The point of my letters is not to lecture anyone, but rather to counter the many early and rather nasty letters where Salon readers accused the author of breaking her husband's spirit. So, I've mearly being pointing out that motorcycle racing is dangerous, much more so than responsible riding on the street. I've also tried to point out that maybe if you are married, you should think about what your death or serious injury while engaging in a hobby or sport would mean to your spouse and children.

I know a widow who lost her husband to hangliding. He had been hangliding for 25 to 30 years. He was extremely knowledgeable and experienced in the sport. She supported him in his pursuit. Then, one day, he fell from the sky while his friends and wife watched. 5 years later she is still heartbroken and most of his friends gave up the sport. I'm guessing that she wouldn't mind it if he had been just a little less exciting and daring.

You shouldn't give up on Salon because of my letters! When has any magazine, TV program, song, or movie ever made you passionately think about life like this story has? Be mad at me if you want, but Salon.com is something that deserves your support.

Yeah, that's right. It’s valid to compare auto racing to motorcycle racing. After all, the roll cages, head and neck braces, and on-board fire suppression systems in race cars don't make any difference. Falling off a bike and rolling or sliding across the pavement at 50 to 100 miles an hour and maybe hitting a barrier is just like a car wreck in a roll cage. You've convinced me.

Why is it so hard to admit that racing a motorcycle is taking a big risk with your life? Clearly, the risk is much larger than flying on a plane (very, very small) or eating an extravagant meal. How can you compare those things with a straight face? Also, when you look up statistics you need to discriminate between an absolute rate of death and a relative rate of death. Many more people die of cancer or falling down than in motorcycle crashes because everyone is at risk for cancer or falling down, but only the small segment of the population who rides a motorcycle can die from that. Finally, you can’t compare statistics from one form of racing to another.

Please don’t label me as some sort of risk-adverse nutcase. I think riding a motorcycle on the road is a perfectly reasonable risk to take, skydiving and rock climbing too. I just think that sports that are as extreme as motorcycle racing are not for people who will leave behind a distraught spouse and children. Marriage is a serious commitment, a sharing of one’s life with another. Is it really too much to ask your spouse not to hurtle his or her body around a racetrack on a motorcycle at 100 miles an hour? Can you really label the author with the B-word for doing so? Seriously?

You really don't think that motorcycle racing is dangerous, or more dangerous than riding on the street? Take a look at this NIH-published research article on motorcycle road racing on the Isle of Man: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=8406760&dopt=Abstract

It took me two minutes to find that study.

I continue to respond because I have a hard time with folks who insist that marriage doesn't come with any responsibility to your spouse or children to not undertake highly hazardous activities and with those who think that motorcyle racing is not dangerous or no more so than anything else we do. Somehow the fact that we are all going to die eventually is supposed to justify us doing anything we want. The arguments that I've heard so far are all illogical, dishonest, or self-serving.

Yes, racing is legal. So is cheating on your spouse.

Yes, that's right, eating a steak is just like racing motocycles at triple digit speeds! I admit it, I am wrong. Please forgive me. I am stupid.

Wow, so much backlash over stating that motorcycle racing is very dangerous.

In my original letter, I mentioned that riding on the street is a less dangerous alternative to racing. I do think that is true. It is certainly true that racing doesn't involve the factor of the general clueless public. However, in racing, you are purposely pushing the limits of traction and speed. To be competitive, you have to be a hair's width from a crash all of the time. Eventually, you are going to wreck. Any experienced racer will tell you that. Also, total deaths are higher on the street (most riders don't race), but your relative chance of being injured or killed is much higher on the track.

I also argued that racing is not for married men. Some of you have tried to argue that I think that unmarried men are disposable (not true, they just have fewer people to cry at their funeral) or that I think that married men should not be in law enforcement or the military. However, the major difference here is that racing motorcycles isn't necessary as are the military, fire, and police. Of course, one can discuss the hardships and worries faced by families of people in these professions, but at least if they die or are injured its for a reason that matters.

Having said all of that, I don't think we should avoid all risky behavior. Life should be lived fully and sometimes that involves risk. However, I do think that some very risky and unnecessary activities, like motorcycle racing, base-jumping, hang gliding, free climbing (no ropes), etc should be left to those without a spouse and children that depend on them.