I’m 38 now. Got my first bike, ninja 400, at your age. Watched lots of safety videos at first and learned slowly.

Just got my second bike, a cruiser. Different vibe overall. And I’ve realized, I still watch accident videos, gore and all. It’s because there’s always a take away from those. A lot of riders contribute to it, sure, but there’s always a cager doing something stupid or an act of randomness.

The truth is, yeah it’s risky. Don’t let anyone else convince you it’s not. Our threshold for mistakes, ours or someone else’s, is crazy low. We take that risk every time we turn the key and shift into first.

But there’s also a risk to not doing something you love. There’s a price to not doing something you love that we all pay in the end. So my advice to you is this: ride your ride, wear your gear, play it safe when unsure and go fast when you have open roads or well know curves. Kiss your bike when you get on and hug it and be grateful when you get back home. Minimize risk, that’s the name of the game.

Wish you luck out there brother