As I get older, every time I find myself cruising at 50mph in traffic on the freeway on my motorcycle, I ask myself how the fuck younger me thought this was an acceptable speed at which to start lanesplitting. Was I insane? Nowadays I'll start around 40, more like 30, and never more than 10 over.

It's a shame so many motorcyclists die young, before they get a chance to "grow into" some safety sense. I distinctly remember talking with my friends age 12 about how (apologies) "gay" helmets were on our bicycles. We'd speedbomb hills too, it was fun. I remember feeling no fear back then. I remember my parents telling me "you're an idiot for thinking you're invulnerable."

Why do we think that way when we're young, that we're immune to damage? What changes? We experience more death firsthand? If I hadn't had to clean up car accidents and watch a friend lose her intelligence to a helmetless bicycle accident, would I still feel invulnerable?

I wonder about this woman - did she do this because she lacked the fear? Or did she feel it, and all the positives of doing it overruled her fear? Maybe she was just confident enough in her safety measures to do it anyway?