Whenever I’m going along in traffic during my commutes, I’m always surveying motorcyclists as they buzz by. It’s interesting to observe the sport after having “retiring” from it. Seeing people all geared up in 80 degree weather, riding between cars on a straight-line highway… it just doesn’t look fun.
Street riding aside, yes real riding is more “visceral” than driving a car, but you have to balance out the risks versus the rewards. While unmatchably thrilling, motorcycle riding is also grossly more dangerous which shifts the payout bias negatively. In my experiences of tracking my bike, I encountered individuals who would go to the track up to a dozen times a year. And they were doing it simply because they wanted to, not to race professionally. That requires a ton of effort and a lot to be put on the line… all for virtually no visibility/glory.
I’m much more comfortable resorting back to cars. It may be easier, but sometimes a lower difficulty is necessary in order to really have fun. It’s less stress because there’s less you have to worry about, and that’s important.
I was watching this video of some guy pulling out of his driveway to go on a ride, and then T-bones a car not even a minute later. Conveniently, he came equipped with enough cameras to shoot a Hollywood production. I’m not sure why the video needed to be 14 minutes in length, but you get to see everything in detail.
It is quite disenchanting to see how quickly things can go horribly wrong on a bike. An Asian, female, teenage driver (just stating the facts from the video…) makes a U-turn without bothering to even look, and this rider ends up with a broken femur. At 2:58 the girl tries to cast blame away and makes an infuriating comment, “Did you just not see me?” Yup, humanity is doomed.
What happened to honesty nowadays? *sigh*