There is reason to be concerned about riding a motorcycle

There is reason to be concerned about riding a motorcycle.

Riding a bike has risk associated with it, as does much of the activities we
do.

However, you can learn to manage the risk, learning to identify risks and
minimize them.

The most obvious method of doing this is through your own education.

A few resources I might suggest:

1) Books.... including
Proficient Motorcycling : The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well (Hough,
David L.)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1889540536/o/qid=984327084/sr=8-2/ref
=aps_sr_b_1_2/107-2095795-1520517

The Perfect Vehicle : What it is about motorcyles (Pierson, Melissa
Holbrook)
http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/exchange-glance/Y04Y0589028Y0085794/qid=
984326968/sr=1-2/ref=aps_sr_z_2_2/107-2095795-1520517

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Guide to Motorcycling Excellence:
Skills, Knowledge, and Strategies for Riding Right
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1884313019/o/qid=984327150/sr=8-1/ref
=aps_sr_b_1_1/107-2095795-1520517

2) Take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation new riders training course BEFORE you decide to ride a bike. If possible have her take the course with you. It will give you a great overview of motorcycling and inoculate you with the concepts you need to manage the risks. It is also an incredible amount of fun for the two of you, and when she understands the basic motorcycle concepts, she may feel much more at ease.

3) Commit to riding as safely as possible.... this means continuing your studies, and putting your dollars into helmets, riding boots, gloves and armored jackets, pants etc.... before putting those same dollars into chrome.

4) Commit to not riding beyond your (or your machine's, or the environment's) limits.

It's very true that the people that are most concerned about motorcycles are often the people that know next to nothing about them. So, if you educate yourself, and your bride, you'll both have something to share... and to discuss intelligently. My wife is going to take the MSF course soon, and was encouraged to find out that the average age of female riders is 47 years old. So the typical woman rider is a mature, thinking person... not an airhead... so your wife might want to take the thoughts of women riders into account (taking the male testosterone out of the equation <s>)

I hope this helps.

> Hello.
>
> I've been lurking here for a while, and I'd like to ask something with
> which I'll bet a lot of people here have struggled on both sides of
> the fence.
>
> I've been wanting a bike all my life, but I've always had either no
> money or other obligations. Now I have the money, the inclination,
> and the time, but I also have a wife who is terrified of the prospect
> of her husband killing himself on a motorcycle. The ironic thing is
> that riding a bike is something she would enjoy as much as I, were she
> to allow herself the possibility.
>
> Nothing is going to allay her fears altogether, but I'm hoping some of
> those on here will have struggled through this issue successfully, and
> can share from their experience.
>
> Staying married is definitely more important to me than riding a
> motorcycle, although even having to raise that question says things
> about the marriage that I would rather not admit, and the long-term
> results of having to make that choice has implications for the
> marriage I'm not willing to accept.
>
> If you have struggled through this, I'd like to hear from you.
>
> I'd particularly like to hear from some of the women on here -- most
> especially if you have gone from being the terrified wife to
> motorcycle enthusiast yourself. What made the difference, what
> helped, and what didn't help?
>