  18. ryoung57

    ryoung57 Off his meds

    Run a race and see how you feel. Maybe it'd be better to be a coach or instructor? You could also get into cars - I doubt spec miatas are much more expensive than bikes.
     
  19. great. I'm going to be wearing another T-Shirt of another washed up racer. :Poke:
     
  20. mmfoor

    mmfoor Team Stupid!

    And no offense (a cowardly preface) you don't know shit about my finances, what I owe, what I have lost, etc.
    Are you this completely informed about all else you don't know dick about???

    And when you gonna buy a shirt, homie!:crackup:

    Seriously, I respect your opinion. I have not asked for donations, fund-raiser, etc. but so appreciate all of my friends looking out for me. I don't think a one of them expects me to spend all of my off work time in the public library reading non-fiction.
    Yes I have taken a hit, and so appreciate the help received. If you had been with this race group for long, I think you would better understand the compassion we feel for one another.
     

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