Too old to start?
Discussion
I was just in the last stages of preparation before taking my IAM advanced test 
BikeSafe was really good day.
I also recommend the Fire Service free "Biker Down" course. If the guy following the people carrier hadn't known what to do at the accident scene, I almost certainly wouldn't be posting this!
BikeSafe was really good day.
I also recommend the Fire Service free "Biker Down" course. If the guy following the people carrier hadn't known what to do at the accident scene, I almost certainly wouldn't be posting this!
Edited by Tanguero on Saturday 10th June 12:07
Very glad that you lived to tell the tale.
Having the right attitude and doing all the training certainly helps but I think there is no real substitute for experience and miles done. The first few years of riding are probably the most dangerous. The issue is that until you have been faced with problems you don't know how you will react and too easy to make mistakes such as braking mid corner. On balance that is why I think it is better to start on lower powered and easy to use bikes (I went straight for a 600 and in hindsight it was too much).
Having the right attitude and doing all the training certainly helps but I think there is no real substitute for experience and miles done. The first few years of riding are probably the most dangerous. The issue is that until you have been faced with problems you don't know how you will react and too easy to make mistakes such as braking mid corner. On balance that is why I think it is better to start on lower powered and easy to use bikes (I went straight for a 600 and in hindsight it was too much).
Thank you all for your good wishes!
Recovery is a slow and painful business as any of you that have had major accidents will know. I still have at least one more major surgery (open heart, to repair the aneurysm) to go but even after nearly 9 weeks in hospital my hobbling round on a walking frame really isn't good enough to be thinking of going home yet.
The boredom of a long hospital stay is something else again...
Recovery is a slow and painful business as any of you that have had major accidents will know. I still have at least one more major surgery (open heart, to repair the aneurysm) to go but even after nearly 9 weeks in hospital my hobbling round on a walking frame really isn't good enough to be thinking of going home yet.
The boredom of a long hospital stay is something else again...
t the bed, a very sobering story. Glad you are still with us mate but interesting that you say you don't regret learning to ride. This kind of stuff makes me think twice about whether I should learn to ride. I found a love for riding that makes me wish that I had discovered bikes decades ago. In many ways, were I single, I would be straight back on a bike if I could get myself physically fit to do so. However making my wife wait to find out if I am going to live for a second time is not something I think is fair on her, so I am not going to ride again. That makes me very sad because in the couple of years that I had, I enjoyed it very much indeed.
I was perhaps arrogant in thinking that with sufficient advanced training I could put myself in a position where a serious accident would never happen to me. But I made a mistake, one that in other circumstances would have been no more than a squeaky bum moment and a learning experience, but as it happened, it came closer to finishing me than I care to dwell on.
None of that howsoever diminishes for one moment the sheer pleasure that I gained from learning to ride. As one of the good friends I made while riding once said to me said to me, and I can with authority say myself now "we are all going to die, but how many have really lived"
I was perhaps arrogant in thinking that with sufficient advanced training I could put myself in a position where a serious accident would never happen to me. But I made a mistake, one that in other circumstances would have been no more than a squeaky bum moment and a learning experience, but as it happened, it came closer to finishing me than I care to dwell on.
None of that howsoever diminishes for one moment the sheer pleasure that I gained from learning to ride. As one of the good friends I made while riding once said to me said to me, and I can with authority say myself now "we are all going to die, but how many have really lived"
Your story kept popping into my head when I was out for a ride today. I had a big accident 18 years ago (although I was lucky and wasn't injured as badly as you). I stopped riding, promising my wife I would never ride again. About a year after the accident I tried on some leathers in a shop...and felt funny (not funny hilarious!) But a couple of years after that I did the Ron Haslam race school as didn't want my last time on a bike to be the accident. Of course, that then led to me buying some new gear and doing the occasional track day (hiring bikes). A couple of years ago I talked the wife into letting me have a scooter for getting around town. I now have 3 full on sports bikes! Never say never again.....
Wow - first time I've seen this thread...it's got everything in one handy easy to read thread...
I want to ride (encouragement)
I passed (congratulations)
Look at my lovely new bike (nice bike mate)
I crashed (glad you're OK)
The end
At least you're here to tell us about it and at least you went for it. The back brake is just an 'almost guaranteed crash' device sadly.
I want to ride (encouragement)
I passed (congratulations)
Look at my lovely new bike (nice bike mate)
I crashed (glad you're OK)
The end
At least you're here to tell us about it and at least you went for it. The back brake is just an 'almost guaranteed crash' device sadly.
Tanguero said:
None of that howsoever diminishes for one moment the sheer pleasure that I gained from learning to ride. As one of the good friends I made while riding once said to me said to me, and I can with authority say myself now "we are all going to die, but how many have really lived"
This bit for me is an incredible outlook on life. Glad you are here to still have one too. Wishing you the speediest of recoveries
Tanguero said:
Home tomorrow! A few days short of 3 months in hospital.
Be careful out there!
I've just read this, I was away when you posted about the accident, Truly horrible, I hope you do come back to bikes, maybe in a few years, anyway, go luck with the ongoing recovery at least you're out of hospital.Be careful out there!
Wow, just seen this thread. Glad you are on the mend and being home will be fantastic.
I think you were awfully unlucky. Many if not all of us have made that mistake, but very few of us have had those consequences. I panic braked a year after passing my test, when somebody cut me up at a roundabout, I low sided and the bike slid away. I had nothing but a badly bruised hip. On reflection, and what I know now is that I should have just carried on leaning over, and done a lap of the roundabout. I'll never forget that.
Again, all the very best with your recovery.
I think you were awfully unlucky. Many if not all of us have made that mistake, but very few of us have had those consequences. I panic braked a year after passing my test, when somebody cut me up at a roundabout, I low sided and the bike slid away. I had nothing but a badly bruised hip. On reflection, and what I know now is that I should have just carried on leaning over, and done a lap of the roundabout. I'll never forget that.
Again, all the very best with your recovery.
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