[tuq]

Ugh.

This state doesn't have a helmet law that I'm aware of and I'm amazed to regularly see riders doing 40+ MPH on surface streets without any protection. Hell I went for a nice long bike (bicycle) ride last week and almost didn't go because my helmet's clip was missing, but I fashioned a knot and off I went. The concern as always wasn't about me being dumb, it was to protect me from others.

My brother had a serious wipeout on a slick road in Iowa City, Iowa around fifteen years ago. Countless surgeries later he has a ton of scars on his right forearm but that I know of is lucky that he didn't suffer any permanent nerve damage. He hasn't ridden a motorcycle since.

Maybe I'm just risk averse, and maybe it is a hell of a rush, but I like the security that a few tons of steel and a couple of airbags provides.

As an aside, I could never get through Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, I got to a certain point and got bored to tears every time. I did enjoy some of the analogies he made related to his bike though!