Ever get an injury that made you question riding again?

yz763 wrote:

Been there done that. I’ll be 40 in December with a 7 month old little girl and a four year old little boy that idolizes me...

Been there done that. I’ll be 40 in December with a 7 month old little girl and a four year old little boy that idolizes me. I ride street and dirt. Your wife is the real hero.

A group of us from central Florida went on a mountain street bike trip last October (deals gap). We left with one fatality, and four fewer bikes than the group went up there with. I came home and wheeled the bike in the garage where it has sat since. I just lost a very good friend (who was on that trip) this past weekend from a street incident. He leaves behind an 8 year old and a 5 year old. I don’t plan on ever selling my street bike but it will be a while before I get it out of the garage. I haven’t even started it. As of now, that juice isn’t worth the squeeze anymore.

Moto, I had a few injuries a couple years ago that had me asking myself the same question. At the end of the day, I didn’t make a decision to stop riding, just change up my discipline a little. I still Moto, not as much though. I’ve been racing hare scrambles here in Florida and it has completely rejuvenated my love for riding dirt bikes. Looking back, I’m glad I didn’t get rid of anything. I didn’t make any decisions and still haven’t with the street bikes. I’m just taking a break. When I’m ready, I’m ready but I won’t push myself. The street bikes recently completely terrify me as there usually isn’t a second chance. Dirt, we get slower and wiser as we age and maybe have a little more control of the situation. That brings me peace.

sandman768 wrote:

Sorry about your injuries…heal up man! Curious… did anyone tell you how the crash actually happened? Whenever I crash or make a mistake that results in...

Sorry about your injuries…heal up man! Curious… did anyone tell you how the crash actually happened? Whenever I crash or make a mistake that results in an injury, I replay that over & over in my head beating myself up over the mistake….

GFMM647 wrote:

Crazy thing is, no one saw it and there were quite a few riders on the track. My friend, who I went with that day said...

Crazy thing is, no one saw it and there were quite a few riders on the track. My friend, who I went with that day said I was flying, his words,. We went out together to ride and that's all I remember. Don't even remember how many laps in I was. My friend said he was the second person who got to me. I was lying face down in the corner with the bike on top of me. I was out apparently for 3-4 minutes having a seizure. Luckily for me, one of the riders that day was an EMT. Probably saved my life.
My friend, who still has my bike and is cleaning it up for me before he brings it back said the only thing wrong with it is a broken top clutch bracket/clamp.

mxjeff575 wrote:

I had a similar experience on Oct 9, 2020. I was 49 at the time, and have been riding both moto and woods since i was...

I had a similar experience on Oct 9, 2020. I was 49 at the time, and have been riding both moto and woods since i was 10. Like you, fast-B/Slow-A rider. My racing has become a lot less in recent years, but i still love to push myself on practice rides just for personal satisfaction. Was on a woods ride (camping with friends for a few days) and the crash was far from spectacular. Like yours, the only damage to my brand new 2021 TE300i was a scratched left radiator shroud. I did not fare so well...I remember sliding out and then I remember waking up and being on my back and seeing trees above me. I broke 10 ribs in multiple spots, so I had flail chest (which can be life threatening but thankfully in my case it was not). I was complaining of chest/back/spine pain, so my friends held me in position for 3 hours. It was dark when the medics finally got to me, and they carried me out on a backboard, then to a mule, then to an ambulance, and then to a waiting helicopter. 5 days at the Trauma center. I had a few brain bleeds, which didn't concern me as none of my previous concussions ever caused any symptoms. Long story short, a lot of physical pain, but after I got back home, the post concussion syndrome issues kicked in. That was very scary and that was the first time I contemplated I might not ever ride again. In the 40 years prior, no broken bone or torn ligament or surgery really deterred me, it almost made me more determined. So, for 6 months I just told myself if I never ride again, at least it happened to me way later in life than when i was young. The head injury is basically healed (although going through that was eye opening for me). Unfortunately, 2 years later I have a deformed rib cage and a few ribs that are non-unions. But, I didn't rush it, but ultimately did come back to riding moto and woods ! My main focus is just being as healthy as I can and enjoying all of the fun things that dirt bikes offer. My advice...every case happens at a different time in life and with different long term issues. Don't stress it for now, take a vacation from riding and focus on healing. Once you are fairly healed, you will know what path you want going forward.
PS - PM'd you.

StevenMX wrote:

This thread hits home as I sit here on the couch recovering from my double leg surgery I had last week. As others have said, your...

This thread hits home as I sit here on the couch recovering from my double leg surgery I had last week. As others have said, your wife sounds like an amazing partner and I'm happy to hear that despite your significant injuries you are ok otherwise. Secondly, shout out to Hammer 663s here on Vital and his entire family as they have taken me in during recovery over the past month and the weeks to come. I am only 34 but got into moto about 2 years ago. This was the first big injury I've had in the sport minus some smaller hits (stitches, broken ribs, etc.) as I gained experience. Mine was done over at Grays Harbor ORV on their pro double, I checked up on the jump thinking I was safe to land between and wasn't carrying that much speed but I ended up essentially casing the jump as hard as you could do. With that said, I've had injuries/broken bones in every sport (Ice Hockey, Snowboarding, Soccer) that I've played. Were they as severe as this last one, no. For sure Motocross carries a special distinction for being pretty damn dangerous as far as riding/incident % rate, but that is part of why the fun factor is so dang high too. As an individual I have always defaulted to sports and activities where the adrenaline is high and the risk is more than the standard activity. I was born that way though, and I don't deny who I am/what makes me feel whole as a person. It just is what it is at times. I'd assume most on these forums/who ride are in that same boat.

Furthermore, every injury is both unique in it's circumstance/challenges but follows a similar path back in my experience. For me it's always been a reset process of focusing on recovery/getting quality of life back (being thankful and realizing how much of our bodies we need to do everyday things) and making sure things heal 100% or as close to perfect as can be given the situation. I am taking this time to focus on all the other wonderful things that life has to offer, pick up that book you haven't read/binge those Netflix shows, whatever it is. My bike is still not cleaned up from the day I last rode October 1st.... but it will be, and I can say after having my first serious surgery and going through this I will get back on the bike and ride again. There was ABSOLUTELY the thought of WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF, and all the other myriad number of thoughts that come about when one has a significant injury. If it wasn't motocross, I would be throwing myself back into Ice Hockey, snowboarding or something else that carries risk. At the end of the day, I'll do everything I can to make the sports/choices I can as safe and responsible as possible. When I have a family, will I risk as much or adjust my riding to be safer... absolutely. I also know, that to be my best self/partner, riding motocross and having outlets to enjoy life gives me that quality of life. When that ceases to exist, or I find a different outlet, I'll embrace that with open arms too. Either way, you have every right to do either choice. Hope you heal up well and get back up and moving!

GFMM647 wrote:

Wow! That is incredible you made it through all of that and are back doing what you love. Especially the head injuries. My hat is off...

Wow! That is incredible you made it through all of that and are back doing what you love. Especially the head injuries. My hat is off to you!
Yeah, definitely going to take a step back and just focus on getting well and back in shape. Will see how I feel next year.
Sorry, didn't get your PM.

Richy wrote:

May not be the case here, but just in case you're not familiar (like I wasn't at first) PM's are a little weird here, they only...

May not be the case here, but just in case you're not familiar (like I wasn't at first) PM's are a little weird here, they only go to your email address, there's no on-site inbox 👍

nytsmaC wrote:

Sorry to hear about your injuries. I went through it 4 years ago, took three years off of riding and got into mountain biking during recovery...

Sorry to hear about your injuries. I went through it 4 years ago, took three years off of riding and got into mountain biking during recovery to stay active. Kept a dirt bike but had no interest in riding it so eventually sold it.

Started doing some adventure riding with my Tenere and found I was really enjoying the off road stuff, so picked up another dirt bike and just trail ride now. No more trying to haul ass, just finding different challenges in tackling tough trails. Like you, I never want to go through that pain again, the risk/reward factor isn’t adding up for me anymore.

Take your time to heal and then only you can make that decision. Out of my injuries I never considered the head injury to be one of the main ones but looking back now it had some serious long lasting effects that may still be existing today. Hope your recovery goes as well as possible!