jefmcg
Guru
Which ones? 2 people died on the Isle of Man; that seems like a lot.
William Dunlop - RIP
- Thread starter wheresthetorch
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
FishFright
More wheels than sense
Rugby is up there as it horse riding.
Smokin Joe
Legendary Member
- Location
- Bare headed cyclist, Smoker
People chose to take risks.
Last edited by a moderator:
Levo-Lon
Guru
Just about all of them.
Last edited by a moderator:
I was fully aware of the risks when I was racing on the Isle of Man. The reward of competing there always outweighed the risk, for me at least.
FishFright
More wheels than sense
A friend of my BIL rides there every year as the monkey on a combination , they won't stop until they are too old to compete.
Levo-Lon
Guru
Hell of a lot of my motorcycle exploits needed lady luck.
Best buzz ever pushing your limits, and death serious injury are the risk.
I hate flying,too scary
Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
Climbing
Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
[QUOTE 5305543, member: 45"]Maybe he died doing what he loved, but he's left behind a pregnant wife and young child.[/QUOTE]
Indeed.
However, what was he supposed to do? Slow down a bit? Stop racing and get another job?
Many years back there was an excellent documentary featuring the wives of climbers that had died. It made for interesting viewing. What remained in my mind that the wives/partners clearly understood the risk, however, without climbing, their partners would not have been the people that they loved and they could never imagine holding them back, so as to deny them the very thing that made them 'them' or special (if that makes sense).
In a family like the Dunlops, road-racing is in the blood, it's completely their world, to think or try to live outside of that must be very difficult.
Indeed.
However, what was he supposed to do? Slow down a bit? Stop racing and get another job?
Many years back there was an excellent documentary featuring the wives of climbers that had died. It made for interesting viewing. What remained in my mind that the wives/partners clearly understood the risk, however, without climbing, their partners would not have been the people that they loved and they could never imagine holding them back, so as to deny them the very thing that made them 'them' or special (if that makes sense).
In a family like the Dunlops, road-racing is in the blood, it's completely their world, to think or try to live outside of that must be very difficult.
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
That came over quite clearly in the excellent documentary film "Road" which featured the Dunlops and other road racers.
I've only ever examined this from the perspective of climbing and mountaineering. There's no one answer. There's lots of things going on for these kind of sports, a certain amount of anarchy from having a personality that doesn't easily fit into a pigeonhole or like being forced to, a drive way beyond what most of us have and an ability, a certain disregard for risk, inevitably, which is not to say it's not appreciated or understood and an identity, provided by what they do, it's how they define themselves, it's their reason for being. Very, very difficult thing for most of us to grasp. There can also be negative things going on, addiction, questioning their worth, self-obsessed a certain narcissism. I guess anyone who's followed Obree would be familiar with some of this stuff. I think the world would be a poorer place without these people.
Smokin Joe
Legendary Member
- Location
- Bare headed cyclist, Smoker
Well summed up.
Some people seem to believe we are duty bound to do everything we can to eek our lives out until the last possible second. We are not.
Smokin Joe
Legendary Member
- Location
- Bare headed cyclist, Smoker
[QUOTE 5307262, member: 45"]I don't think that's happening on this thread. I think people are suggesting that if someone is choosing to have children then it's maybe not the best idea to choose a hobby which brings a pretty high prospect of taking a parent away from them before they reach adulthood. Or in this case, before they're born. Some might see that as overly selfish.[/QUOTE]
How high a prospect is it? The vast majority of people who take part in dangerous sports walk away unscathed.
How high a prospect is it? The vast majority of people who take part in dangerous sports walk away unscathed.
Levo-Lon
Guru
Just to add ..
also very dangerous, try banning horse riding?
https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/new...eakfast-highlights-shocking-statistics-617143
also very dangerous, try banning horse riding?
https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/new...eakfast-highlights-shocking-statistics-617143
nickyboy
Norven Mankey
- Location
- You want hills? We got hills
I think the important statistic is likelihood of death/serious injury per hour spent on that activity. The reason a lot of people die whilst horse-riding is because, in the main, there are a lot of horse riders
Racing motorbikes is not the most dangerous sport per hour spent. For that you have to look at thinks like mountaineering over 7000m, base jumping and the like. But motorcycle racing is a dangerous sport when you consider the number of deaths and the hours spent doing it
Like @User I do struggle to comprehend how, when you have dependents, you can do something really dangerous for no reason other than your own personal pleasure. It seems selfish to me but I appreciate it's part of their personality
