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Mark Hinchliffe·
Motorbike news
··3 Comments·1 min read

Is motorbike riding dangerous?


I’d like to introduce Georgia Melville (right in the photo); a beautiful young woman in body and spirit.

I met her on the Compass Expeditions outback tour with Charley Boorman earlier this year.

IMG_1318
Georgia tends Dan Meakin’s injured ankle

She works as a paramedic in Glenn Innes and has been having a great time discovering the region on her BMW GS adventure bike

Now she’d like to sharer that passion with her boyfriend, but he doesn’t seem interested in bikes and their friends say biking is dangerous.

Now, bear in mind Georgia is a paramedic and is used to seeing people badly smashed up on bikes. Yet she posted this inspirational message on Facebook which is not only applicable to motorcycling, but any dangerous pursuit:

“People fall off bikes all the time, people fall off horses too, people crash in cars, swept off rocks while fishing, hit by surfboards while swimming/surfing, have shallow water blackouts/shark attacks while diving, hit by cars/abducted walking to school.

“The way I see it is if you don’t live your life to the fullest and do the things that make you happy then what’s the point in living at all. The money you save will be in your account if you unfortunately die tomorrow so you may as well spend it on the

things you love and the things that make you happy in life.”

Couldn’t have said it better, Georgia.

A couple of years ago I had a serious crash and was run over by another motorcycle.

I won’t list the injuries, but check out the length of the incisions in this photo. IMG_0277

I had a lot of visitors in hospital and many of them asked if I was going to give up riding motorcycles.

I didn’t have to answer.

My wife – who is also a beautiful woman in body and spirit – answered for me: “Of course he won’t. It’s his job and it’s his passion.”

So I got back on the bike quick smart!

Now, if I should die in a bike crash tomorrow, don’t say at my funeral that I died doing what I love. That’s true, but it doesn’t make it any better. As they say “live to ride” but also “ride to live”.

The question in the title of this blog is stupid. Of course motorbike riding is dangerous. But it’s what we love. We just need to ride in a manner that allows us to ride again tomorrow.

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Mark Hinchliffe
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3 Comments

  1. After many years of riding and have crashed, skidded and hurt myself, I have come to learn to “pick my fights”, Of course we ride motorcycles because we enjoy riding them (I’m talking about the rain and crashing part). Of course we know that it is dangerous. So how do we enjoy riding while keeping alive? I pick my “fights”.

    Is the road clean, clear, traffic light? Do I know it? I try to make sure the odds are in my favour. And I never race with anyone on the roads. I because I enjoy the corners. However, when I race with someone on public roads, first I stop enjoying the corners and secondly the odds of my winning the fight (against crashing) are drastically diminished. I want to enjoy the corner again tomorrow, the day after and the day after and after and on and on.

    “We just need to ride in a manner that allows us to ride again tomorrow.” Precisely.

  2. “Of course we ride motorcycles because we enjoy riding them (I’m talking about the rain and crashing part).” -> I meant NOT the rain and crashing part. LOL!

  3. Well said Mark. Attitude and roadcraft should be the number one priority of publications and to some extent advertising. Managing risk and balancing it with the fun factor is such a critical skill. I can only ride that corner better tomorrow if I can still ride tomorrow.

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