hesitation to ride

[JimLor]

There's *****?

 

[feejer222]

Well, once again I'm outside the normal distribution curve.When racing mx/sx you often crash. Hard. Have scars and medical to prove.But you get right back up, (if you can) and try that double again; the one you just crashed your body on...and if you can't get up right away, you take time to heal, then go right back to it.I know of what you speak, I'm having a bad case of '******* deer' are everywheer (bad pun intended) but I know the only way, for me, to 'get over it' is to ride, just ride. As miles and time go on, aversive reaction fades, confidence returns, and once again I'm truly back in the saddle again.Hope this helps, it was not written just to be devils advocate. I say do what works for you. You'll figure it out

I can only agree with this post. This thread has made me realise what a void there is between road and race riding. I have been involved with racing one way or another since .......well ........a long time. You become de-sensitised to crashes and accidents. I heard a story a couple of years ago where a sponsor took his staff to watch their rider race. He had a big off and one of the ladies present had to have 3 days off work she was so shocked. The guy in the crash was back at work a day before her.

It becomes so part and parcel of every event that the question is not ''is he OK?'' but ''will the bike be OK for the next race?''A guy that I have helped for the last 3 years crashed at Monza (World Superstocks) earlier in the year at ...wait for it....170mph. He destroyed the bike and his leathers, he cracked a vertibrea and a bone in his shoulder, and had a bad stab wound in this thigh from a footrest. The next time he rode the (new) bike 8 weeks later he put it on the front row in the British Superstock championship race in August, and finished 8th in the race.

Since then he suffered a gearbox siezure in practice and broke all the bones in the back of his right hand, they are all plated now and he just made his second come back this year and finished 9th at Brands Hatch last Sunday. (Howie Mainwaring)

2 Years ago a guy who was involved in the lead for the main British Superbike championship had a massive off in practice. He didnt let on how bad he was until after the race when he collapsed and it was found both collar bones were broken. (Michael Rutter).

The laborious point I make is that it is frame of mind, like most things. Racers (if they can) get up and get back on and carry on at race speeds. My advice is get on it and ride it, maybe only a short ride to start with, but make your mind up that it doesnt matter what has gone before. You are going forward, not backwards.

 

[evilmedic13]

My question is this, does it sound like I'm a *****, is this normal after the kinda accident I had and not riding for almost 3 months afterwards, or am I mixing my priorities up(farkle first/ride later)?

You are what you eat. :lol:

I went some time without wanting to ride after a bad scare. I guess that makes me a ***** too if you are one for taking a break. You'll come back to it, or you won't. Either way, it's just a choice. Riding bikes doesn't give us balls...it just crowds them.

Sometimes a little too crowded!

 

[SockMonkey]

My question is this, does it sound like I'm a *****, is this normal after the kinda accident I had and not riding for almost 3 months afterwards, or am I mixing my priorities up(farkle first/ride later)?

You are what you eat. :lol:

I went some time without wanting to ride after a bad scare. I guess that makes me a ***** too if you are one for taking a break. You'll come back to it, or you won't. Either way, it's just a choice. Riding bikes doesn't give us balls...it just crowds them.

Sometimes a little too crowded!

Man, them's some serious stones to be causing a dent like that! Makes my nuts hurt just looking at it!!! :blink:

 

[Silver Penguin]

Several interesting points in this thread:

The overwhelming thought seems to be "Ride Your Own Ride". It's normal to be shaken up after a get-off. We all deal with things differently, and will take different time periods to come to terms with it. Last year when DH had a bad wreck, I took a day off from his bedside, to go out for a ride. Even though I wasn't the accident victim, I was the most scared I've ever been on a bike. When I had to pull over for a Fire Truck, Code 3, I got all teary eyed, thinking that the crew might be on their way to save someone involved in a bike wreck. Time and patience restored my confidence in riding.

So..... it takes testicular matter to ride a bike. Not sure just how to respond to that one.

Graham....... the British Superbike guys are just crazy. Howie is just amazing, to come back the way he did. And the other guy, riding with two broken collarbones....

Take your time EM. Ride when you want to ride. Stay off the bike when your gut tells you not to ride. Don't ever lose all fear of riding though. They're still out to get you!

Jill

 

[feejer222]

Several interesting points in this thread:
The overwhelming thought seems to be "Ride Your Own Ride". It's normal to be shaken up after a get-off. We all deal with things differently, and will take different time periods to come to terms with it. Last year when DH had a bad wreck, I took a day off from his bedside, to go out for a ride. Even though I wasn't the accident victim, I was the most scared I've ever been on a bike. When I had to pull over for a Fire Truck, Code 3, I got all teary eyed, thinking that the crew might be on their way to save someone involved in a bike wreck. Time and patience restored my confidence in riding.

So..... it takes testicular matter to ride a bike. Not sure just how to respond to that one.

Graham....... the British Superbike guys are just crazy. Howie is just amazing, to come back the way he did. And the other guy, riding with two broken collarbones....

Take your time EM. Ride when you want to ride. Stay off the bike when your gut tells you not to ride. Don't ever lose all fear of riding though. They're still out to get you!

Jill

I kid you not Jill. He had both shoulders all strapped up for the race and still completed it, I don't know where he finished but the team and the rider got a monumental bollocking from the organisers afterwards. He was at Snetterton which has the fastest straight in the country (180mph plus) at the end of which you have to brake for a 60mph corner. How do you do that with 2 broken colar bones???

This article was obviously published before the full facts came out. I remember a friend seeing him on the day and saying he looked like death, he was grey in colour and sat still between practice and racing.

Michael Rutter broken collar bones. CLICK HERE.

Rutter riding with broken wrist:

Michael Rutter rides in TT with Broken wrist. CLICK HERE

Speaking of which, last year Shane Byrne riding for the Rizla Suzuki team (they started off in BSB) got to the end of the above mentioned straight and found that the pivot pin had come out of his front brake, so the lever came straight into the bar. He had a 200yd run off if he went straight on then he would re-cross the track at right angles and go straight into a banking. He made the split second decision to get off, and had the fastest crash in BSB history at 187mph. He was knocked out and the bike was totaled but he didnt break anything and was only stopped from racing the following day by the doctor.

SHAKEY

How do you decide to get off at 187mph?????????

 

[Scab]

How do you decide to get off at 187mph?????????

More importantly, how do you live through it?

 

[keithaba]

The second part is the obstacle or location that was part of the wreck. I don't think that ever gets better. My guess is that when Scab goes through the intersection where he went down and sees the 4x4 sign post that busted up his ribs, he'll get a shiver. Seeing deer now always reminds me of the strike.

So true... I regularly ride where I had my first getoff. I know every turn back there, and I can really cook on most of them. The one turn where I bit the dust is the exception. I just cannot enter that turn as fast. Even when I tell myself, "Don't brake." I realized, I'm decellerating cause I rolled off the throttle.

It does get better though, it's just that all the stimuli present during the crash are right in front of your face. I gauruntee you, even the "Manly men" who purposely push themselves at a spot where crashed will have an elevated heart rate, slightly increased blood pressure, and measurable skin galvanization response.

 

[feejer222]

The second part is the obstacle or location that was part of the wreck. I don't think that ever gets better. My guess is that when Scab goes through the intersection where he went down and sees the 4x4 sign post that busted up his ribs, he'll get a shiver. Seeing deer now always reminds me of the strike.

So true... I regularly ride where I had my first getoff. I know every turn back there, and I can really cook on most of them. The one turn where I bit the dust is the exception. I just cannot enter that turn as fast. Even when I tell myself, "Don't brake." I realized, I'm decellerating cause I rolled off the throttle.

It does get better though, it's just that all the stimuli present during the crash are right in front of your face. I gauruntee you, even the "Manly men" who purposely push themselves at a spot where crashed will have an elevated heart rate, slightly increased blood pressure, and measurable skin galvanization response.

There must be a way to delete the whole thing from your mind:-

Shane Byrne took pole this year for the Stobart Honda team at the circuit where he literaly stepped off at 187mph last year.(See my previous post).

CLICKY

 

[Scab]

A lot of the racers and others in dangerous careers do not have the same fight/flight response as most people do. This is why they can do these things. Their bodies do not react in a normal way. They can strare death in the eye and their heart rate remain unchanged. It borderlines the same physiological responses of a psychopath. They just don't feel it. In fact, many are psychopaths. Not every psychopath is a serial killer. Some are racers, some are cops, some are soldiers, etc.

I'm not saying that this is the case with this one or that one, but we can't always look to the people with extraordinary skills for any comfort or solutions. They are just plain wired different than the average person.

 

[Fred W]

A lot of the racers and others in dangerous careers do not have the same fight/flight response as most people do. This is why they can do these things. Their bodies do not react in a normal way. They can strare death in the eye and their heart rate remain unchanged. It borderlines the same physiological responses of a psychopath. They just don't feel it. In fact, many are psychopaths. Not every psychopath is a serial killer. Some are racers, some are cops, some are soldiers, etc.
I'm not saying that this is the case with this one or that one, but we can't always look to the people with extraordinary skills for any comfort or solutions. They are just plain wired different than the average person.

Gunny that. There is a reason that most of us have these kinds of responses in dangerous situations. I'm sure it has something to do with a guy named Chuck Darwin. People that roll the dice with death and feel nothing are less likely to be around when the procreation time comes around...

 

[keithaba]

The second part is the obstacle or location that was part of the wreck. I don't think that ever gets better. My guess is that when Scab goes through the intersection where he went down and sees the 4x4 sign post that busted up his ribs, he'll get a shiver. Seeing deer now always reminds me of the strike.

So true... I regularly ride where I had my first getoff. I know every turn back there, and I can really cook on most of them. The one turn where I bit the dust is the exception. I just cannot enter that turn as fast. Even when I tell myself, "Don't brake." I realized, I'm decellerating cause I rolled off the throttle.

It does get better though, it's just that all the stimuli present during the crash are right in front of your face. I gauruntee you, even the "Manly men" who purposely push themselves at a spot where crashed will have an elevated heart rate, slightly increased blood pressure, and measurable skin galvanization response.

There must be a way to delete the whole thing from your mind:-

Shane Byrne took pole this year for the Stobart Honda team at the circuit where he literaly stepped off at 187mph last year.(See my previous post).

CLICKY

Pro racers also ride way more than the average street rider. I can't even imagine how many hours he put in on the track between the getoff and the race he won.

 

[madmike2]

How do you decide to get off at 187mph?????????

More importantly, how do you live through it?

Uhm....first one has to have ability and skills, then take the option to actually RIDE that fast. That should eliminate most of us from having to worry about that. It is sooooo much easier to observe in awe and amazement. :blink:

 

[feejer222]

There must be a way to delete the whole thing from your mind:-
Shane Byrne took pole this year for the Stobart Honda team at the circuit where he literaly stepped off at 187mph last year.(See my previous post).

Pro racers also ride way more than the average street rider. I can't even imagine how many hours he put in on the track between the getoff and the race he won.

I agree with all of the above. I read a race tutorial book once, can't remember the name of it, but the first chapter was devoted to being able to switch off the natural instinct for self preservation. Just don't think of anything but going fast. If something happens in front of you dont shut off. Easier said than done, but I know riders who deffinitely have it sorted.