dreamer0891

Question #1: With racing, do you have to face people who LOVE to tell you how dangerous it is? How there are 500 million ways you could be injured or die?
#2: Do you ever just want to yell at them?
#3: Or have you found a better way to deal with it?

I just have so many people doing it all at once!

I'm so sick & tired of people saying "oh, be careful. This one person I knew, he died because.."

Ha! When I bought my first kayak a lady started preaching in the middle if the store how 2 people just died in "some ohio river. I know you'll still buy it, but it us NOT a good idea." I asked her what the accident involved. She had NO clue. Therefore, they might have been drunk while fishing for all she knew. Still, there she was preaching the horrors of kayaking based off of 2 deaths she knew nothing about.

To top it off, she wasn't even living her own life! Don't get me wrong- I'm a social worker. Bur she was morbidly obese and was navigating the store on an electric wheel chair- while preaching to me about the dangers of an active lifestyle?! Seems hippocritical at best!

Or some people on my page- "be careful! " I understand they are wishing well- but at the same time- it is kind of throwing negative energy/ bad vibes out there (sorry. I am a believer in positive/negative energy). It's annoying. Can't they just cheer us on & say "you always do well!" "pick up some more speed- you can handle that curve- I've seen you!" Or "have fun!"

Nope! They have to constantly put it in your head that you are doing something dangerous. Which could put a person in a bad mood, wrong frame of mind- leading their thoughts & focus astray. Not good!

Or my mom. I got home on my road bike 38 minutes before sundown (I looked it up on 2 different sites). so before sun down. There she is- preaching to me on the phone & on FB about how I was out too late. How I need to check the time before I go out again- on & on I understand & respect that mothers will always worry... I'm a mom! I get it! But dude! She let me ride a bike as a teen when it was even darker out! But I had to hear how her childhood friend died after being hit by a car while bike riding AT SUNSET while wearing black. Well forget the fact that I wasn't out at exact sunset, there were no clouds in the sky, and i was wearing flourescent green, and have lights on ny bike.

So I wrote a polite & detailed letter back on Facebook- about all the safety percautions I take- just to be completely ignored.

Grrr! Sorry! Just needed to vent & figured you guys might know where I am coming from since you race.

I just don't want Debbie Downers in my life! Argh! Inspire people to LIVE! Don't trash what they LOVE- OR THE VERY REASON THEY LIVE!

SORRY!

Rant over.

krobinson103

Whats the point of living life in bubble wrap (a lot of it at that... no exercise=fat). I could die being hit by a bus, have a stroke, have a crazy delivery guy mow me down, be hit lightning.
Lots of ways to die. Why worry about them and just get on with life?

kenji666

Folks get run over in broad daylight all the time. When your number's up, no amount of bike lights or fluorescent clothing will save you.

dramiscram

I can deal with it and block it from anybody but it's harder when it comes from a loved one. Fortunately for me my familly knows that I do all I can to be safe and they stopped lecturing me a long time ago. After a while it became routine. I prefer the dangers of a healthy way of life over the 'safety' of sitting on my butt.

I don't pretend to add years to my life but I do add life to my years...

-=(8)=-

Dont put your life story up on facebook

irwin7638

Lately when people tell me to "be careful out there!" I return with "You be careful out there, according to studies (CPSC) you are 10 times more likely to be injured in your car." That usually brings an odd look to their face as I ride away.

Marc

Myosmith

You gotta go somehow. I'd rather get taken out on a 40-mph downhill than live my life as a muffin top from the socks up laying in a Barcalounger feeding my next heart attack.

"A Ship in a Harbor is Safe, but that is not what Ships were Built For" Author Unknown

rica rica

I feel bad that your family is giving you grief, because mine is great, so i am lucky in that.

However, the random public cracks me up! I ride for groceries and have extremely overweight (hey, i'm not criticizing, i was obese before) people glare at me and tell me its dangerous. Its frustrating, isn't it? People have a very distorted sense pf risk

FBinNY 

I get that all the time, not only from the Aunt Tillys of the world, but these days more often from strangers. It used to bother me, but these days I've adopted the teflon cure. I just nod, and maybe say thank you and move on.

The US and maybe the rest of the western world, has become nauseatingly safety conscious, and worries about everything. I guess that having beaten Polio, TB, and most other major causes of early death, we're turning our attention to smaller things. Or maybe we're just so comfortable that we can't imagine anyone taking any risk.

But it isn't only the Aunt Tillys out there, it's also the go gooders, and the proponents of the nanny state culture. I daily commit the cardinal sin of bicycling without a helmet. A death defying act that comes in second only to my other hobby of scuba diving in caves.

I can't tell you how often I'll be berated by other cyclists, and even some motorists with the "where's your helmet" speech. I even had one of my dealer customers offer me a free helmet in case I couldn't afford one.

Strangely, no one ever asks me about other things like driving a low 2 seat sports car, convertible no less, living in a house with steep stairs, working with dangerous machinery, not watching what I eat or drink, or any of the other habits more likely to kill me than biking or diving.

As I said, I've learned to tune it out because for the most part I credit the worriers with meaning well. It's the helmet Nazis that worry me because many would like to mandate through law that I comply with what they believe is good for me. As it is I haven't been on an organized group ride in over 15 years.

B. Carfree

My older sister forced her husband to stop playing friendly games of basketball among his colleagues after he sprained his ankle. "You've got a family to support. What if you get more seriously injured?" By the way, his father missed their wedding by a month after he had a fatal heart attack. Fast forward twenty-five years: My sister worked really hard to lose fifty pounds of blubber after she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The diabetes is gone, but I wonder if she finally understands why many of us choose to be active. I also wonder if those two bikes my brother-in-law purchased twenty-five years ago so that he and my sister could get some exercise are still in their basement.

Somewhere on these pages, I read about a couple who had been telling each other to be safe whenever one of them went out riding. They recognized the negative connotations and changed to "Tear up the Road" as a parting wish.

FBinNY 

I miss the days when people would wish travelers "bon voyage" (French for [have a] good trip. These days everyone keeps wishing me a safe trip. Don't they care whether I enjoy myself. To me a good trip, implies a safe trip, but the reverse isn't true.

plustax

I smile and nod and then haul ass so hard that I get flooded with feel good chemicals.

dreamer0891

And who says I put my life story up on facebook?! Sorry, but writing that I had an enjoyable bike ride is NOT putting my life story up on facebook. And I don't put drama on there there either- that is why I came here to ask how other people have learned to handle it and fugured someone here might understand it.

dreamer0891

Brilliant! Thank you!

dreamer0891

My thoughts exactly! To safe have a safe trip can imply all the dangers!

Bandera

A real sociopath would creep up to them and slaughter them in the middle of the night ( Hah!) but it sounds like you are not a track sprinter so either tell "people" to p_ss off, avoid them or have them on a bit. Might as well enjoy yanking the chain of the timid is my vote.

-Bandera

dreamer0891

So true! I feel safer on my bike than I do in my truck or caddy. Why? Because they go faster & give a false sense of security! I was involved in a high impact head on collision. A lady pulled out in front of my truck when I was too close to the intersection. I breaked & left 10 feet of skid marks. I was just too close to avert it.


But being on a bike- it makes on pay attention. At least it does for me. That lady felt too safe in her care & forgot to look. But for me- I *KNOW* I'm the"small guy." I have to be alert to everything. I look forward- near and far. I also use my periphial vision. A tiny chihuahua would take me & my bike down. That's why I pay attention to the sides. I know how to just barely tilt my head to the side. It allows me to hear behind me as I cut through the wibd. If I keep my gead perfectly straight then it is harder to hear. I. also pay attention to how the road feels.


What do I do in my vehicles? Yes. Sure. I pay attention- but not nearly as much. Radio is on. Thinking about gettibg to work on time. Dont get me wrong- I'm not a bad driver. I have never caused a wreck. But I think being on a bike causes a person to be more alert!

Rollfast

You have to live with the jerks and the saints alike, dreamer0891. You're going to eat an egg salad sandwich now and then and burp smelling like sulfur. Just smile and remember that only YOU will die your death and thank them for their concern or nod and go.

Dchiefransom

I get the same stuff, but still go hunting anyway.

kenji666

Be thankful that you have someone who cares about you and your safety. Thank them for their concern.

FBinNY 

I don't see the problem. After all you're the one with the gun. Shouldn't the doe be telling her buck to "be careful out there"?

Bandera

And them ask them how much cancer, heart disease or alzheimers run in their family, it's only caring.

"With racing, do you have to face people"

The OP is a competitive rider, not coasting down to the 7-11 for hot dogs.

We are a breed apart, even thought it's been years since I've competed I understand.
Don't expect anyone else to, you'll be annoyed otherwise. Why live annoyed?
Slag off instead with your teammates and don't give your address to the trackies.

-Bandera

dreamer0891

. Ecellent points. I wear my seat belt because it's the law and I don't want a ticket. But had I not been wearing it- I wouldn't have gotten seat belt injuries. I wouldnt have had back pain for the last 2 years. It's never a guarentee though- had the wreck been slightly different- say I turned the wheel- I might have died if I wasn't wearing a seat belt. I agree with you. I think it should be a choice for anyone over the age of 18 to wear ain helmet or not. I wear one. But if others decide not to- that is there choice in my opinion.

ItsJustMe

And yet if you said "You be careful eating those Big Macs. A friend of mine died of a massive coronary after getting no exercise and living on fatty crap for decades and turning into a fat tub of lard." they'd be offended.

FBinNY 

There's no reason to get sarcastic when family and friends wish you a safe trip. They're simply wishing you well withing the context of their world view. Accept it in the spirit it's given, say thank you, then go out and live your life.

It would be different if cycling or some other activity were creating stress within the family. Then it would need to be managed through reasoned discussion, lest it become a more serious bone of contention. But for the casual well-wishing worrier, why go out and hurt anybody's feelings?

BTW- actors have this worked out better than anybody. Because the superstitious notion that wishing someone good luck is tempting fate, they say "break a leg". Of course, one day an actor will fall off a stage and actually break his leg, then everyone will get guilt ridden, or start pointing fingers. Then they'll have to think of something else to say. ---- I wonder if anyone said "break a leg" to John Booth before his final performance?