Each time I hear or read the mealymouthed sign-off ‘ Ride safe !’ my glands start to ache and I am seized by a powerful desire to break things . What is that pathetic ‘ Ride safe !’ whine about ? Why has it become so ubiquitous among us ? What kind of vapid virtue-signalling is that about ? How is it we sink further into such shameful beigeness with each passing year ? All that wishing such a thing on a rider does is propagate a mindset of fear , which only serves to demonstrate how very effective the relentless government propaganda has been . Many of us have now accepted fear as the overarching paradigm of our lives , and crave safety like junkies crave smack . Big success for Boss Government . After all , it is much easier to rule fearful and ignorant slaves who have come to believe everything their owners tell them without question . Ruling people who are not governed by fear is much harder . This obsession ( and that is exactly what it is ) for being safe everywhere all the time has become the be all and end all . It ’ s become the only consideration anyone must have before any human action or decision . Our cotton-wooling is complete for we are now doing it to ourselves , and telling others to do it too . Safety is God . Piss on that . If safety has become the guiding force in your motorcycle career , then I would suggest it is time for you to consider an alternative . Actually , I ’ m going to insist you piss off and leave us to our life-affirming shenanigans . There are many other things you can do which do not carry the risk of death and maiming . Riding motorcycles is not one of them , because safety is not what riding motorcycles is about at all . Never has been . Hell , if safety has become the governing paradigm of the human condition , then we have failed as a species , and it is time for a giant meteor to end us . We did not come to rule this planet – for good or ill – by focusing on safety . Rather we dared , we gambled , we risked all things , we eschewed safety and we achieved mightily .