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Help for another "old man"
I'm 54 and had a very bad motorcycle accident 2 yrs. ago in the Baja. Nearly killed myself - 7 broken ribs, broken collar bone, collapsed lung, busted up knee...you get the picture. Had to be airlifted from San Diego back to Calgary, Canada. After the accident, I sold my KLR and most of my gear (except helmet and riding gear). I'd really only been riding for a couple of years before the accident so I didn't have a lot of experience. I rode in Vietnam and Cambodia for about a month.
I just read the article, "How to survive on a motorcycle," http://piratesk12site.net/SAFETY~1.htm; and it's really made me think twice about riding again. The picture of the accident at the beginning of the article looked exactly like mine: guy laying in the ditch surrounded by people, bike smashed up in the ditch and just beside a turn like the one I didn't make. My dream was to eventually ride around the world but...I get really anxious when I think of getting on a bike again, particularly in the third world and overlanding. I just put a deposit on an 06 F650GS and but I'm having second thoughts. Is it really feasible for someone like me at my age and with my experience (including crash) to pursue overlanding and adventure motorcycling? I'm really only interested in motorcycle travel - not much into riding around town/highways in the US and Canada. Thought I'd start again with a trip to Baja solo in Jan. 07 (unless I can find someone to join me). I'd appreciate any feedback from veterans about whether my dreams of world touring again are realistic. Any advice would be welcomed. ------------------------ semi-colon fixed by Grant |
First off..... 54 is old as dirt, almost ancient.
Heck, I'll only be 52 in Jan. :) You want to live life, that's obvious. Get your bike, personalize it, become comfortable on it...and make plans. Accidents, both minor and deadly, happen to all age riders. Always has and always will. Baja is a great place to do some out-of-country riding. You can easily pick and choose remote vs not so remote, get away from things, feel self reliant, explore at will, rejuvenate at some modern cities, US facilities aren't that far away, etc... Set stages for yourself, ones that you're comfortable with, not some set by others and based on what they do. You're in charge of the curtain, when it raises and lowers...cuz it's your stage. If you sit on the couch, all the other taters will be boring to you.... |
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Pesky Semi-colon
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Stephan |
f650 to Baja
Hey sig....I'd be up for it......I've been to Nicaragua from colorado twice....broke my arm once LOL. I speak Spanish at an intermediate level (never having any problems) Let mee know. Lizanne
ps I camp out a lot!!! NO FEAR ....just pick super secluded spots. pps I love adventure |
link doesn't work
PS Your link you posted is not working!!!!!
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How to Surivive on a Motorcycle Link Correction
You just have to take out the ; at the end and it will work. Great article!
Thanks for all of the replies...much appreciated! Sig |
Back on the Saddle....
Sig....Stephen in Red Deer here....great to hear you have the two wheel itch again...send me a note if you're interested in Baja or something else 'southern' this winter/spring. What about Colorado in July for the HU mtg - the great divide route is wonderful!!! You'll be pleased to know that your tank bags continue to serve well!!
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Hey Stephen!
Great to hear from you! Thought about how you were doing in Red Deer. Yep, thinkin' about gettin' back in the saddle. In fact I have a conference I'm attending in San Diego, Jan. 4-8 and I'm thinking about taking doing the Baja from there - Jan. 9-?
It would be great for you to join or me perhaps think of another time. I'd really like to get away in Jan-Feb. Let me know if you're interested! Sig PS Saw Elrosario on the map and thought about stopping in and saying thanks... |
Baja - Jan - 07?
Hi Lizanne,
Thanks for the reply. I'm thinking of the Baja in Jan. I'd be leaving from San Diego. I could be flexible with areas and times. Sig |
OLD!! Ha!
You are not old yet. At 63 years of age and 2 months into an attempt at reaching TDF, I got a laugh out of your age comment. My traveling companion through to Panama is 65. Two years ago on an Alaska trip I had to ride like hell to keep up with my 70 year old riding partner.
If you ride you will fall. All the gear All the time. NO night riding. Ride your on ride do not let someone else set you pace. Stop when you do feel comfortable. This type of riding in not for Iron Butte. It is the journey not the destinationl. Ride on, now! Pappy:lol2: |
With your riding experience - Do a dirt riding course! It will improve your skills level enormously!!!!! Most of the 'older' riders' have some dirt riding behind them, you don't have much .. even those with dirt riding experience (of the older variety) will learn stuff from the newer dirt riding courses.
Youg uns will simply heal faster .. they still crash and hurt themselves. Do a first aid course .. you will thenm know what to do or at least have some idea. |
Sig,
Sorry to hear about your accident |
No question you can do it, but you have to accept that injury or worse is a real possibility. May have nothing to do with you; maybe a drunk driver will be coming down the highway at you, swerve into your lane and the road shoulder is a cliff. This was my biggest fear and it grew worse as I drove into Baja where they didn't teach the concept of road shoulders in civil engineering class.
On my trip I kept telling myself that speed is the biggest danger and I forced myself to go slow. Notice the picture in the article looks like a street bike high sided into a turn. Most likely he went into the turn too fast. Today's street bikes are more than 99% of the riders can handle. I also bought all the safety gear and wore it even to go down the street. In the end I crashed in sand in Baja because of my overconfidence. No gear would have stopped my leg from breaking. The last time I really crashed was in Creel at a HU meeting when I was going down the Copper Canyon. The two guys who help me get my bike running again were both easily over 50. One of them was probably over 60 and was riding down on a brand new BMW1200GS. He was having a hard time but just took it slow. As I have spent the last three months recovering alone in San Diego I have questioned my trip many times. I believe once I get going again the joy of travel will return. I plan to leave mid-December but will spend two weeks studying spanish in La Paz or on the mainland. PM me if you want to ride together because I am riding solo. (Mollydog- why not ride Baja solo?) |
Your first destination
Baja.
To be more precise, where you crashed. It feels really queer and spooky as you head to the accident spot. But once you do it, you'll exorcise a lot of demons. I had a bad crash in 2002. Nothing like yours, but multiple fractures all the same. The first thing I did (after about 6 weeks, with the "K" pins still in me), after getting used to the bike again (for one week) was to ride back to the crash spot 200km out of town. I felt really odd doing it but I knew I had to come face to face with the spot of my nightmares and slug it out again, as it were. The circumstances may have licked me once, and I had to prove to myself that I did not have to worry about it or similar roads in the future. Can't describe how much better I felt, and what a confidence booster it was. As a bonus I got to meet the people who had helped me, and thank them properly. May work for you too. It won't make you a better rider, but it will stop your mind playing unnecessary, nasty little games. |
For a more experienced rider, no problem.
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Appreciations & Dirt bike training recommendations
Thank you all very much for your wisdom and support! I've decided to take your advice and get some dirt bike training. Can anyone recommend a dirt bike course in S. CA? I'll be in the San Diego area on Jan. 12th. I'll need to rent the bike as well.
Thanks! Sig |
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http://www.admo-tours.com/ |
is the only one I see that mentions training.
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ideas
The dirt riding classes sound like a great idea. Here's a fews other random thoughts.
Ted Simon was 69 when he began going rtw for the second time. He suffered two accidents in the four (?) years. One on the Ethiopia/Kenya border and one in South America. There's always someone around to help in developing countries. On a completely different track, if you want to go rtw, what about in a four wheel vehicle, and making side ventures on a bike? You'd always have a bike PERFECTLY adapted to that country. And you wouldn't have to do any maintenance. ;-) What'll be interesting, is to see how you feel about this suggestion.... Lorraine |
weather forecasting
And one little benifit of multiple broken bones is I have developed a built in weather forecasting ability. The knee is for rain, the thigh for thunderstorm and the clavicle for high wind.
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You've had a big crash ... that makes you a better safer and more clued up rider..
Experience makes you more cautious and now you have some ! I rode like a plonker before I had a big smash and now im 10X better than I was. It shakes you up and bursts the invincibility bubble many riders have. Sadly some people pay the ultimate price but you walked away (eventually) If you dont live you life , your life aint worth living. |
older riders
I am 61 and have just done 70,000km from Spain to Oz through Asia on my 650 suzuki.
I fell off loads of times as the bike is top heavy, especially with the luggage, but luckily I wasn't hurt. It would have been advantages for me to have done a dirt road riding course which would have given me more confidence. However in Asia you have to ride slowly because of the traffic and I like to look at things anyway, so I think you just have to take it easy. I really hope you regain the confidence and get out there and do it. I dont know how big you are but get a bike you can handle easily when it is loaded. I am going to downsize to a 250 next. If you have time check my website www.haefale.de/linda/index.html I wrote a song about falling off which you can hear on it. Good luck Linda |
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My advice, get a bike light enough for you to be its master, and pick up alone. Ensure also you can flat foot it at rest. This will help you to help it before the lean angle gets too critical. Never be bullied into riding faster than you are comfortable... |
deer hunting with my bike
Hey there Sig,
Life is for the living my friend. I understand your worries having hit a deer doing 60 mph I'm lucky to be alive. Tried to stay off the bike but I just couldn't. At the time I was riding a v-star 1100. I switched to an enduro cause at least if I'm semi off road i don't have to worry about all the ass hole motorists out there. Get back on the bike Sig. I spent my time off the bike watching guys (and Gals) ride by wishing i was back on the bike. After sliding 150 feet from the impact (we measured!) I guessed i started believing that when its your time then its your time whether you are a skydiver or an accountant. See you in Colorado at the HU meet. have a good one Wayne |
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You are one source of inspiration! Keep on riding, girl! |
Back on a Beemer after 24 years...
Hi Sig,
I bought an F650 GS in November after some introspection that examined what I haven't done with my life that I've always wanted to do. South America jumped to the forefront... as I lived in Brazil as a kid and have always wanted to go back to South America. I first looked into fixing up my van, but the cost of mods, gas expenses during the trip and the Carnet de Passage made me reconsider. I also knew I'd be tempted to take more than I needed and would worry about the vehicle while it was parked. Motorcycles were the next consideration. I thought about going with a twin like the R75 I used to have... but after reading about the quantum improvements in motorcycle handling since the mid 70's, I decided to go with the F650GS. I read so many positive things about this ride on the F650.com website that it was a no brainer. I simply needed to find a suitable ride. Eventually that ride appeared, a 2006 F650 GS with 610 miles on the OD. It was the most beautiful motorcycle I'd ever seen, so I bought it and spent the next few days in Santa Barbara learning how to ride after a 26 year hiatus. I was scared to death for the first few rides as I went down at 60 mph on my last ride, a '64 R69S, back in 1981. Like the post traumatic shock one experiences during a tremor after having been through several large earthquakes, I relived the crash each time I leaned into a turn and rolled on the throttle. 60 mph on empty highways above S Barbara scared the bejesus out of me, but I got over it with more time in the saddle. I'm up near Bodega Bay and the roads here are God's gift to motorcycles. I've read any number of books on performance riding and take the 650 out as often as I can. The confidence has come back slowly... and I think I'm now a better, more cautious, more aware rider than I ever was in my 20's. In a few months, after taking a dirt course or two, I'll be ready for the big ride through Central and South America. The 650 is light enough that I can lift it, fully loaded, if it goes down... and the fuel economy on the dual spark, FI single is second to none. Can't wait to begin the trip. You're cautious and that's a good thing. Just take those dirt courses and take it slow. The confidence will come back... and you'll be glad you got back in the saddle. I am. Best of luck to you. Lawrence |
Good post, Sig.
This is the sort of thread that makes this website truly valuable. Sig, you courageously posed a question, to which it would otherwise be extremely difficult to find such considered advice. There is a wealth of excellent suggestions in all the preceding posts, offered with a solid foundation of experience and a genuine regard to help and reassure a comrade. I'm glad that it's spurred you on.
I'm grateful that I've never had a serious crash, but even the few scares that I have had sometimes make me apprehensive about riding motorcycles. I know that somewhere out there, there is an accident waiting for me to ride into. My thoughts often turn to what it would mean for my life (and those around me) if I had a serious motorcycle accident. But most of the time these thoughts are put away at the back of my mind. We all realise that motorcycling has its risks; everything has, but motorcycling in particular seems to have more serious consequences, should something go wrong. No-one who motorcycles wants that accident that brings down the curtain. There are many things that could cause such an accident; some we can control, some we can't. Many of the things we can do to stave off that crash ever actually happening to us are mentioned in this thread: take training to improve your skills and confidence; always wear the protective gear; ride in manner you are comfortable with, and so on. The things that we can't control, well they're simply a roll of the dice. We take risks every day without ever thinking, and without ever realising. I you are a motorcyclist, motorcycling is just another one added to the mix. Be aware of these risks, take positive steps to reduce those you can control, accept there are ones you can't control, ride, and enjoy what motorcycling undeniably offers. It's far better to live life, than cower from the curtain. Ken. |
Keep going
Hey Sig Have faith. I broke both arms, both compound fractures and right leg in an accident in 1991, lost most of my teeth even with a full face on.
I have just bought a Suzuki 800 Intruder and cannot wait for the summer to get to Denmark. Go and do it or you will always regret it. We are only young once. Steve ...aged 48 years of experience.:thumbup1: |
Just do it!
G'day Sig.
I'm an "Oldie" at 58, and having survived a crash (on dirt) on my R1200GS in outback Australia last August in which I got a broken neck, back, clavicle and several broken ribs, I'm all fired up to leave in May, on my 4+ year RTW trip on my new F650GS. I've a lot of living still to do, so I'm gonna go do it, while I'm still alive! :clap: Go on, get out there and enjoy life while you can. Cheers Margaret |
I see a little documentary film
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