This topic means a lot to those who through injury or medical conditions have lost abilities. Some that includes the ability to ride, for some it is as simple as they cannot play golf anymore. When it happens to you it matters not how hard you try to fight it off. At a certain age, my age it is happening almost daily to my friends and family. Not riders, just people we care about.

The discussion of feeling unsafe on a large heavy two wheeled vehicle is not to be taken lightly. I feel the same about wilderness hunting in Idaho’s Frank Church and wilderness fly fishing. I’ve had to splint my leg and hobble three miles back to my vehicle. I try to keep my strength up, but I’m not as stable as I was in my 60’s. I also ran into a grizzly bow hunting. Fortunately I saw it on the next ridge 250-300 yards before it saw me. I immediately switched back to my 357 from the 9mm. Part of my quandary about going into the wilderness is I’ve outlasted by partners. Same thing happened for my bike. Not only that, but two years ago my 75 year old wife said no more month trips, then after a long painful weekend to hells canyon, she’s off the bike. I’m solo again, but it is not the same as it was being solo for years. It is different as I near 80.

today at out poker game, one has bone cancer and Parkinson’s, ones on oxygen, ones wheel chair bound, ones got right side paralysis from a stroke, and then two of us, despite other ailments are the healthiest. These tough life illnesses came rapidly, often without prior notice.

So, as much as I fight it, when you or my best friend and former riding buddy says he’s selling his bike, I get it. I don’t like it, but if I were in his boots, I might be making that same call.

I don’t know where I’m going with this, just that at 78 I am aware that these choices matter. I’ve got a months riding solo this summer, but after that will I be touring still or just taking to sporty canyon carving. I find myself thinking about 250-500cc dual sport to use fly fishing and goofing around. Age does these things. The older we get, the more aware we are that we might only have one more go at it.

I relate the touring solo to going up on the roof to clean it. Okay, I wait until my wife is shopping as her panic doesn’t do me any good, but I am oh so aware that one slip and I’m impacted for life. So I hired a professional this year. It is no different (fear, thought, awareness) than getting on my road king and riding to the black hills through glacier and Yellowstone twice this summer. To meet friends in the black hills, ride the west, then ride back to the black hills, say goodbye and ride home.

When I decide the king is enough, I’ll be fine with that. When I decide the XL is enough, you can pry the handlebars from my cold dead fingers.

This thought experiment is because this topic is important to me now and will be to every one on this forum in the future if not now.

 

My story is I rode a Honda mini bike when I was about 10 and that was all she wrote. Kept riding and got a job washing dishes at 14 and bought my first dirt bike. Then a mx bike and began racing MX in High School. Lots of crashing and by early 20s went over the bars and separated my shoulder. Could have easily have broken my nexk and been paralysed. When I woke up from surgery in excruciating pain from a 1 inch SS screw holding my shoulder together, they knocked me out with morphine. When I came to the surgeon came to my room and told me how it went and asked if I had any questions. The only thing I asked was how soon until I could race again. That was 50 years ago and I have been on more dirt bikes and the last 20 years well over a couple hundred thousand miles in my Harleys. I’m in it until the end.

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!” ― Hunter S. Thompson

 

I'm only 68, not like some of the old fogies in this thread (LOL) but after a hip replacement and a knee that's been arthroscoped several times I turned to a trike for two-up riding. Not only do I not have to worry about dropping it, the wife doesn't have to worry about being dropped. For one-up, I kept my Ultra but eventually downsized a little bit to a Road King. Now looking at knee surgery again, dealing with two fractured vertebrae, a herniated disc and a fractured bone in my pelvis, I'm still riding and will as long as I'm still able to pick up the bike I'm riding one-up and still mentally on my game on either the bike or trike. It's a decision you have to make for yourself, not unlike the decision whether or not motorcycling was for you or not when you started riding way back when.

 

I couldn't help but think of this oldie

A man says, "Have you seen my dog? He has brown fur. He's missing his right ear, is blind in one eye, and has three legs. He answers to the name of Lucky."

 

When i was young I lived close to a busy road.
I was outside late one night and heard a bunch of whimpering.
I got a flashlight and went to see what the commotion was.
Someone just dumped a bunch of puppy's off on the road.
Just when I went to retrieve them a 18 wheeler came by
And Ran over all but one, I took him home and raised him
And his name was lucky.

 

I hope the human that dumped them off got castrated with a pair of dull scissors

 

Fixed it.

 

I get it...

I was an avid snow skier for a long time.

Not a great skier by any means, but I enjoyed the experience every time out on the slopes. I damaged my meniscus and tore an ACL along the way. It did not keep me off the mountain - in fact, I didn't even miss a season.

Then, in time (many years post my ACL replacement), I became uncomfortable skiing. I just didn't feel confident enough on my skis. My last two seasons I recall feeling "relieved" that I survived more so than enjoying the actual skiing experience.

That's when I knew it was time to hang-up the skis.

I suspect the same will come for me on the bike. When it's too heavy or my skills diminish there will be hard decisions to make. I've said before there's a trike in everyone's future for this very reason.

At the end of the day it's very personal - enjoy the ride while you can and be smart about realizing when the time comes that you can't.

Riding should be a stress-reliever, not a stress-inducer.