| Motorcycling is relatively dangerous, full stop.
On the road or on the track there is the ever present danger of overstepping the mark and binning it. To a certain extent, pitting your riding skill, against the hazards of riding a bike well, is what makes riding a bike more fun than other forms of vehicle.
Of course on the track, the chances of binning it are lessened by the lack of potholes, manhole covers, white lines, diesel spills, oncoming traffic, tractors and so on. Also the chances of hitting anything hard are much less. You're not likely to pile your soft little body into a telegraph pole or a phone box on the track. Having said that the chances are upped again by the increased speed you'll be doing.
I feel that the downside of riding on the track is that it's addictive for adrenalin junkies (and that probably includes a lot of us). Consequently, when we get back on the road it all seems so slow that we don't get as much of a buzz from it, therefore, we end up doing ever faster speeds on roads that (if we're honest with ourselves) were never designed for superbike performance - or ST performance come to that. I'm not talking about the roads feeling slow immediately after a track day, this effect lasts for months - well it does with me anyway.
Recently, I've found myself becoming wary of the roads and not riding with the same degree of confidence (some might call that confidence reckless abandon). On recent rideouts, that've been around the same pace as usual (and quite a bit slower than some of the more manic blasts) I've found myself barrelling into a bend with no idea whether there are obstacles just around the corner or whether the bend tightens up suddenly (especially left handers, where the consequences of running wide can mean death). I know that this sense of self preservation has caused me to ride less smoothly and quite a bit slower. Bottle gone? Yes, probably, but I'm not going to make excuses for wanting to stay alive.  |