I'm too old to ride anymore

[simi_ed]

Paddy, you're obviously on drugs!    What are you thinking, quit riding?  Who is gonna do Zaino duties?  WE need our resident Zaino applicator (you).  And of course, you need to keep out there.  Perhaps do as I (and others have said to) do, run at less than 100%.  I did 100% at Willow Springs, resulting in 3 crashes and time on crutches.  As the Hardley guys have shown, you can run at less than 100% and still enjoy yourself .  (Or are the Hardley guys actually at 100%?  )

Anyway, don't be too rash, take some time to make your decision after you heal and mull your decision a bit more.

Get better,

Ed

[andyoutandabout]

A truly fascinating thread. Age is just a number - the ride/no ride conumdrum must surely rest in other factors like comfort/confidence/physical ability/attitude.
Wonder what the law says? Isn't there a test you have to take every year or something once you hit a certian arbitary age?
Maybe it's just one of those things that you know within yourself, hinted at by your internal voice.
Certainly just after an slide is not the time to make these life changing moves.
Fix your bike - good therapy - then decide.

[racerrad8]

Pat,
       Just like we talked the other day when your wife was here, sometimes you have to take a step back, like I did when the lady turn left in front of me, and understand the totality of life.

While I understand the Mrs. concern, she is also reacting to the recent events; time will allow a more unbiased evaluation of why you do, whatever you do, from riding the FJ to surfing, to jumping out of a plane...

The recent events of you and Henry, I believe, have most of us "evaluating" the risk versus reward of riding a motorcycle, but it is an FJ...

You told me the day you dropped the bike off here at my shop when I expressed my concern regarding me riding a timeless piece of art; "Ride it and don't worry about it, bikes can be fixed...Just be careful"

Bikes can and will be fixed, time will heal all wounds and like I said Saturday at the WCR; "exactly 365 days earlier" I was lying in a hospital bed following my back surgery and I was only worried about being able to function as a human being; let alone ride a motorcycle, drive a racecar or any of the other extracurricular activities.

It really feels good to be back upright on the FJ cruisin' with my wife and enjoying the ride.

Randy - RPM

P.S. - You haven't even gotten to get a true feel for the new heart which was music to everyones ears...

P.S.S. - Bob that goes for you too, unless the fame of being on the front page of the INEX site has gone totally to your head.

[JCainFJ]

 Pat,

As long as I am able to find other riders like you and David, Dean, Henry, Bill, and even Frank... I will keep riding. My life is much better because of the folks who've ridden through.
I'm sure that when I suck in my last breath I wont be thinking about all of the times I could have been in my truck.

Ride Well, Heal Well Too.
Jon

[craigo]

OK, this seems like it should go out to all of US!!!  Riding is a lifestyle.  Riding is a necessary evil for us A types.  Riding is like breathing, sometimes labored and sometimes just as natural as walking down the street.

We all have crashed.  The ones that haven't just did not get to that time in their lives.  Remember the old saying that there are 2 types of motorcyclist, ones who have crashed and ones that will.  I have crashed hard into a concrete retaining wall at over 55mph.  Cost me an ambulance ride and my new down coat.  Fortunately I was wearing leather underneath the down coat.  I recovered after a couple of weeks and swore that was it for street bikes.  Within 3 months, I was anxious to ride again.  Within 6 months, I bought a GS750 and off I went.

I have been down since but for the life of me, I can not give up riding.  I try to stop, but like a herion addict, I can not stop.  I have slowed down and have some cardinal rules about riding like not riding for a couple of days after rain. For the same reason that Pat crashed, too much crap on the road.

Bottom line is, I will ride as long as I am capable of doing so.  I will ride a FJ1200 as my favorite choice of weapons to do so.  I can not give it up as it is just as much a part of me as walking and breathing.  I know that triple digit is off the shelf now and will just go to the edge of my 54 year old envelope will allow.  I was faster on a lesser bike in my youth than I am now.

Anyway, all this rambling points to the fact that, even though I crashed and crashed hard, I will always ride.  It's like an addition that if not satisfied, I can not act like a normal person.  I get grumpy, short and truculent with out my weekly outing on the bike.  Just ask my wife, she knows.

I would hate to see such devotion wasted on the the fact that you had a fall off and owww, it hurts.  Life hurts and life pleasures.  Yen and Yang, life balances out.  You could die in your bed, you could die in a stupid car accident, you could die from an airplane engine falling on you from above.  BUT AT LEAST YOU LIVED!!!

Enough sermon, now back to our regularly scheduled broadcast.

Cheers,

CraigO

[Harvy]

you could die from an airplane engine falling on you from above. 
Cheers,

CraigO

Craig....... I had to chuckle at that...... reminds me of one of my favourite Australian movies - "siam sunset". The main character in it is a bloke who comes to Australia from England when he wins a tour in a raffle or something. Anyway, the story opens with his wife being killed by a refrigerator that falls out of a plane.
Its a classic (and typically Aussie dry/laconic humour) movie.

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Siam-Sunset/60027504?strkid=934707525_0_0&lnkctr=srchrd-sr&strackid=70ee0df523ba5319_0_srl&trkid=222336


Harvy

[rktmanfj]

you could die from an airplane engine falling on you from above. 
Cheers,

CraigO

Craig....... I had to chuckle at that...... reminds me of one of my favourite Australian movies - "siam sunset". The main character in it is a bloke who comes to Australia from England when he wins a tour in a raffle or something. Anyway, the story opens with his wife being killed by a refrigerator that falls out of a plane.
Its a classic (and typically Aussie dry/laconic humour) movie.

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Siam-Sunset/60027504?strkid=934707525_0_0&lnkctr=srchrd-sr&strackid=70ee0df523ba5319_0_srl&trkid=222336


Harvy

Do they have it with English subtitles?       

Randy T
Indy

[craigo]

you could die from an airplane engine falling on you from above. 
Cheers,

CraigO

Craig....... I had to chuckle at that...... reminds me of one of my favourite Australian movies - "siam sunset". The main character in it is a bloke who comes to Australia from England when he wins a tour in a raffle or something. Anyway, the story opens with his wife being killed by a refrigerator that falls out of a plane.
Its a classic (and typically Aussie dry/laconic humour) movie.

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Siam-Sunset/60027504?strkid=934707525_0_0&lnkctr=srchrd-sr&strackid=70ee0df523ba5319_0_srl&trkid=222336


Harvy

I got that from an actual event.  There was an American Airlines flight from Dallas to San Diego.  One of the engines fell off the plane somewhere over New Mexico or Arizona.  I laughed so hard when I heard that and it kinda stuck with me.  What would happen if you are out there in the desert, riding your dirtbike when all of a sudden, a large turbine jet motor fell right next to you.  Too funny!!!!

CraigO

[Harvy]

Do they have it with English subtitles?       

Randy T
Indy

Randy....... that's Australian, not Austrian........ 

Harvy

[craigo]

Do they have it with English subtitles?      

Randy T
Indy

Randy....... that's Australian, not Austrian........  

Harvy

Looks like Randy needs to invest in some old Monty Python movies.  Then he might understand the accent.   

Granted Monty Python is English, but, hey, we are Americans

CraigO

[Dean Hess]

"I am thinking about giving up street riding......There, I said it."

I'm very sorry to hear about the crashes and the resulting doubts about riding.  I can relate.  I had surgery on my neck last September and haven't been on a bike since.  In my case the spine problems weren't caused by a crash - I just wore out.  But the result is the same: suddenly feeling very frail and much older.  I haven't even been checking in here to see what's new.

I'd agree with the advice to wait until you feel better until making the decision.  I still don't feel great and may never again feel 100%, but I'm starting to look at the bike and plan to pick up a new battery for it tomorrow.  I'll be riding slower and more cautiously, but I feel better enough to want to try and get back in the saddle.  I believe my attitude will benefit greatly.  The loss of activities that we love makes us become older than we need to be.  I don't know how it will go, and I'm pretty sure my days of long-distance rides may be over, but I'm going to try to stay in the game at what ever level I can manage.

Best wishes,

Dean Hess
Pittsburgh

[FJmonkey]

"I am thinking about giving up street riding......There, I said it."

I'm very sorry to hear about the crashes and the resulting doubts about riding.  I can relate.  I had surgery on my neck last September and haven't been on a bike since.  In my case the spine problems weren't caused by a crash - I just wore out.  But the result is the same: suddenly feeling very frail and much older.  I haven't even been checking in here to see what's new.

I'd agree with the advice to wait until you feel better until making the decision.  I still don't feel great and may never again feel 100%, but I'm starting to look at the bike and plan to pick up a new battery for it tomorrow.  I'll be riding slower and more cautiously, but I feel better enough to want to try and get back in the saddle.  I believe my attitude will benefit greatly.  The loss of activities that we love makes us become older than we need to be.  I don't know how it will go, and I'm pretty sure my days of long-distance rides may be over, but I'm going to try to stay in the game at what ever level I can manage.
Best wishes,
Dean Hess
Pittsburgh

Kudos Dan, I spent a few years out of the saddle, bike busted up in the garage after crushing the upper fairing into a curb. My gear did a great job, leather jacket, gloves, boots, full helmet and in spite of jeans for lowers (low speeds 30MPH or so). My wife would not let me sell it till I fixed it back up, not selling a wreck! She knew me better than I did. Started finding salvage parts and getting my bashed up 86' back into shape. Well Hell! It it was ready for a test ride.....Hooked.....Again...

Now I have upgraded the rear to a 92 GSXR and have a long list of other upgrades. I have been hooked from the word "Hello" with my FJ..... That is my story in short form......

[Mark Olson]

I am thinking along those same lines. i.e. Is it worth it? Really?

I am thinking about giving up street riding......There, I said it.




I shuffle out to the garage, and look at my damaged '84 and I just want to cry, but it hurts to breath......Yea, I think I'm done.    

Pat , take your meds and do the breathing exercises. stop all this crazy talk.

[Dean Hess]

"Well Hell! It it was ready for a test ride.....Hooked.....Again..."

I know that feeling!  It only takes about five minutes to completely restore the FJ groove thing.

It's hard to have a good attitude when in pain, but healing eventually solves  that.  We can be very careful and skillful riders, but it still takes some faith to ride on the road.  I'll be ever more cautious as I age and become more brittle, but I'll try to keep riding.

Now to go get that battery...

[Gazza]

What's that you say, Patrick?  You're too old and don't want to ride anymore??

I bet I can fix all that in about five minutes ...

Alpine TT 2006

Unfortunately, I can't deliver the Alpines to you but we have stuff that good in our backyards, don't we?  And we're not gonna let them go to waste, now, are we?

I think the best part about this little clip is the sharing of great times with friends.  Where the hell else can you do that and raise your adrenalin level, too?  (Squidly behavior aside, of course.)

Why didn't I go down in that corner?  Good question, it really is.  Especially since I was concentrating so hard on making that damn thing that I didn't even see the gravel!  My line was a fairly outside one as I was going at a good clip and working hard to not cross the double yellow and go into the runoff.  Had I been going through it at a more relaxed pace you might have been the one to gather up my things because that sand was dead square in the middle of the turn which is where I probably would have been.  And since it was on the backside of a rise there would have been virtually no time to do much about it.

Even so, there was plenty of luck on your side, I truly feel, and as we've mentioned it sure could have been much uglier.  And as I stood by watching them attend to you I had the exact same feeling: "Is riding really worth all of this?"  At that moment the answer was no, it sure as hell ain't.  But that's to be expected at a time like that; now, I'll keep that lesson in front of me (I'm hoping there was one) and continue to continue.  I hope you will, too.  And if not, you have had plenty of great miles to relect back on and smile.