Vet Rider Thoughts?

I'm 31. Been riding since 4. My best days are behind me so I don't care if I race or not anymore, but my life would not be complete without moto. Been injured my fair share but nothing too serious. Broke my ankle pretty good end of '14 and needed surgery so I didn't ride much last year. Promptly stepped over the bars on a 100'+ double this spring and demolished my KX450, but walked away with minor injury. Fixed it and traded it in for a '16 right after. I by no means consider myself a daredevil in life, but when it comes to moto, I am not scared. If you fear getting injured then maybe it's time to stop. You have to weigh the risk versus reward for you and determine if it's worth it. For me, it is.

Looks like you have a few conundrums:

-ride vs dont ride

-girls that like your RZR vs your wife

What you are going through is fairly common where responsibilities start to be bigger than your wants. Its hard to answer though because its such a personal scenario. I think you know what to do but hard to pull the trigger, either way you decide. More than anything, this issue has a way of making one aware of an old chapter in life closing and a new one starting.

5 years ago this Sunday I shattered my tibial plateau. I was in a wheelchair
for 4 months....Dr. said I'd be lucky to walk reasonably, let alone ride a
dirt bike again. Fast forward through 3 1/2 years , 4 surgeries and hours &
hours of pt, & I decided to try riding again, and once I realized I could
manage it, it was on- I'm a lot slower than I used to be, but I'm enjoying it
more than I ever have. My older son also started back up again, now we
go together every weekend- Nothing better-

I was just kidding about the wife thing. Sounds like you may have come to a compromise with yourself by reducing danger and adding more protection. Time can also have a way of answering some questions for you.

I thought long and hard about this when I crashed on my MTB last November and ended up with some hardware holding a few vertebrae together.

I posted a thread just like this one and I had a reply in that thread that really made me think. Here is the post below. Machine is 100% right. I have not had any other major injuries up till this point. My neck has healed well and my body feels great. It was a hard decision and I definitely had to go through a grieving process but I really don't want to live the rest of my life with aches and pains from any future crashes. I will probably still MTB but I am okay with not riding moto.


machine

Theres life beyond mx...trust me. Its about the worst thing you can do if you want to enjoy life later on. I dont reget all my injuries, but if i had what you have, i would have quit long before i did. Im turning 50 this year and quit a year ago. Ive found other things to keep me busy and look forward to a quality life in retirement. Good luck with your decision.


Here is the link to my thread: http://www.vitalmx.com/forums/Moto-Related,20/Looking-for-advice-just-had-C5-C6-C7-vertebrae-fusion-should-I-ride-anymore,1299388
.

36 years old here. Don't race nearly as much as I used to ( or would like to ) due to work, family, finances, LIFE.

Like others said, my life would not be complete without moto. I am without a doubt much slower then I was 15 years ago, but I still love chopping laps with my brother, daughter and friends and getting the occasional gate drop in.

I agree with MX836 - if you fear getting hurt, it might be time to think about hanging it up. I don't fear getting hurt, its part of the risk we all take. That being said, I have never had a major injury. I broke a bone in my hand, tore my ACL in my left knee and put a nasty puncture in my thigh from a footpeg, but over all, nothing super serious, certainly nothing life threatening.

My thoughts might be different if I had had some worse injuries, I don't know.

As of now, I love riding and look forward to every ride day I can get, especially now that my 12 year old daughter rides with me.

I am now 9 weeks out from an achillies repair that
I ruptured the next day and then become infected.

I can see another 8 weeks before im back at work earning a living to support 3 children and an unsimperthetic wife.

After the 6 surgeries and 17 weeks wages i will be almost $30,000 in the hole, no i dont have that in savings.

Single at home with mum and dad mx is No1.
Married with children you have to be prepared.

Its good to hear your back on track soon.

I am old and suffer badly from past injuries for this fact alone i dont want my children to ride.

I friend here in Colorado broke his neck 10 or so years ago and wore a hallow for several months and rehabbed for better part of a year and then went back to racing , super moto, Motocross etc. lots of people told him he was crazy to go back to something that hurt him that seriously but he kept racing and riding. Now he has terminal cancer, could be a matter of months. Now it doesn't look so foolish that he went back to the things he loved to do.

If you're scared of getting hurt while you're on the bike, might be time to buy a set of golf clubs. If you're scared of getting hurt when you think about riding while you're doing something else, you're no different from anybody else.

Im 53 and started racing in 1976, raced up until about 6 years ago and walked away with no regrets. My nephew just bought me a blown up YZ125 and told me I could have it if I fix it and ride it so now Im excited again. My wife asked how are you going to ride with no riding gear?.... I still have it stashed away in my race van she just shook her head and walked away.

I hear ya. I'm 28, self employed (aka expensive insurance) with a wife and kids. I had an rm 125 and a street bike up until last year. I had a close call on my street bike (damn old lady should have her license revoked) and that was it. I sold my street bike and my rm and got into BMX with my sons. I don't regret it one bit. It's more accessible, less time consuming, and still allows my son to play other sports as well. I miss moto, but I'm gonna wait til I buy some land to ride on my own until I get another bike. Obviously the risk vs reward is different for everyone so only you can make that call.

I'm 44 now, but when I was 32 I had a major resurgence back into racing. I started racing when I was 8 years old at DeAnza Cycle Park in CA. Raced regularly until I was about 19, then completely got burned out and gave up MX all together. As I got older, married and the wife popped out a couple pups the itch came back especially being my oldest was a boy. All my buddies raced and are/were regulars at REM and GH. I bought a couple bikes and went headfirst into REM and night racing at Starwest. Got myself on a 3 man team and started doing GPs and all the 6/12 hrs at Glen Helen for a good 6 years. I was in it to win it having my mid-life crisis with a full time job and new family.

One day after work, I meet up with a buddy for a practice session at Elsinore. Not even 10 minutes on the track and I find myself lawndarted after a slick turn into a step-up and had the lights knocked out for a good 5 min. Ended up going to the ER with a lacerated spleen, 3 broken ribs, collapsed lung, bruised kidney, broken collarbone and thumb. Ended up losing the spleen and spent 6 days in intensive care. Damn near died with the amount of internal bleeding in my stomach. Had a lot of time to think about what I was doing and my priorities in life. Although I gave up racing on a weekly basis, I still ride and race an occasional GP and 6 hour. I have however learned that my prime has passed and MX is now a hobby and not a lifestyle when your supporting and raising a family. It's been a good amount of years since my accident and still have that same passion when I was a kid, but my right hand has eased up considerably.

Every time you swing your leg over the bike there is a risk. I'm willing to take that risk for my love of the sport, but I know my limits and stay within my boundaries. Sometimes I'll get that itch we all know about at the track to clear that new double or step-up at the track. Damn, it's so tempting!! I know my ability and what I can do, but that little voice in your mind telling you, you can clear that. All in all, if MX is in your blood, it'll never leave you. Everything in life needs moderation and I've balanced it pretty good in this 2nd chance at life.

I'm 45 and don't race anymore, but ride all the time. My advice is to keep the bike, tone it down and don't race. Racing pushes you to ride beyond your comfort zone which can lead to mistakes and thus getting hurt. You're not going to turn pro racing at this point in your life, so why push yourself - for bragging rights? To impress the ladies or your friends? To be the fastest rider over 50? Seriously, what's the point? If someone is absolutely passionate about racing, by all means race until you can't race anymore - I have no issue with that. But I find more enjoyment in just riding everything I can but at the speed I'm comfortable with - MX tracks, trails, desert, dunes, you name it. I don't even like to turn full laps on a track but prefer to work on sections of the track, perfecting corners, and hitting some jumps. Every once in a while, I'll spin some consecutive laps but I just don't enjoy that. I love to play around on small natural terrain jumps, berms, dunes, etc. Just go out, ride, and enjoy yourself - and ride within your limits. It's supposed to be fun.

We have a tricked out 900 Rzr as well. I have found it to be fun for a while, but it will become a money pit. The more you take it out, the faster you want to run it - and they do break. And when they do, they are expensive to fix. And contrary to popular belief, you CAN crash a Rzr and you CAN get hurt in them. They can be fun as hell, but be aware that you still need to focus on safety with them and be mentally prepared to throw down a lot of coin to keep them fixed and running. It's a lot of fun, but we always find ourselves still going back to dirt bikes. Just do it for the fun of it.

"Redbro" Chris Morgan? Great guy, sad to see that all over his FB..

Been thinking alot about the guy while I sit here trying to recover from my shattered ankle....

I'm knocking on the door at 55 y/o and still ride, just not like I did when 25. I can still rail a berm Tomac style (somewhat) and grin like a kid. I love bowhunting large Whitetails and fishing for smallmouth but my love affair with mx is still a passion. It's all about fun now, with nothing to prove. MX keeps me fit and out of strip joints.

Dont forget, whatever decision you make doesnt mean its forever. Life is organic and so is this scenario.

I totally get it and am in the same boat myself. I'm 31, married with kids, self employed tattoo artist. It's like when I think about riding and stuff during the day I'm like "what the hell are you doing" but when I get on my bike and get to go to a track I'm not having fun unless I'm trying to push myself. Had a decent get off yesterday actually and took a handlebar to my neck and now one side of my neck is super swollen and feels like someone cracked me in the jaw lol. Motocross is a hard thing to get away from once it's in your blood. I've tried giving it up, getting into pit bikes, taking up other hobbies, etc but nothing comes close to that feeling of having a good day of riding. Just sucks that a good day of riding can quickly turn into "oh shit, how am I going to pay my bills if I'm laid up for 3 months." Too bad there wasn't some type of too old to be riding motocross insurance to cover our bills for when we do go down and break a hip haha. Seriously though, I feel ya, on a responsible family man adult standpoint you know you shouldn't be doing it and that having some fun on a dirtbike a few times a month isn't worth potentially causing a butt load of stress on your family if you wreck yourself and can't work especially if your wife and kids depend on you to be the breadwinner. 30's are the sketchiest age too if you ask me. You're just getting settled in your groove, got young kids, new mortgage, etc. just a lot of responsible adult shit going on. 40's and 50's you got shit figured out (well I would hope you do by now), probably no dependents (or your kids are old enough to fend for themselves), some money in the bank, solid credit and your wife has come to terms that you are an idiot and has accepted and made peace with it, etc. so taking a hit for a few months wouldn't be as big of a deal, hell a few nights in the hospital would probably be welcomed to get away from the ole' battleaxe and get to watch your own gosh darn shows for once. It's a gamble. Is the risk worth the reward for a young family man? No. Is it fun? Absolutely.

I'm 32, sitting here 2 weeks after getting my shoulder fixed(Labrum and rotaror cuff) and all I can think of is getting back on my bike. I tore it down and rebuilding it over the next 4 months just to keep me sane.

I don't have kids so I know that would change my perspective in this situation. I surf, mountain bike and snowboard as well. I guess this stuff is what keeps me looking forward at this point in my life.

Just follow your heart, if you want to ride, you will know it. If your doubting it, that's when it's time to hang things up.

When your body starts telling you to tone it down, listen.
When you have doubts in your mind, listen.
If you have it in you to just tone it down, try that first. Ride at the slower tracks with less risk.
It doesn't matter how good you are, age or injury always catches up with us all. It's knowing how to manage that and adapt your riding to try keep it safe. No shame in it.

I'm 37. Ruptured my achilles last year racing. Off work for 4 months and lost nearly 20,000$. Made a deal with myself that I'd still practice moto, but not race this year. It's been tough a couple times, but I've stuck to my plan. My injury was a total fluke, which makes it even more scary that it could happen again. If I was riding like an idiot I feel like I could just tone it back.

I've watched some gncc's on Racer TV and been thinking about trying one. I have a great wife and two kids that I want to enjoy while they are kids as well as provide a good life for them. My wife was actually trying to talk me into racing earlier this summer.

if you want to continue riding into vet & Sr. years you have to excercise good judgment. Poor judgement = early exit from the greatest sport on earth! "A man has to know his limitations"