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I guess for the OP just try a few things out if possible, but keep in mind that motocross is damn hard drug to quit and you may very well relapse.
If you go to a trial, more than likely you’ll meet other people who also got tired of falling off of dirt bikes or road race bikes.
Seth 505 and I became friends back in college because we were both MX guys but couldn't ride MX living in a major city... and we got in DH/freeride MTB... waaaay back in 1999 through mid-2000's. England has a killer DH/Freeride scene.
I have also roadraced since 2004. It's amazing but yeah, takes a lot more to go do than MX.. you can do it 'on the cheap' (like when I was a poor young guy starting out). Cheaper options are not buying the latest and greatest 600... but smaller displacement (lightweight) bike that's used. Be way cheaper on tires.
Another idea is getting into offroad riding / dual sport / exploring. It's not the 'thrills a minute' that you get with MX but you get different thrills. The exploring, unknown, epic scenery, and yeah, the riding is fun too. Technical climbs, huge hills, gnarly descents.
Have fun and good luck.
I'd surfed for years but it had basically become just a few times a summer but then l stopped riding and refocused on surfing and it became a obssesion. Now it's gone nack to summers only again
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Why I asked my question
I broke my back 3 seasons ago, had L1-L3 fused. I bought a brand new bike once I recovered and tried riding, but mentally I was not enjoying myself, always paranoid to hurt myself even worse. I tried riding trails and pits just for fun, but that just didn’t do it for me. I ended up selling the bike, and being in Canada we have nice long winters. In the past 3 years I’ve went from owning 1 snowmobile, to filling the shop with 10+ snowmobiles!
Summers are tough, but I’ve recently picked up a 1985 Honda Z50 and have been restoring it. It may not be quite as fast paced and high adrenaline as racing and riding motocross, but cruising around the yard and being on two wheels sure feels good!
I’d love to get a full sized bike one day, but risking getting hurt, and dealing with the pain after riding just doesn’t seem worth it to me anymore.
It’s a tough sport to walk away from.
It's really, really hard to replace MX. I wouldn't mind trying eMTB if I could find a place in NorCal to do it.
Larry Rippenkroger quit moto due to his knees then took up jet skis. Became world champion, then onto stuntman. One of the best in the biz in that too.
For me, the very best Moro’s I had in my 30 years we’re the ones where I really stretched myself physically. Yeah the jumps are cool, railing a sweet rut is cool but the real kick I got from it came from the balls out physical exertion. Leaving it all on the track to the point of exhaustion. 100% effort, nothing less..
These days I get that same feeling of exertion from road cycling. Sounds weird right?! But I recognised that for me, the endorphins I got from leaving it all on the track outweighed the stimulation of actually riding the bike. I race cries as and when I can and they are super exhilarating.
Pit Row
Just everything about it. But that’s also down to going with my dad. He loves it and so do I, that’s why it makes it a tough pill to swallow. It’s great having something in common and spending time together. We’ve talked about jet skis etc so hopefully we can still doing things together, I guess mtb would be the closest thing though, I still need a buzz in my life from something!
I am sure you have one of those indoor karting places over there. Many of them have some kind of "Wednesday Night League" racing...They can vary, but basically it's like a bowling league, where you race a few heats and that pairs down to final over several weeks.
Look into that, might get your jazz on.
It'll also give you an idea if you like 4 wheel racing and then there's many options from there
But, that's cheap fun, thrills and racing action
I just play ride. I won’t race as I have family members depending on me. I have found that spearfishing, kayaking,
fishing, weight lifting and, hunting keeps me satisfied. I try making a bi annual trip to So Cal to spend a few days riding and camping in the desert with my cousin. Back injuries suck. I’m sorry you’re in this position. As much as I love riding, I know my time to ride even less is coming. Arthritic bones makes it tough to enjoy the one thing I’ve always been passionate about.
Tough pill to swallow.
That’s why I switched from moto to harescrammbles. Little less risky and I get just as much satisfaction finishing a 1-2 hour harescrammble as I did turning a hot lap years back. Something Strangely satisfying about barley being able to load your own bike back in the truck when you’re finished. Most the time don’t care where I finished just that I finish!
Mountain biking is great. Downhill mountain biking is the only thing I’ve found that is as fun or more fun than moto. However I feel that DH is more dangerous than mx.
I enjoy skateboarding. It allows you to be creative, get exercise, and get adrenaline. It’s only as dangerous as you allow it to be.
I work with a guy who does endurance road motorcycle racing. He says it’s something like a 6-8 hour race on a Yamaha R3 shares between a few people. Seems pretty fun and maybe not too crazy expensive.
I’ve thought about getting into ice hockey after racing but I’m not sure if that will save me from concussions which would be my goal of stopping riding.
Indoor bouldering (rock climbing) is very fun and a hell of a workout.
Maybe try out a trials bike.
Start a business. You can be creative, it’s risky, you get out of it what you put into similarly to moto. I’ve been thinking of buying screen printing equipment in lieu of a new 350.
Feels like a pencil jamming in your butt muscle - calf pain and your toes go numb. On a pain level.......10 being I will kill myself. 9 was pretty common....I could not even move in a bed or walk without screaming.
I decided to have the bulging disc cut out.
I almost canceled the surgery (because people said it would not help) until I talked to the doctor a few minutes before surgery and we agreed on a plan. My guy is awesome. I'm at 95% no pain. I still have two months of recovery until I can swing a golf club.
I've lived in my lounge chair with ice packs for the last three weeks after the surgery.. It's ridiculous how much less the pain is......I hope it continues.
I'm still 75 days for clearance of doing actual realistic things.
Maybe I'll ride a bike again, I'm just happy to be out of pain. My Doc is Steven Weber - Orlando Orthopaedic
I hope this helps you
PM me if you want some more information
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