Wham!!!

Don’t Ya Just Hate It When…

You are just riding along minding your own business and………. Wham!   You (I) hit the ground!!!

I had a buddy just sell his bikes and gear after getting injured a couple of times. I often wondered why guys sell bikes when they get hurt while riding. I know that it is just the cost of doing business for doing something you really enjoy.  I can understand this guy’s reasoning as he is 71 yrs. old.  Ok I get it, he rode as a hobby and for recreation, social interaction and exercise.  It seems a little more painful and longer to recover as we get older, as I am finding out!  But since my riding is more than a hobby or recreation, I would almost have to classify it as a “Passion” or as Cheryl says, it is a way of life.

I have had some serious injuries in my 50 yrs. of riding motorcycles.  But I can never, ever, remember thinking I was going to quit riding or sell my bikes. I do however remember thinking right after a crash, Damn! Now I won’t be able to make a certain race or go out riding for a few days to several weeks!  Almost 5 yrs. ago I had a serious hand injury that more than one person didn’t think I would ever ride again.  What I remember is that when I had a conversation with the hand surgeon that was going to do the surgery to repair my hand I told him to make sure he fixed it to the best of his ability and not do a patch job; Because when I told him I was going to ride again he just looked at me and shook his head but said he understood and would do his very best.  He did and here I am out riding minding my own business and…………Wham!  I hit the ground!!!  Thanks Doc…...NO REALLY, Thanks!!

While out play/test riding at a leisurely pace I hit a rock turning in a sand wash and fell. No big deal, not a high speed crash, just a tip over. Problem was that the rock that knocked me down was the one that made contact with my ribs between the front and back plates of my chest protector.   Doh!  Instant pain in the ribcage.  We have all probably broken ribs at some point and remember how painful and uncomfortable it is.  When I got up and got going again it was fairly painful hitting bumps but it didn’t feel as if anything was broken. Or so I kept telling myself.

I guess I will know in a few days, either I will begin to recover from a painful bruising or find out that maybe I did break one (or two) if it keeps me sidelined for a few weeks. Hoping that it is just bruised because there is an Old Timer race next weekend I was planning to race. First one of the year and what passionate rider wants to miss that!  Then there is a 12 day Baja tour with Don Tocher and Jay the week after that.  Then another Old Timer race as soon as we get back. Jeez, I need to get better!

But for now I am headed back to the couch for a little therapy, I think Mayberry RFD is about to start and Barney cracks me up. Maybe I didn’t think this one through, my ribs are sore.

#33

‘The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain’