w00t *yawn*

[repiV]

Seven months and one week. Since I last rode a motorbike. Until tonight!

I was given the go ahead by the doctor a couple of weeks ago, but I've been waiting for my mechanic to sort my bike out. In fact he still hasn't, but I'm now borrowing one of his until he has (it's an older model of the same bike anyway, so hey).
Had to ride it 80 miles home (I got a lift there), in the dark and the rain. I was fairly nervous about it, but it hasn't been too bad. It felt really strange at first, totally alien although I could ride it it just didn't feel at all natural. I didn't go above 60 for the first 30 miles or so, just didn't feel comfortable going any faster (all motorway btw).
Slow speed stuff is a bit tricky because of my duff leg, and it's pretty difficult and painful to get on/off the bike, but what really struck me is how mentally exhausted I felt when I got home (and still feel). I was riding slooooooow, straight roads almost all the way and very little traffic and I feel half dead inside.
It's nice to be back, I've been waiting for this day for a long time but it wasn't amazing like I thought it would be. Probably because my riding is nothing like it used to be and I felt slightly out of my depth. I can't believe how I used to throw that bike around like a toy, no way I could do that now.

Back to work on Monday! :bounce:

 

[Techercizer]

Keep up the practice mate and remember to drive safely!!!

 

[Beerdude26]

Don't get run over by blind people that somehow still have their license

 

[L3N!N]

Don't get run over by blind people that somehow still have their license

Those damn senior citizens and their Cadillac DeVilles!! :argh:

 

[VirusType2]

My grandad is 98 and he drives like a ****ing pro

I couldn't believe it.

went for a ride to the store when I was in New Jersey. he's all laid back and pimped out. He's one handing it. no hesitation. gettin on it. It was cool.

I was expecting granny style. - chair all the way forward, pressed tightly against the wheel, eyes peering over the gigantic steering wheel, practically blind, scaring the life out of me - but not the case.


grats on your recovery RepiV.

 

[Dekstar]

Grats on the recovery rep. I'm sure the mental exhaustion was just that you were being super careful and it was draining you more than usual. Next time it probably won't be half as bad.

 

[Emporius]

Was it you who like shattered your leg in a horrendous crash?

 

[Kula Meenur]

Seven months and one week. Since I last rode a motorbike. Until tonight!

I was given the go ahead by the doctor a couple of weeks ago, but I've been waiting for my mechanic to sort my bike out. In fact he still hasn't, but I'm now borrowing one of his until he has (it's an older model of the same bike anyway, so hey).
Had to ride it 80 miles home (I got a lift there), in the dark and the rain. I was fairly nervous about it, but it hasn't been too bad. It felt really strange at first, totally alien although I could ride it it just didn't feel at all natural. I didn't go above 60 for the first 30 miles or so, just didn't feel comfortable going any faster (all motorway btw).
Slow speed stuff is a bit tricky because of my duff leg, and it's pretty difficult and painful to get on/off the bike, but what really struck me is how mentally exhausted I felt when I got home (and still feel). I was riding slooooooow, straight roads almost all the way and very little traffic and I feel half dead inside.
It's nice to be back, I've been waiting for this day for a long time but it wasn't amazing like I thought it would be. Probably because my riding is nothing like it used to be and I felt slightly out of my depth. I can't believe how I used to throw that bike around like a toy, no way I could do that now.

Back to work on Monday! :bounce:

Shit mate. You've been off the horse for a while now, it shouldn't take that long to get yourself back on eh? Have you found a new sense of maturity about riding? Or is it the stack combined with the absence of a bike between your knees? Hope you go alright with your recovery mate. Best of luck Rep. Good to hear that you're back on top

Keep her upright eh?

 

[NeptuneUK]

Good luck mate!
And glad to hear you can work again!!

 

[Druckles]

I can't believe it's been that long already!

 

[Kadayi]

Hope the financial advice came in useful

 

[repiV]

Thanks for the well-wishes all.

Don't get run over by blind people that somehow still have their license

Pulling in the clutch and giving it full throttle usually wakes them up.

I encountered a right moron today. I mean, there's idiots everywhere, but jesus...dual carriageway (ie. multiple lanes and central crash barrier), 50mph road...I notice up ahead there's a car in the inside lane doing about 20mph and swerving all over the place barely keeping within their lane. At this point I'm thinking WTF and quite curious to have a looksee, as I passed I looked round - 30-ish yr old woman on mobile phone. Beggars belief.

My grandad is 98 and he drives like a ****ing pro

I couldn't believe it.

went for a ride to the store when I was in New Jersey. he's all laid back and pimped out. He's one handing it. no hesitation. gettin on it. It was cool.

I was expecting granny style. - chair all the way forward, pressed tightly against the wheel, eyes peering over the gigantic steering wheel, practically blind, scaring the life out of me - but not the case.

98?! That's impressive. What kind of bike does he ride?

Grats on the recovery rep. I'm sure the mental exhaustion was just that you were being super careful and it was draining you more than usual. Next time it probably won't be half as bad.

Yeah, I went out a few times today. It all just fell into place really, didn't feel strange like it did lastnight. Still quite tiring, but I spent a totally incident-free four or so hours on the road. I think I'm actually a fair bit safer than I was before - I used to know the risks intellectually but there's nothing like having the point hammered home. I've no interest whatsoever in riding fast at the moment, whereas I used to overtake absolutely everything at every opportunity, every time I rode. I hope it stays this way. I'm tending to roll the throttle on and off, whereas before I would control my speed with violent grabbing of the throttle and usage of the brakes.

Was it you who like shattered your leg in a horrendous crash?

Yup.

Shit mate. You've been off the horse for a while now, it shouldn't take that long to get yourself back on eh? Have you found a new sense of maturity about riding? Or is it the stack combined with the absence of a bike between your knees? Hope you go alright with your recovery mate. Best of luck Rep. Good to hear that you're back on top

Keep her upright eh?

Aye it's come back quicker than I anticipated. Back to work on Monday though, the demon filtering required to commute into the city will I'm sure be a bit of a baptism of fire. We're talking queues of over 100 cars in each lane here at some points, splitting between the lanes and with junctions and other filtering bikes to contend with. Sometimes I do question the wisdom of working in central London.
I think I've found a new sense of maturity about it all, I'm certainly thinking about hazards and escape routes more than I was before, being MUCH more sparing with the overtakes and being mostly content to sit behind other traffic. I think I'm slower because it seems foolhardy to go faster, but it might just be that I'm rusty and I'll speed up in time. Maybe a little from column A and a little from column B, but either way it bodes well for my license and my limbs. In any case I don't think I'll be doing any of the stupid shit I used to do ever again - eg. knee-down on a sharp, blind left-hander (obscured by parked cars which could of course have open doors...) at 40mph on an urban road on my old commute, overtaking at 60-70 in a 30 on a bend (not a blind bend, but there's always the risk of an elusive pedestrian, traffic emerging from a side road or what have you...).

Hope the financial advice came in useful

It did, thanks. :thumbs:

 

[Saturos]

Did you get to keep that weird contraption that was on your leg? I would've for a memento anyways.

 

[repiV]

Did you get to keep that weird contraption that was on your leg? I would've for a memento anyways.

I completely forgot to ask. I'm sure they binned it in theatre. :|

I want to get hold of all my X-rays too.

 

[Emporius]

Well kudos and whatnot , made me wince when you posted that. :O

Post them there x-rays if you get them

 

[repiV]

Now those really would make you wince.

It's strange, it didn't really heal much at all for three months, then in the following three months it all knitted back together pretty rapidly.

 

[Unfocused]

Good to hear that you're able to ride again. :thumbs:

And BTW, I think VirusType meant his granddad is a 98yo car driver "I was expecting granny style. - "chair all the way forward, pressed tightly against the wheel, eyes peering over the gigantic steering wheel, practically blind, scaring the life out of me - but not the case."

 

[repiV]

Ah, oops. Well, that's still pretty impressive.

I'm reminded of this news story I read a while back. This 75 year old guy's wife died, and he'd been wanting a bike for the past 20 years but she wouldn't let him get one. So he buys a bike, and the first time he rides it he dies of excitement. His ol' heart couldn't take it. :O

 

[Slug Advisor]

That doesn't seem physically possible.

As for repiV's recovery, congrants.