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.

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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....

I'm riding with RickMcD around latin america. he is older than you and he is doing great. my recomendations are to take a few classes such as the one from jimmy lewis on how to ride big bikes, ride slow, only during the day and make sure you are well rested before you start your day. buy the best protective gear, be alert, and have fun!! having someone else to go with you would be ideal but not a must

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Nicaragua Motorcycle Rental and Tours

If anyone’s having trouble with Sig’s link above for How To Survive on a Motorcycle just remove the semi-colon at the end from the URL and it’ll work.

Stephan

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

PS Your link you posted is not working!!!!!

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

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!!

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?)

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Prevously known as JSherm
My blog: http://www.motorcycleramblings.com/
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/sherman/ I will up date this soon, really Grant, I will....
"This is the story of America. Everybody's doing what they think they're supposed to do." J Kerouac
"Who's more foolish: the fool, or the fool who follows him" OW Kenobi

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.

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.

Funny, I never got the weather forcasting feature, but after my accident back in the early sixties my left ankle always hurt like hell whenever I started pushing my luck. As soon as I started riding sensibly, the pain would stop....

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...

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.

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

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

A non biker friend of mine met you at the National Park here in Malaysia recently and was really amazed by your achievements.

You are one source of inspiration!

Keep on riding, girl!

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"courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death"