I was road riding with my son three weeks ago when a car U-turned suddenly and T-boned him. I got a terrible shock; perhaps even more than if it had happened to me. He was badly bruised with some fractures in his left hand and the bike was written off. He is fine now and has gotten back full movement in his left hand after the accident
He is using my TTR to get to work until he gets another bike sorted.
His crash had a much greater impact on me than him.
Last Sunday I was riding back from Galway when a car pulled out on me at a junction. She pulled out while looking the other way. I didn't even have time to brake. She was across the white line before she saw me and stopped. I managed to ride around her. Coming close to my sons accident this near one has really spooked me
I've had a good run with the road bikes and wondering if it’s time to sell the road bike and just do the trail riding?? .
I've had many close ones with cars over the years and with one bike had 3 close ones with cars pulling out on me in the course of two weeks..
I think that there is a greater level of unconsciousness on the roads and in general these days.
I have broken lots of bones all over my body from bike accidents over the years and have always accepted that biking is living close to injury and death.
Maybe its my age (60)but am wondering if it's time to make a change??
Like you say over the years the close call's come thick and fast. in the 70s/80s on the road the traffic was less and I for one think the drivers where better for it. now it's rush rush tail to tail traffic and bad driving. I never push any of my bike's much over 50mph now look at every car like it's going to pull out I'm not one for a fluorescent top or bib but day time light's they work and it works even better on High Beam flick the switch up even in the day time and keep riding and get a helmet cam an film it
I have been in a bad car accident and also a bad bike accident, neither my fault and both resulting in quite severe breaking of bones. It definitely makes you THINK, and it does make you much much more aware in future.
I stare into every car drivers eyes that I can, studying them for clues on what they're going to do. I believe every rider should practice a high level of hazard perception on all fronts whether its people stepping out from behind cars, drivers opening their doors, vehicles pulling out of junctions and across lanes etc etc etc
The roads are a dangerous place and especially if you are on a bike but the way I see it is... If motorcycling is your hobby why the hell should you give it up for them, these idiot drivers who do not pay attention on the roads?...
I'm not sure anyone can answer that other than you. I am new to riding, having passed my test only last year. I am seeing a lot of reports of riders killed and injured and I too am wondering whether bikes are really for me.
At 53, I am much more aware of my mortality than I was when I was in my forties. I want to be around for my kids when they are older; help them when they buy their first house, babysit the grandchildren etc. However, I also recognise that I'm now at the age when I'm getting more prone to life threatening illnesses; heart attack, stroke, cancers. I also don't want to just live for the sake of getting old. Yes, I might make it to 90 but another 40 years without fun and adventure is, to some extent, a living death.
It's therefore a balance for me to try and ensure that I manage the risks against the positive things that something like riding a motorbike brings. The sense of freedom, youthfulness, travel, adventure, being different to the pack. These are contribute to my mental health which is something that is as equally important as physical health.
We all have to weigh up the pros and cons and decide whether the risks are worth it. As much as I enjoy the motorbike, it's pushbikes that give me the buzz, particularly mountain biking and I am seriously thinking of jacking in the motorcycling even though I've only recently bought the TTR. I would love to tour on a bigger bike but at the moment I can reconcile the risks as I'm only using the TTR on backroads around west Wales - still a risk but significantly lower than high speed riding on bigger roads.
If you've got something else then maybe you need to do that instead, but if you pack up biking ensure you have something else that is there for your mental wellbeing or be sure that the risks to your physical health are greater than those to your mental health.
Rich.
-- Edited by RichardRaid on Wednesday 12th of August 2015 09:39:29 PM
To everone I say it is crazy to let it stop you!. The risks of getting run over are obviously just as high, but will it make you stop crossing roads? No.
As for the bike touring Rich, I have been doing it for years and it is the best fun you can have, the adventure value is sky high, especially if you set off unplanned, you must get stuck in!
Gotta agree completely with Pete on this as if you stopped doing anything when something scared you it would be a boring world.
One thing I would suggest and highly recommend is the Police Bike Safe course that they run. I did it due to a shocker that I had. I sold a bike (it was an old race prepped CBR600 which was very tasty) to a friend that I worked with, and within a month he had an argument with a dry stone wall on Dartmoor and sadly lost his life. He was in his early thirties married with 2 children and his wife was pregnant with their third. This really did make me think about my biking future, but then I knew that I loved riding and my other half actually told me to grow a pair and get on with it.
Through work (I work for a local authority designing traffic signal junctions etc) I spoke to the Police road safety officer who told me about the Bike Safe course. and got booked in. Basically it is a days training with the Police based on what they are taught and it brought a whole new perspective to my riding. It was a really good day out which saw me at one point overtaking 5 cars on a straight stretch of road hitting 110mph with a Police bike following me who then told me that I executed the overtake perfectly. At the same time though I got a bollocking for doing 40 in a 30. As they say, speed in the correct places and using the bike to your advantage is acceptable.
So yep, don't be put off and get some extra training as I found it invaluable and gave me a greater sense of belief and awareness.
Hi all. Hit a tree trunk today hidden by long grass. went straight over the handle bars. Gentle green laning no such thing!keep riding mate.
Good point
Thanks for all the helpful feedback guys. I'm heading away for a long spin tomorrow to meet up with a friend who is coming over from the UK on her bike. I will be her tour guide to the roads of the North West so will do a lot of mileage over the next week. She has only recently passed her test and I think accompanying her will be good for restoring my confidence. I will also look into doing some advanced training.
