Asked to stop racing as a condition for a promotion

But if you were riding a street bike they would probably be A-Okay with that. Stuff like that really pisses me off - it's over reach. When I was in the Army people would sometimes say I shouldn't race, yet at the same time you can have a 21 year old come home from a deployment and buy a CBR 900, complete a two day rider instruction course somehow that's okay. Needless to say, I kept racing. Maybe just don't put your footage on YouTube haha. 

On one hand I understand where they are coming from.. but that is a hard no from me. Employers in the States don't ask for your after hour hobbies. Did the company also ask you to not have any alcohol or to cut out unhealthy foods and definitely do not lift heavy weights in the gym in fear of pulled muscles? 

I'm either riding my bikes or the company insurance will be paying for a psychiatrist and therapy lol.

But anyways, just say yes you will take it easy, get the raise, and then keep living your life the way you want to.  

after reading the OP I was like "WTF - this could probably fall into some legal issues for the employer..." but then I read your comment, realized he's in great britain and thought "Oh, NOW I see how it's possible...."

Just take the raise and don't tell them when you race. What state are you in? It may be a labor law that they can't fire you for your out of work hobbies 

My high school football coach asked me to stop racing during the season and I said no so he said he would demote me to backup center so I quit. He was stunned, my dad was ecstatic, and my mom is still mad at me 35 years later. 

Good for you dude. There's a fine line to walk with enjoying the things that make you feel alive and making a living wage. Go with your gut and live your life with no regrets.

My old boss let me build a track on his property and I rode with his kids. It was great for a while. As long as I kept the tracks fun for his kids I got use of all the equipment and fuel . I could use them on weekends , and I built the first track on a weekend with a buddy and a big cat Excavator and D5 dozer.  On weeks when it was slower or I hustled, or was able to convince his kid to talk his dad into having me work on the track , I even was able to work on it while on the clock.

 All of that changed one day while on lunch I was doing a quick moto before going back to work. And I decided to try the step up on the track after we had reversed it. It was only about 80' gap. And was super easy when it was a step down. But as a step-up  it was tough. There was a bermed corner You had to rail in 3rd on a 2 stroke 250 and click 4th sometimes on the face of the takeoff.  

 Well I wanted to be the first to jump it and I seat bounced it in 3rd and came up short. This was in the late 90s, early 00's and I had a buddy who was a quick local pro that I wanted to try some SX races. So I had built the jumps like a SX track back then. Super peaked and steep landings. Not much margin for error. I loved that style track, it was super fun to get a clean lap in.  So fast forward to that day at lunch, I hit it and came up short, but had my front end low since I thought I was going to clear it perfectly. So I clipped it with the front wheel and cartwheeled across the track into the bosses backyard as he was pulling up.  I toughed it out working , but was really beat up. And he told me that was the end of lunchtime motos. 

  My buddy and I were back there and his bike was not running. He was coaching me on getting over the jump clean and went to show me on my bike and cased it and broke both of his ankles.  At that point my boss shut the track down . He tried to get me to stop riding, promising more of a roll running the company ,since he wanted to retire but his kid wasn't ready to run things.  But I loved riding and was in my early 20's and thought I would never stop. I had to take off some time to get an old injury fixed in the winter during the slow time. I planned it out almost a year ahead. I happened to hurt my back about a month before the scheduled surgery. I was lifting a woodstove and herniated a couple discs, I didn't want to put off the surgery so I got it, he sent the Workers comp lawyer dude to visit and accused me of scamming him and lying about my back injury. At the time I was in bed with a cast on my foot. I wasn't trying to get paid for the time I was off that was planned. I was just worried about my back and how it might heal or not heal and that was my only concern.  So my comp case was closed and I was all of a sudden fucked as far as seeing a dr. for my back for a while. 

At that time I was doing graphics as a side business and had just bought a new printer . So I didn't really want to go back after being accused of scamming him . So it was a pleasant surprise when I got a voicemail telling me I was fired... I later found out that his kid was writing checks out to my name and cashing them somehow. Made it look like I had stolen 1000's of dollars. Some of the strange things that had happened started to make sense. He told me to forge his signature on a paycheck when he " forgot" to sign it. I reluctantly did it and I think it may have been ok . He had me do it a couple times more and then the checks started to be flagged. and at the time I just thought he was on drugs or screwing up. But after I found out about his kid making it look like I was stealing from him, I realized he was trying to figure out if the way I signed his name looked the same as the way it was on the other checks. And he had brought up 900K of missing money one time , saying he hired a forensic account to track. He was saying he thought it was his wife, but now I know he was pumping me for info. Back then I thought he was just venting and bSing after work while we had a few drinks. 

  Fast forward a year, I'm loving life doing what I love for a living and I get a call from my old boss. Begging me to come back to work. Apparently they figured out that whatever his kid was blaming on me, that I had no clue about, was BS and that all the work I had done that he took credit for was also more BS. I told them I was all set.  A little less than a year later I saw that the subdivision I had started with them was being foreclosed on. I just figured it was no big deal, at the time the market had shit the bed( 2008) and I figured it was just time running out on the conditions of the loan they got. It stipulate that the subdivision be finished by a certain date.  Well then I saw one of the other guys that worked there had his own thing  and  I saw my boss nextdoor on a commercial construction project picking up scraps of wood and throwing them in the dumpster.  Turns out the company had hit hard times, the 1.5M homes were only selling for 600K and they went under . He was jumping around working at other local companies and divorced . 

 The moral of the story is keep riding if it means enough to you. Your company will realize that they need you either way. And promote you or perhaps fall apart like the one in my story.  

Holy shit. 300 hrs in a year! like on the hour meter? Thats got to be riding every other day about. 3-4 times a week for sure for the entire year. Do you get to ride year round in Wales?

That's unbelievable that you can maintain that and still have a job period! Kudos! 

I understand their perspective but telling someone how to live their life outside of work is ridiculous.

From personal experience it also comes down to sportsism (is that a word?). Years back I destroyed my shoulder from riding BMX, needed surgery and was limited to light duties at work while waiting for surgery. The company treated me like shit, berated me and basically threatened to fire me if I didn't stop riding. Another guy at work wrecked his knee playing football, the most popular sport in Australia. They championed him, rallied around him and tried to do anything they could to support him until he was good to go. Long story short, I ended up quiting after they wanted me to come back to work 2 weeks post surgery despite doctor's orders to not be at work at all for a minimum 6 weeks. I reported them to WorkSafe and never looked back 

As being an employer, I can understand your employer side of things.  Most small business owners don't care what you do when you're not on the clock.  But if what you do during that time effects what you do when on the clock, that's a problem. With a small business, having a key man out for an undetermined amount of time can be devastating for that business.  It's not an unreasonable request. Try working it out with him instead of looking at it as a black/white thing.        

Why does your employer know your activities? I don’t share what I do with anyone I work with. Treat it like Fight Club.

Was this a verbal request or was it stipulated in the offer in writing?

As a small business owner I totally understand the employer side to a point.   It can definately put pressure on a small business if a key person unexpededly gets sick or injured and needs an extended time off work.  Moto is my life so I also understand the real desire and need have that as a hobby and outlet.  

And being a small business most employees are more than just that, they are friends and sometimes family.  I would never tell someone they couldn't do something they love, but they also have to weigh out those choices that could negatively impact their employer or even joepardize their job.  

Keep riding brother. The façade that we should commit our lives to employers is hilarious. Show up to work riding a motorcycle just to set the tone.

good for you man. Thats awesome. I am in Canada, so we definitely get the snow and the low temperatures. I have put studded tires on in the past to try and ride all year, but the fact of it is I only get a couple days all winter (4 months) that is actually "fun". Riding in -10C sucks, and riding in -20C is terrible, and that's if nothing goes wrong. lol.

It sounds like they care about your well-being (paying for private insurance to get your injuries healed), like your work and want you to be doing it, and don't want to count on you being there, and you end up off work, without notice, for a month or more at a time.

It's reasonable.

As whyZ stated, work it out with them.  The answer might be to move more into a management position, where you can train more than one person to be able to do that job, whatever it is.  That way they get your expertise, don't have a single point of failure, and you get to race.

If they aren't interested, then you have a big choice to make.  A lot of people are going to say, Just ride! keep your priorities straight.

But many of us have had to pause or tone down riding, in order to raise a family, for career, etc...

There are different seasons in life.  Decide what matters most to you, then move forward.

I'm hoping you and your bosses can reach a deal that works for all of you.

BTW: The book "Pitch Anything" is really good for being able to get people to understand and consider what you're pitching.

I have been there, back in the day , as an apprentice, i crashed and broke my wrist ,  6 weeks in and they were not happy, i was used to doing stuff in a cast , and didnt present a sick note, and turned up to college, as it was mostly theory and i could still write, dodged that bullet , and then just on my 18th birthday i broke my arm , and was scheduled to be doing an office based 3 months, but they wouldnt let me on site , wanted to fire me, but on the following weekend a guy broke his leg playing football for the Company team, and the MD spiral fractured his ankle playing squash.. so again i escaped. 

But like has been said, keep your head down, take the offer and lie your ass off unless its in writing.  They cannot discriminate against you legally , so screw them. 

Later in my career i had another similar issue, broke a collarbone, went to the ER at 6am and turned up for work, the boss said ' we frown on employees taking part in dangerous sports' and i reminded him we were an F1 team , and all out livelihoods relied on said sports. 

Even if you hold off for a while to say ' well i tried '... dont let current self screw future self out of a big leap in living standards. 

Take the position, get your injuries sorted, and take up "mountain biking". 

Only job i had that racing was a problem was for a race promoter.

I had a couple of crashes on races days that really slowed me down for a week or two.

At the time i was his only operator.

Had to build one indoor track while i was on crutches for a tweaked knee 

He asked me if i could  maybe not race so that he would not have to worry about being left short handed on a race day.

Could hit riding areas or practice days during the week, but no race days.

Made sense.

IMO there is nothing more important than your health and financial security. Work on financial security, stay healthy, and do whatever the fuc$ you want later in life. i.e. take the promotion, 

Can you still ride just not race? 

Maybe a compromise could be made of getting the promotion and you can keep riding/racing, but it's agreed upon and clearly spelled out that any injuries from action sports (define these sports) that cause you to be unable to perform your duties for X consecutive days of work would be just cause for them to end your employment. This way you're taking full responsibility if something does happen.

I used to work at a KTM dealer in Daytona Beach back in the early 2000s. One of our regular customers was this Air Force guy who was going to Embry Riddle University and was a local pro road racer on the weekends. He disappeared for a while and came into our shop after a few months with this crazy story about getting arrested at a race by an MP for endangering a government asset. The Air Force sent him to Daytona specifically  to learn to fly to become an Air Force pilot and part of his contract was not putting himself in danger during that time. 

That would make me pretty angry honestly. As mentioned above, they wouldn't care if you rode a 200hp superbike to work every day, or played soccer/football. I'd take the raise and continue on as usual. I would (maybe) be open to meeting in the middle, but I'm not putting my life on hold for a job, point blank. Especially if they are accepting to others' lifestyles that may or may not be "dangerous". If we are lucky we can participate in this sport at any competitive level until we are what, 60? I know there are a few hardcore guys out there that are still way faster than me right now, in their old age, but for most of us mortals, things will slow down significantly after 60. Just like some of us choose to keep our mouths shut at the ER, I'd just keep my mouth shut at work. 

ETA: Also congrats, sounds like you are a valuable asset. I hope you're happy with the direction you choose.

My doc advised me yesterday not to cycle to strengthen my dodgy knee, because "the roads are slippery when wet, and it's very dangerous".

I didn't bother to mention what I do at weekends...

Same story for me. The Cross Country coach suggested I stop racing so I would be in better condition to run on Mondays after the races. I said, "Sorry; I can run and stay fit without you." 

small business here.

had a guy that was a good worker but started showing up in i heart anal shirts, cuss words on his shirts, ass eating and hentai stickers on his car. figured he was going through a breakup so benefit of the doubt. couple weeks later i told him to ditch the stickers and the shirts or find a new job. he never showed back up. 

priorities bro. 

Riding for many of us is our therapist, our shrink or whatever u wanna call it. When I'm cranky my wife sends me out the door and onto my bike. "looks like a nice day, you should go ride" = code for get out of the house you miserable SOB. When i return I'm a better Dad, husband and generally more pleasant person because of it. My advise - consider this mental health part but don't forget you don't get paid to ride a bike either. Anyway - hope u find the balance for all.