Doom, Gloom and dealing with negativity from non riders

[HeatXfer]

That guy: Motorcycle are way to dangerous. I hope your a donor.

Me: Yes, and when I get taken out you can have my balls, since you never grew a pair.

We're done!

 

[Karbon]

OP, riding is dangerous as hell. I've done some moto-related time in a hospital bed and on crutches...still, the choice to ride is deeply personal, and connected to your agency and your identity as a free human being, so folks need to step the hell off.

I suspect you are getting some sexism and patronizing (hell, you're even getting a bit in this thread--sorry about that). We also live in a society that has become so risk-averse that parents get arrested for letting their kids go to the park unattended, so that part isn't personal. It's just that folks who participate in high-risk but high-satisfaction activities, like riding, seem a bit alien to regular joes and janes. Some are jealous, some are dumbfounded, some are just mean about it--but everybody's got a damn opinion.

I've gotten worried comments, snide referrals to my "murdercycle," and tales of relatives dead and rivers of gore. Not all the comments I've gotten are hand-wringing or negative, though: I've gotten thumbs-up from old men, stories of the time Uncle Dave rode to Minnesota in '66, camping under bridges with a blanket that was too short, I've gotten grins and questions from little girls, I've even chatted with a fellow adventure rider, recently home from riding South America, as he helped prep me for surgery. Hopefully you'll get more of that connection to balance out the bullshit.

What's worked for me? Well, assuring them helps. If it's someone I care about I detail the risk management steps I take: wearing good gear, getting rider training, avoiding drunk or exhausted riding.

Letting them know that there's something THEY can do to keep riders safe can turn the tables on 'em. Ask the worrier for reassurance that THEY will always watch out for riders, never violate their right of way or change lanes suddenly without signaling. That would make for many fewer gory tales, after all.

I know it's dangerous, I have scars. But oh, every scar has a story, and my life is so much richer for the experiences I've had on the back of a bike. I've come sliding around a corner outside of Gunnison, CO to surprise a herd of elk into full gallop across a meadow. I've seen the sun rise over the desert mountains in Baja as I bounced along. I've crossed the continent, sleeping in a different place every night, watching a thunderstorm at sunset in the Dakota Badlands. I've seen a rainbow arch over the tundra as my tires bit Dalton Highway mud in Alaska, and jumped into the Arctic Ocean when I reached the end.

When I start telling my bike stories like that, people usually back off. Probably I'm just boring 'em to death, but maybe I'm communicating a little of the joy that, for me, makes the risk worthwhile.

Fuckin' A!

 

[LectricBill]

Here’s some things that are close to my usual replies:

“I hear that you are concerned about my safety. Thank you.

The statistics are that I am 41% more likely to die on my bike than in a car for the same number of miles driven. That’s the risk. So,anybody that rides has to be just a little crazy. I know I am. I try to mitigate the risk by wearing good gear, riding well, and, most of all, riding with the attitude that I’m 100% responsible for 100% of what goes on around me, 100% of the time. Even you!

So far, it’s worked for (45) years. Wish me the best on my next ride and look out for me!”

“Hey, I’ll make you a deal: you lift your finger on your left hand and operate your turn signal, and I won’t splatter my brains all over your paint job. Deal?”

As far as anyone wishing you death, turn immediately, walk away and never talk to them again. THEY are nuckin futs!

Or you could direct them to this:

http://www.latexnet.org/~csmith/sausage.html