June 3rd, 2016, 04:40 PM | #1 |
All the news that's fit to excerpt
Name: newsie
Location: who knows?
Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): only digital replicas Posts: Too much.
|
[kropotkin thinks...] - Editor's Blog: On Motorcycle Racing, Danger, and Death
If you enjoyed reading this article, please click here to view it on Kropotkin's site, MotoGP Matters.
----------------- "MOTORSPORTS CAN BE DANGEROUS" it says on the back of my media pass, the hard card I wear around my neck and which gives me access to the paddock and the media center. It says the same thing everywhere around the circuit: on rider passes, on the back of tickets, on signs which hang on fences around the circuit. You see it so much that it becomes a cliché, and like all clichés it quickly loses its meaning. Until reality intervenes, and reminds us that behind every cliché lies a deep truth. Friday brought a stark reminder. During the afternoon session of free practice for the Moto2 class, Luis Salom exited Turn 11 and got on the gas towards Turn 12. Just before the turn, traveling at around 170 km/h, the rider caress the front brake to help the bike turn through the fast right hander of Turn 12, an engineer told me. At that point, Salom lost control of his bike, fell off, and he and his bike headed towards the air fence which protects the wall there. They slid across a patch of tarmac put in to help the cars if they run straight on at that corner, and Salom's bike hit the air fence and wall, careened off the wall and into Salom, fatally injuring him.
__________________________________________________
I'm a bot. I don't need no stinkin' signature... |
|
June 3rd, 2016, 07:22 PM | #2 | |
Slower than you.
Name: toEleven
Location: NoVA
Join Date: Oct 2015 Motorcycle(s): CBR600RR, CB750, EX300 (半蔵) Posts: 667
MOTM - May '16
|
With a member here recently starting a thread about the chorus of empty statements that follows death, and another member in a separate thread seemingly quite upset that anyone would dare mention the possibility of a (street) riding related fatality, this piece seems rather timely. Unfortunate, but timely.
The newsbot did a terrible job of picking its short excerpt though. I might've gone with something like this, with my emphasis added Quote:
Anyway, keep reducing your risk, and continue not thinking about it if that is helpful to you.
__________________________________________________
DISCLAIMERv1.0: There may be more info on the topic than this forum post. Conduct your own research. If another thread is linked or quoted, go read it yourself. |
|
|
June 3rd, 2016, 11:43 PM | #3 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: TC
Location: Hawaii
Join Date: Sep 2013 Motorcycle(s): A lot. Posts: A lot.
|
There are worse things than death. I hate to [constantly] be the negative and depressing one, but hear me out and take what you will from my words.
A friend of mine recently crashed a dirtbike and broke his neck in three places. He's been in and out of the hospital over the past month for numerous x-rays and I've been more or less in charge of seeing to it that he makes a speedy and full recovery so he can get out of his neck brace and back to the things that bring him enjoyment in life. Something happened to the man when he was knocked unconscious. Part of him hasn't come back from the incident, and that part of him will never recover. He has moments when he doesn't know why he's wearing a neck brace and he takes it off only to experience searing neck pain after trying to turn his head and maintain eye contact during a conversation. Things that used to be simple tasks for him have become baffling. The lights are on, but no one is home. He's all there in a physical sense, but his mind is not in the room. I'll mind my words carefully because a man's dignity is a fragile thing and I wouldn't want any of this to ever get back to him. Please don't share this post, re-blog it, tweet it, or put it on social media. Read it and take what you will from my words, but don't extend the reach beyond the affect it has on your own mind. Humans are animals and it is ugly; they are drawn to motorsport because of the rush and the danger involved. You live more in five minutes while riding a fast bike than most people do in five years of a mundane existence. Spectators are drawn to watch motorsport because of the risk involved. When something terrible happens, people shuffle their feet and stare at the ground because they realize that they have witnessed the main attraction -- the very thing that they came to see -- but in that moment they realize it on some level and feel guilty. Ride safe and remember that by throwing your leg over the bike and starting the machine -- you are assuming the risks involved. I'm done with this forum for a while. You are all very nice people and it has been my good fortune to have met you and interacted with you in my time here. I'm still here in spirit. Think good thoughts and make happy memories.
__________________________________________________
Just batshit crazy. All his posts are endless diatribes. Some are actually entertaining but mostly batshit crazy. |
|
June 4th, 2016, 06:06 AM | #4 | |
Cat herder
Name: Gort
Location: A secret lair which, being secret, has an undisclosed location
Join Date: May 2009 Motorcycle(s): Aprilia RS660 Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 6
MOTM - Jul '18, Nov '16, Aug '14, May '13
|
@corksil, hopefully you'll see this before you check out... I am very sorry to hear about your friend's accident. Best wishes for a full recovery and bravo for being there and helping him. That takes enormous character.
Quote:
I don't ride and I don't follow motorsport for the rush or the danger. Period. I ride for the pleasure of learning and executing a skill. I ride for the challenge of getting it perfect. Speed doesn't matter to me. I was chatting recently with another forum member at a track day. He said that if he's not getting just a little scared he's not pushing hard enough. Perhaps his personal view reflects your statement somewhat. It works for him, so who am I to judge? But that's not me by any stretch of the imagination. If I'm pushing so hard I'm getting scared, it means that my mind is occupied with something other than the task at hand. That's risky, and risk is something I work very hard to avoid. The same goes for spectating. Every time someone pulls out that tired cliche about fans only going because of the crashes I try to explain that it's not why I'm there... nobody ever believes me. It's every bit as annoying as the mid-life crisis stereotype I constantly get hit with, or the adrenaline junkie stereotype. Is it surprising that I don't like Jackass videos either? Or Tom & Jerry cartoons? Or MMA or boxing? I just don't find injury and death entertaining in any way. It's not funny to me. It's not pleasurable. Maybe that makes me exceptional. I don't know. Every injury, and every severe crash that could have resulted in injury but didn't, is gut-wrenching for me. When a driver or rider goes off and might get hit I'm anxious until the situation sorts itself out. I do NOT want to see that stuff happen. I'm there to see skill and good, hard, clean competition.
__________________________________________________
I am NOT an adrenaline junkie, I'm a skill junkie. - csmith12 Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est. Heri historia. Cras mysterium. Hodie donum est. Carpe diem. |
|
2 out of 2 members found this post helpful. |
June 4th, 2016, 06:49 AM | #5 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Whodat
Location: Ware Is.,MA
Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): I pass the wind! Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Mar '13, Jun '14
|
The thrill is worth the danger!
I've had numerous friends killed or broken racing, or just riding. I've had each arm broken, collar bone broken twice, each wrist broken, each shoulder (rotator cuff) rebuilt and needs to be done again, my right knee hyperextended, rebuilt and now needs to be done again. I've had a friend hit the wall at Pocono and I watched his arm be torn off as he went over the wall and he died from the loss of blood. I have a friend who has had over 50 operations on his right leg from a bike crash. I was riding with a buddy when he went wide in a corner and had a head on with a car. He died instantly. Life goes on. I still ride almost everyday, I still do trackdays, I would still race (in the pre-historic class) if I had the time. When my time is up I just hope it is quick. Then I'll go see all those old friends once again. You only live once, live to the fullest and you'll have no regrets.
__________________________________________________
If everything seems under control; you're just not going fast enough! |
2 out of 2 members found this post helpful. |
June 4th, 2016, 09:07 AM | #6 | |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Kerry
Location: Ventura, CA
Join Date: Jan 2016 Motorcycle(s): Ninja650 Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Apr '18, Apr '17, Apr '16
|
Quote:
Not interested in scaring myself, even a little. I have other venues for that which don't involve danger while I'm distracted. Add to the list- fights at hockey games. I get why the players fight, but I kind of mentally check out and wait until they're done. People tell me fans only go to see the fights and I disagree with them. I love hockey games, but I don't enjoy the fights. |
|
|
June 5th, 2016, 11:48 AM | #7 | |
Its not a 250,its a Ninja
Name: Shaun
Location: Little Rock, AR
Join Date: Jun 2012 Motorcycle(s): '11 CBR250R, '22 CFMOTO 300NK Posts: 278
|
Quote:
I do have a problem with what you mentioned about people being animals. Of course, opinions about this will come down to individual beliefs, but we are greater than animals. We are capable of reasoning, can deduce consequences, and are free to make up our own minds. We are also, however, capable of good AND evil. Animals are nearly mindless, with instinct being nearly the only driving force. They, however, are not capable of evil. As a rider, I do love the thrill of quick acceleration, and cutting a turn at near horizontal lean. One thing I DO NOT like is the sensation of fear. That is the body of saying you need to check yourself because something is about to go wrong. And as people, we have the ability to either act upon that premonition or ignore it. If we were animals, we would ALWAYS respond to that sensation, as instinct would override every other conscious function. I think what you are alluding to with people pushing the boundaries is the feeling of the need to perform, to impress others. After all, don't many people who are interested in this sport expect to see certain things, like accidents? So we sometimes make bad judgements and the crowds are entertained. I am not saying that we are all like this, or that all bad decisions are the result of this, but I am just saying that we are bigger than that. I also think that realizing this can help us to be better riders and people. If I may add, your friend will not be better off dead, which is what you were alluding to. People who have survived major accidents who bear disabilities have a power over those of us who haven't in that they can testify to good sense and show what can happen in a time of bad judgement. To help bring sense to our deepening culture of senselessness. Now I shall depart from my soapbox. |
|
1 out of 1 members found this post helpful. |
June 5th, 2016, 12:47 PM | #8 |
Vintage Screwball
Name: B
Location: Washington
Join Date: Feb 2016 Motorcycle(s): 2011 Ninja 250, 2008 Ninja 250, 2019 KTM 1290SDR, 2017 FZ10 Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Mar '16
|
"Animals are nearly mindless".
Not even close to true. Crows can figure out how to raise the water level in a container to get food based on an items weight and it's "just a bird"!! Dogs and cats are intelligent. Members of the ape family are extremely intelligent. Dolphins have an almost unrivaled intelligence in the animal kingdom.
Link to original page on YouTube.
__________________________________________________
Goin' fast on slow bikes! |
|
June 5th, 2016, 01:00 PM | #9 | |
Daily Ninjette rider
Name: Hernan
Location: Florida
Join Date: Mar 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2007 Ninja 250 Posts: A lot.
MOTY - 2016, MOTM - Dec '12, Jan '14, Jan '15, May '16
|
Quote:
All that training and vitality and effort should not suddenly end up. It is shame that nobody foresaw that dangerous condition and remedied before it took a precious life.
__________________________________________________
Motofool .................................Never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly "Mankind is composed of two sorts of men — those who love and create, and those who hate and destroy. Love is the bond between men, the way to teach and the center of the world." - José Martí |
|
|
June 5th, 2016, 05:33 PM | #10 | |
Its not a 250,its a Ninja
Name: Shaun
Location: Little Rock, AR
Join Date: Jun 2012 Motorcycle(s): '11 CBR250R, '22 CFMOTO 300NK Posts: 278
|
Quote:
And evil is a deed done willingly against another with the intention of personal gain. Your examples are not this. Anyways, you missed that the point was not about animals, but about mistakes we make. That we don't need to be stupid and hurt ourselves and by extension those who care about us, and that we are not mindless creatures, but people who can choose to be more than simple crowd pleasers, that if we paid attention to why we experience fear, rather than ignore it, we would be safer much of the time. Obviously, we all have differing opinions, like I said in my post, and you are also entitled to yours. Yet another reason why we are not mere mammals, but much, much more. |
|
1 out of 1 members found this post helpful. |
June 6th, 2016, 08:45 AM | #11 | |||
Slower than you.
Name: toEleven
Location: NoVA
Join Date: Oct 2015 Motorcycle(s): CBR600RR, CB750, EX300 (半蔵) Posts: 667
MOTM - May '16
|
Quote:
More info released on the crash: Quote:
Quote:
__________________________________________________
DISCLAIMERv1.0: There may be more info on the topic than this forum post. Conduct your own research. If another thread is linked or quoted, go read it yourself. |
|||
|
June 6th, 2016, 04:36 PM | #12 | |
Its not a 250,its a Ninja
Name: Shaun
Location: Little Rock, AR
Join Date: Jun 2012 Motorcycle(s): '11 CBR250R, '22 CFMOTO 300NK Posts: 278
|
Quote:
|
|
|
June 6th, 2016, 05:11 PM | #13 | |
Slower than you.
Name: toEleven
Location: NoVA
Join Date: Oct 2015 Motorcycle(s): CBR600RR, CB750, EX300 (半蔵) Posts: 667
MOTM - May '16
|
Quote:
If you mean the close-ish walls or lack of runoff, they tend to be historical artifacts. As safety concerns arise, machines become dramatically more capable, an so on, the walls have been pushed back where they can. Because all of these tracks are not in wide open deserts (e.g. Qatar), there are finite amounts of space. Eventually, you either live with the proximity or stop using the course entirely.
__________________________________________________
DISCLAIMERv1.0: There may be more info on the topic than this forum post. Conduct your own research. If another thread is linked or quoted, go read it yourself. |
|
|
June 6th, 2016, 05:14 PM | #14 |
ninjette.org dude
Name: 1 guess :-)
Location: SF Bay Area
Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much.
Blog Entries: 7
|
I'm not sure of your question, but was it is it common to have bumps on racetracks going into the corners? If so, yes. Especially on circuits that have much faster cars on it. F1 cars brake so hard, with so much downforce, that over time they deform the track surface in the braking zones. Motorcycles don't do much damage to the surface, with much lower loads being put into the tarmac from the tires, but riders need to deal with the surface irregularities that are already there. The surface gets progressively worse each year, until it is repaved and the process starts anew.
edit: what he said.
__________________________________________________
Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered) |
|
June 8th, 2016, 05:33 PM | #15 |
dirty boy
Name: Joe
Location: Johnstown, PA
Join Date: Sep 2012 Motorcycle(s): I don't even know anymore?? Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Apr '14
|
lots of reminders over the last week both on and off road of the risks we take for the love of being on 2 wheels.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/ne...-34774805.html http://www.autoblog.com/2016/06/06/2...-500-3-deaths/ not a death but i consider breaking your neck pretty serious http://motocross.transworld.net/news...AcLZSJEgRmz.97
__________________________________________________
I love the smell of burning pre-mix in the morning I don't think I'm a lot dumber than you thought that I think that I thought I was once. |
|
June 8th, 2016, 05:45 PM | #16 |
Slower than you.
Name: toEleven
Location: NoVA
Join Date: Oct 2015 Motorcycle(s): CBR600RR, CB750, EX300 (半蔵) Posts: 667
MOTM - May '16
|
To break one's neck and still be in such a functional state (and with a mere 6 week recovery time!?) is very fortunate.
__________________________________________________
DISCLAIMERv1.0: There may be more info on the topic than this forum post. Conduct your own research. If another thread is linked or quoted, go read it yourself. |
|
June 8th, 2016, 06:04 PM | #17 |
dirty boy
Name: Joe
Location: Johnstown, PA
Join Date: Sep 2012 Motorcycle(s): I don't even know anymore?? Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Apr '14
|
yeah, not to mention finish a race with a 4th place
__________________________________________________
I love the smell of burning pre-mix in the morning I don't think I'm a lot dumber than you thought that I think that I thought I was once. |
|
June 9th, 2016, 08:23 AM | #18 | |
Slower than you.
Name: toEleven
Location: NoVA
Join Date: Oct 2015 Motorcycle(s): CBR600RR, CB750, EX300 (半蔵) Posts: 667
MOTM - May '16
|
@adouglas, @CaliGrrl
Forgive me for dragging you back to this particular thread, but yet another article on this event reminded me of your posts. Quote:
__________________________________________________
DISCLAIMERv1.0: There may be more info on the topic than this forum post. Conduct your own research. If another thread is linked or quoted, go read it yourself. |
|
|
June 9th, 2016, 08:36 AM | #19 |
Cat herder
Name: Gort
Location: A secret lair which, being secret, has an undisclosed location
Join Date: May 2009 Motorcycle(s): Aprilia RS660 Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 6
MOTM - Jul '18, Nov '16, Aug '14, May '13
|
"The buzz every rider chases...."
Bull. Chit. That's precisely the kind of stereotypical generalization with which I disagree. I don't chase that kind of buzz. That doesn't make me any less of a rider than the most ardent adrenaline junkie. I'm faster than many and slower than many. I ride MY ride for MY reasons. Does the fact that I don't ride to "chase the buzz" mean that I probably wouldn't be a good racer? Yeah, likely. Do I care? Not one whit. It's just like that damned "mid-life crisis" stereotype. I shave my head and ride a bike not to recapture lost youth or to pose as a bada$$, but because a) I never had good hair to begin with and b) because I like riding. It's as simple as that.
__________________________________________________
I am NOT an adrenaline junkie, I'm a skill junkie. - csmith12 Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est. Heri historia. Cras mysterium. Hodie donum est. Carpe diem. |
|
June 9th, 2016, 08:46 AM | #20 | |
Slower than you.
Name: toEleven
Location: NoVA
Join Date: Oct 2015 Motorcycle(s): CBR600RR, CB750, EX300 (半蔵) Posts: 667
MOTM - May '16
|
Hmm. Well...I personally interpreted both the last quote and your earlier post:
Quote:
If I read you (or the journo) wrong, I apologize. Any distortion on my part was unintentional.
__________________________________________________
DISCLAIMERv1.0: There may be more info on the topic than this forum post. Conduct your own research. If another thread is linked or quoted, go read it yourself. |
|
|
June 9th, 2016, 10:05 AM | #21 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Kerry
Location: Ventura, CA
Join Date: Jan 2016 Motorcycle(s): Ninja650 Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Apr '18, Apr '17, Apr '16
|
Perfect execution- yeah. Wouldn't necessarily call it a buzz, though. I also wouldn't make a good racer, but I'm ok with that.
|
|
June 10th, 2016, 05:55 AM | #22 | |
Cat herder
Name: Gort
Location: A secret lair which, being secret, has an undisclosed location
Join Date: May 2009 Motorcycle(s): Aprilia RS660 Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 6
MOTM - Jul '18, Nov '16, Aug '14, May '13
|
Quote:
"it’s the wonder of using every cell in your brain and every muscle in your body to control the risk while finding that edge" applies to any of these guys? When someone says "it's the buzz that every rider chases" that's precisely what they're saying. Every racer, maybe. Every rider? Hell no.
__________________________________________________
I am NOT an adrenaline junkie, I'm a skill junkie. - csmith12 Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est. Heri historia. Cras mysterium. Hodie donum est. Carpe diem. |
|
|
June 10th, 2016, 06:35 AM | #23 | |||
Slower than you.
Name: toEleven
Location: NoVA
Join Date: Oct 2015 Motorcycle(s): CBR600RR, CB750, EX300 (半蔵) Posts: 667
MOTM - May '16
|
Quote:
At no point did I intend to claim that a statement read as universal motivation is truly universal. To quote myself on that very topic in this forum: Quote:
Quote:
I didn't address this earlier, but for my curiosity's sake: at what point in this thread did anyone say you were less (or more) of a rider than anyone else?
__________________________________________________
DISCLAIMERv1.0: There may be more info on the topic than this forum post. Conduct your own research. If another thread is linked or quoted, go read it yourself. |
|||
|
June 10th, 2016, 09:05 AM | #24 | |
Cat herder
Name: Gort
Location: A secret lair which, being secret, has an undisclosed location
Join Date: May 2009 Motorcycle(s): Aprilia RS660 Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 6
MOTM - Jul '18, Nov '16, Aug '14, May '13
|
Quote:
If you're not chasing that buzz, what does that make you? Stereotypes and blanket generalizations just bug me, that's all. I ran into it again just yesterday. I'm about to go on vacation, and on a conference call, a client asked me where I was going. "To ride my motorcycle on a racetrack," I said. "Oh, you must have been born with a death wish," she said. Once again, BANG. Stereotype. Forevermore, in her mind. I'm a crazed adrenaline junkie.
__________________________________________________
I am NOT an adrenaline junkie, I'm a skill junkie. - csmith12 Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est. Heri historia. Cras mysterium. Hodie donum est. Carpe diem. |
|
|
June 10th, 2016, 12:59 PM | #25 | |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Jay
Location: CT
Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2015 636 ABS - 69 Honda 305 Posts: A lot.
|
Quote:
Um, but you are. Ill make sure to get the pictures this weekend to prove it! Making that French press coffee stuff clearly makes you a wild sonofagun, badass extraordinaire!
__________________________________________________
Current - 2015 30th Anniversary Ninja 636 ABS - 1969 Honda 305 Scrambler Previously - 2011 Ninja 1000, 2008 Ducati 848, 2011 Ninja 250 SE |
|
2 out of 2 members found this post helpful. |
June 11th, 2016, 01:15 PM | #26 | |
Slower than you.
Name: toEleven
Location: NoVA
Join Date: Oct 2015 Motorcycle(s): CBR600RR, CB750, EX300 (半蔵) Posts: 667
MOTM - May '16
|
Emphasis added
Quote:
With regard to taking things at face value, should I take your post script about your profession only at face value? If so, it's no more meaningful or relevant than if you told me you create balloon animals for a living. If not, you seem to be asserting what should (the article) and should not (your statements) be taken at face value following a logic that isn't clear to me (or is completely absent). I don't presume to know what other stereotypes and generalizations might apply to you. If any of them result from your permanent characteristics rather than your choices, I would think (based solely on my own experience) that you'd have plenty of time to get used to stereotypes.
__________________________________________________
DISCLAIMERv1.0: There may be more info on the topic than this forum post. Conduct your own research. If another thread is linked or quoted, go read it yourself. |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
[kropotkin thinks...] - Guest Blog: Mat Oxley - The death of bike racing in the US? | Ninjette Newsbot | Motorcycling News | 0 | February 26th, 2014 07:50 AM |
[kropotkin thinks...] - Editor's Blog: On Being Wrong | Ninjette Newsbot | Motorcycling News | 0 | May 30th, 2012 05:50 PM |
[kropotkin thinks...] - Editor's Blog: On The Death Of Marco Simoncelli, Marshals, An | Ninjette Newsbot | Motorcycling News | 0 | October 25th, 2011 04:40 PM |
[kropotkin thinks...] - Editor's Blog: Why I'm Not At Motegi | Ninjette Newsbot | Motorcycling News | 0 | September 29th, 2011 11:20 AM |
[kropotkin thinks...] - Editor's Blog: Racing's Dark Side - The Death Of Peter Lenz | Ninjette Newsbot | Motorcycling News | 0 | August 31st, 2010 01:40 PM |
|
|