Hi Sky

It is natural for a loved one to be concerned and to worry. I have four kids aged from 22 to 7 and I worry when they are away from me.

Is there a reason your mum behaves like you describe such as a friend dying or being injured on a bike that you may not be aware of?. Humans do things for a reason and I would suggest your mum is trying to change your behaviour (ie you wont go).

I had a similar issue with my wife when I first started riding for work as a first responder. We sat down and honestly talked about the actual risks that are involved compared to other risks in life and also how important it was to me. I also told her that if her worrying is on my mind then I am worried about her worrying and it goes around in a big circle.

The worry people have about the danger of bikes is overblown by the media. As a first responder I went to most accidents when on shift where I worked. If you take out the riders using the streets as a racetrack bikes were a very very small percentage of fatal accidents. And bike riders reinforce by always saying that bike crashes are stupid motorists fault. The statistics (at least in Australia) don't support this. The rider generally has a contributing factor by riding like a **** or with their head up their *****.

The funny thing was that while my wife worried about me on the bike she never worried that I would get stabbed by a druggie or belted by a drunk - both far more a common occurrence.

My advice - sit mum down with a cup of tea and explain just how important this part of your life is. Explain how safe you ride (never speed, always watching ahead and using your peripheral vision - you know the stuff we all do) and that you really really worry about HER worrying when you are on the bike. If she worried less then you would worry less and concentrate more.

The other thing is take her for a ride and point out the things you do to make it safe. Just around town pointing out things like how you are watching the motorists heads to see where they are looking, making eye contact, slowing near the intersections until you can see the other driver has seen you. I did this with my wife and after a while she would comment when i covered the brakes, slowed near an intersection etc. Now she falls asleep on the back!

Apologies that was a bit long.