Be careful and keep the speed down when you get back on, and don't ride at all when it's too risky, even if it breaks your heart. I have some neurological problems myself from a damaged spine and head injury, and sometimes I have a little trouble with my balance and my grip as well, and when that happens I either don't ride for awhile or I slow way down if it happens when I'm riding.[/align][/align]Which is one of the reasons I only ride a Sportster these days. I'm sure Icanride the largest of the Harleys when they're moving, but I can't hold the big ones up with my wobbly legs (affected by my spine injury)very well when they're not moving, especially after a few stops at lights.[/align][/align]Thank God and Harley-Davidsonfor Sporties.[/align]

 

Martial arts my friend! You don't have to be Bruce Lee but I recommend martial arts for your problem. As a coach and trainer of a state champion in both full contact and point Karate I know from what I speak.

Heres a couple of tricks for you to use as you recover. Its good to start off on the bicycle. Stay with it til you feel confident to move back up to the Harley.

Try to empty your stomache before you go riding. Especially fluid. Why? Take a hard boiled egg and spin it .. now do the same with an unboiled egg .. see the difference. Your mind makes so many calculations reguarding ballance its unreal. An empty stomache lessons the amount ofcalculations your brain automatically makes and allows you to concentrate more on whatever your doing.

Next while riding: instead of turning your head with your eyes open close your eyes before turninig your head and open them again once your head is in the direction you want to look. Do the same to return to the front. This is what I call timing your blink.

Use peripheral vision as much as you can. But in short bursts. Sort of likeusing the Israely peak technique. Keep your eyes moving. It is the difference between looking in one direction andthen suddenly in another that creates a dizzy condition. If your eyes are constantly moving this condition is lessoned. Do not allow your eyes to fixate. Keep them moving.

Martial arts teaches forms which aretechniquesthatare performed within a set pattern. These forms would be excellent for you to learn as they teach you ballance and fluidity of motion from one techneque to another and would reinforce the conection between mind and body.

Martial arts also increases your attention span. Thats why I also recommend it for parents who have kids who do not excell in school work. It increases confidence while at the same time it teaches them how to focus. Grades usually skyrocket as a rersult.There isso much benifit its truly amazing.

If you truly want to fast track your recovery I would suggest that you find a studio and explain to the instructor what you have recently undergone and ask him to go through the basics with you. NO SPARING OR ONE STEPS, You may do warm ups if you feel upto it but basically you are there to learn basic forms and eye, hand, and foot coordination. NO ONE ON ONE CONTACT !

You might want to find a student who is willing to meet with you at your place and teach you some formsone on one. Any competant Brown belt could do this but you want someone with at least two years of treaining under his or her belt. If you lived near me I would do it for free but you may have to offer them a couple of bucks.

If you decide to take my advice let me know what you found (what style) and I will suggest a curiculem. I will contact the instructor if you want and see where he stands on the situation.You want an Instructor who is willing to teach you higher forms without going throughall of the other rquirements. This is not a strict MA routine it is therapy ! He needs to understand that. Once your recoveredif you want to get into it
that would be cool to. Good luck my friend.

P.S. Don't become frustrated ! The mind is an incredible instrument and knows best what it needs torecover. Martial arts can be a great help in helping to bring it all back together.

God bless, Jumpman

 

Thanks for all the suggestions, gang. I just ended my daily IV antibiotic therapy yesterday; Turns out , the antibiotic has a fairly heavy sedative in it to help transfer the drug across the blood/brain barrier. I'm hoping that that is the reason for a lot of the dizziness. Man, as soon as I can, I'm getting on that bike and riding. Aaaaaagh! I'm getting all eeetchy to ride![:@]

I know, I know; patience.[&:]

 

Easy does it and good luck! Did the Doc recommend any physical therapy? You need your equilibrium, the bicycle idea was good, you wouldn't want to lay over the Sporty or worse, hurt yourself.

 

Good Luck Eggroll I missed 90% of last season so I can kinda relate to how your feeling........ Dont rush it will be worth every second of the wait

 

What othermeds do they got you on? I recently had to quit taking a spinal cord med, Baclofen, because it was absolutely the wrong stuff to be taking while riding a cycle, and it was causing me all sorts of problems. It got to where I was spending about 99% of my concentration on just holding onto the bike, rather than paying attention to traffic and all the other things bikers need to do while riding, the side effects of the drug were that bad.

And I usually always before just cruised with the palms of my hands on the bars, always covering the front break and clutch in case quick action was ever needed, checking out everything around me constantly, especially in the city. On the Baclofen, however, it was all I could do to just hang onto the bike with a sort of 'death grip' of sorts, always feeling that I was going to come off the bike if I wasn't very careful, and of course all sorts of dizziness as well while on the medicine. It really ruined a lot of the pleasure of riding, to say the least, and while it cut down on some of my spasms, it just wasn't worth it if I wanted to continue to ride.

So, you might want to check things like this out, too, before you get back on again. The side effects from some meds can really screw you up and sneak up on ya when they do.

Hang in there, pilgrim.