It is the management of risk that is rewarding . Racers don't want to crash , they want to find the limit W/O falling down . I never criticize anyone for staying in their skill set , but pushing to learn new parameters , safely , can be very rewarding . The odd thing , engaged spirited riding is probably safer than slowing to a point of boredom where the rider stops paying attention.
Dusty
I agree with all that. In the case of racers on a track, they won't find out where the limit is WITHOUT falling down, so they need to be ready to fall down at speed without maiming themselves or anyone else. Part of the game.
Finding those parameters on the street, however, is a different deal. The legality of it, I'm not commenting on because if I'm going 56 in a 55 I'm doing something illegal already.
How bad to get hurt is a personal decision - some bumps and bruises after falling on a track in an armored suit SEEMS to me to be a tradeoff a reasonable person might make. Being maimed for life, or dead at the age of 25, in the course of finding "your limits" in a world filled with wire guardrails, cars, and utility poles doesn't seem like a reasonable gamble.
And hurting someone else ... no question that that's wrong every time. On the track everyone knows and accepts the risks. On the street, I ought not share the risk of a drunk in a '57 Chevy sliding into my lane at 100 MPH as some younker shows off to his beehive-haired girlfriend ....
Lannis
