Went down (again)...Im done.
Road Warrior
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,312
Likes: 28
From: Allyn, WA
Spoken like someone who's never been down.
Thread Starter
|
Road Warrior
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,351
Likes: 4
From: OKC
I feel that I am not afraid to get back on the bike. After the first wipeout (much worse than the last), I got right back on as soon as I could walk. I do not feel uncomfortable or scared to get back on and ride again. I just did some "soul searching" over the last few days. I was basically needing to decide what I was more passionate about, playing music or riding. If I do ANY more damage to my body, I cant ride OR play the drums. So I am choosing the drums. (Insert Def Leppard joke here). I was a drummer first and foremost. I've been playing the drums for 20 years now and couldn't imagine not being able to play anymore. I know riding is like therapy for most people who ride, and to me, playing the drums is the same sort of therapy. This was a tough decision to make, but I feel in my heart I have made the right choice. After the first wreck I couldn't walk for 4 months. I couldn't play for a year (knee pain from bolts), and that was terrible. I knew the risk every time I got on a bike, and no one wants to get hurt. Having said that, It's not that I'm scared of riding, I'm scared of not being able to use my talents anymore. You can have all the riding experience in the world and the unforeseeable can still happen at any given time. I can take my trash to the curb next Tuesday and get run over by a Frito-Lay truck. I feel as though I've been extremely lucky so far and I just don't want to push it anymore. If this means that I am "scared" to ride, then so be it.
Thanks again for the support and well-wishes. Good people here.
Chuck aka motordrum
Thanks again for the support and well-wishes. Good people here.
Chuck aka motordrum
Road Captain
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 726
Likes: 2
From: Charleston, SC
It has nothing to do with fear. If you are passionate about something you'll do it. If music is you first love then pour your heart into it. I've some bad motocross wrecks and know what crutches are like. Glad you had on your gear, I guess it llustrates the importance of protective equipment. What ever decision you make, make sure it is the right decision for you. If you decide that it is motorcycles then there will always be "Gearheads" like me to offer support an advice. God bless and much success in everthing you do.
Stage I
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
P.O.S. Roads in OK
I got a story to tell you. Last spring coming back from Rogers AR I hit a pot hole at 75 in a snow storm. Thankfully I did not put it down. It dented my wheel and I lost the bead on the tire. Here is a pic.
Road Captain
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 606
Likes: 2
Yes, its your call, just how important is it to you to do something as risky as riding?
For some, its the prime 'fun thing to do'.
It is for me, I don't have many other hobbies I enjoy.
I had a bad dirt crash about 2 months ago, lots of broken bones, so at least for now, I am giving up dirt riding.
Falling is part of dirt riding, and my fall was not a high speed one, yet I got all busted up, so I won't do it anymore (I think).
I never had an issue on the street, so I will do more of that.
Glad you were not hurt, nice you had the gear on, but I think your crashes were avoidable.
Part of it is studying the road, and traffic, and a hundred other things, and part of it is likely the choice of bike, some are easier to handle and take bumps better then others.
You ALWAYS have to leave a lot of space in front to see what to not hit, not go around turns faster then you can stop for something in the road, not override the headlight at night, figure every car is going to look you in the eye and then pull out, etc.
It helps to have a light bike that can stop quick and dodge things easy.
Most Harley's are quite heavy and many don't have the ground clearance to lean hard, some have very limited suspension.
I am sure you can imagine just how much worse it could have been, since you been there, done that before...
Its only going to take once for me, I was really screwed up, so I wont dirt ride unless they tell me I got 6 months to live or something...
For some, its the prime 'fun thing to do'.
It is for me, I don't have many other hobbies I enjoy.
I had a bad dirt crash about 2 months ago, lots of broken bones, so at least for now, I am giving up dirt riding.
Falling is part of dirt riding, and my fall was not a high speed one, yet I got all busted up, so I won't do it anymore (I think).
I never had an issue on the street, so I will do more of that.
Glad you were not hurt, nice you had the gear on, but I think your crashes were avoidable.
Part of it is studying the road, and traffic, and a hundred other things, and part of it is likely the choice of bike, some are easier to handle and take bumps better then others.
You ALWAYS have to leave a lot of space in front to see what to not hit, not go around turns faster then you can stop for something in the road, not override the headlight at night, figure every car is going to look you in the eye and then pull out, etc.
It helps to have a light bike that can stop quick and dodge things easy.
Most Harley's are quite heavy and many don't have the ground clearance to lean hard, some have very limited suspension.
I am sure you can imagine just how much worse it could have been, since you been there, done that before...
Its only going to take once for me, I was really screwed up, so I wont dirt ride unless they tell me I got 6 months to live or something...
Cruiser
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 150
Likes: 18
From: South Florida
I'm with you and your decision and think it makes a lot of sense given your situation, doesn't mean it's easy to hang it up but your music will fill that void. Me, I am just getting back in the saddle after about 40 years. When I was 20 a drunk cager in a '60 Caddy turned in front of me doing 60. Eight and 1/2 months later I was off the crutches (was in college at the time) and it was a full year before I could walk straight. When it's cold the two screws in my leg remind me that they're still there and I am not entirely whole. My youngest is about to graduate from college and last year I bought a Sporty, took the MSF course, and I am trying to get that feeling back. Things are different now of course, cell phones, heavy traffic and more distractions result in drivers being just as impaired as the SOB that took me out! On the other side, it doesn't help our image as motorcyclists, when the "crotch rocket set" weave in and out of traffic at 100 or more, they even scare me inside my relatively safe cage. With all that I am still willing to chance it for those sweet moments. Hell, Bush I, who was shot down in WWII, went sky diving at 85. I should (and do) feel inspired to take some risk. Good luck with the music.
HD Forum Stories
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Verdad Gallardo
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In
Verdad Gallardo
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Verdad Gallardo
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Verdad Gallardo
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026
Verdad Gallardo
Big Kahuna HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 25,718
Likes: 41
From: WIMBORNE,DORSET, GREATBRITAIN
mdrum pot holes are a bastard,we have em all over the roads here aswell, made worse in the winter by the frosts n snow,you gotta keep your eyes open for sure.good to here you lived to tell the tale.the other year i had 2 front tyre blow outs on the nightrain one at over 80mph on a duel carrige way,stopped the bike by puttin my feet down!wore the soles off a pair of cats.well i shat it i will admit.when it happend 2months later i thought it was a warning,i was gonna sell the sh1theap,but then thought bout it a while had a few beers n thought bollocks lifes bleedin dull without a byk so,sold the nt n got a sporty n stuff to play on as it had to be the byks fault not mine,so sell the byk buy another n start again. there you go jobs a good n..cheers swordy
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 4,828
Likes: 8
I agree about "what you are passionate about", but when you have a family to consider and you then get a reality check by turning yourself into a human skeeball, it sort of puts things into perspective. That is why I don't do a lot of long interstate road trip riding anymore... too many idiots out there that don't respect bikers. Sometimes an accident will kill the desire to ride, sometimes it will make it stronger, and sometimes you won't stop but just adjust how you ride and where you ride.
Just glad you were not too seriously banged up, bro! Park the bike and keep it clean and maintained. Don't rush the decision, if you get called back to the two wheeled road then you will have a clean, well maintained bike to ride. If not you can always sell it down the road, after your head and not your emotions make the decisions for you. The lay down is still fresh, and will be for quite a while.
Just glad you were not too seriously banged up, bro! Park the bike and keep it clean and maintained. Don't rush the decision, if you get called back to the two wheeled road then you will have a clean, well maintained bike to ride. If not you can always sell it down the road, after your head and not your emotions make the decisions for you. The lay down is still fresh, and will be for quite a while.