Im in agreement with ya Kathy, I dont know what to call it exactly, but I do know that we girls do have a stronger self preservation instinct than men, and we recognize the life threatening portions of what we do waaayyyy more than the boys most of the time.
Id also like to think the way our brains works plays a factor. Women are capable of thinking about many things at the same time, whether we should be or not. I know I have been around the track thinking "hottdamn, this is awesome, Im gonna kill myself, hope this dude keeps his line, if I blow this turn I will blow the next three, body positioning-check", all at the SAME time. I think about road conditions, tire temp, whether my bike is tip top, whether its a good idea to push it, remembering I have a trip coming up, I dont want broken bones for it...
All of which keeps me riding more conservatively than I know I and the bike are capable of.
I had a discussion with some buddies at the track and it was about this same topic. The younger/less expereienced guys, newer to the track, trying to get into racing class readily admit they are pushing as hard as they can, but they dont recognize the danger factor if they screw up. They told me they arent going to run off the track, so why should they worry? They dont take into account the other factors that could cause them to run off or wreck, like the track conditions, the other riders, etc. Bring it up to them on the street and they are awesome riders, no matter their skill and they wont ever wreck, cuz they know what they are "supposed" to do versus thinking about it ahead of time and riding accordingly.
Older more experienced guys tend to think of those things more, but still manage to sometimes get "caught up" in the moment and go all out, only considering the consequences later, when they have the "what was I thinking" moment. Young/less experienced guys dont seem to do that, bulletproof superman mentality.
