The "are you going to give up biking?" questions begin...

[Headbanger]

Ha!, that's denial and adrenallin/shock. I rode my bike home after the bin with a broken wrist. Then parked the bike safely in the garage and went to the A&E!

Oh yeah, It was shock all rightAnd I highly doubt I was polite or as intelligible as I made out in my post.

Though I don't know if its strange or not but after a crash or a near miss it has never even crossed my mind to give up the bike. I was fixing, and then riding mine in a neck brace and sling, Both of which were stained black from grease and crap.

Though I did form some pretty strong opinions When the car load of BP were trying to push me off the road at speeds over 180km/h, I just don't like cars full of cunts.

[Lias]

Though I did form some pretty strong opinions When the car load of BP were trying to push me off the road at speeds over 180km/h, I just don't like cars full of cunts.

How rude and insuilting.. I demand you retract that sir.. Cunts are useful.. BP's arnt. Your statement is insulting to cunts everywhere.

[geoffm]

If you had done the samme injuries while skiing or snow boarding, I wonder if they would be saying to give that up?

[jonbuoy]

You got to get back on the horse - try it for a few months - if you don't get your confidence back then give it up.

[Jacko2]

After 3 years of riding I unfortunately had a relatively minor bin last weekend (broke my wrist and damaged my pride). It was my fault. I disrespected the roads and my bike and paid the price. I also involved another motorist who thankfully faired better than I did.

A week later, bones are mending, assessors are assessing and the vividness of the event is somewhat fading, BUT - initital comments of, "I'm glad you're ok" from friends and family are rapidly turning into, "So are you going to give up biking?". I am not quite the 'rebelloius teenager' anymore, so when important people to me say such things I try to take their comments on board and hear them out. Let's be clear though, there's absolutely no freekin way that last weekend's inncident is going to stop me biking. I hope what it will do over the next 6-8 weeks however (whilst my wrist heals) is take me down a few pegs and provide a semi-needed reality check.

The point I really want to make however, is that despite the risks involved with biking (and even more especially to me with a previous medical condition), I would be truly devastated if I had to give biking away. I am always looking forward to the next ride, go as often as possible and have a healthy number of fellow biker mates. And without being stupid about it, so must you guys (love bikes and riding that is).

Anyway, I needed to get these thoughts off my chest and share them with some folk who hopefully know and can relate with what I'm saying.

I look forward to joining you all back on the road soon, hopefully as a better and safer rider.

Macstar

Well Put Buddie! Went through same soul search last week myself.
Came to same conclusions. I enjoy biking too much. Lot wiser though, maybe I'm maturing.

Glad your not too damaged. T least you now have an excuse for that limp wrist.

[Goblin]

Reminds me of the time I was telling the ambulance crew I was fine, Sorry they had wasting their time coming out, But as soon as I could figure out how to stand up and perhaps walk I was going to drag my bike out of the fence it was smashed through, Somehow fix the extensive damage, and continue my ride up to Auckland......

Heh! I did the same thing when I was hit head on. Lay unconscious in the middle of the road until the ambo arrived, woke up and promptly stood up and tried to pick my bike up to continue my ride. Broken handle bar, oil and petrol all over the road and a broken wrist prevented me riding for a while. Didn't put me off tho, just made me more aware of the possibility/probability of oncoming traffic turning in front of me. Lesson learned...escape, dont brake. Look for an escape route rather than fixate on whats about to hit you.

[Jiminy]

The earlier you are back on a bike and the less you will hear those comments .

Or is it time for a trike?

No offense to trike riders, I like trikes

[ital916]

Oh man, if you gave up biking who would I make fun of now, and who would be there to give me a smack on the back of the helmet and tell me to HTFU when I screw up on rides. Good to know your not giving up though, if you do though i'll buy you a zimmer frame that you can mount to your wall lol. 6-8 weeks eh, you must be going insane haha

[Pwalo]

Well you've got a few weeks to come up with some answers for these people.

Funnily enough I never got those questions, but then I was 45 when I got knocked off. Funniest thing was getting my replacement bike dropped off when I had both hands plastered and pinned.

You'll be right as soon as you can get the plaster off, and a bit of physio under way. The only real problem I had was getting my gloves on over the skin where my pins were extracted (ow, shit, bollocks), and the lack of strength in my wrists.

Good luck, take the drugs, and let every one else wait on you.

[revvinkevin]

I wonder how many of them, after having a minor ding in their car think 'I wonder if I should give up driving'! Driving/Riding become an integral part of our being and the thought of giving up either just never enters the equation.

Hope you heal quick. Reflection can only make all of us better riders, methinks.

Today on the M6 in the UK, a woman was crushed between two lorries, and in Shropshire a woman came off very much second best to a telegraph pole. A car crashed through the front of a pub over the weekend, injuring drinkers.

How will the mourners go to the funerals? By car.
And a wake will probably be held in a pub...........................

Something, sometime will get you. It's not guaranteed to be biking

[YellowDog]

Macstar mate. Unless you have something equally satisfying to replace the release and pleasure you get from biking, you will regret it.

The fact you have blamed yourself for your bin means that you have learnt from it and will be a better rider for it.

Good luck.

[ukbandit]

statistics show that a man falls of his bike every 5 mins!
and he's getting bloody sick of it
on a serious note i have had concusion, puntured lung, broken shoulder and more road rash than i care to remember in my 30 years on bikes. but for me bikes are apart of life, dont let it get to you, as soon as pos get back out there. all the best with the healing thing.

[steved]

This sort of thing to me is why the fellowship of bikers is sooo strong. Every non-biker thinks we are certifiably insane and cannot comprehend why we would want to kill ourselves so willingly. Hence, we band together.

It sounds MacStar that you are applying a very mature approach to your bin, learning every damn thing you can from it to minimise the chances of future incidences.

[Macstar]

Thanks again for your comments people. No chance of me giving up biking just yet - in fact, I'm off to Quasimoto this Sat to buy a new suit and gloves! (P.S. I'm taking four of us so far in my car from Akl to Hamilton - space for one more).

[klingon]

It's funny when I'm talking to non-bikers about how much I enjoy riding, how I love my bike, blah blah blah then they say "but what if you came off and got injured? That would be terrible!"

And I say yeah it already happened. I got hit from behind when I stopped at a stop sign six months after I got my learner's. Fractured rib, concussion, severe bruising, damaged eye and I still get pain in my lower back.

They look at me as if I'm a complete nut case. Suddenly they go from grinning along with me when I tell them how much I love riding, to sometimes literally backing away from me and looking horrified.

So life hurts sometimes. It's a risk we take and a price we are prepared to pay. Generally we heal up pretty well and usually the pain goes away or at least becomes bearable. It's no big deal. Get out of your cotton wool and live a little!