Hi Martin, I've come to this thread late, so any advice or sentiment I would have written down, has already been said. Ultimately, you had an extremely nasty accident & nearly died. Instead of letting yourself be a broken man, you used all of your grit, determination & mental strength to get you back to where you are today. That's a massive achievement, and you should hold on to that. It was extremely unfortunate that you witnessed the accident/aftermath, and I bet if you hadn't, you wouldn't even be considering hanging up your leathers. Listen to Mrs O. She clearly understands that being a biker is a huge part of who you are, and intrinsically linked to you future happiness. (I could be way off base here, but...) Put the bike to bed for the winter & spend some time focussing on the psychological effects the accident has had. Go & talk to someone (could even be dealing with a mild touch of PTSD?). What's the worst that could happen? The new year rolls around & no matter what decision you make, you'll be happier about it.
I May chop it in for something a bit slower to be safe......... Anyone selling a HRC or black one? I don't want to go quite as slow as a white one though!
I too have come late to this thread, there are some very wise words above. We all have doubts at some point about riding, goods days and bad days, I have never been through anything like what you have been through but all I can say is if you are enjoying it carry on, if not don't, but a break over the winter should help to put things in perspective. A different type of bike may be another option too, I use a Kawasaki Versys over the winter, it has 100bhp less is the same weight and great fun and there is no pressure to "perform" on it. Another option to gain comfidence is some sort of training, we all have bad habits and can always learn abit more. Best of luck with this, I hope it all works out for you and your family.
I've been out all day on the bike and the gods of traffic were smiling on me. I decided to go on my own so I could pick my pace and my route and found the A38 practically deserted. So I gave the right wrist a rest and had a bimble, along long swooping curves with lovely long sight lines and had a good long think, about Martins dilemma and riding in general. We've waxed lyrical on here about the importance of having your head right and the virtues of turning for home when you know it's not and I honestly believe its one of the best riding tips I could pass on to anybody. I was also taking the time to observe the actions of other road users, particularly cars, and how they, unwittingly, effect the bikers progress. There was a lot of comfort braking going on today and each time it bunches you up a small amount until you're too close for safety's sake come the next flash of the lights. And not being in a hurry, I was more aware of this and adjusted my riding accordingly. I was noticing people, obviously looking for somewhere and not paying the attention they should to their surroundings and their responsibilities to those around them, and again, adjusted my riding to suit. And after a while, I started to ponder on why it was we thought we were so indestructible back in the day. Was it perhaps that we more readily trusted other people to be more responsible without even thinking about it. And that's why we got caught out so easily when that trust was betrayed. Today I was very aware that it was my inner cynic that was helping to keep me safe, with its bias towards distrusting the actions of the other road users. That and the fact that my head was set straight and I wasn't compromising the fact by matching the pace of my mates or imposing a schedule on my ride. Off Martin's topic a bit, but his concerns were what got me analysing the whole thing.
a couple mates and I have had the same thoughts after experiencing some wretched accidents. a mate went thru 2 in 8 mths, the last having him break almost every bone on his right side. no speeding no hooliganism, just not being seen during commutes. I have travelled 45 kms in the last month and its nice spring weather here. I spend lots of time sipping coffee staring at my bike wanting to ride but I dont. The decision we've made is to rather continue to do what we love by riding on track. Your decision is ultimately your own and this was our choice. Im hoping tomorrow is a sunny south african day as we've got a track day planned and im desperately itching to ride else my baby is gonna have to wait another week.
All great advice and understand why you've asked the question mate. After being present at a very close friends spill recently (pils), having to knock on his door and break the news to his family (rather me than the police) watching Jimbo slide down the road and then out in front of me, seeing my legendary mate Russ throw himself down the road a couple of time this year (the nutter on the R1) I had to do the same. Come to the conclusion that I ride because I enjoy it, that when I'm riding all the shit from everyday life disappears and I'm in my own little zone, if I didn't ride I wouldn't give my brain any "Dave" time. Whatever you decide, do it for the right reasons mate.
Been riding for 25 years and lucky i've never had a serious accident, but it's in the back of my mind, with having a family. Begining of this year me & a mate said we were gonna start doing track days, we've been talking about it for ages but ever done any thing, so we pulled our fingers out & bought a couple of cheap track bikes. We are loving it & i've only riden on the road 3 times this year & then it was only a 2/3 hr run. Each time i came home i said i enjoyed it but it felt so dangerous after being on a track. I've now sold my road bike and bought a better track bike ( ex TT 1000rr) I never made a concious decision to stop riding on the road, it just sort of happened. I might get a day MOT for the blade next year but tbh i can't see it getting much use on the queen's (crappy, potholed, gravel struned) highway. Maybe a option for you....
I have toyed with the idea of track days but have all ways talked my self out of them, one reason being my confidence is not what it once was especially on the left hand side where mosy the nuts and bolts and recent knee replacement sits. Don't get me wrong I'm not a really slow rider I'm just not that fast anymore and I feel I will probably get in the way on the track
Believe me when I say that you're quicker than a lot of people in the novice group and most tracks are right handers so you'll be mostly hanging off the right of the bike anyways. I was one of the fastest in the novice group at Oulton and I didn't really get too held up by the slow guys, I just picked where I started in the group so as not to scare too many as I came past them. I made sure I near the front so I only had a few to pass before having a clear track (then lapping a few)
Get yourself a push bike for a few months and get that knee strong.Whilst you are out n about you will get faster and faster.Then the urge will be there to go back on the poor old girl.She misses going out as much as you do.
Woah woah woah!! No one said anything about exercise! Lol I do need to get one soon as part of my physio, just need to do a bit more work on my quads and give a bit more time for ligaments and muscles to repair and bond back to the joint properly.
I've had a quick scoot through this thread and my philosophy is never say never.. if you feel right now that you dont want to ride anymore then dont but you can always leave the door open for a change of mind at a later date. About a year ago something in my life changed and I felt that I should give up biking.. even wrote the add for the bike, but I changed my mind and glad I did, my bike has been my sanity over the last 6 months and even to the point I have wanted to get another.. do now what you feel is right for you but it is not set in stone... I wish you well x
When my ligaments were shot on my left knee through a 120 degree disclocation my boss who owned a sports clinic told me to exercise as quick as you possibly can.cos it will hurt more ,the longer you leave it.The pain was was indescribable and the slightest touch to my leg or foot would send me into orbitAfter being on crutches for a month I got my mums old exercise bike out and moved my leg backwards and forwards just to get it moving whilst watching tv.Maybe it is too soon for this but you will have this to come bless ya. I asked him how did he know all this, he tapped both knees and said he had two to deal with.He fell down a ladder and smashed both on the rungs going down.
