Some may chuckle others not so much...

nauticalmike · 07-11-2012, 03:01 PM

I finally completed the instalation of my duallever brake levers and the push button electronic shifter on my bike and was ready to go for a ride. I backed it down my driveway and managed to start riding up the street. After about two blocks I managed to get my feet up onto the footpegs. then I rode for a few blocks and when I came to the first stop I found that my feet had gotten wedged on the pegs and I could not get them off, so I had to run the light. After a few blocks of riding I managed to dislodge them and was able to stop. I looked to see what was causing them to get stuck and then I was off again with my feet on the pegs but no longer stuck. I made some slow speed maneuvers for practice then I was on my way. After around 25 miles I stopped at agas station and enjoyed a cigarette. After my cigarette I got back on the bike and started to leave, but somehow I managed to lose control and laid it down right away. Fortunately there was a strong young man right behind me that ran over and picked my bike up for me. Two other guys were also saying something about me having a bad leg which was probably why I fell. He pointed out the crutches that were strapped to my seat as evidence to his statement. I pointed out to him that I actually had two bad legs, not just one. They were all very supportive and gave me some encouraging words and then after circling the parking lot to regain my composure I was back on the road. Damage to my bike from this incident was a cracked turn signal and the little ball on the end of my clutch lever was broken off. I then rode another 30+ miles with no mishaps and parked the bike at my wifes house next to my boat. Later that evening I also took my bike out for a short ride to the bank and back to get some cash with no mishaps.
The following morning we went to the airport early to send my Daughter off on a two week trip to Europe. When my wife and I got back home I decided to take my bike out for some practice. I rode over to a nearby K-mart parking lot and began doing some slow speed maneuvering and braking excercises. After a little while I ended up lalying it down again. Fortunately someone happened along and helped me pick it back up again. Then before I even left that spot my bike rolled off of the kickstand and trapped my leg underneath it. After a little while someone else came along and help me get her upright again. those two falls resulted in three broken turn signals, so I got on and rode her back to my wifes house. As soon as I stopped at my wifes house I toppled over again and was again trapped underneath my bike. Fortunately a neighbor came along and helped me pik it up again. I then sat there and using a butane fueled soldering iron tha I had with me I welded the turn signals all back together. That last fall had caused me to twist my knee pretty good and so I was limping around after that with a very sore knee. because of the problems that I experienced that day I decided that I would ride her back home and then park her until my legs were feeling stronger. So I moiunted up and put on my helmet. WHile I was putting on my gloves she decided to roll foreward and off of the kickstand again. However I guess because it was so unexpected or because my hands were busy, when I tried to get up from the ground I could not do so. I laid there on the ground and rolled around a bit but no mattter how hard I tried I was unable to get up off the ground because of an incredible pain in my hip. After a while I gave up trying and allowed my wife to call an ambulance. THe ambulance came and put me on a gurney and rushed me off to the emergency room and after a few xrays I was informed that my hip was broken. A bit later they had assembled a team to surgically put my hip back together and they did so. Prior to the operation though the nurses offered me some pain medication. Which after having been jostled around in the back of the ambulance and also from the positions they forced me to get into for the x-rays sounded very good. Because of my pain level being so high I requested that they give me some fentanyl. Unfortunately they informed me that the strongest thing they had was morphine. So although Idid not refuse it, the morphine was also pretty much useless for me because of the high doses of Oxycontin/oxycodone that I take every day for the pain caused by my SCI.
The following evening they decided to ship me off to a nursing home to continue my rehabilitation therapy. After about aweek I decided that it was time to go home so although I had to leave the nursing home without medical consent I went home anyway. ANd that brings us up to right now with me siting here typing my adventures down here for you to read.

MarkB701 · 07-11-2012, 03:52 PM

So....any chance you could get a film crew to follow you around from now on?

Seriously, that was fun to read.

I might suggest some frame protectors for the bike that are long enough to give your legs plenty of room not to be trapped. You might look into some decent padding/protection for your hip, knees and thighs.

Finally, you have all my respect!

nauticalmike · 07-12-2012, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkB701

So....any chance you could get a film crew to follow you around from now on?

Seriously, that was fun to read.

I might suggest some frame protectors for the bike that are long enough to give your legs plenty of room not to be trapped. You might look into some decent padding/protection for your hip, knees and thighs.

Finally, you have all my respect!

installing some bars to protect bike in such slow speed stuff. Concerns with that is that it would make splitting lanes during traffic less beneficial

MarkB701 · 07-12-2012, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nauticalmike

installing some bars to protect bike in such slow speed stuff. Concerns with that is that it would make splitting lanes during traffic less beneficial

If some modest frame protectors are going to make spitting lanes dangerous....then.....holy crap, how close are you cutting this??!

Nickel · 07-13-2012, 10:38 AM

Holy smokes man! I don't know if this is par for the course or what, but given that sort of ratio of rides to falls I think I'd be looking at a trike or something. More power to you for getting back up but be careful you don't kill yourself or make things worse.

ancientgimp · 07-13-2012, 03:26 PM

Mike, please don't ride again until you get some landing gear on your bike. Your adventures are a funny read but seriously some old codger like myself w failing reflexes is likely to run you over when you lay the bike down on the road. Your current riding seems like a thinly veiled suicide attempt.

My395 · 07-13-2012, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nauticalmike

The following evening they decided to ship me off to a nursing home to continue my rehabilitation therapy. After about aweek I decided that it was time to go home so although I had to leave the nursing home without medical consent I went home anyway. ANd that brings us up to right now with me siting here typing my adventures down here for you to read.

Did you ride the bike home from the nursing home?

Patrick Madsen · 07-13-2012, 09:01 PM

There's an old adage about being warned three times with the third being the wakeup call. You fell more than three times and got bitten.

I'm really glad you're writing this stuff down, I see a book and movie coming out. You really laid the story out graphically. Like My, I'm sittin' on the edge of my seat wondering if you rode the bike home.

I'm really sorry to hear you're laid up Mike. For me, it's a story I'll tell when asked about the tenacity it takes post injury.

Heal quickly my friend.

grommet · 07-13-2012, 09:18 PM

Speechless. I don't know what to say, mouth hanging open. Dude! What the fuck. Okay, calming down. Hell of a story and I could almost see myself doing a lot of the same stuff (no SCI but bike riding probably very bad idea). When you kept going down though I started to think, all in the same day?

You've got my respect. It's your life every day, live it how you want. I don't know how people find so much time to keep telling others how to live. I'm not totally sure what you're doing but if it's only about riding, I get that. I seriously get that.

What am I saying .. I guess that I've got love for you bro. If I could suggest anything, it would be what is already being said - frame protectors or stand-offs. They make them in nylon, replaceable. Very sorry about your hip. Maybe you should write a book about all this.

nauticalmike · 07-15-2012, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by My395

Did you ride the bike home from the nursing home?

No, I left the Nursing home just 1 week after breaking my hip. I could barely stand up and that was on my other leg. I am going to wait for at least another 4 or 5 weeks before making another attempt so that my hip can fully heal first. The doctors already warned me that this attempt to repair my hip may not work and that I will require a complete hip replacement, and even I'm not stupid enough to do that. Plus putting any load on my Left hip results in extreme pain which would make even mounting my bike an impossible feat.

07-11-2012, 03:01 PM	#1
nauticalmike Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Pinole, CA Posts: 511	Some may chuckle others not so much... I finally completed the instalation of my duallever brake levers and the push button electronic shifter on my bike and was ready to go for a ride. I backed it down my driveway and managed to start riding up the street. After about two blocks I managed to get my feet up onto the footpegs. then I rode for a few blocks and when I came to the first stop I found that my feet had gotten wedged on the pegs and I could not get them off, so I had to run the light. After a few blocks of riding I managed to dislodge them and was able to stop. I looked to see what was causing them to get stuck and then I was off again with my feet on the pegs but no longer stuck. I made some slow speed maneuvers for practice then I was on my way. After around 25 miles I stopped at agas station and enjoyed a cigarette. After my cigarette I got back on the bike and started to leave, but somehow I managed to lose control and laid it down right away. Fortunately there was a strong young man right behind me that ran over and picked my bike up for me. Two other guys were also saying something about me having a bad leg which was probably why I fell. He pointed out the crutches that were strapped to my seat as evidence to his statement. I pointed out to him that I actually had two bad legs, not just one. They were all very supportive and gave me some encouraging words and then after circling the parking lot to regain my composure I was back on the road. Damage to my bike from this incident was a cracked turn signal and the little ball on the end of my clutch lever was broken off. I then rode another 30+ miles with no mishaps and parked the bike at my wifes house next to my boat. Later that evening I also took my bike out for a short ride to the bank and back to get some cash with no mishaps. The following morning we went to the airport early to send my Daughter off on a two week trip to Europe. When my wife and I got back home I decided to take my bike out for some practice. I rode over to a nearby K-mart parking lot and began doing some slow speed maneuvering and braking excercises. After a little while I ended up lalying it down again. Fortunately someone happened along and helped me pick it back up again. Then before I even left that spot my bike rolled off of the kickstand and trapped my leg underneath it. After a little while someone else came along and help me get her upright again. those two falls resulted in three broken turn signals, so I got on and rode her back to my wifes house. As soon as I stopped at my wifes house I toppled over again and was again trapped underneath my bike. Fortunately a neighbor came along and helped me pik it up again. I then sat there and using a butane fueled soldering iron tha I had with me I welded the turn signals all back together. That last fall had caused me to twist my knee pretty good and so I was limping around after that with a very sore knee. because of the problems that I experienced that day I decided that I would ride her back home and then park her until my legs were feeling stronger. So I moiunted up and put on my helmet. WHile I was putting on my gloves she decided to roll foreward and off of the kickstand again. However I guess because it was so unexpected or because my hands were busy, when I tried to get up from the ground I could not do so. I laid there on the ground and rolled around a bit but no mattter how hard I tried I was unable to get up off the ground because of an incredible pain in my hip. After a while I gave up trying and allowed my wife to call an ambulance. THe ambulance came and put me on a gurney and rushed me off to the emergency room and after a few xrays I was informed that my hip was broken. A bit later they had assembled a team to surgically put my hip back together and they did so. Prior to the operation though the nurses offered me some pain medication. Which after having been jostled around in the back of the ambulance and also from the positions they forced me to get into for the x-rays sounded very good. Because of my pain level being so high I requested that they give me some fentanyl. Unfortunately they informed me that the strongest thing they had was morphine. So although Idid not refuse it, the morphine was also pretty much useless for me because of the high doses of Oxycontin/oxycodone that I take every day for the pain caused by my SCI. The following evening they decided to ship me off to a nursing home to continue my rehabilitation therapy. After about aweek I decided that it was time to go home so although I had to leave the nursing home without medical consent I went home anyway. ANd that brings us up to right now with me siting here typing my adventures down here for you to read.

07-11-2012, 03:52 PM	#2
MarkB701 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 3,801	So....any chance you could get a film crew to follow you around from now on? Seriously, that was fun to read. I might suggest some frame protectors for the bike that are long enough to give your legs plenty of room not to be trapped. You might look into some decent padding/protection for your hip, knees and thighs. Finally, you have all my respect! __________________ There's only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch.

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07-13-2012, 10:38 AM	#5
Nickel Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: snowbird Posts: 17	Holy smokes man! I don't know if this is par for the course or what, but given that sort of ratio of rides to falls I think I'd be looking at a trike or something. More power to you for getting back up but be careful you don't kill yourself or make things worse.

07-13-2012, 03:26 PM	#6
ancientgimp Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 3,049	Mike, please don't ride again until you get some landing gear on your bike. Your adventures are a funny read but seriously some old codger like myself w failing reflexes is likely to run you over when you lay the bike down on the road. Your current riding seems like a thinly veiled suicide attempt.

07-13-2012, 09:01 PM	#8
Patrick Madsen Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Blaine, Wa Posts: 3,877	There's an old adage about being warned three times with the third being the wakeup call. You fell more than three times and got bitten. I'm really glad you're writing this stuff down, I see a book and movie coming out. You really laid the story out graphically. Like My, I'm sittin' on the edge of my seat wondering if you rode the bike home. I'm really sorry to hear you're laid up Mike. For me, it's a story I'll tell when asked about the tenacity it takes post injury. Heal quickly my friend.

07-13-2012, 09:18 PM	#9
grommet Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: California Posts: 1,834	Speechless. I don't know what to say, mouth hanging open. Dude! What the fuck. Okay, calming down. Hell of a story and I could almost see myself doing a lot of the same stuff (no SCI but bike riding probably very bad idea). When you kept going down though I started to think, all in the same day? You've got my respect. It's your life every day, live it how you want. I don't know how people find so much time to keep telling others how to live. I'm not totally sure what you're doing but if it's only about riding, I get that. I seriously get that. What am I saying .. I guess that I've got love for you bro. If I could suggest anything, it would be what is already being said - frame protectors or stand-offs. They make them in nylon, replaceable. Very sorry about your hip. Maybe you should write a book about all this.