Has age changed how you ride your bike

[Bigyin]

On the back of a post elsewhere on the forum wondered if it was a major factor on how we pursue our loved hobby of riding bikes. I dont mean the knackered knee means no more sports bikes etc but the actual riding.

We all have tales of ripping round stupidly as yoof on bikes but does the passing of years just have that effect or is it a conscious choice. I didnt think i had changed that much but after the last accident i looked back on it and realised it had crept in gradually without me making the conscious decision.

Having had 2 fairly bike bike accidents in about 35 years road riding. The first one at 18 i hit the side of a car at 50 mph went over the roof and landed about 20 feet up the road and rolled and slid for a bit. 5 hours later i went clubbing with my mates. A few bruises and mild aches but a non event injury wise

Fast forward to the second one a couple of years ago i got thrown off the bike at 70 -80 mph and bounced along the road. I could barely move off the couch for about 3 days and felt like i had been hit by a fucking bus. It was about 10 days before i could walk properly without limping.

I still thought i rode in a similar manner but the voices in the back of my head that never used to be there now seem to pop in and say "really?, that was a good idea?....... it will fucking hurt this time you twat"

what say you?

[KungFooBob]

In my 20's I had (still have) a mate I used to ride with, we'd egg each other on and ride like utter penises all the time. Knee down every corner, stoppies at every traffics light... with wheelies away from them.

Crashes didn't slow us down.

He moved away. I learnt to drive a car. I got slow.

When I try to go fast on the road now I end up looking just in front of the front wheel, instead of where I want to go, it's going to take some practice to get round it.

[Cousin Jack]

Don't think it has changed me that much. After many bicycle crashes I was aware how much crashing hurt, so even as a teenager I didn't take stupid risks on a motorbike. At least I tried not to make the same mistake a second time.

Now as a coffin dodger I am also aware I don't bounce as well as I used to, although modern bikes let me go far faster than i ever did in the 60s

[Potter]

Absolutely changed, I cringe when I think about how I used to ride.
Now I have a lot more responsibility and a lot more to lose.

[wheelnut]

The older I get, the faster I was.

I’ve never really been one for 3 figure speeds anyway, mainly due to the type of roads I enjoy having fun on being self limiting, but those sorts of roads bring their own dangers even at semi legal speeds. But yes, I think I’ve slowed down a bit over the last couple of years.

[weeksy]

For sure, as with most, back in the day i'd see the wrong side of 150 many times per ride, these days i rarely see 100+

I still ride a lot quicker than the flow of traffic... but there's a plenty more caution than i'd have once had.

The big difference is mindset though now. I can go out and enjoy the ride for just being a ride, peace, quiet, tranquil, still a decent pace, but outright speed isn't the main end goal.

[Trinity765]

Absolutely changed, I cringe when I think about how I used to ride.
Now I have a lot more responsibility and a lot more to lose.

Same for me.

It's not so much the pain I could endure, though that wouldn't be nice, but the thought of my sons having to take on my responsibilities.

I'm glad I had a few years riding where I only cared about myself and I feel lucky to have got away with it, but when the friends that I was riding with began to crash and the riders that I admired crashed, shit got real and now I aim to ride well and not fast.

[Scotsrich]

It’s slowed me down in general.

The major one I think is I no longer go for the risky overtakes. Although risky is perhaps too strong a word. Even my wife who rides pillion with me and trusts me explicitly has remarked on that.

The bike I got last year is also the only one I’ve never topped out (so far).

[DefTrap]

I'm a bit more cautious I reckon and, because I ride less, inevitably more crap, hence even more cautious.
Which is annoying when I occasionally 50p a corner or bottle it and back off. I wouldn't have done that 20 years ago.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Have I ever, I no longer consider going everywhere flat out normal, I generally stick to speed limits now.

[Ditchfinder]

As I get fatter and creakier I find it harder to swing my leg over the seat and I have to stop for a piss more often

[Taipan]

Absolutely changed, I cringe when I think about how I used to ride.
Now I have a lot more responsibility and a lot more to lose.

That ^^^^ and the sad reminder of those I know who paid the ultimate price or suffered serious injuries, did so as a result of their over enthusiastic riding. I was very lucky to survive a few near misses! I really cringe when I think of how we used to ride on roads we knew, but blindly round corners at speed.

[Skub]

The young are generally fearless and regard themselves as immortal,I was no different. That can't endure,even if you are very lucky.

Age tempers attitude and perspective alters. I know I won't bounce as well at 65 as I did even 20 years ago,so I try not to crash now.

I'm less liable to be drawn into playing silly buggers with other riders,probably more down to the fact I don't ride with others very often and I usually ride when the roads are quiet. Possibly age has made it that way to avoid placing myself in that position?

Riding a naked bike has definitely reduced the frequency of the big numbers,I'm too lazy to put in the sustained work.

I will still see 'go to jail' speeds most times I'm out,but I'm much more circumspect than I used to be and I behave in built up areas.

I do try not to RLAC now,whereas I didn't know any other way before I became too long new.

[Supermofo]

The big difference is mindset though now. I can go out and enjoy the ride for just being a ride, peace, quiet, tranquil, still a decent pace, but outright speed isn't the main end goal.

This pretty much.

There was a point where I wanted to be faster and worked on that, now I generally don't care. I'm faster than some, slower than others and happy with that.

Biggest change to my riding came after my accident in 07. After that it took me about 2 years to feel completely confident overtaking cars, of course I overtook cars all the time, but I didn't like it my brain was telling me that's how you got hurt last time. And generally I got slower.

But now that's all done and I'm pretty happy with how I ride now, the odd bit of twattery but I have my pace and generally stick to it, I don't push my comfort zones anymore and prefer to enjoy myself over going super quick. Speed limits or maybe a tiny bit over in town, fun in the countryside. But these days 100MPH isn't something I do. I think I've gone over 100 maybe 3-4 times in the last 5 years? where it used to be 8-9 times a ride.

[asmethurst99]

I was never particularly fast to start with - I used to ride all across London but tend to avoid it now because of the traffic and cameras .
My mileage is up for the first time in years funnily enough.

[Trogladyte]

My journey has been a bit different to many.

As a young man I was only really interested in old bikes - mostly British an European stuff, but old and agricultural was what floated my boat, and i flirted with cut-offs and tassels and all that. Later, in my 20s, I got into mahoosive v-twins like Guzzis and Harleys. But as i have got older I have been more attracted to big-power missiles, and the trajectory has been towards sportier performance - so from FJ1100 to Guzzi Le Mans to Speed Triples to SuperDuke R.

[Mr. Dazzle]

As a young man one of the first things I'd do with any vehicle is a late night top speed challenge. I..e attempt to do Vmax. I don't do that any more

None of the modern vehciles we have at home (I.e. excluding the classic bikes) are slower than 140mph+ but I don't recall the last time I went beyond 100mph on the road. In fact the last bike I did an (indicated) tonne was actually the Bonnie!

[Dodgy69]

Not age so much, but the ever growing poor driving standards, poor road conditions and increased traffic has made me more cautious.

[mangocrazy]

Top speed/high speed per se has never been what's pushed my buttons, it's more how you get there and the lure of the twisty bits. Most of my fun back in the day was between 80mph and 120mph - still illegal obviously but I've never regularly visited 150mph +, in fact the fastest I can recall doing was an indicated 145 mph on a French autoroute. Shit happens so fast at that speed, that it's all lap of the gods. I guess I never really had a bike capable of those speeds until I was in my 40s anyway, so that probably had an effect.

My purchase of the Duke 690 was part of a conscious decision to try and get my kicks at lower speeds. I'd love something like an RSV4 but bikes like that only make sense when you're doing twice the legal limit. Having said that, the Duke still causes the horns to sprout on a regular basis..

So the short answer is yes. I'm much more aware of my own mortality and am keenly aware that as an old duffer I wouldn't bounce well, if at all.

[Yorick]

I feel like a teenager when I'm riding the Husky. But sometimes I skip a tough bit that the younger lads tackle.

And can still keep up with the younger lads when riding the GSXR. But let them go when they go daft in traffic.