OH YOU PEOPLE!!!

[Toecutter]

OK, my tolerance for sitting idly by while my fellow M/C enthusiasts drop like flies has reached critical mass. As I write this, a news story just posted that a Fresno PD motor officer lies in critical condition at a local hospital from a collision with a cage that failed to yield for him while in pursuit of another vehicle.

[SIZE=24pt]THEY'RE TRYING TO ******* KILL YOU!!! [/SIZE]ACT ACCORDINGLY!!!
[SIZE=18pt]STOP GETTING HIT AND BEING "VICTIMS" OF ******* IDIOT CAGERS!!![/SIZE]
I may end up eating a fat Kobayashi serving of crow someday (and if I survive, I will NOT be getting back on a motorcycle), but until then I will continue to firmly believe that I have control over my own chosen form of transportation, whether it's a 50,000 pound fire truck or a 20 pound bicycle.

If I actually believed that I have a high likelihood of auguring into the next vehicle that pulls into my path, I would sell my bike and never leave the house without my trusty Toyota Land Crusher, replete with solid steel ARB Kangaroo guard.

Outside of Star Trek, vehicles don't come from "out of nowhere". They always come from "somewhere". That "somewhere" is where you need to be watching, at all times! And be expecting the idiot to take his shot. Don't count on another vehicle to do anything to keep you from hitting it. Your luck WILL run out.

[SIZE=18pt]YOU ARE IN A DELICATE BUBBLE IN A WORLD FULL OF NEEDLES!!![/SIZE]
Every time you start putting on whatever gear you wear to ride that bubble, get your mind right. Much like our old friend Snoopy, "Here's the World War One fighting ace, climbing into his trusty Sopwith Camel". Except ours ain't no Sopwith Camel. It's a high-tech machine, engineered to perform more than well enough to return you safely from every mission.

It's gut check time! Maybe you don't have the skill set and reactions necessary to be a fighter ace. Many people shouldn't even be driving cars. Just because you own a bike, doesn't mean you know how to ride.

Now go take a long look into the nearest mirror, and ask yourself- Am I an ace, or do I just run on luck? If you've already crashed on multiple occasions, it's probably the latter.

Dogpile this :****:

 

[JimLor]

F..king A Sparky!! Wish I could add some more erudite words, but F..king A!!

 

[slapnpop]

I think that this is a quite poor attitude on your part.

You will *NEVER* be in complete control of the situation, and if you think you are, you are delusional.

I speak from personal experience, when I was hit by a cager pulling out of their driveway. I was in the proper position in the lane, I was only doing about 15 miles an hour, and the cager comes flying out of his driveway and hits me head on. I didn't even have a chance to get my hand on the brake lever.

And I know you're thinking there's something I could have done to prevent this occasion, and I assure you there is not. I've been over this event in my mind more times than I care to remember, and I can't think of a single thing I could have done better other than picking a different road, and there's no way of knowing which road is going to have problems on which day.

I'm not saying that 100% of accidents are helpless bikers getting run over by cars, but there ARE occasions out of your control. Don't fool yourself. Every time your are on a motorcycle, you are trusting your life to the ability of those around you to drive their cars well.

Get off your high-horse and face reality.

 

[RonBB]

YOU ARE IN A DELICATE BUBBLE IN A WORLD FULL OF NEEDLES!!!

Well put.

 

[radman]

(Deity of choice) grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change-

Cagers flying out of driveways and running reds at intersections etc.

the courage to change the things I can-

Habits, attitude, skillz, gear, knowing it's time to store the boots permanently.

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Sometimes **** just happens, bad **** to good people, good **** to toadies and diktators and the like.

 

[ponyfool]

Experience and skill only take you so far in surviving on a motorcycle. Sheer luck has a part too, regardless of how good you are or think you are.

Experience and skill WILL get you out of a lot of situations that others may have succumbed to, but experience and skill are no match for the airplane falling out of the sky so to speak.

 

[FastJoyRide]

I think that this is a quite poor attitude on your part.
You will *NEVER* be in complete control of the situation, and if you think you are, you are delusional.

I speak from personal experience, when I was hit by a cager pulling out of their driveway. I was in the proper position in the lane, I was only doing about 15 miles an hour, and the cager comes flying out of his driveway and hits me head on. I didn't even have a chance to get my hand on the brake lever.

And I know you're thinking there's something I could have done to prevent this occasion, and I assure you there is not. I've been over this event in my mind more times than I care to remember, and I can't think of a single thing I could have done better other than picking a different road, and there's no way of knowing which road is going to have problems on which day.

I'm not saying that 100% of accidents are helpless bikers getting run over by cars, but there ARE occasions out of your control. Don't fool yourself. Every time your are on a motorcycle, you are trusting your life to the ability of those around you to drive their cars well.

Get off your high-horse and face reality.

Not trying to ramp up the passion here, and Slappy's right that 100% is never going to be achievable, but IMO Toe is much more right than wrong. With respect Slap, I don't think Toe's (or I'm) speaking from a high horse - he's feeling the pain of too many of our Forum pals biting the asphalt and believes (as I do) that not ALL of those collisions can have been unavoidable! I don't know all of the particulars of yours Slap, but it sounds very much like it could have been one of that small minority where nothing else could have been done.

The reality is MOST collisions are avoidable. As an instructor my mantra was "it takes 2 to tangle". One (usually a cager, but not always right FJREH?) may have his head completely up his ass, but if the other, our skilled and alert FJR rider, is fully on his or her game, most collisions will not take place.

I've been riding for 40+ years and actually gave up my street bike for 3 years after an incident in 1975. I was cruising across the top of Toronto on the 401 highway around dusk doing around 70mph (which was the speed limit then), when suddenly out of my left peripheral vision my WHOLE field of vision is consumed by the ass end of a chrome yellow Toronto city cop car travelling around 100 and changing lanes across 4 lanes, undoubtedly because his favourite donut store was at the next exit. Like Slap I didn't even have a chance to touch my brakes - and he was gone. Missed my front wheel by less than a foot - word. And I'm quite sure he never saw me, before , during or after his ****** manouver. Like Slap I went home and replayed that tape over and over in my mind. Concluded that there was nothing I could have done, and put my bike in the for sale ads in the paper the next day. I had 2 young sons at the time and concluded it was not responsible for me to take that level of personal risk.

Fast forward 3 years, now I've moved to Vancouver and have no buds to ride dirt with, so I go to the bike show and meet a bunch of instructors and they convince me to come and see about becoming an instructor. Some of them ride dirt, but all of them ride the street. By the time I finished that course, I could see the 4 things I could and should have been doing (and seeing) that would have made it impossible for that cop to have (almost) taken me out. Bought a very used BMW/5 that Spring, bought a new Suzuki 850G in 1979 and haven't looked back. I spent 15 years teaching students and instructors with the BC Safety Council and felt I did my part to help introduce newbies as safely as possible to my passion - motorcycling. Have I had close calls? - you bet. But in all the years I've been back on the street I've never felt as helpless and without control as I did that evening in 1975.

Let the games begin - dialogue is very educational!

 

[Rickster]

(Deity of choice) grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change-Cagers flying out of driveways and running reds at intersections etc.

the courage to change the things I can-

Habits, attitude, skillz, gear, knowing it's time to store the boots permanently.

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Sometimes **** just happens, bad **** to good people, good **** to toadies and diktators and the like.

GUNNY!

 

[JimLor]

I agree with everyone here to some extent. One should do everything humanly and reasonably possible to protect yourself on the road - no matter what you're driving/riding. From wearing the right gear to maintaining situational awareness to continuously running "what if he/she does xxx" drills Even so, there may be situations that you have no control over in any way shape or form that will whack you. Knowing you don't have 100% control is no excuse for relaxing what you do have control over and surrendering your saftey to folks who could care less about you.

I approach riding like, as Toeball alluded to, going into combat. I mentally prepare, wear PPE, and while I'm riding I concentrate on riding. I try and assume the worst of drivers and that they will do what is the most unlikely thing they might do. I also assume that if things are going well, then it's an ambush! I'm not perfect and don't mean to imply that I am, or anywhere close, but I do take riding seriously and, I think, approach it in a manner that will make me as safe as I can make myself all the while knowing that sometimes "**** happens."

Good topic Toenail, thanks!

 

[mdisher]

What was the question? :?

 

[slapnpop]

If I actually believed that I have a high likelihood of auguring into the next vehicle that pulls into my path, I would sell my bike and never leave the house without my trusty Toyota Land Crusher, replete with solid steel ARB Kangaroo guard.....

Now go take a long look into the nearest mirror, and ask yourself- Am I an ace, or do I just run on luck? If you've already crashed on multiple occasions, it's probably the latter.

Dogpile this :****:

This is the part that chafes me as being "high-horse." You NEVER have complete control of the situation, no matter how good you are.

I agree 100% that we should all be on the best of our game, attentive, etc. That being said, to ride on the delusion that you can handle any situation that arrives is stupid! You're lying to yourself to get to that conclusion, and that's my only point.

You'd be better served in reality by acknowledge you aren't in complete control, and then focusing your attention on the areas where you DO have control.

I'm not perfect and don't mean to imply that I am, or anywhere close, but I do take riding seriously and, I think, approach it in a manner that will make me as safe as I can make myself all the while knowing that sometimes "**** happens."

That, in my opinion, is the right attitude to have.

 

[Scab]

I really don't know what to say. I certainly understand your feelings about this, especially with the numbers of downed riders we've seen lateley. However, this is a dangerous game and we chose to play. I've been down more times than I care to remember over the last 32+ years. Sometimes I was the victim, sometimes I was just a guy that made a mistake. This latest one has prolly concerned me the most because I still have zero memory of what happened. Could have been a million things, I don't know. I have ran over this thing 'bout a million times but can recall nothing. Could have been a critter, could have been debris in the road, could have been the rain. In my mind, nothing makes sense. And the only witnesses did not see what put me and the bike down, just the two of us in our high-speed rash-skate through the field and the sign.

But it was a decision that I made. It was a decision I made with knowledge. I thought about all of these things before I got on the bike this day. I thought of all the options of what could happen to me. I thought of the consequences of not wearing the too-hot jacket that I had with me. I thought of it all. Really, I did.

And then I decided that I was going to roll the dice. Knowing that this sport or hobby that I so love may one day kill me, I decided to ride. On this day, the price was a little high and paid in pain. Okay, today you got me. 28-29 bone breaks and a totaled FJR. What's a guy to do?

I bought another bike. And when I can ride, I will think of all these things before each ride. And should the perceived price ever seem too high when I mentally rationalize taking a ride, I'll quit riding. But for now, I can't do that.

 

[FJR Gary]

I approach riding like, as Toeball alluded to, going into combat. I mentally prepare, wear PPE, and while I'm riding I concentrate on riding. I try and assume the worst of drivers and that they will do what is the most unlikely thing they might do. I also assume that if things are going well, then it's an ambush! I'm not perfect and don't mean to imply that I am, or anywhere close, but I do take riding seriously and, I think, approach it in a manner that will make me as safe as I can make myself all the while knowing that sometimes "**** happens."

You and I are definitely on the same page here Jim. That's exactly the way I approach riding whether I'm going around town or 500 miles.

 

[FJRottie]

STOP GETTING HIT AND BEING "VICTIMS" OF ******* IDIOT CAGERS!!!

The only way to do that is to stay in the house.

Toe, you have a point, I agree, and I agree with the other posts, and there ain't jack we can do about them drivers.

Being human means you have a great chance of being an ignorant idiot driver.

I attribute all the postings about accidents to:

1- it is mid-summer; and

2- the internet provides a lot more news than the TV or newspaper.

I don't think it is any worse than previous.

Remember when you ride (or drive), you are invisible.

 

[brazos parker]

I approach riding like, as Toeball alluded to, going into combat. I mentally prepare, wear PPE, and while I'm riding I concentrate on riding. I try and assume the worst of drivers and that they will do what is the most unlikely thing they might do. I also assume that if things are going well, then it's an ambush! I'm not perfect and don't mean to imply that I am, or anywhere close, but I do take riding seriously and, I think, approach it in a manner that will make me as safe as I can make myself all the while knowing that sometimes "**** happens."

You and I are definitely on the same page here Jim. That's exactly the way I approach riding whether I'm going around town or 500 miles.

Good topic and good comments...thanx for starting this discussion, Toe.

I agree w/ Jim and take riding seriously. I recognize my skill limitations and ride accordingly. I'm not a peg dragger and on the rare occasion when I do put a peg down, it usually scares the shitnitz outta me! Also, I recognize my sphere of control only goes so far...beyond that, there are situations/events/behaviors that are beyond my control, so I concentrate on what I can control...like situational awareness, right wrist, PPE, etc.

I think the point is, motorcycle riding, although immensely fun & rewarding, is a dangerous activity and we should do what we can to minimize the risks we choose to accept.

 

[rogdeb]

"Good topic and good comments...thanx for starting this discussion, Toe. "

Agree here.

 

[twowheelnut]

You gotta remember where toe is coming from... he sees all kinds of bad **** in his chosen profession and I think that this filters into his everyday life. Good for him, I respect that. His comments cannot hurt, only help us be more aware.

That said, **** happens. First hand, my fault... brain fart. Never saw it coming, no way to prevent. A momentary lapse of concentration and screech, splat.

That is all.

Have a nice day!

:bye:

 

[Mike-H]

:good: .....popcorn is ready.....please continue, this should prove to be very educational..... .....& as TWN said....brain fade can & will hurt or kill you, so being on top of your game is important.....mentally & physically....

 

[gr8eyes]

We all take risks just suiting up.

I'm ready to go when its my time.