lol thats some funny shaZam!,
i had it a bit hard when i got my first road bike(an rgv 250 when i was 15) although i had ridden since before i was a primary school kid, i didn't get it as my mother used to ride and my old man still does, i got into massive aguments with her(being an angry teen probly didn't help) but i was determined so i kept riding. it wasn't till 5 or 6 years later that i found out that my mums first husband had died in a motorbike crash 3 months after they were married(i didn't even know she had been married before) so now i can understand why she didn't want me to ride,
but end the end she got used to it, and when i got a zxr600 she was the first person asking for a ride
so some people have reason to not want there friends and family to ride, (it is a risky business after all) but most don't
don't let it bother you... it will pass. people get used to it
be as safe as you can, and when you take your first fall hope that its a minor one. (im yet to met a rider whos been riding a decent amount of time who hasn't taken a fall)
good luck

Lets face it, riding a motorcycle is a calculated risk.  We do as much as we can to reduce the risk of injury or death, but the possibility is always there.  It's like skydiving - you know if everything goes as planned you'll have lots of fun and get home safe, but if your parachute fails to open you're not going to be around.  Those who ride motorcycles are comfortable (to somewhat varying degrees) with this though process, while those who wouldn't ride are not.  These are generally the same people who are afraid of taking any risks in life and confine themselves to their little "security buble" so they feel safe and secure from all danger. 

Quote from: adam on June 20, 2006, 04:01:12 PM
when I come in to my office and open my email, I see tons of emails from every joe shmoe that I know sending me news paper articles about how some sorry **** died gruesomely in a motorcycle accident!  At first I use to think ok, so reading this kind of stuff will actually help me be more careful when I am on the road,

My advice is to block/delete any email from these people until they can learn to respect your choices.  If they ask why you're not getting their email tell them you're sick of their preaching.

C.

PS Most atheists know how to spell the word, especially if they wear it on a t-shirt, are you sure you're not an aesthete TadMC?

I'd rather go down doing something I love than sitting around waiting for death.  Or knowing the last thing I did was walk outside to get the mail.

Try being none of those labels for a while. All they do is limit who you are.

Quote from: CirclesCenter on June 20, 2006, 10:20:20 PM
Two Wheels Only (a brit biker 'zine) T.W.O. publishes something that kills more people per year than motorcycles in every issue.

The current one:

Lightbulbs.

Last month's:

Soap.

Circles, I read that and laughed too! I love that mag, I read it every month at the bookstore, they have some friggin hilarious stuff in there... Good call>!

Yep! nice to know that this is common for motorcyclists, I think I am just going to ignore these people or emails until they get the clue! Now that I think about it, these people are not usually the risk taker kind and I am not sure how I got to be the rebel in the family but i love it!  Thanks guys.

I don't get much of it, because my dad rode bikes for years, he and my mom have done many miles 2-up, so my family are pretty understanding.

The thing is, whenever I do read articles about accidents, I can usually find something to point out that shows why this wouldn't happen to me.... like that the motorcyclist wasn't wearing a helmet, or was driving at an excessive speed, or in one case, was an 18-year-old with his licence for one day riding a 1200 cc bike. I can point out that I have taken safety training, bought a bike appropriate for a beginner, and that I don't drive recklessly and wear my gear all the time.

My mom got some road rash when I was 15 and I started riding about 4 years later. She is the only one I would listen to on the arguements. When she noticed the serious lvl of gear I was wearing at the time she quit. Back in the last 80's, jacked & pants had no armor or real protection. I purchased a pair of oversized pants & jacket & sewed my spare hockey gear into it. She has seen me take hits from some 200 lbs guys in full stride in that stuff, so she knew I was pretty damn safe.

no not really cause my famally love biking.... but my gf is dead scared of bikes and doesnt like when i ride but she wont try to discorage me from doin it she just wont get on it..... shes pretty cool with it tho cause she worries alot about me when im riding

my family's dead against the motorbike aswell - i've had all the talks for aunts, uncles, g/f's an even my "senior detective" cousin...

they just figure i didn't kill myself with my comp 4WD so i'll try it on 2 wheels.. little do they know i enjoy the freedom and thrill that comes with motoring...

needless to say my younger cuz is following in my footsteps - he just got his first bike so he's coppin the shaZam! now instead of me..

Adam,
This coming August marks my 40th year of riding motorcycles, and I'm still alive and still enjoy riding. My heartfelt advice to you is 1) be careful, and don't ride recklessly, 2)wear protective gear, 3)enjoy the riding experience and prove them wrong by riding for many, many years to come

Quote from: chrisalberts on June 21, 2006, 11:22:44 AM

Quote from: adam on June 20, 2006, 04:01:12 PM
when I come in to my office and open my email, I see tons of emails from every joe shmoe that I know sending me news paper articles about how some sorry **** died gruesomely in a motorcycle accident!  At first I use to think ok, so reading this kind of stuff will actually help me be more careful when I am on the road,

My advice is to block/delete any email from these people until they can learn to respect your choices.  If they ask why you're not getting their email tell them you're sick of their preaching.

C.

PS Most atheists know how to spell the word, especially if they wear it on a t-shirt, are you sure you're not an aesthete TadMC?

Im very dyslexic, seriously, and I know how to spell the word, but I dont pick up on errors in my typing because I know what Im trying to say and so i completely miss spelling errors, such as Atheist

Simply start looking for car accident stories and send them to your friends you will find more stories about car accidents then bike ones then say to them better stop driving a car there to dangerous (dont mention there are more cars on the road then bikes though) they will sooner or later get the message
Also look for pictures of car accidents espically expensive cars and say see all the money in the world wont stop an accident regardless of bike or car lets face it its always wrong place at wrong time regardless of fault

Tell them about T.W.O. magazine's list of things more dangerous than motorcycles.

I remember these:

Soap.

Lightbulbs.

Remember, the media wants to sensationalize everything. They pander to people's fears because that's an easy way to freeze them to that couch and keep them watching TV.

"Severe motorcycle accident! Could someone you care about be next? Keep watching channel 5 news and find out!" Yeah whatever. Chock that up to the reasons I don't have a TV. Or "Grizzily motorcycle accident! Two wheels of DEATH! Coming up on channel 7 news!"

Yeah, don't worry too much about the brainwashed zombies that keep sending you this stuff.

Just point them to this link as a demonstration that motorcycle crashes are 100% harmless to a rider.

http://www.jokaroo.com/extremevideos/motorcycle_vs_car.html

You simply get up as if nothing happened, walk off the anger and proceed going whereever you were going by foot.

Jenya

just trow them out thats what i would do...... and if you want to get to them well send it back with a note on the article about some thing that will piss them off......... then they will stop doin it or if they dont well i guess it wont stop

My family didnt really care all that much, my Mom was concerned but she knows I'm a rational person and thats why I took MSF. Most of my family/friends just wanted rides. Nurses are the worst tho, they always give me horror stories about bikers. I say ok now how many stories do you have about car accidents?

-ash

Quote from: TadMC on June 20, 2006, 07:08:04 PM
...

Anyway,  so I this woman was deserving my worst, for being a dork.  But I held it in, but thats not the only thing I held in.  See I had beans the night before as well, so my gut wassa grumblin'.  So I walk to the other side the Isle and build up a huge amount of gestial surprise.  I walk back  to her and tell her, "Excuse me ma'am, I thought about what you said, and..."

Well I let out the loudest F*cking fart in the history of man, I think I ruined my shorts after that.  And I continued, ..." and thats about how much I give a F*ck about what you said."  And then I walked away laughing so hard at that fat F*$(**$(#*@*@$#(*#@$$

The End

My god I just ripped the worst fart! I've been eating lots of hard boiled eggs lately and man they smell worse coming out then going in.

-ash

Quote from: TadMC on June 20, 2006, 07:08:04 PM
You know this may seem over the top but this is the way I deal with people who cant mind there own business. And im not trying to rub this in anyones face about my beliefs, its just part of the story.


So I have a very annoying shirt that say "This is what an Aethist looks like" .  Yes I am an aethist, I got it in response of all the Jesus shirts. Any way,  I was in walmart and I had honestly forgot I was wearing it.  I generally wear it at the house.  People are looking and gawking and being really annoying about it.  So I go down the canned goods Isle to get some green beans, when this fat ass, house wife, something or other, looks at me and says, "Jesus believes in you."

Now normally Im a very high strung kinda guy.  Like once i was walking down the street smoking a cigarette and someone walking by me told my "Smoking kills."  I promptly replied, "So does being a fat ugly Buddha Loves You"    She didnt like that.

Anyway,  so I this woman was deserving my worst, for being a dork.  But I held it in, but thats not the only thing I held in.  See I had beans the night before as well, so my gut wassa grumblin'.  So I walk to the other side the Isle and build up a huge amount of gestial surprise.  I walk back  to her and tell her, "Excuse me ma'am, I thought about what you said, and..."

Well I let out the loudest F*cking fart in the history of man, I think I ruined my shorts after that.  And I continued, ..." and thats about how much I give a F*ck about what you said."  And then I walked away laughing so hard at that fat F*$(**$(#*@*@$#(*#@$$

The End

Awesome story.