Name Your "Risky" Adventures!

[AroundTheWorld]

The Moped Thread got me thinkin....

I perceive some activities as "risky" and yet - - - I have a list of activities I do (or that my kids do) that other people perceive as risky.

It is has been an interesting mental exercise to add up all the "risky" activities I do. Perhaps it illustrates that many times, risk is all in the head of the thinker.

Here are some of my "risky" activities:

• Skiing while pregnant
• Traveling (including driving) in 3rd or under developed countries (with kids)
• White Water Rafting (w/ kids)
• Hunting (w/ kids)
• Camping (w/ kids) hours away from electricity, phone service (of any kind), in the snow.
• Flying (w/ kids) in a small aircraft
• Flying (and letting kids fly) in a glider

What are some of the hobbies you have that other's may consider risky?

 

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[Runum]

I used to street race in the 60's and 70's. No one was even close to injured or killed. Just a group of guys out on a deserted road having fun. Now it's a felony and I understand why.

I have been legally drag racing for 30 years.

In 1995 my street car that commuted in had over 1000 hp. Loved all the attention it got.:icon_super:

Am seriously considering a skydive just to face another fear.

However, ATW, I would never go skiing while pregnant.:smilielol:

 

[yveskleinsky]

Investing in real estate and developing an online business.

 

[Peter2]

I used to street race in the 60's

You street raced when you where less than 10 years old????

 

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[Runum]

ATW I like to do most of the things in your list. Your kids ought to grow up fearless.:icon_super:

Yves, yep those things are too risky.:smxB:

 

[Runum]

You street raced when you where less than 10 years old????

Sorry, :smx2:, I was there but not driving, yet.:cheers: Didn't start driving until 1975 because it would have been illegal for me to drive before that.:smxB:

 

[hakrjak]

The Moped Thread got me thinkin....

Traveling (including driving) in 3rd or under developed countries (with kids)

LOL -- Anybody who has even taken a TAXI in Mexico knows how truly horrifying this can be. I have a soft fear of flying, so I always have a couple of drinks at the airport before a flight -- but you've got to get me completely S***housed drunk to get me into a taxi in a foreign country. Even in London last time I was there, the guy jumped on the M26 motorway and was doing 125MPH to get me to the airport....

Cheers,

- Hakrjak

 

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[DeletedUser394]

Anytime I talk to the opposite (and fairly superior) gender :love1::coco:

 

[phlgirl]

I don't necessarily feel that all of these are 'high risk' but others have voiced concern, to me, regarding each of them:

• Skydiving
• Driving (at high speeds) by myself on the Autobahn
• Driving in Rome and down the Amalfi coast to Sorrento (for some reason, a lot of people are afraid to drive in Rome - my husband takes a sedative when we make this trip now and not much gets to him)
• Traveling to Ecuador, Germany, France, U.K. alone
• Parasailing
• Riding a moped/scooter (Thailand & U.S.) :smxB:
• Quitting a stable, well paying job and moving 900 miles to invest in RE full-time

 

[Banthaman]

Before I comment on this one could you define risky, stupid or both if applicable please?

edit: looked back and then saw hobbies, I don't think I really have any but I'll say knife throwing and blowgunning possibly.

 

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[AroundTheWorld]

LOL -- Anybody who has even taken a TAXI in Mexico knows how truly horrifying this can be.

LOL. We took a 3,000 mile road trip in Mexico in January. It was awesome. Covered a lot of country and saw some amazing things!

But, I have to say. The most terrifying foreign road experience I've ever had was riding a bus in Kingston, Jamaica. They pack you in like sardines.... standing room only - but no need to hold anything, because the 14 people surrounding you will hold you up. Add to that the total lack of regard for any kind of road rules and you are in for an adventure..... (and this is before I even get into the issue of having long blond hair in a place where the people rarely see long blond hair. They just couldn't resist reaching out and touching it.)

But, actually... there are remarkably few accidents there. In the year I was there, I only came upon one accident. Perhaps it is because driving there is a very ACTIVE endeavor. The driver never has a moment of down time. They are always very alert and always driving very defensively. Contrast that to the US where drivers can go for miles and miles in a daze and get home - only to realize they don't even remember the drive.

I don't necessarily feel that all of these are 'high risk' but others have voiced concern, to me, regarding each of them:

That is exactly how I feel about my list. Never occurred to me that they were "risky" until someone else would make a comment to me about it!

Before I comment on this one could you define risky, stupid or both if applicable please?

Uh - - - I dunno? My list was based on receiving comments from other's about the riskiness.... or about how they would never do it, etc.

edit: looked back and then saw hobbies, I don't think I really have any but I'll say knife throwing and blowgunning possibly.

Knife Throwing??? As in some sort of organized event? Like trying to hit a target w/ a knife?
And.... uh... blowgunning? Don't even know what this is!! ???

 

[SteveO]

Oh yes!!! I remember it well.

We called the knife throwing Mumbley Peg. I don't recall anyone getting stabbed in the foot, but, we definitely played this game as youngsters.

Mumblety peg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[AroundTheWorld]

Oh yes!!! I remember it well.

We called the knife throwing Mumbley Peg.

Yikes!!!

From your link:

A variant of mumblety peg has evolved as a drinking game where several matches of mumblety peg are played successively, at the end of each the loser must take a penalty—generally taking a shot of alcohol.

Now not only are people throwing knives their own feet, but they are getting drunk in the process??? Now, that DOES sound risky! LOL

 

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[Bilgefisher]

-4 wheeling with ATV or POV
-Submariner and radiation specialist (not a hobby, but I did volunteer for it)
-At prototype we use to slide from 2nd level into the bilge, but we had to duck several times to miss pipes sticking out
-motorcycle riding
-snow boarding
-as a kid, we use to crawl in storm sewers, some I could not even sit up in.
-driving trips on mountain back roads, many with 1000+ foot drop offs and no wider then 1 vehicle
-50 mile back country canoe and hiking trips (my favorite)
-bouldering and rock climbing
-swimming in open ocean
-cliff diving (slide rock in Arizona, I know others here have)
-gun, rifle, and bow shooting

ATW, love the snow camping one. I miss that. Sleeping in -10 below and 3 feet of snow.


Did I mention I love Colorado. Reason #46 for my plan, so I don't have to wait for the weekend.

 

[psynapse]

skydiving, bungee jumping, fast driving, unprotected sex (haha, does that count?) ..

.. but I would certainly say exiting the salary wheel and investing my entire life into my own business is the riskiest.

 

[AlwaysCurious]

Driving 1000km through Poland on old roads at night with an old Volkswagen that must not turn off, because it is not able to restart on its own once the engine stops, without a cell phone, without maps and without speaking any word in Polish - that's been an adventure. I was caught speeding at night in the middle of nowhere from the police that controlled me suspiciously, gripping their machine guns tight. Obviously I couldn't tell them why I didn't want to stop the engine, but since my documents were all right, they eventually let me go. I didn't even have to pay a fee.

Of course it was for a girl. I did this to see my holiday romance again to check if I was really in love with her. Turned out to be the case. I repeated this kind of trip several times which has shown her, how serious I am about it. Now she is my wife, so this adventure was quite worth it. :smxB:

 

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[fanocks2003]

The absolute dangerous thing I have done in my entire life is travelling to Italy with $100 in spare cash. One way ticket only and no accomodation in Italy (no hotel was booked in advance or anything like that. I lived where I could live. Like in very cheap hostels etc). The fun part is, just getting through the airport guard controls without getting stopped was a adrenaline kick (they usually stop you and ask where you are going to live during your stay, oddly they didn't ask me anything. Just checked my hand bagage and passport and that was it).

The dangerous part in this was that I traveled to Rome with only those $100 and no real plan for how to live when I got there. I just traveled by chance. Why? Well, why not?

People with normal mindsets would never do this. But I guess I am pretty wacked, but I got there, lived there for 1 week and lived like a poor guy and went home by train. I actually hitch-hiked most of the way on the train. I gotta tell you, hitch-hiking by train from Rome to Sweden is a challenge like no other (we are talking about 1-2 days trip by train). I actually got tossed out twice during the trip. Those guards really are ruff. I don't think I have sweated that much, ever. I sweated like a pig. Paranoid like no other.

Why do this? As I said, why not? People say they are so tuff, they are just mice when it comes down to it. It is only in these kinds of challenged situations that you show what you are really made of. In these kinds of situations you need to win to survive. There is no second place. I find it really enticing. But as I said, I am probably mentally disturbed or something.

I have also done a sun tan in the wild nature in Sweden....totally naked for 4 hours straight. Wonderful experience. That could have ended me with a criminal record. But that is the beauty of doing those things: It makes your heart race and it makes you feel truly alive. Just do it with cleverness though. You don't want to end up in jail.

Last thing: Do dangerous things with a calculated mindset. You will enjoy life so much more. It's like being reborn all over again.

What get's you excited might be something to explore further, instead of discarding it right off. Who knows, maybe you find a new way of life by testing your way through.

 

[hatterasguy]

Sailing, its easy to die if you mess up. The ocean doesn't suffer fools, she kills them.

Small planes don't bother me, and skiing doesn't either. With Skiing I feel in total control, so if I hurt myself its my fualt. Now sailing thats another story, you are not always in control...I thought I had seen large sea's until my friend said he measured them by his spreaders...his first set was 30ft off the water!

 

[Bilgefisher]

Sailing, its easy to die if you mess up. The ocean doesn't suffer fools, she kills them.

Small planes don't bother me, and skiing doesn't either. With Skiing I feel in total control, so if I hurt myself its my fualt. Now sailing thats another story, you are not always in control...I thought I had seen large sea's until my friend said he measured them by his spreaders...his first set was 30ft off the water!

I think this is why sailors are so superstitious. You can do everything right and still have everything go wrong.

 

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[PEERless]

Wait, wait, WAIT!

Why are we bragging about these things? Some of them are downright irresponsible -- especially the ones involving the safety of others.

Are we just correlating fast-laners with risk-takers?

 

[Runum]

This all started from the thread where I said I bought a scooter and ATW said that was too risky. What we deal with here is risk, financial risk. That also leads to consideration of what is risky? One of the things that is interesting is what one person would consider too risky is OK by another person. This leads to a discussion of real risk versus perceived risk.

Perceived risk is what keeps people from pursuing there dreams. Sometimes the risk is real but a lot of times it's all in our heads.

I will admit that street racing is dangerous and illegal. However, street racing today is far different than is was 30 years ago. The group I hung out with wanted no trouble. We wanted no contact with anyone outside of our group. We didn't harass or endanger anyone but ourselves. Then drugs, alcohol, guns, and nitrous oxide came in and changed everything. I agree street racing, as we now know it, is unacceptable.

A long time ago it also used to be cool to play with very small explosives. You would go out in the country and see what you could blow up. Now, that is a felony and would get you in trouble with all kind of federal enforcement.

It's a different world we live in today.:icon_super:

 

[PEERless]

^Sure, I read the moped thread, and I understand, but let's not imply that we condone putting others at risk.

 

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[Runum]

Agreed.

 

[lightning]

Just saw this thread and I had to bring it back to the top! A few hours ago, an old friend called me on my lunchbreak and asked if I would like to go Skydiving with his older brother and a bunch of his work buddies next weekend! I have never done ANYTHING like that, so I am so tempted to say yes and give it a shot!

Any of you guys want to give me some insight? Should I give it a try? That is something I have wanted to try my entire life..so the chance to finally do it has me smiling from ear to ear...

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Go for it!

And .... :hammertime:

(Just wanted to be the first to use the Hammer smiley!!!!)

 

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[Runum]

Yeeeee Haaaaawwww!:great:

 

[rcardin]

I would have to agree with ATW. We drove to Puerto Vallarta from Dallas. Once we reached Nuevo Laredo we had no reservations for hotels. WE just knew how far we wanted to drive everyday and what city we were going to stay in. Funniest part was in Guadalajara we pulled into a little hotel. WE thought it was funny that they charged by the hour. The little ladies pulled us into a garage below our room and shut the curtain. We took one look at the swanky decor and figured out why they charge by the hour. Nice double hot tub in the room though. Needless to say we stayed at the Holiday Inn that night.