Back in May 2017 a biker’s worst nightmare ended up happening to me. I went off the road, in a curve, and went down on the side of the road. Compared to some other wrecks, mine could have been a lot worse, but it did leave a impression on me and as I was healing, I had to ask myself “Will I get back onto the bike?”
The short answer to that question is “Yes”. This would not stop me from doing something I really enjoy. In this post, I want to share what happened to me and explain why I decided to get back onto the very bike I went down on. I hope this helps someone, who has gone down, to get the courage to get back on two wheels again.
The Wreck
During Memorial Day Weekend, I went down to visit a friend of mine who also enjoys riding as much as I do. We planned to ride around all the curving, twisting country roads during the weekend. He told me that people in the area come here to practice riding to prepare to do the Tail of the Dragon. This was the first time I have ever seen or have been on these roads. Needless to say, I was very excited to get other there and spend time on some roads that were not straight.
We set off in the morning with my friend leading the way. We spent a few hours riding through some beautiful hilly scenery and everyone in the group had their action cameras rolling. Mine on the other hand had decided to freeze up and drain the battery in the middle of the ride. So, when we stopped, I took my camera off my helmet and packed it in my jacket to tinker with when we got back. During that stop, we had decided that we should go and make some lunch. After a quick glance at a map, we realized that we were near the highway, which was a clear shot back to his house. So, I took off ahead, because I was hungry.
As I was going down the road I came up to a curve, that at first glance, did not look that sharp. However; when I got into the curve, I realized that it was a 90 degree turn and not a “curve”. I believe I was doing around 30 mph and the tried to make the turn. When I realized that there was no way I could do this safety, I decided to upright the bike and aim it between any objects that were on the side of the road. The good news was I didn’t hit anything on the side of the road when I went off. The bad news was, I had basically jumped the ditch and when I landed, it caused the handle bars to whip to the left and break my wrist. Since I was on grass, I only slid across that and not pavement.
The Aftermath
When the dust started to settle I looked around to see what damage my bike had taken when it went down. As I was looking, I didn’t feel that anything was wrong with me until, I went to stand up and I sent my left hand on the ground. It was then I noticed that my hand was not really connected to my arm correctly.
My two friends stopped and helped me get up and pick my bike up. The bike had taken some damage, but nothing crazy. I had broken the windshield, bent the handlebars, broke the mirrors, and got clumps of grass and dirt all other the place. I had a messed up hand and had a cut on my right leg. Now I just had to get to a doctor so I could get my hand put back into place.
I went down kinda in the middle of nowhere, so getting to a doctor was going to be a bit of a challenge. It was decided that I would ride on the back of one of my friends bike and my other friend would get a truck to pick up my bike. Riding on the back of another bike with only one good arm is interesting to be sure. It took us about a hour to get to the emergency room and by that time the adrenaline had worn off.
To make a long story short, it took a lot of drugs and a few hours to get my hand back into place. I have no memory of any of this being done and I can only say what I have been told. I was told that I was flirting with the nurses, cracking jokes, and telling my girlfriend that I was going to be fine and not worry. I got out later that day and decided to watch TV and get dinner. The bike was back at the house and after a quick look over, my bike only needed a few hundred dollars of repairs to get her back on the road.
Healing Time
It took about 4 months to get healed up enough to even attempt to get on the bike again. During that time I got to do a lot of thinking about what happened and what I was going to do when I got my cast off. During those four months, I had to go into surgery, get a plate and four screws in my arm bone, so my wrist could work properly again.
The big question on everyone’s mind around me was “You’re now done with motorcycles now, right?” That question, or some form of it, was presented to me over and over. My snap response was “There is no way this was going to stop me from getting back on two wheels.” But after they would walk away I would ask myself that question, “Should I get back on the bike?” A part of me was defiantly worried that when I tried to get back on that I would start to freak out and prevent me from riding again. The more I thought about it, the more worried I got. One day I decided that worrying about it will not help anyone and I will have to see what happens when I try it.
Now some may wonder what the response was to me saying I was planning to get back on two wheels. The general response was surprise. Followed with how they, or someone they know, got into a wreck of some sort on a motorcycle and how they “Saw the light and how dangerous it was” and decided to stop riding. To this day, I cannot believe how many people gave it up so fast. And I decided that I did not want to be one of those people. That deciding to get a motorcycle changed my life and I wasn’t ready to give it up yet.
Getting Back on the Bike
The day finally came when it was time to fire up the engine on my bike (the one I crashed on even) and see what happens. I took it slow at first because, I had nerve damage in my wrist and hand. Moving it a certain way would cause a short intense pain that would shoot up my arm. The last thing I wanted was to have that pain cause me to wreck again. But when I got going down the road I felt this sense of relief, I was nervous, but it was not bad to the point were I did not feel safe. It felt great to be back on two wheels and I knew then that I will just have to work myself back up to where I was before.
My first few trips were not very long, only going around the country block that I lived on and going into town to see friends. Over time however; I was taking the bike to work and feeling comfortable going around corners again. It took around two months to feel pretty much like how I use to feel before the crash. My riding friends were happy to see me back and my non riding friends were still trying to wrap there head around why the hell I would get back on that death machine. Long story short, I just love it to much and I just have to learn from my mistakes.
So, if you find yourself wondering if you should try to get back on two wheels, my advice would be to just try it again and know it is normal to feel nervous. Know that a lot of people will tell you that you shouldn’t go back. They will have no problem telling you how they feel about it, even though most of them have never been on a motorcycle. You need to do your best to block that out and find out for yourself, firsthand, what you should do. And the only way I know of, is to try it again. Not much different then the first time you got on a motorcycle to see what it was like.
If you are interested in what Motorcycle and gear I own, you can check it all out on the Bike and Gear page!
I hope to see you sometime down the road!