mule said:You make me sound like a control freak. I never guarantee myself an accident-free ride.
Mostly your own work! ;-) Don't use absolute language when you're not absolutely sure.
Quoted message said:I can't really deny that there is no way to be sure. All I can say is that I probably take more
risks than I should (off-road)
Define "should" a bit more closely... If you're enjoying yourself and continuing to do so on an
ongoing basis that implies you're very possibly doing no such thing.
Quoted message said:because of the things that I don't do on the road. I do cycle on roads but don't get the same
satisfaction - maybe because I'm more frightened.
This is really down to perception, though. The roads are actually pretty safe places. You might be
in more danger of getting totalled, but it's still not a *large* danger, and there's far less chance
of a minor prang simply from the more predictable riding surface.
Quoted message said:If you took my helmet away from me on my off-road rides (after a tough struggle and over my dead
body) I still think that I would tackle the same trail in the same way. Like you say though, I
guess it can't be measured.
As we agree, it can't be measured, but the fact that you're so attached to your helmet that you'd
put up a tough struggle to avoid riding without it, and say you always wear one, does suggest you
are *not* as happy on trails without one. I'm certainly happier on trails with one, because when I
do go for a big bash on technical trails on the MTB (not very often, which is part of the problem!)
I do expect I'll very probably come off (at low speed has been my experience on most occasions) at
some point in the day. Roads don't cause me to spontaneously eject the way rocky river beds might,
so I feel I'm less likely to have a low speed head/hard surface interface at the sorts of speeds
they're designed to whitstand, plus comfort on an MTB is a bit of a moot point compared to my
recumbent tourer on the road. So I always wear a lid offroad for technical MTB stuff, and would
probably not make identical route decisions without it. If I'm well within my capabilities, say a
good Landy track, I'd happily go without, but that's more like a road, and thus more predictable.
Quoted message said:Does any of this make sense?
I've been in a similar position/POV, but the more I look at the evidence the more I'm convinced I
was kidding myself. As Guy suggested about the body-armour brigade, I use stuff *precisely* to risk
compensate. The bike itself is part of this: I use an MTB because I can go over rough stuff at much
greater speeds than I can manage on my tourer, though that went off-road in plenty of places before
I had an MTB.
Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email hidden]
dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗
