Living life by flirting with death

I was introduced this week to the Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy), and spent some time learning more about it. This was for many years one of the world's most prestigious motorcycle races, with the first one being run back in 1907. The winner of that race, Charlie Collier, rode a 100cc Matchless motorcycle, and finished in 4 hours and 8 minutes with an average speed of 38.21 mph. The latest record set by John McGuinness was in 2007, and he finished the race in 17 minutes 22 seconds at an average speed of 130.35 mph (209.78 kmh).


To fully comprehend the magnitude of these speeds, one need only take a closer look at the course, the Snaefell Mountain Course. It's 37.7 miles of public roads that wind their way around the small island. On the straights, the motorcycles are reaching speeds of up to 200 mph. This race has resulted in 239 rider deaths between 1907 to 2009.

John McGuinness

This blog post is about the nature of riding that fine line between life and death. Thrill seeking has a pejorative sense to it, and is often associated with recklessness, irresponsibility and stupidity. However, there is something to be said about walking this tight rope, indeed something sublime. Think about the decisions that you make in your day-to-day life. What should I wear? What do I want to eat or drink? Do I want to schedule this meeting for today or tomorrow? What TV show do I want to watch? The vast majority of our decisions are preferential. Whether you choose to do one or the other really doesn't affect you in any meaningful way.

But if you're on a 1000cc motorbike going 150 mph around a curve that drops off a cliff, you can rest assured that your decisions are extremely important. Each and every one of them. Being in this state forces you to live in the moment. There is no room for the past, the future. No room for doubt. It pushes away all of those extraneous thoughts and leaves only that which matters most. It may not be necessary for us to all undergo such trials in order to discover a life worth living, but perhaps we can learn how to harness crystalline clarity that comes from flirting with death. Would love to hear your thoughts on this!

On that note, I'll leave you with a short video clip of the TT. Enjoy!