Sudden fear of death | GTAMotorcycle.com

Sudden fear of death

Zx Damien

Well-known member
Read the news about the kids in Michigan tossing rocks off an overpass resulting in somones death, makes me keep thinking how one wrong move or some terrible driver (which is common) can end my life while riding. Which sucks because i love riding. Any of you guys ever get these feels?
 
I deal with Motorcycle and car collision and fatalities all the time at work. Had 2 tonight.

It sucks. I just try and let it make me a more defensive rider.

You could easily stop riding all together and meet your maker walking down the street when an impaired driver hops a curb. Just ride safe and wear all your gear and try and enjoy yourself :)
 
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I think it's healthy to keep the dangers in mind so you don't become a victim of complacency. If you want to get more paranoid watch a bunch of Russian road crash videos on Youtube.

I ride for pleasure not thrills. That improves my odds but doesn't eliminate the dangers from someone who drives for expediency.

All said and done life is to be enjoyed. If physical risk is your biggest concern you can get a work at home job and buy everything you need online.
 
I've picked up guys from motorcycle accidents that have horrific injuries. Some of them even lived.
What I really fear dying of is of aspiration pneumonia caused by being fed and choking puréed squash in some ****** nursing home that reeks of piss.
Worry about living. The dying part will take care of itself.

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If you're concerned about other cagers or stupid kids throwing rocks, go to the track.
It's great fun.
 
Fear of death factoring into your decisions is a healthy thing. Riding is a calculated risk, and some people don't enjoy riding enough for it to be worth it.
 
Hopefully this is just a moment of reflection you are having. Don't live in fear, enjoy life, as fear is the mind killer.
 
switch to track and or dirt, then you gotta worry about lowsides, high sides, trees and being passed in corners in green group (cardinal sin)
 
Go to a playground and throw rocks at kids to make yourself feel better. lol
 
As I suit up I often find my mind wandering to the existential: will this be the last time I walk down these stairs? What would life be like in a wheelchair? Would my wife be okay without me?

I end up riding pretty conservatively in part because of this inner monologue; ATGATT, head on a swivel, SMIDSY weaves, no tailgating, looking far ahead, anticipating bad situations before they form, covering the brakes, looking for outs etc etc. I maintain my bikes in peak form. I eat well, exercise and maintain a decent level of fitness and strength (which would help in avoiding accidents but also make one more resilient and quick to heal afterwards...) I'm aware of my limits and respect them. Learn from mistakes etc etc. I'll probably take some form of advanced rider course in the spring as a form of continuing education.

Of course, none of this means you're not going to get clocked by a rock thrown from an overpass or that circumstances beyond your control will see you embedded in the grill of a Peterbilt. Sometimes **** just happens, to cagers, to pedestrians, to motorcyclists etc. By riding sensibly, with situational awareness, with skill and respect you can reduce the risk of something bad happening. But for motorcycles the residual risk will pretty much always be higher than for those that choose alternative means (e.g. a car or bus) of getting around. This is the "personal risk tolerance" threshold MSC instructors often talk about to newer riders: Only you know what that threshold is for you. If the residual risk -- i.e. the risk remaining after you've taken into account ATGATT, weaves, awareness etc -- is still higher than your personal threshold then riding may not be for you.
 
switch to track and or dirt, then you gotta worry about lowsides, high sides, trees and being passed in corners in green group (cardinal sin)

Uh oh, I'll be combining both dirt and track this Saturday. No trees thankfully, and I know the people who may be trying to kill me. ;)
 
Thats my mantra as well.
I deal with Motorcycle and car collision and fatalities all the time at work. Had 2 tonight.

It sucks. I just try and let it make me a more defensive rider.

You could easily stop riding all together and meet your maker walking down the street when an impaired driver hops a curb. Just ride safe and wear all your gear and try and enjoy yourself :)
 
I let my wife do the worrying. Since i increased my life insurance, she worries a lot less.

Seriously though, i wouldn't say i have a fear of death. More of a healthy aversion. Which we should all have. It's normal, unless you're depressed.
Everide on youtube made a pretty cheesy inspirationial video about it, probably called "why we ride" watch it.

When i was 2 y old, my mom and i were run into by a car (while i was in stroller). My 2 inch-foot, that got caught in the stroller handle is what saved me from flying off in the air and going splat. So i think that you could survive a lot of things, but you could also die from the stupidest thing. Such is the game of life.
 
I don't fear death. I fear it being a slow painful one. Fast and painless for me. Extremely rapid deceleration or decapitation should do fine.
 
Since I was hit by another motorcycle a few years ago and it almost killed me, yes I got a strong feeling about just how fast you can loose your life....It may have slowed me down a bit and make me think twice about doing some things before I do them, but I do not let it hold me back from doing things I have to do or enjoy doing. I don't fear death more now, I just have a stronger appreciation of how fast it can happen. And I lost that "oh that will never happen to me" mentality...Rather then fear death, I think it made me appreciate life
 
Take it from someone who has kissed death and can't ride anymore. Take every chance you can to ride. If its your passion then grab it by the horns because it may be gone before you know it.
 
As I suit up I often find my mind wandering to the existential: will this be the last time I walk down these stairs? What would life be like in a wheelchair? Would my wife be okay without me?

I end up riding pretty conservatively in part because of this inner monologue; ATGATT, head on a swivel, SMIDSY weaves, no tailgating, looking far ahead, anticipating bad situations before they form, covering the brakes, looking for outs etc etc. I maintain my bikes in peak form. I eat well, exercise and maintain a decent level of fitness and strength (which would help in avoiding accidents but also make one more resilient and quick to heal afterwards...) I'm aware of my limits and respect them. Learn from mistakes etc etc. I'll probably take some form of advanced rider course in the spring as a form of continuing education.

Of course, none of this means you're not going to get clocked by a rock thrown from an overpass or that circumstances beyond your control will see you embedded in the grill of a Peterbilt. Sometimes **** just happens, to cagers, to pedestrians, to motorcyclists etc. By riding sensibly, with situational awareness, with skill and respect you can reduce the risk of something bad happening. But for motorcycles the residual risk will pretty much always be higher than for those that choose alternative means (e.g. a car or bus) of getting around. This is the "personal risk tolerance" threshold MSC instructors often talk about to newer riders: Only you know what that threshold is for you. If the residual risk -- i.e. the risk remaining after you've taken into account ATGATT, weaves, awareness etc -- is still higher than your personal threshold then riding may not be for you.

This 1000%. Knowing risks and weighing things is healthy and can be what is the difference between coming home on 2 at night, or coming back in a bodybag. Many out there ride for the 'risk' and get a rush from taking unnecessary ones. Personally I mitigate risk as much as I can (like mentioned above), and remind myself why I wear the gear I do as I put it all on. Much prefer riding a little bit safer and leaving a little bit larger margin for error, if it means many many more years of riding in life, vs potentially having it all end abruptly.
 

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