Isle of Man 2017

Warren said:

Rider Alan Bonner has now died. I guess his is the third death in the TT this year. The TT is a very definitely a dangerous race.

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Man is a odd species.....one year at Reno, we lost 3 pilots...yet the racers still race and the fans still come.....Let us all have good thoughts for the rest of the TT.

There will be riders on the Isle of Mann and pilots at Reno as long as there are events. I'll watch them.

Phil Tarman said:

There will be riders on the Isle of Mann and pilots at Reno as long as there are events. I'll watch them.

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True enough. And so will I. But it still amazes me that people do things that are very risky for what at first would appear to be very little reward to most people. Yet there are those that are willing to risk their lives and destroy a large part of their loved one's lives climbing Mt. Everest. The person that does the climbing doesnt do it for external accolades. Most of us could care less that this person or that climbed Everest. So the question becomes, "If you interviewed the dead, would they say that upon the whole it was worth it?" If you believe that they would say no, then why would a person still go up the mountain? I think we all have some measure of a sense of personal inflalability...that we can control our own fate......otherwise, who would be dumb enough to ride a motorcycle in traffic?????

There's a good article with a couple of attached videos about the Isle of Man in the New York Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/07/sports/Isle-of-man-TT-motorcycle-race.html?action=click&contentCollection=sports&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=sectionfront

In the videos you can click to, a couple of riders take a shot at explaining why they ride the TT.

Every year after someone loses their life at the IOM, there is a hue and cry to discontinue the event. I hope this never happens. I truly lament the loss of the lives of the competitors, but I celebrate their passing by acknowledging the spirit of mankind in their efforts.

Mike