Parents: did you all continue to ride immediately after your child was born?

[glasswave]

You have made a pragmatic acceptance of the facts. That said, I see three choices, you can either minimize, nearly eliminate or entirely eliminate the risks of serious injury of death from riding.

to minimize the risks -- limit your riding: don't commute, avoid surface streets, traffic, the city, darkness. Don't ride fast. Don't ride drunk. Country roads at moderate speeds during the day w/o alcohol probably cuts the 35x stat by around a factor of 10.

to nearly eliminate the risks -- don't ride on the street. ride only off road or ride on the track!!!!

to entirely eliminate the risks -- quit riding at all, now you must

[Grad]

Thanks for all of the perspectives everyone. I am truly a rider, I know it deep in my heart and I know it will always be there. I also know that, barring a debilitating injury or illness, when I retire I will be doing some SERIOUS touring all over this beautiful continent. What I keep agonizing over is if I should sell the bike, and how long I will be able to go without it. This has actually been going on for 6 months now...I sold my GS because my wife was pregnant. Then I got miserable not seeing a bike in the garage so I picked up a Speed Triple. Then I started doing wheelies from every stop sign so I traded it even on the Tiger. It is similar to my old GS and I am happy with the bike, but after my sister pulled me aside this Thanksgiving I have really started to do some soul-searching again. Not sure what I am going to do, because I literally went to sleep last night thinking that I will just do some mods to the S2000 and enjoy the hell out of it, but then I woke up this morning thinking about how nice it is to ride in the mountains and pay a visit to the new TWO when it opens this spring.

I LOVE riding, but I also LOVE my son and want to be there for his baseball games and his first date and the day he goes off to college. I manage the risk very well, but the stark reality is that we participate in a dangerous lifestyle and are extremely vulnerable without that boring cage around us.

I will definitely up my policy from the current 250K to a million if I continue to ride, if for no other reason that I can feel comfortable knowing my wife would not have to work if I was gone.

[elemental]

As others have said, you'll end up riding way less for a few years anyway. In my opinion, there's no need to make a conscious decision to stop. Mine are 3 and 5 and I've gone from year-long adventures and 30,000 km per year commuting/leisure riding to less than 3k a year in opportunistic quick local circuits. My wife rides her bike maybe twice a year on multi-day tours, but each time she does she loves it and reminds her who she is apart from 'mom'. (And when she's away I get to demonstrate that the house can function with just the boys around too )

The same applies to me. Riding is part of who I am. My kids associate bikes with me and me with bikes. The shout 'look daddy a motorcycle!' EVERY time they see a bike. They climb up and sit on my bike and make brumm-brumm noises (and scratch up the damn tank doing it) EVERY time they go in the garage. The eldest can reach the pillion footpegs on the bike I just bought. He cried when I sold my old one, it was all he knew as daddy's bike. He begs me to buy a KTM 50 kid's bike EVERY time we go to the big dealer - one day I will.

I respect everyone's choices, but I would say be yourself, be happy. There's plenty of sacrifices in parenthood. Bikes are positive, not death-traps; don't cave in to the stereotype. A happy dad is a good dad.

PS: I just started commuting into work again just to get some proper riding in. It's invigorating, liberating, and reminds me why I ride.

But only you know what's right for you.

[Jim Moore]

Mommies make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Daddies do cool shit like ride motorcycles. Your kids don't need two mommies.

You're welcome,

[UnsureFooting]

I kept riding.

[RidingDonkeys]

MrsDonkeys and I have had that discussion...and laughed.

This Ride Report made her want to learn to ride. It also proved that we would be fools to stop riding when we had kids.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=517112

Riding is something that is best learned while young, so why not keep riding, and pass on your love of it to your children?

Plus, it is a great excuse to buy a hack.

Sent from the voices in my head and transcribed by their drinking buddy.

[sloMark]

Yep. Sold my 990adv and got a new plated Husaberg fe450. I got a new baby girl 6 weeks out and a 3year old boy. I stick to the dirt, but can jump on the road if need be. I get out, but not too often.

Don't have kids if you are not willing to put your wants, needs, desires 2nd, 3rd, 4th.........especially if your wife works full time too.

We got the life insurance thing too.

And honestly I'd rather play Lego dump trucks and watch Wall-E for the 92nd time than leave my boy at home and go ride. . This time with him (them) I will never get back, once it's gone it's gone.

[Nadgett]

I gave up riding, but for economic reasons. I got a bike again six years ago, when our daughter was 14.

[ABBlender]

I started riding when my son was about a year old. I have always been big into mountain biking and had always wanted to get a motorcycle. I figured that I would rather have a son with a dad who would persue interests in life and not just get bogged down in the mundane like so many others and lose that spark. The deal with the wife was that I had to be ATGATT. Being on two wheels in general makes me happy, motorized or not. My wife can definately see a difference when I ride...I am a nicer guy to be around. Riding gets my head centered for the day.

My son LOVES the motorbike. Almost 2 now and he is a monster on the strider bike.

[preppypyro]

I just had a kid this past summer, and I actually rode my bike to and from the hospital where my kid was born. I dont plan on stopping riding at all.

After my kid was born I commuted every day to work and back, just the same as before. I havent quit eating red meat in hopes that I will maybe live longer, and I will ride as much as I can, without the fear of possibley getting into an accident.

Life is what it is. No one lives forever, and when its your time to go, your gonna go whether your on a motorcycle, or the toilet.

Just ask Elvis.

[d.burbach]

Originally Posted by Grad

I have a newborn and I have gotten more and more nervous about riding my motorcycle. The thought of me being gone and my wife having to raise him alone just tears at my heartstrings, yet it is so hard to let go of something that I love so much (riding). I realize I could be killed in a car accident or crossing the road, but the latest stats say it I am 35 times more likely to be killed riding a motorcycle than driving a car, which is not something to be scoffed at.

So parents, what did you do when your child was born? Did you stop riding for a while? My wife hasn't asked me to stop because she knows how much I love it, but I know she worries about me a LOT more than she used to. My sister pulled me aside over Thanksgiving and very tearfully told me how much she worries about me riding, especially now that I have a little baby. I do have an S2000 that is still a lot of fun to drive, but it just doesn't compare to the rush and thrill of riding.

I've been riding for 10 years and over 100,000 miles without an accident, so I am not some careless squid, but at the same time I know it is a risky activity and so I am not taking this decision lightly. Honestly, my biggest concern is deer because they are everywhere around here and completely unpredictable. They can come out of the woods in a split second, making them almost impossible to avoid if they are in full sprint. I hit one with my truck and I saw him about 0.5 seconds before he caved my driver's door in. That has really hit home over the past several years, because if I was on my bike I wouldn't have even had a chance to pull the brake lever before impact.

Just trying to get different perspectives on this as I sort out what I should do.

I became a dad three months ago today, and you can believe that I've had all the same thoughts you're having. All I can say is that if motorcycling wasn't my livelihood I'm not sure I'd still be doing it. Though I love it, I love my son much much more and, like you, the thought of him growing up without a dad breaks my heart! So I just try to listen to the voice in my head that says "hey, maybe take the car today" and of course I wear all the safety gear I can and I don't take stupid risks. Beyond that, it's up to the big guy.

[sailah]

Originally Posted by sloMark

Yep. Sold my 990adv and got a new plated Husaberg fe450. I got a new baby girl 6 weeks out and a 3year old boy. I stick to the dirt, but can jump on the road if need be. I get out, but not too often.

Don't have kids if you are not willing to put your wants, needs, desires 2nd, 3rd, 4th.........especially if your wife works full time too.

We got the life insurance thing too.

And honestly I'd rather play Lego dump trucks and watch Wall-E for the 92nd time than leave my boy at home and go ride. . This time with him (them) I will never get back, once it's gone it's gone.

Congrats big daddy

[mb90535im]

I gave up riding while my kids were growing up. Not saying that decision was right or wrong and certainly not trying to tell anyone else what to do or what might be the right decision for you.

In the OP's case I would be concerned if riding is making you nervous. Riding anytime your head is not 110% into the ride is not a good idea.

[joef]

Answer no, was so overwhelmed with the experience and having such a poor role model as my father was I dedicated 7 years of my life to being the dad that was always there, forward 17 years later and another kid and I am only as good as what I did for them yesterday, oh the joy, curse you Steve Jobs you knew how to make devices no one can live without!!!!

[southwade]

2 kids. Still ride.