Interesting post Chris, I do think that being brought up in a biking inviroment does help,but when you think about it, as children we saw our parent take to the roads with out mishap (most of the time) so to us its Safe, our parents would'nt put us at risk ( would they)I was brought up with a 1000cc Arial Square Four attached to a home made side car that accomadated all four kids and all the camping kit. I can remember my old man running after a bus that had cut him up thumbing on the side of the bus trying to get the driver to stop so he could slap him one.
No I would.nt do that
As for the pain of biking we must ask why do women go through child birth or the pain of tooth ache do we really remember pain, I dont think so, if we did then surely we would'nt go back to it.
They are some people that go through life not risking it either because there hav'nt got the same confidence or asteme that we may have. I think that's one of the factors why we all get on well together on a ride out and the buzz we all radiate on a track day, I got the same thing when I was chucking myself out of aircraft in the middle of the night twenty years ago, the risk is'nt there when you no what you are doing to some degree, that does'n mean the fears not there though.I had one incident that happened one night ,we we're dispatched from the aircraft together instead of one at a time from both sides of the plane we collided in the vortex of the aircraft and tangle up making our earthwards journey to fast for comfort,experiance told me not to pull the reserve shute for fear of colapsing what material was flying above us,we hit the ground twice I remember. I was glad of that cause it meant I was alive . A month later two lads experianced the same thing but one of then pulled the reserve and both were killed . It did'nt stop me from doing it many more times I think if it on the cards then its on the cards Maybe the risk is the key factor to biking after all . But the pleasure sure out weighs the risk and as we all no its what we do with the right wrist (trying to keep a straight face)that counts as to whether we survive or not. Regards 4D