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I think you left out the part where it brings enough joy and excitement to your life that you feel it is worth the risk of dying.

This is a valid personal choice. But with what you've written above, you're just convincing me to never ride a motorcycle. This is coming from a bicyclist who enjoys good downhills on my road bike at speeds in excess of 40mph (fast for a bicycle and little armor). So I get the thrill, but I've never experienced the number of issues and extreme physical trauma that I read about people on motorcycles.




What happened to me could easily happen to a bicyclist. I wasn't going that fast, maybe 5-8 MPH in a turn from one road to another. It was an unlucky fall. I had a full-face helmet, full riding armor, and the bike was in great repair.

I daresay a bicyclist would have come off worse than I did (hello, road rash) - especially if they hadn't worn a helmet (Montana doesn't have a helmet law for anyone over 18).

EDIT: The risk of dying is higher than that of being in an automobile by the pure statistics of it, but by riding smart you can easily bring them down significantly - there's a lot of idiot riders out there wearing flipflops and shorts, with no helmet to pump those statistics up.

Wear a helmet. Wear leathers or their synthetic equivalent. Wear armor to protect your joints (usually built into riding gear). Keep your bike in good maintenance. Don't ride beyond your limits.

Yes, I feel a bit hypocritical saying this after discussing my own concussion, but damn it, it's fun. As freeing as a bicycle, but faster.


And if you're going to ride like an idiot, please be sure you're registered as an organ donor. I know I've heard of sport bikes being referred to as "donor cycles" (according to the med student relating it) due to the number of young bodies in relatively good shape except for massive head trauma that they saw.




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