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My first and possibly my last ride as well

5.9K views 44 replies 28 participants last post by  nauticalmike  
#1 ·
I finally completed the instalation of my duallever brake levers and the push button electronic shifter on my bike and was ready to go for a ride. I backed it down my driveway and managed to start riding up the street. After about two blocks I managed to get my feet up onto the footpegs. then I rode for a few blocks and when I came to the first stop I found that my feet had gotten wedged on the pegs and I could not get them off, so I had to run the light. After a few blocks of riding I managed to dislodge them and was able to stop. I looked to see what was causing them to get stuck and then I was off again with my feet on the pegs but no longer stuck. I made some slow speed maneuvers for practice then I was on my way. After around 25 miles I stopped at agas station and enjoyed a cigarette. After my cigarette I got back on the bike and started to leave, but somehow I managed to lose control and laid it down right away. Fortunately there was a strong young man right behind me that ran over and picked my bike up for me. Two other guys were also saying something about me having a bad leg which was probably why I fell. He pointed out the crutches that were strapped to my seat as evidence to his statement. I pointed out to him that I actually had two bad legs, not just one. They were all very supportive and gave me some encouraging words and then after circling the parking lot to regain my composure I was back on the road. Damage to my bike from this incident was a cracked turn signal and the little ball on the end of my clutch lever was broken off. I then rode another 30+ miles with no mishaps and parked the bike at my wifes house next to my boat. Later that evening I also took my bike out for a short ride to the bank and back to get some cash with no mishaps.

The following morning we went to the airport early to send my Daughter off on a two week trip to Europe. When my wife and I got back home I decided to take my bike out for some practice. I rode over to a nearby K-mart parking lot and began doing some slow speed maneuvering and braking excercises. After a little while I ended up lalying it down again. Fortunately someone happened along and helped me pick it back up again. Then before I even left that spot my bike rolled off of the kickstand and trapped my leg underneath it. After a little while someone else came along and help me get her upright again. those two falls resulted in three broken turn signals, so I got on and rode her back to my wifes house. As soon as I stopped at my wifes house I toppled over again and was again trapped underneath my bike. Fortunately a neighbor came along and helped me pik it up again. I then sat there and using a butane fueled soldering iron tha I had with me I welded the turn signals all back together. That last fall had caused me to twist my knee pretty good and so I was limping around after that with a very sore knee. because of the problems that I experienced that day I decided that I would ride her back home and then park her until my legs were feeling stronger. So I moiunted up and put on my helmet. WHile I was putting on my gloves she decided to roll foreward and off of the kickstand again. However I guess because it was so unexpected or because my hands were busy, when I tried to get up from the ground I could not do so. I laid there on the ground and rolled around a bit but no mattter how hard I tried I was unable to get up off the ground because of an incredible pain in my hip. After a while I gave up trying and allowed my wife to call an ambulance. THe ambulance came and put me on a gurney and rushed me off to the emergency room and after a few xrays I was informed that my hip was broken. A bit later they had assembled a team to surgically put my hip back together and they did so. Prior to the operation though the nurses offered me some pain medication. Which after having been jostled around in the back of the ambulance and also from the positions they forced me to get into for the x-rays sounded very good. Because of my pain level being so high I requested that they give me some fentanyl. Unfortunately they informed me that the strongest thing they had was morphine. So although Idid not refuse it, the morphine was also pretty much useless for me because of the high doses of Oxycontin/oxycodone that I take every day for the pain caused by my SCI.

The following evening they decided to ship me off to a nursing home to continue my rehabilitation therapy. After about aweek I decided that it was time to go home so although I had to leave the nursing home without medical consent I went home anyway. ANd that brings us up to right now with me siting here typing my adventures down here for you to read.
 
#3 ·
You sure are a determined SOB. I give you more credit than I could ever do in your situation. You made it this far. I hope you don't lose that determination and try it again.
Have you considered something like the Can Am Spyder? Has all the fun and not the risk of falling over.
good luck to you.:thumbup
 
#6 · (Edited)
Oh, dear . . . what an awful set of mishaps . . . I'm so sorry to hear that you are going through the process of healing up, rehabilitation and dealing with the trauma of what happened. Stopping and going slow create situations involving the highest probability of dropping the bike. There are safety procedures that prevent the bike from rolling off the kickstand, including, but not limited to selecting an appropriate location / position to park (taking into consideration any incline, however slight) and keeping one or both brakes depressed until you are ready to rock & roll. In the event you ever decide to ride again, you should start off with an intensive motorcycle safety course and ride something like a 250 cc (for a substantial period of time, before increasing the weight / size) -- something that you can lift and upright if it starts to lean. I am constantly harping on my girlfriend (who is a passenger) so she understands that stopping and going slow are the most dangerous moments. The key to turning a bike when it is hardly moving is to keep it completely upright throughout the entire turn -- or else, the bike's weight tips it over -- only a higher speed can keep the bike from falling if it has a lean.
 
#9 ·
I'm not so supportive. As much as I love two-wheel fun, if I went through what you are, I wouldn't be pushing the limits of riding, crashing, riding, running stop lights, crashing, being stranded and dependent on help, and costly injuries. At most, I'd take up a three wheeler like EZ suggested, less you aggravate your spinal cord injuries worse.

As I age I'm more realistic. When I was 19 I was invincible. I'd wear blue jeans and bomb through corners with my knee near the ground. What a dumb ass! I now know better.

If you asked me, I'd sell the motorcycle and three/four wheel it until such time as I felt that I was once again invincible or something close to it.

:headscratch

And every morning when I'd wake, I would be thanking my lucky stars I was as mobile as you are. That's a major bullet you dodged!! Why get on two wheels and risk all your body has accomplished? IMHO, no way! I couldn't do it. I couldn't justify anything on two wheels.
 
#43 ·
I'm not so supportive.

:headscratch

And every morning when I'd wake, I would be thanking my lucky stars I was as mobile as you are. That's a major bullet you dodged!! Why get on two wheels and risk all your body has accomplished? IMHO, no way! I couldn't do it. I couldn't justify anything on two wheels.
why do u have 2 bikes then e1??!? i applaud the relentlessness, determination and the true soul that nauticalmike has showed. he wasnt out on the highway doing stunts, he was in a kmart parking lot. and if u gave up like u say u would wise old owl (e1), what else do u give up on so easily?? ud get an adrenaline rush from riding a lawn mower.

keep pushing urself forward as most ppl that made something of themselves did as well. i hate quiters and i would rather ride next to someone who keeps reaching than someone who wants to find a warm womb to climb back into. how many times did it take u to learn the alphabet???? dousche bag...:rant or another language or anything?? e1 that comment has me thinking u could have platinum right above ur fingers reach but u would decide to go for the eye level silver if that makes sense.
we as humans dont just download the info and perfect things in minutes. if we dont try to push are own thresholds and limits to some extent or another, we would be stuck in a time with little progression. :angry

keep at it nauticalmike. much respect for keeping at it and not throwing in towels anywhere.
 
#10 ·
And to think I was sitting here bummed out cuz I got a BAD sunburn at work today and couldnt stand to wear my gear so I didnt get to go for a ride this evening even though its beautiful out :S I hope you have a speedy recovery and I concur with the Spyder idea, I hate to admit it but they look kinda fun!
 
#31 ·
That was my first thought too...

Anyway... With the problems you are having, you should not have been on a public road to practice, you have not only endangered yourself but anybody else that was around you (foot hangs on shifter and running a red light!). I have seen Videos with paralyzed people riding bikes again, but these bikes are modified with hand controls. That should be the way to go for you too... I say it again... You should practice on a closed circuit with people around that can help you immediately when needed and not on public roads. Besides every state requires that you must have control over your vehicle while operating it on public roads which obviously you don't have.

I have looked at your profile and read a lot of your posts here
You had some bad luck but don't do stupid things now... like they are saying... if there is a will, there is a way... you just gotta find it...
 
#20 ·
That's some sincere determination you got there mate. Certainly deserves mine and the above applause for sure.

+1 with the Spyder idea. You're on serious painkillers mate, how the hell you expect to have a full level of balance with that running through your system is beyond what I can understand. You'll get the open air experience, have more room for your gear/crutches/wife, and to be honest they're freakin' cool rides in their own right.
 
#22 ·
Coming home from The Springfield Mile a couple of years ago, I saw a bike up ahead on the interstate that appeared to have some sort of apparatus on the back. As I sped up and got closer, what I was seeing turned out to be a wheelchair mounted on a rack. But the bike was on two wheels, just like I was. The rider took an exit ramp, so I followed to get a closer look. As he approached the stop sign at the end of the ramp, two small wheels, sort of like aircraft landing gear deployed from under the bike. The machine stopped, the rider looked both ways, and he took off, pulling up the tiny wheels and leaning to turn left towards a gas station.

Just goes to show you that if you're determined enough, you can make it happen regardless.
 
#25 ·
Those systems that you saw are called "landing gear." there are a couple of different versions one that is automatic based on speed and the other is push button controlled by the rider. Unfortunately they are a bit out of what I can afford since I am still unemployed since my original injury. I already spent around $3000 for the parts that I did install, and the Landing Gear wheels would cost about that or possibly more. I am looking components for building a design of my own for something similar in the future maybe. I already feel kinda foolish for putting 3 grand into a bike that is probably worth less than a grand. Living on SSDI doesn't leave me with any disposable income. The only way I was able to do what I did was that a previous customer from back before I got hurt paid me 15 grand that they had owed me for work that I did for them over 3 years ago.
 
#27 ·
man that sucks, maybe an idea for the future would be a hybrid sport/trike. im sure there is some way to have the rear swing arm pivot side to side enabling you to lean. it will probably require some sort of shaft drive conversion, a chain would just bind and break. i can almost see it now
 
#28 ·
WOW!!!! I'm not sure what the post is for. I'll be a ass here. DUDE you were really putting yourself in danger and other people. what size of a bike was you trying to ride. Get a spyder!!! A man has to know his limitations and with a syder your wife could ride with you. I'm sure others understand and sure you can maybe say I don't understand his wants and needs but i do. What i don't understand is his logic. Sorry you kicked your own ass.
 
#29 ·
What do you mean you don't know what the post was for? It was to relay to some of my old friends here at ZX Forums that Ihad finally completed the modificationsto my nbike to make it paraplegic friendlier, and that the problems that I experienced while attempting to ride my Bike again for the first time since 9/23/2010, which was the date that I went head first into a rock wall and suffered a compound burst fracture to my L1 vertibrae which caused my vertibrae to impinge on my spinal cord and that left me partially paralyzed from the waist down. Had you lookedat my profile you would already know that I am riding a 1987 ZX 750.
What's more, the only way to know your limitations is by going beyond them, however what I was doing really should have been within my limitations anyway. Also if you take a minute and give some thought to my post you will see that this all basically happened during the context of one ride. I left my house and rode to my wife's house, ran an errand, practiced for a short time to try to see if I could improve my skills prior to returning home, and then when I attempted to ride back home I fell again. Also when I am moving I can still ride good, so no one other than myself was ever in any danger, and really I was never in any real danger either. I fell down and broke a hip. Since I'm a partial paraplegic it's actually not that uncommon to fall and break stuff. It could just as easily have happened in my shower or trying to get something from a high shelf in the grocery store, or I can easily break my ankles just trying to walk if I don't pay close attentionto how I'm setting my feet down.
 
#36 · (Edited)
not to be unsympathetic or anything but....
if you are at a point of having crutches on your bike while you try, thats actually pretty reckless to harm yourself and others.
I know you are riding around trying to be safe in a parking lot but you still had to take public roads to get there. It is obvious that you are in on shape to ride a 2 wheeled transport now. You said it yourself and as a title of this post you are possibly giving up - thats probably a smart thing for your family's sake and to put them through more pain in the future while your out to hurt yourself.

So i'll do you a rider to rider favor and be the one to say it.. STOP RIDING!
until you can afford a 3 or 4 wheeled bike - if you cant afford it or its not your style of riding then i guess it is your last ride and make it so.
 
#42 ·
I require crutches to stand up because I have no muscle control over my ankles or feet so balancing upright is impossible. I also have to be more focused on the act of telling my legs what they need to do than before my injury. And as I stated I only intended to ride my bike straight back home to her garage. I was then planing to keep working on building the muscles in my legs back up until they were strong enough to be able to do the job. Since I rode to where I was I don't think that my riding back was endangering anyone. I would have been fine had I managed to get out of the driveway. But as I stated I am not going to be able to heal my hip so a fake one is next and those are not as strong as real hips, so it's probably over for me anyway. Too bad the UK is the only place that has organized paraplegic motorcycle groups so us gimps can do track days in a controlled safer environment and not have to lose riding completely.

My sci instantly took away almost everything I did that was pleasurable. I'm not giving up on riding completely yet, but it will be at least several more months or even years before I might be healed and strong enough to try again.
 
#37 · (Edited)
nauticalmike: Although not directly on topic, but yet related -- have you made a long list of all types of jobs that are available for people in your position, what types of jobs are the most readily available in this type of downturn economy, the time and cost of education / training to obtain those jobs, and what financial levels of student loans are available to cover any of those goals? Although you may find yourself living in an apartment for several years (instead of a house), you would not be on the street and you would have a sense of satisfaction.

Some types of student loans may be enough to pay for school, rent and buy food. Just be sure to weigh the potential income against the prospective loans, to ensure you will have the potential to pay them back without too much stress. Some student loans can also be refinanced from a 10-year payback to a 30-year payback plan.

Off the top of my head, two local attorneys are coming to my mind right now -- my previous real property professor and dean of the law school (who is now blind, but manages to make his way around the courthouse), and a family law attorney who has cerebral palsy (he does quite well in the courtroom). I litigated last year against a gentleman (who while in a wheelchair) obtained a Masters Degree in social work, and he had previously taught children's classes in a private school (while in a wheelchair).
 
#41 ·
Actually I have been racking my brain for something new to do since forever. My problem is that a what I did before my injury was everything to me and had been for decades the perfect work for me and I loved to do what i did apparently too much. Although it is becoming more and more clear to me that I will never be able to find anything that will fit me that well, I keep trying because my life has basically stopped and until I can find a job that I can truly enjoy then it will just end up being something else I don't enjoy doing. I know that I was spoiled by my old work, but I always swore to myself that I would never force myself to do a job that I did not enjoy doing. Before, it did not matter how hard the work was or miserable or unpleasant the working conditions were, I didn't care. I would have a grin on my face and I would stay on task until I finished the job because that was what I wanted to be doing.
 
#39 ·
Well my hip repair failedand so now I am going to have a complete replacement. since the artificial hip is not even going tobe as strong as my original it looks like this is the end of my riding forever, and as such the end of me on this forum. Good bye to all. Thanks for your support and hellp in the past.