Is it all worth it? *Pulls pondering face*

[Steve - RS125]

I had my second spill on Saturday.

I set out to my mates house at about 10am saturday morning, he rides a Kwak ZX636 and I ride a Aprillia RS125.

He was getting ready as I was out nipping around rallying the troops. A mate on a VTR Firestorm and another mate on a Suzi SV1000.

We set off on a pretty decent run across to the breakfast cafe just outside of Bridgnorth heading from the old stew pony.

The road we were on is an excellent run with some ace sharp bends and some nice straights. The sun is blasting down, the 1 piece is letting just enough air through to keep me cool but not cold.

We had a naughty but nice ride to the cafe but instead of stopping we wack the helmets back on and head to ludlow via the old ludlow road heading from bridgnorth. Aiming not to miss a minute of blistering sunshine.

Its a really challenging road and one that is highly suited to the RS as you cant really muster much more than 80mph on this c10mile strech of road as it is all twistys.

The SV held the lead with me riding behind with the other 2 guys behind me on their respective bikes. We were giving it some serious stick around the bends, I have chewed up the edges of my tyre and have added some serious damage to the knee sliders.

Nothing more exciting then blasting the little beast around working it as hard as you can to keep up and out ride the bigger bikes.

We continued the run having some very exciting moments on the bikes and head back to the cafe for a bite to eat. (All after nearly losing my mate on his bike whilst pulling off a petrol forecourt)

We have a bite to eat, admire the 100 or so bikes parked and set back off home.

Whilst on the way home we have a little 1 mile strech of road which is blisteringly fast and has some long sweeping bends. We usually have few runs at this turning at the respective turn points at the end of each section.

I have done all the hard work all day............ Final hurdle home.
After two sprints on this little stretch of road, as I am turning left onto the side road to come back on myself I lose the fron end on gravel, which in advertantly throws me off to the left and the bike to the right.

I land head first into the gutter and the bike takes a battering on the loose stone chips.

Rider ok apart from sore elbow and damaged pride, but the bike has broken lever, indicator, gear lever, and the fairing has snapped at 2 of the 3 joins and scuffed up good and proper.

Why write something so long to tell you I lost my front end on gravel I hear you ask?

Well I am trying to weigh all of it up.
Biking I mean, is it really worth the risk to life and all the financial cost?

Having had a pretty serious accident last year resulting in quite some agonising pain and quite a bit of wonga splashed out while I still await payment from the insurence company, I really dont know if I want to carry on riding.

I love riding and have always said if I was to die on a bike I would be doing somthing I love etc so it would not really matter.

There was a month or so after my 1st crash in which I felt pretty invincable on 2 wheels - wrongly so I know.
Fortunately for me nothing happend.

I am a very capable and confident rider, saturday however has made me ask questions as to why i and we do it.

I have now seen both sides of the coin, a pretty major accident where I was genuinely lucky to come out relitively unscathed and a minor accident which was so miner I have no idea how there is so much damage. (Possibley the scariest bit about it).

I dont come on here often at all anymore, but everytime I come on here I see another "RIP Thread" and ask myself when it is my turn to join my brothers upstairs?!

I do not think I will stop riding, but I suppose I needed to open up as I am sure one or two of you have shared these feelings and I would welcome the chance to hear your views and experiences.

Is this a natural feeling?

Look forward to your responses.

Ride safe everyone, RIP to all those we have lost.
Steve.
____________________
Suzuki VL Intruder 125cc - September 2004 to July 2005
Aprilia RS 125cc - July 2005 to Present
Suzuki RF600RR - May 2006 to October 2006 (RIP RF600)

[hmmmnz]

sounds like your not riding to the conditions,
don't get too cocky and you'll see yourself having less offs,
in saying that, its just about inevitable that we all crash, its part of the reason to ride, trying to avoid the danger each time we ride.
fingers crossed thats you had your couple for a while.
keep safe
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the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[st3v3]

Personally, I think if you think about this, it could well happen as your in that frame of mind, just.. please, don't think like this when your on the bike. also, do what your heart tells you Glad your ok though, hope the bikes not too bad
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Roger wrote: Women don't get damp for clingy puppies. Get some better happy pills, hit the gym & buy a medallion the size of a dinner plate. Job done

[thegubner]

I dont know,


but i do know I enjoy it, so much so that I have fucked my car off completely and never want another one, and when im not on my bike (GPZ 500) I am looking lovingly at it, and if I cant see it, im thinking about it.

My friend lost his brother to a bike accident at 30 mph

Another friend nearly lost his foot, so I am WELL aware of the dangers, but I cant see myself giving up something that I love sooo much, regardless of the dangers, its like base jumpers, they know its probably gonna end it in tears but they love it, so they carry on

[G]

For me, it is.

You can be perfectly safe on a bike and still be going a lot faster than doing the same thing in a car in a rather unsafe state.

Worth looking at some 'advanced riding' (or starting with passing your test if you haven't) - though I presume you realise that trying to go at any speed on gravel isn't generally a good idea unless you're armoured up on a supermoto .

The one car accident has been was a whole load nastier than any bike accident I've been in and that was on a straight road under the speed limit.
As above, most of the bike crashes I've had I couldn't have even done near what I was doing in most cars.

One of the reasons I like bikes is because I can make sure it's me that's likely to be injured if I do mess up, not anyone else.

[Finglonga]

[pwntifex]

Sounds like you were riding like a tosser and were punished accordingly by the gods.
Lesson learned: don't ride like a tosser.

Don't think about giving up. I did exactly the same thing as you, and I talked my way off the bike and eventually sold it. I've been kicking myself ever since—don't do it.

But it isn't a great idea to ride with big, fast bikes if you know they're going to ride fast. The thing with life is that you learn by making mistakes.
With biking, those mistakes can cost you your life. So you need to learn quick.
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the warped one: This is a follow up from the thread 'my willy hurts'

[Steve - RS125]

Finglonga, I dont think any of the above is blowing my own trumpet thank you very much.

I truely believe I am a very capable and confident road rider.
This does not make me Valentino Rossi nor does it make me a knob head on the road.

As many people have stated you always ride to the conditions of the road - which I beleive I always do. (Worked pretty ok for the last 3 years anyway)

Turning left from a major country road on to a minor country road at a brisk walking pace is harldy pushing it. Imo.

It just seems unfortunate that traction was lost, that said I accept that I could have mabye slowed even more so or avoided the minute obsticle (I did not believe this was nessesary due to precautions / observations already made when entering the manouver)

Pwntifex - As for riding like a tosser, I would argue earlier in the day we were making very quick progress. Certainly would say more tosser like than when the minor off happend - HOWEVER not tosser like enough to endanger anyone other than myself, that said I an we were not riding out of our limits or more so above and beyond the road conditions. Contrary to all of the above we were not strictly following the rules of the road 100% so I accept I was riding tosser like at times - Which I hold my hands up and can say I should not have done - However we all do it at times.

G - I have already passed myfull test and up until last october I was on a Suzi RF600 (3 Years on a bike this Sept) until a lovely lady in a mini cooper decided she didnt like me and pulled out directly infront of me destrying the bike and nearly me.
Any extra knowledge I can gain from courses are certainly a bonus for me and everyone else, something that will benefit us all.

Guvnor - I too always felt like that, I dont know why I have had such a down feeling about it all the last few days??! I ought to thank my lucky stars it was not a major accident.
Somthing so many people have suffered, both on here and in my circle of friends - Some of which are now in biking heaven.

St3v3 - I too agree, nothing worse than getting on a machine without a clear frame of mind. I have been fortunate in the sense it has an opposite reaction and is like a pressure valve for me and lets me clear my mind when I jump on! I just have doubts when off the bikes!!

Hmmmmmnz - Thank for the fingers crossed pal, I truely beleive I am no mug nor an idiot on the bike and always ride to the best of my ability! Hopefully the accident last october and minor off saturday are the last for many years to come!

Thanks for all the responses, I am a lot more chilled out today - the sun is shining and I cant wait to mend my little beasty and go out for another spin.

Ride safe all.

Steve.
____________________
Suzuki VL Intruder 125cc - September 2004 to July 2005
Aprilia RS 125cc - July 2005 to Present
Suzuki RF600RR - May 2006 to October 2006 (RIP RF600)

[SoulRider]

I lowsided on some oil i think on a tight bend last weekend and i have more than my fair share of crashes. But i allways get back on because for me it is worth it as nothing else even comes close to biking.

First time today ive been back on my bike, corning is feeling wierd as it was a corner that i come of, hopefully a few more trips on the bike and it will come back to me as it allways has before.
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My Bike Pics

[pwntifex]

[Steve - RS125]

Soulrider - Sorry to hear about the off matey, firstly hope you are ok and secondly hope the bike aint to bad.

I rode my mates VTR back saturday as I wanted to leave my bike at the scene as the gear selector had snapped but he said he would nurse it home and I should ride his.

Not really what I wanted but you would know why I said yes if you met my stubborn mate.

I too had real untrust in corners / cornering - even slight bends at first but after 20 minutes or so I felt a little more at ease but not 100% happy.

Hope you get back to noraml practice soon mate.
____________________
Suzuki VL Intruder 125cc - September 2004 to July 2005
Aprilia RS 125cc - July 2005 to Present
Suzuki RF600RR - May 2006 to October 2006 (RIP RF600)

[Thumperabbit]

All bikers know the risk of a bike, proberly why we all love them so much compared to other forms of transport. Was an accident, accidents happen. Every rider will come off sooner or later. And almost garenteed more then once. But that's a thrill we put up with for the experience of being on 2 wheels and an engine. I've not come off my bike in 3 months of riding, I know it will happen with no doupt.

Theres no such thing as a good crash. Either your bike is messed up and your fine, or your both messed up.

My only hope is that my first crash isn't that serious.
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Name:Dan
Ride: Yamaha XV535 Virago
Licence: A2 (2 Year restriction, 20 month's to go)

[doggone]

You need thousands of miles plus years of experience to be as safe as you can get on a bike, but something can always catch you out.

Almost everyone has a few spills, if you're lucky you walk away, fix the bike and do it again.

[SoulRider]

[Steve - RS125]

[Finglonga]

[Steve - RS125]

[BanditBitch]

[Steve - RS125]

[pwntifex]

[DEN MONKEY]

I know a lot of accidents occur due to the rider pushing their limits and would most of the time say that even on a small part that it is a contributing factor regardless of the incident

That said though why is it everytime someone posts an accident there is the standard post of you were out of your comfort zone or were riding like a knob.

Yet there are a bizillion posts bitching about cagers, deisel spills or shit roads .

Surely there can be a siutation where there is simply nothing you can do about it.

Sure you can do the should have, would have and could have scenarios but after the event there isnt much cause for it.

Other than taking what you can from the experience to assist you in avoiding it in the future.

You can give yourself the best opportunity to see hazards but lets be honest we're only human and you cant see everything nor can you predict every action of other road users.

So why sledge a rider when he puts it down to an unfortunate turn of events.

I think sometimes when someone has an off and posts about it they are looking for a bit of support, well wishes and maybe even a little advice from those who they share their passion with and maybe god for bid look up to.

After my incident similar to yours, slowest corner of the day, mid corner picked up some debrit on the road and it was enough to throw the front wheel out and head me to the guard rail.
Ended up very low speed due to my lack of speed coming into the corner.
Still even though Im fine and the bike is only minorly damaged, it shook my confidence.

Im very wary turning into corners now and even the sight of a leaf on the corner near has me straightening it up out of panic.
I have to make a mental choice to focus and ride though the thoughts coming into my head.

Its natural to be a bit rattled and feel a little mortal after such an event.

What matters is what you do next.

No one will hold it against you if you decide to give it away nor will they call you a dickhead for sticking with it.

Best of luck mate with which ever choice you make




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meh

[Darkside]

Pah! meh, you were riding quickly not endangering anyone and you had an off(you happily walked away too). Shit happens my man, we've all been there, as has been said before its normal to feel apprehensive for a bit, get the motor fixed, but dont be defeatist and jack it in. Thats my
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https://www.facebook.com/p/Francis-Lloyd_Cummings/630915297

https://www.r1-superbike.com

[Steve - RS125]

Den Monkey / Darkside :-

If 2 comments are gonna make my day and give me the kick up the arse I need to stop worrying so much and put it behind me these are the two!

Thanks to you both.

In truth I have been feeling a little less aprehensive about it all since getting it off my chest last night when writing the original post.

Straight to the dealers tonight for a new brake lever and Gear selector!! And maybe a cheeky spin!

Cheers Fellas!!
____________________
Suzuki VL Intruder 125cc - September 2004 to July 2005
Aprilia RS 125cc - July 2005 to Present
Suzuki RF600RR - May 2006 to October 2006 (RIP RF600)

[bazza]

[DEN MONKEY]

No worries Steve most of the time I just babble with shit.

So glad it first of all made sense and 2nd that you found something useful in it
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meh