Damage to the bike aside, what impressed me most from Sunday's jaunt is that R/H is back in the saddle - in every sense of the term.
After we met and hugged (and drooled over) the new bike and heard the war story, with the sun leaning West, we decided to ride a bit together. I led Mikep and R/H played sweep - a good choice for a returning and understandably timid rider. MikeP rides like an MSF instructor - his lines are ALWAYS perfect and he's a great rider for anyone to follow. We took some extremely familiar roads. I was taking it fairly easy - being mindful not to push. But to be frank, I wasn't putt-putting around either. I wanted to watch my friend from the mirror and see how he looked. The view was good - his lines were familiar, throttle control looked very smooth, body position was right. He seemed pretty comfortable back there - all things considered.
After a short twisty (if that term actually applies in south Louisiana) curvy ride, we made a decision to head due West - away from R/H's home for a while. This decision added no less than 50 miles (and likely more) to R/H's ride. That told me a lot - most importantly that he WANTED to ride. The sun was getting low, he is recovering from a recent off - it would have been super simple for him to shake hands, turn East, and call it a day. But he was comfortable enough to continue.
I was very pleased to see this. I'm not proud of it, but I've fallen before and I can tell you undoubtedly - getting back on that horse when you are still hurting MENTALLY is a ENORMOUS challenge. Your mind plays stupid tricks on you and you feel like you are riding on ice. Restoring the confidence in yourself and your tires takes big balls and R/H did wonderfully. I think going back to the scene of the crime and force your brain to see what you did wrong, and how to correct is the important step 1. Step 2 is seat time - plain and simple.
This whole thing is fixing itself quite nicely. We've got to deal with a little plastic and metal, and then it will be smooth sailing riding ahead.