The recent reports of casualties of experienced expert bikers, plus my own experiences on the highways, have led me to pondering when I should consider parking the bike permanently. I encourage responses of all levels and ages of riders -- those over 50, who might be having the same thoughts as me, and those much younger, because, like it or not, you will be old someday too if your luck does not run out sooner.
NOTE: I apologize for the length of this post -- I guess I needed to set the stage for all this.
I am nearing 59 years old. I learned to ride a Honda S90 when I was 15, then rode a dirtbike for a while, then spent years in the Navy riding a wide variety of street bikes owned by my shipmates (Triumphs, BSA, BMW, Harley, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Puch(!) and many more I have forgotten I left motorcycles behind for a while when I was in my late 20's , switching to bicycling, and riding motorcycles only occassionally until about ten years ago. It was then that I sent my son to MSF training, and decided to go along and do the course with him just for fun. I remembered how much fun I was having and decided to get back into motorcycling.
I consider myself to be a very expert, experienced and safe rider. Despite riding for nearly 44 years, I have never once been in an accident, nor dropped a bike on the street.
I ride one of my vintage Kawasakis from Berkeley to SF nearly every weekday (although I avoid the rain). I am in generally decent physical shape, have good reflexes, and corrected vision. My balance is very good (something that usually deteriorates with age), probably because of my long term motorcycle and bicycle riding.
That said, I must be the first to acknowledge that I do not have the physical capabilities I had at my peak (which for me was in my mid to late 30's, when I was doing century rides and San Francisco hillclimbs on my Bianchi ). While motorcycling, I now make up for this with my knowledge and experience, knowing what is the right thing to do at all times, plus not riding like a foolish teenager who just discovered that sex and motorcycle riding are a lot alike. Without doubt, I am slower, with weaker senses (eyes and ears) than I once had, less than perfect balance, and losing a little bit of the physical edge every year.
I am a realist. Ageing is a one-way street, sloping downhill at an increasing rate. I know that doing this at age 75 is not realistic, unless someone finds the fountain of youth soon.
Combine the above with the madness that I see everyday on the freeways and the Bay Bridge, with weaving inattentive drivers during commute hours, and road racing intoxicated idiots later at night (since I sometimes work late). Then, around the urban streets, I see people pulling in front of me from all sides, even though I wear very bright yellow and black gear. I have had a few scary moments, but have never had what I would consider to be a "close call", yet.
I have no desire to go out in a flameball. I prefer to die in bed, at a very old age, making love to my wife.
I love motorcycling, which I believe energizes me and keeps me young at heart, and helps relieve the stress from my high pressure work (I am a lawyer). BUT, I truly want to live to see my children grow up and give me grandchildren, and to travel to far off places with my lovely wife, who has grudgingly induged my motorcycling thus far.
So, fellow riders, at what point do I leave this behind, accepting the physical limitations that come with age, that in turn make this an unsafe risk to myself and my family?
