Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

[JohnI]

It's all relative (or maybe personal). I'd rather cycle through Hanoi where I understand the rules than throw myself downhill at 55 mph. I rarely reach that in kph. To me that is reckless (no offence, each to their own, etc).

Yes, the main risk of going somewhere new (e.g. another country) is that you might not have evaluated the risks as well as at home. So you could be doing something relatively dangerous without even realising it. As long as you do your background research and take a bit of time to settle into the country you can make informed decisions.

In some ways I'm more adventurous now than I was when I was younger, because I have more confidence and also it's easier to do my research about travel destinations using the internet. I did some cycling in Sri Lanka in some fairly remote areas last year, but I was able to plan the routes online and even look at the roads using Google streetview. I was also carrying a mobile phone, and I wouldn't want to rely on always being able to get a signal, but it is a bit of insurance if you get completely stuck somewhere.

On the other hand I hurt myself quite badly earlier this year by falling off my mountain bike at about 15mph. So that taught me a lesson.

John

[hondated]

It's an imagination thing, in your youth you can't imagine anything possibly going wrong and as you get older you can imagine everything that possibly could. I look back at some of the things I did in my 20's and sometimes find it hard to believe I'm the same person, though maybe as we get older we're not.

So true PH. whenever I say to my wife I want to set off on a cycle tour she immediately tells me that I could get attacked and ultimately killed rather than your bike could have a problem or you could get lost but doesn't seem to have the same worries if I set off on my motorcycle. So motorcycle it is then.
Probably guilty of repeating myself so if I am apologies but some years ago I wanted to get a cycle travel book signed so as the author lived nearby I arranged to meet him in a local café where we had a chat. In the field of cycle travel he is quite and eminent person so I would rather not use his name as it may embarrass him. Anyway when I questioned him on his experiences he said that it had been exciting but now that he was older he questioned his wisdom of having done it and added that now older he could not foresee himself ever setting off on such an adventure again.
He gave an example of cycling safely through Columbia and feeling great about having done it but years later questioning himself as to whether he had just been lucky and that any bandits that may have been about had just gone in for dinner as he cycled through !

On a more personal level I definitely am less of a risk taker when it comes to mountain biking down hills as I know I just do not bounce as easily as I did when I was younger.

[althebike]

I charged down a hill at the bridge of brown this summer, then came to a tight bend ( tight at speed) I managed to get around it but there was a 2nd bend right ahead. I went off road on to a dirt track to the side of the bend and stayed there until I had calmed down. I proceeded so slowly after that the midges thought all their birthdays had come at once. I think a few years ago, I would have just let out a few loud whoops and enjoyed the adrenalin rush