Ever get an injury that made you question riding again?

Kelz87 wrote:

You guys are gnarly. I was desert riding alone doing around 60mph on a stretch next to a tree line and realized I was fast approaching...

You guys are gnarly.

I was desert riding alone doing around 60mph on a stretch next to a tree line and realized I was fast approaching a fence post with a single strand of barbed wire stretched across the trail just above handlebar height.

Barely missed the fence post, but it weirds me out at night to think if I’d been cut in half in the middle of nowhere

RandomUserName wrote:

I was about 13 and we had a little z50 for riding around the property. No helmet, just putting around some Sat afternoon and I came...

I was about 13 and we had a little z50 for riding around the property. No helmet, just putting around some Sat afternoon and I came out of a trail we had at the house and the next thing I knew I was on the ground. Dad was running a single strand of wire to keep the horse out of a particular area. I realized quickly I had hit it and ran into the house holding my neck FOR SURE thinking I was about to literally die. I ran into the bathroom, and shaking, pulled my hand back from my neck to see that it had just left a mean laceration. UGH - soooooooooooooooo close to literally cutting my damn head off. Dad got an earful from mom. But I got lots of funny comments walking around town with a bright red line across my neck for weeks. Yeesh that was freaking scary.

quiknic wrote:

This post comes up as I sit here in the hospital after a first lap crash of the +50 Pro class at the World Vets races...

This post comes up as I sit here in the hospital after a first lap crash of the +50 Pro class at the World Vets races yesterday at Glen Helen. I am not in nearly as bad of shape as GFMM647 but this set of injuries definitely makes you think twice.

I am not totally sure how this all went wrong other than a crappy start but I ended up over jumping the back, what was triple step down by about 30 feet and landed on the incline which immediately shot me off the track and head on into the stands that they had sitting by the REM track.
So far I have a broken shoulder, humorous bone and a 4” hole in my arm from a post on the stands along with my stomach and intestines plus two very sore but not broken femurs. I had surgery on the arm/shoulder last night and am now dealing with the stomach and intestines, I won’t be leaving the hospital today which I was hoping for…

My son just sent me a few pictures of the carnage of this wreck. I will spare you the nasty pics…

The Before, when times were much better:






And After, not fun times:

quiknic wrote:

Thanks buddy, I pray for your speedy recovery as well and hope that you are able to make it back on two wheels at some point...

Thanks buddy, I pray for your speedy recovery as well and hope that you are able to make it back on two wheels at some point or whatever you enjoy best. Get well!

My biggest regret with this crash is putting my son through the trauma of seeing me broken and bleeding like crazy, then having to load up all of our shit to get to the hospital. This was another batch of drama as the hospital and the BS HIPPA laws wouldn’t let him in at first or even provide an update on my condition at all. I finally was able to get a nurse to run out and bring him in before they started putting me back together. I also need it thank my buddies that helped my son out with everything as I know that he was panicked.

Every time that my kids have been hurt through the years I have also said that I wish that it was me that got hurt to take their pain away and not them, this however is not what I was envisioning as it sucks for everyone involved.

I am rambling, partly due to the meds and my head is I definitely spinning a thousand directs right now. My roommate at the hospital is younger than me, has diabetes and after spending a few hours chatting last night, he was wheeled out first thing this morning to have his lower leg amputated after getting his foot infected from a simple blister. He is back in the room now and I am doing my best to help keep him in a positive frame of mine. Now I read that Coy Gibbs passed away last night in his sleep and is also younger than me. RIP Coy.

You just never know what life will bring you.

nytsmaC wrote:

For me the decision had more to do with the way my life was disrupted and up-ended than the trauma of the injury. Or more accurately...

For me the decision had more to do with the way my life was disrupted and up-ended than the trauma of the injury. Or more accurately, a healthy mix of both. It would have seemed insane at the time to be rushing back to the track when it had just almost cost me everything. As a teenager or 20-something living with mom and dad and less responsibilities I’m sure it would have been a lot different.

quiknic wrote:

Man, going through all of these posts is actually actually better therapy than you could pay for (in my opinion). Like I said earlier it is...

Man, going through all of these posts is actually actually better therapy than you could pay for (in my opinion). Like I said earlier it is tough reading the things that we have all gone through in some form or another and like many people have written there is something that just can’t be explained and seems to be like a blood born illness once you have grew up on a dirt bike. For the people that have not had the joy of riding and racing in their lifetime it is hard to justify the pain we put ourselves (and our families) through. It’s funny that even when I am laying on a gurney in the hospital I actually had an EMT, nurse and even a surgeon told me that they wish they ever had the opportunity to ride but their parents would never allow them to even with begging for a dirt bike. I told them that this may be a bad example at the current time with my injuries but it is not too late to try it, even on a much smaller scale as again, it is something that I cannot explain online or even in person for that matter. This is something that has my head spinning when even having my surgeon saying this. Also of equal madness is my wife who has busted my balls over the years and injuries to put the bikes away for good has not said a single word about hanging things up. I think that she knows how crushed I am with how this goal has turned out. I was also within reach of the +40A 250 NGPC Championship as we are down to the final round this weekend at Havasu. I was coming in hot after racking off a few wins in final part of this championship. Not happening for me now…

For me this has been a year of ups and downs, I just turned 50 a few weeks back and at nearly 49 I had a goal to get a podium spot at the World Vet Championships in the +50 Pro class and the other Pasha +30 & +50 125 Pro classes that I have been helping promote and support this year. Over the past 14 months I have made a lifestyle change and was able to go from a fast fat dude at 244lbs to an even faster 168 pounder at nearly the best shape of my life. I raced professionally in the mid-nineties and did good as a local pro but never was able to get anywhere on the AMA circuits. My goal was to be able to race a 125 again and at my heaviest that was not an option. I have spent 14 months eating right and training 5 days a week with 1-2 days of riding/racing with my son to get to this point. I believed that I was right there in speed and had been kicking some serious butt this year racing the NGPC series on the 125 & 150 against the 250 & 450’s while enjoying the riding and racing the most that I ever have by a large margin.

It is also weird for my as this is the first time in my life that I had put myself and my enjoyment ahead of just living to work, I started my business exactly 12 years ago when my father was dying. I tried helping him by running his company so he could relax while still functional and mobile so he could enjoy his last years, however, he refused to do anything but work up until his final days. I walked away from him and his business a few months before he passed as I just couldn’t watch that shit. My father and his lovely wife (sarcasm for the evil stepmother) swiftly left me nothing but a pair of his old cowboy boots and a cross after running and growing his business for years. I left potential millions but that money didn’t mean squat to me watching him work into the grave. I didn’t want that for myself, my wife or my children and have put everything towards my business, working 80 to 100+ hour weeks for years and years (actually 11 of them to be exact) to get it to a point of where I am at this last year, I had finally gotten the company at a level where it could function and run without me being there every single hour of the day and was able to start traveling to races even if it was just for a long weekend. Like I said this has been a year ups and downs so I am torn on what direction to head. I had/have big goals of helping the Pasha Racing 125 Open series get to the next level as I have put a lot of time and money into bringing back some grass roots 125 good time races for the young and old!!! There is no reason why a vet or senior vet should be able to make a few dollars racing a 125 as there is literally no better feeling that ripping around the track on a 125, with full gates and a day of hanging out with a bunch of like minded and smiling old dudes hangin it out.

Man I thought that I was rambling a bunch before and now this looks like I am writing a damn novel about a small glimpse into one knuckleheads journey. Thank you Moto dudes for the therapy, I appreciate it!