Last week both AOL and CNN have posted stories about how the average age of the victims of motorcycle fatalities has increased to now be 38 years old. Hmmm…this summer I will be turning….38.

Should I be worried?

Well, for whatever reason I’m not. First, there are a lot of different reasons why this statistic has changed over the years. The number of re-entry riders coming back to motorcycles after a long break (and driving the boom of cruiser sales over the past few years). Second, the popularity of “life style” shows which show how Real Men ride, party and live life on the edge. Third, the increasing number of large personal vehicles like SUVs which help stack the odds against riders. Add in the higher performance of bikes, the fact that medical science is helping people ride longer, the fact that the gathering and processing data is continually improving, and long list of factors I’m not even thinking of. Mix all this together and its obvious that more people are riding, more older people are riding and more people are probably doing stupid things like riding after drinking, riding bikes that handle like crap and ride bikes while wearing fashion statements rather than protective gear.

All that said, I don’t think I’m immune. I don’t have any particular bargain with the Grim Reaper to make sure we don’t meet until its on my terms. I do try to the manage the risks as I see them by continually taking motorcycle training courses, by wearing the best gear I can afford, by trying to make smart decisions about when to ride and when to leave the bike in the garage and by trying to maintain my bikes in the best way possible. There are also times when I consciously make the decision to take extra risks. I ride faster than is probably safe at times. I sometimes ride in conditions that aren’t ideal for two wheeled travel. I even ride with my buddy Todd which may well be outright crazy (I’m convinced he’s trying to kill me every time I get on my dirt bike around him!). But I try to balance risk taking with being fool-hearty.

Maybe 2005 will be the year the odds catch up with me but ultimately I believe the bulk of fatality statistics are driven by the exceptions of the motorcycling community. I’ll continue to do what I can to improve my odds while still enjoying everything I can get out of motorcycling. Hopefully I can then help the unpublished statistics of people riding motorcycles at an older and older age.

[image from my photo archive.]