OT: Hurricanes Lounge XLIII: As Fun As Waterboarding

[Surrounded By Ahos]

I’ve played hockey all my life, I’m a pretty big skier and have put myself in plenty of crazy situations. I backcountry ski which is inherently risky even if you don’t do the overboard stuff. I’ve had enough concussions to be generally concerned about my future.

At the same time I’ve been a paramedic for 16 years and I will not get on a street motorcycle. Never. I thought they were pretty sweet before my career and assumed eventually I’d try it out. Once I started in EMS? Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope. I could probably still be talked into a dirt bike, but even that is unlikely at this point. You only need to see the outcome once to feel this way, and I’ve seen it more times than I care to recall.

While plenty of them were stupid choices by the rider more than enough of them were completely innocent and horrifying enough to just never want to be near a bike. It often has nothing to do with your skill or ability to ride a bike, or your reflexes and ability to read the traffic. Too much is completely out of your control. Accidents are mostly nothing burgers inside a vehicle. Outside the vehicle you’re a human shot out of a cannon.

@Beef Invictus tell everybody how they clean up after a motorcycle involved accident.

 

[Beef Invictus]

@Beef Invictus tell everybody how they clean up after a motorcycle involved accident.

If it's bad enough, basically trash bags. Then they hose the road down.

 

[MinJaBen]

I’ve played hockey all my life, I’m a pretty big skier and have put myself in plenty of crazy situations. I backcountry ski which is inherently risky even if you don’t do the overboard stuff. I’ve had enough concussions to be generally concerned about my future.

At the same time I’ve been a paramedic for 16 years and I will not get on a street motorcycle. Never. I thought they were pretty sweet before my career and assumed eventually I’d try it out. Once I started in EMS? Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope. I could probably still be talked into a dirt bike, but even that is unlikely at this point. You only need to see the outcome once to feel this way, and I’ve seen it more times than I care to recall.

While plenty of them were stupid choices by the rider more than enough of them were completely innocent and horrifying enough to just never want to be near a bike. It often has nothing to do with your skill or ability to ride a bike, or your reflexes and ability to read the traffic. Too much is completely out of your control. Accidents are mostly nothing burgers inside a vehicle. Outside the vehicle you’re a human shot out of a cannon.

My mom was a volunteer EMT when I was a kid. For some strange reasons, their uniforms were white jumpsuits. Seeing how she looked after coming home from some of those accidents made me never interested in trying a motorcycle.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

I’ve played hockey all my life, I’m a pretty big skier and have put myself in plenty of crazy situations. I backcountry ski which is inherently risky even if you don’t do the overboard stuff. I’ve had enough concussions to be generally concerned about my future.

At the same time I’ve been a paramedic for 16 years and I will not get on a street motorcycle. Never. I thought they were pretty sweet before my career and assumed eventually I’d try it out. Once I started in EMS? Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope. I could probably still be talked into a dirt bike, but even that is unlikely at this point. You only need to see the outcome once to feel this way, and I’ve seen it more times than I care to recall.

While plenty of them were stupid choices by the rider more than enough of them were completely innocent and horrifying enough to just never want to be near a bike. It often has nothing to do with your skill or ability to ride a bike, or your reflexes and ability to read the traffic. Too much is completely out of your control. Accidents are mostly nothing burgers inside a vehicle. Outside the vehicle you’re a human shot out of a cannon.

Yeah I’ve seen it too and agree

 

[sabremike]

For all you history buffs out there:

 

[hockeynjune]

I’ve played hockey all my life, I’m a pretty big skier and have put myself in plenty of crazy situations. I backcountry ski which is inherently risky even if you don’t do the overboard stuff. I’ve had enough concussions to be generally concerned about my future.

At the same time I’ve been a paramedic for 16 years and I will not get on a street motorcycle. Never. I thought they were pretty sweet before my career and assumed eventually I’d try it out. Once I started in EMS? Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope. I could probably still be talked into a dirt bike, but even that is unlikely at this point. You only need to see the outcome once to feel this way, and I’ve seen it more times than I care to recall.

While plenty of them were stupid choices by the rider more than enough of them were completely innocent and horrifying enough to just never want to be near a bike. It often has nothing to do with your skill or ability to ride a bike, or your reflexes and ability to read the traffic. Too much is completely out of your control. Accidents are mostly nothing burgers inside a vehicle. Outside the vehicle you’re a human shot out of a cannon.

I used to ride a bicycle 200 to 300 miles a week. Smart phones put an end to that. Lost 4 friends in one year. Sold my road bike last year. I loved that bike.

 

[Derailed75]

Damn guys. I have rode for 15plus years. Ridden to Ohio from Southern Va multiple times. Ridden to the Outter banks multiple time ridden long distance, ride to work. Yes if you get in an accident on a motorcycle it can get ugly quick. I've also known people who have drown and I still go swimming. I know people that have died driving cars or trucks, I still drive.

I get it can be dangerous and by all means if you feel unsafe on a motorcycle you shouldn't get in one but its not like riding a motorcycle is a death sentence, its no more dangerous than a lot of activities im sure you guys all still ingage in.

 

[bleedgreen]

If it's bad enough, basically trash bags. Then they hose the road down.

We hose the road down. I’m usually in the ambulance transporting the patient if applicable, and we get sent back in service if not while the engine stays behind so the rest of the crew deals with that aspect more than I do. I’ve done my share of it though.

@Derailed75 i get you and I’m not trying to give you a hard time. Like what’s being said, clean up with hoses and garbage bags….If you’re ever on a motorcycle wreck and there’s a helmet on the ground….dont pick it up. Of course it’s not a death sentence if you never crash! We all take risks and you feel ok taking yours, I respect it. You can’t unsee what we see, and for this particular arena it’s rough. I’ve seen bodies in an avalanche, and yet I keep skiing backcountry so I get it to some extent. There’s a different look to that though. I disagree the level of danger is the same. There’s a lot less room for error on a motorcycle wreck imo.

 

[bleedgreen]

I used to ride a bicycle 200 to 300 miles a week. Smart phones put an end to that. Lost 4 friends in one year. Sold my road bike last year. I loved that bike.

Yup, I was riding all the time when I lived up north in Fort Collins because they have wide roads and cycle lanes. Back in the Denver area there’s no protection and when I worked there we’d go on multiple auto/bike accidents a day during the summer. Luckily we have a lot of paved trails that are out of traffic where I am now.

 

[Derailed75]

We hose the road down. I’m usually in the ambulance transporting the patient if applicable, and we get sent back in service if not while the engine stays behind so the rest of the crew deals with that aspect more than I do. I’ve done my share of it though.

@Derailed75 i get you and I’m not trying to give you a hard time. Like what’s being said, clean up with hoses and garbage bags….If you’re ever on a motorcycle wreck and there’s a helmet on the ground….dont pick it up. Of course it’s not a death sentence if you never crash! We all take risks and you feel ok taking yours, I respect it. You can’t unsee what we see, and for this particular arena it’s rough. I’ve seen bodies in an avalanche, and yet I keep skiing backcountry so I get it to some extent. There’s a different look to that though. I disagree the level of danger is the same. There’s a lot less room for error on a motorcycle wreck imo.

Yeah I get that. I'll also say if you think about that while riding you are a lot more prone to get into a wreck yourself.

 

[hockeynjune]

I always felt that what @Derailed75 said about power to weight was a big part of it. Most people don’t realize how quick motorcycles are to occupy a space they thought was clear and may have been a split second before.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

For all you history buffs out there:

How do you say WORLDSTAR in Hindi?

 

[Beef Invictus]

We hose the road down. I’m usually in the ambulance transporting the patient if applicable, and we get sent back in service if not while the engine stays behind so the rest of the crew deals with that aspect more than I do. I’ve done my share of it though.

@Derailed75 i get you and I’m not trying to give you a hard time. Like what’s being said, clean up with hoses and garbage bags….If you’re ever on a motorcycle wreck and there’s a helmet on the ground….dont pick it up. Of course it’s not a death sentence if you never crash! We all take risks and you feel ok taking yours, I respect it. You can’t unsee what we see, and for this particular arena it’s rough. I’ve seen bodies in an avalanche, and yet I keep skiing backcountry so I get it to some extent. There’s a different look to that though. I disagree the level of danger is the same. There’s a lot less room for error on a motorcycle wreck imo.

Yeah and it's the annual Motorcycle Cull now. Weather gets warm and people get an urge to buy one, or they get theirs out of storage and hit the road rusty. The bad motorcycle crash up here last week featured a bike that had a registration that expired years ago. That says "I got this out for the first time in a long time" and the guy got smashed. Plus who knows what condition the bike was in.

 

[Derailed75]

People are stupid no doubt. I dont ride year round, theres usually a short amount of time I dont ride but I've already gotten mine out for the year and did my preseason check. First oil change after the winter coming up soon.

Yeah and it's the annual Motorcycle Cull now. Weather gets warm and people get an urge to buy one, or they get theirs out of storage and hit the road rusty. The bad motorcycle crash up here last week featured a bike that had a registration that expired years ago. That says "I got this out for the first time in a long time" and the guy got smashed. Plus who knows what condition the bike was in.

 

[bleedgreen]

Yeah and it's the annual Motorcycle Cull now. Weather gets warm and people get an urge to buy one, or they get theirs out of storage and hit the road rusty. The bad motorcycle crash up here last week featured a bike that had a registration that expired years ago. That says "I got this out for the first time in a long time" and the guy got smashed. Plus who knows what condition the bike was in.

The worst was maybe that after that first full year of Covid when spring fever hit. There was one Sunday when it was finally beautiful and warm out, and there were packs of people speeding on the highway. It was like they were escaping from jail. We had a bunch of crashes overall including three fatals that afternoon, my crew had one but they were all on the same highway.

Spring time is always busy that way.

 

[Unsustainable]

why do I keep trying to break my brain? I created a virtual machine with unbuntu on my pc to run an open ai program, since that went well, I am flashing an old laptop to create a network lab, and going to set up pihole through docker.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

When I was sixteen, I kept asking my Dad if I could get a motorcycle. Fun to ride, saves money on gas, etc. Then my cousin, who was a year older than me, went around a corner, didn't see the loose gravel on the road and wiped out, paralyzing his right arm. Was he going too fast? Probably as many 18 year old do. Should he have seen the loose gravel? Maybe, maybe not.

Either way, it ended any chance of my Dad allowing me to get a motorcycle. After the death of a kid in school, once I was 18, I no longer had the urge.

I drive a lot. I take about 16 regular ten hour trips per year as well as other trips and local driving. After seeing how many people text and drive, no chance I'd ever ride a motorcycle. As detail75 said, it's not a death sentence, but you also can't fight physics.

 

[MinJaBen]

When I was sixteen, I kept asking my Dad if I could get a motorcycle. Fun to ride, saves money on gas, etc. Then my cousin, who was a year older than me, went around a corner, didn't see the loose gravel on the road and wiped out, paralyzing his right arm. Was he going too fast? Probably as many 18 year old do. Should he have seen the loose gravel? Maybe, maybe not.

Either way, it ended any chance of my Dad allowing me to get a motorcycle. After the death of a kid in school, once I was 18, I no longer had the urge.

I drive a lot. I take about 16 regular ten hour trips per year as well as other trips and local driving. After seeing how many people text and drive, no chance I'd ever ride a motorcycle. As detail75 said, it's not a death sentence, but you also can't fight physics.

A friend of mine always said there are two types of motorcycle riders: those that have gone down and those that will go next.

 

[Unsustainable]

A friend of mine always said there are two types of motorcycle riders: those that have gone down and those that will go next.

Im in the group that has went down, the 1 time I didnt wear my full gear.

 

[Derailed75]

Im in the group that has went down, the 1 time I didnt wear my full gear.

I've had 3 bikes I have laid all 3 down. Thankfully for me all 3 were embarrassing, slow drops nothing more. First bike Yamaha Vstar 650 I was in a fresh asphalt parking lot turning into a different section. I down shifted from what I thought was 2nd to 1st, it was really 3rd to 2nd and the bike stalled mid lean. Hurt my ego more then anything else.

2nd was the Roadstar. Big heavy bike loading it into a building on a plank and couldnt balance it enough at the low speed. No one was around for that and the door of the building caught it so I didnt need help getting it back up.

3rd and most embarrassing saw a good spot at Food lion late and going to slow. dumped it right for the whole world to see. At this point I was well aware of how to get a big bike back on its wheels so I pulled up my pride got it back on its wheels and did my shopping. Moral of the story be willing to walk a little farther in parking lots and you wont dump your bike like an idiot.

 

[NotOpie]

My dad rode in the late 40's and early 50's. He stopped riding as he had too many close calls. He said the average car driver just doesn't pay attention enough. Riding at night was the first thing he stopped. Then after a pretty gnarly lay down (driver cut in front of him). He gave it up. He loved riding and loved his bikes (He was an Indian man), but discretion became the better part of valor.

 

[LakeLivin]

I shared a bike with my brother for about a year when I was in college. The closest I came to real trouble was on the first steel grate bridge I encountered. I slowed down, but not nearly enough, and it was like riding on ice. This was after dark, out in the sticks, and it could have been ugly if I'd of dumped it.

No real urge to ride again, but if I did it would be more in the country than in traffic and I'd be just as worried about a dog dashing out and dumping me as I would be an idiotic driver.

 

[Unsustainable]

my lay down was just hitting a mixture of sand and gravel, and the bike just slid right out from under me, its probably why I just had elbow surgery, which was 13ish years after laying it down, sold my bike not long after that, and haven't messed with one since.

 

[MrazeksVengeance]

If it's bad enough, basically trash bags. Then they hose the road down.

Are you a coroner?

 

[Beef Invictus]

Are you a coroner?

Ew no