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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding ... /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1314625619 Message started by Oldfeller on 08/29/11 at 06:46:59 |
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Title: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding ... Post by Oldfeller on 08/29/11 at 06:46:59 This is a semi-serious question as I sense it it looming out there in the distance for me. Health and abilities change over time and road damage mounts up in our joints, etc. We decline in our ability to ride long distances .... When I started the Dragon runs with Toymaker and Lancer and all, we were starting the grey top and hair loss thing, but we were all spry and were gettin' on it good and we ripped around right smartly. We went for like 5 years in a row and I noted the body mobility decline in the others (I already was well aware of my own and made jokes about falling over when getting off the bike at overlooks). Now I have hip or knee episodes that park my one remaining bike (my Savage) for a month at a time now as I don't want to aggravate the knee damage, etc. Some of you jokers have finally hung it up except for an occasional joyride -- seriously, if you can talk about it without pain what finally caused you to hang the helmet up on the hook out in the garage? |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by jjn on 08/29/11 at 07:48:13 I'm almost 58 and started riding at eight off road. Got a street riding permit at 15 and a half and have been at it ever since. I simply can't see me not riding. All my life riding has been my therapy to overcome the streeses and BS in my life. Sorry, but I don't even want to talk aboit hanging up my riding gear. jjn |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by 12Bravo on 08/29/11 at 07:49:00 I haven't hung my helmet up yet and have looked for other solutions to keep riding. I have arthritis and fibromyalgia (bad knees/hips) and sometimes have to let the S40 sit. I bought my Suzuki Burgman 650 so that I can ride on days that I can't swing my leg over the S40 and will eventually trike the Burgman or get a VW trike. |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/29/11 at 07:58:25 I havent ridden in 2+years,, when I get the Savge running, Im selling it. Im thinking Ill sell the W 650, too, & hunt a Miata or something, |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by Boule’tard on 08/29/11 at 08:47:09 Whatever you do, don't turn riding into work! You do not have to ride at all, and if any particular outing does not seem like fun, don't do it. The surest way to procrastinate/never do something is to begin with a sense of obligation. Screw that. You worked hard in your life and now it is time to just have as much fun as you want. I (very loosely) plan to prop the hell out of myself as I lose mobility, so that things remain fun at each stage. When I don't want to ride a tall motorbike anymore, I'll switch to a cruiser. When it is too much trouble, or painful to swing a leg over a cruiser, I'll switch to a scooter. When it is trouble to balance a scooter, I'll switch to one of those Can-Am things or a sidecar rig. When I am too "out of it" to be safe on the road, I'll switch to a Kubota tractor and see if I can do some real damage. Then when they pull me off the tractor, I'll get an electric wheelchair that I can steer with my face. Once I can't steer with my face, technology willing, I'll transfer myself into a fully digital entity like on that Star Trek episode. But none of these steps is going to happen if it does not seem like a good, fun idea at the time. So, not only do you not have to force yourself to keep riding a particular vehicle, you don't have to plan out everything to the grave either. I think avoiding rigid obligations, and recognizing that you don't have to do anything.. ultimately leads to more getting done and more fun being had. Kind Regards, John |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by weracerc on 08/29/11 at 09:00:16 I waited til I was 48 to start riding - not going to stop until i just cant hold the grips anymore - which considering i have arthritis and diabetic neuropathy issues with my hands might not be all that far off - but until i can't safely hold on to it and or control it then I plan to ride. |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by babyhog on 08/29/11 at 09:20:22 I'd have to say when you feel unsafe to yourself or others, you gotta hang it up. Gotta be honest with yourself. |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by Oldfeller on 08/29/11 at 09:26:25 3132333E3C265F0 wrote:
Heck fire, Babyhog -- honestly, this has been true for a LONG time now. Jest ask the boys whut go on these little trips wid us .... and I ain't the only dangerous one, either. ;) One Dragon I was running with a not quite healed dislocated shoulder, Lancer has ridden in a body brace for his back and trip before that I had a badly bunged up left wrist. Overcoming the handicaps is part of the joy, but eventually you go Justin and Mick and Bill on us -- what finally trips the trigger? What brings the subject up is we are gonna try to go do Mount Mitchell and the Black Mountains (The Diamondback, the other Dragon type run) again in a few weeks .... Sept 19th - 23rd Once more we can defy our creaky old flesh and go do it yet again !!! |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by lukeduck on 08/29/11 at 10:31:26 Don't sound to me like you will ever give up riding. You may have some years, but you are most likely alot tougher than most of the young folk. If you get tired of swinging the leg over and having to hold the bike up, remember they make a trike conversion for the 650 Burgman. Hang in there, have fun on the upcoming ride (pictures???). |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by 12Bravo on 08/29/11 at 12:30:54 0D140A040514020A610 wrote:
Trinity Trikes makes a true trike kit for the Savage/S40 and the Burgman 650. http://thetrinitytrike.com/. Ultimately, each person has to decide for themselves when to hang up their helmet. Until then, there are options. I will probably put a Trinity trike kit on the Burgman when the time comes for that. And I can always make a sidecar to roll up onto with a power chair (way down the road) and make my kids take me for a ride ;D |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by drums1 on 08/29/11 at 14:35:29 I just turned 55. Been riding 6 years. I wish I would have started riding a lot younger. Actually, I did have an old Honda 50 back in my teen years. It is already getting difficult to swing the leg over. And my a$$ + back can only take about 50 miles at a time. I also have a lazy eye with glaucoma, so I pretty much drive 1-eyed. Things that make me think about giving it up? Well the large-rock-in-road incedent didn't help matters much. And there is the crash factor. We are so vulnerable as bikers. This morning I found out that an old friend of mine plowed his Harley into the back of a delivery truck, sliding on sandy pea gravel from a construction site. Apparently the truck slammed on his brakes to avoid rear ending some OTHER biker. Well, my buddy's wife got thrown off the back--she's ok with minor injuries, but my buddy got pinned under the bike and of course, there was fire. He got burned pretty bad, I guess, and died a few hours later at the hospital. Is it time to hang up the helmet I don't wear? No sir. It does make you think long and hard. But, when I can no longer physically get on the thing, then, maybe. Oh, and that Trinity Savage Trike? SWEET !! I want one !! RIP Larry Lussier |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by Routy on 08/29/11 at 15:45:22 Hook in the garage for the helmet ?? :o Thats where I always hang it when done riding,....at least 2....sometimes 3 times a week,....and always 40 to 60 mi RT. I still have fun when riding,....even tho I have adjusted my riding to my older reflexes. The only time I had doubts about riding, was when I restarted riding here again 2 + yrs ago,.....when it seemed the Deer in this country were out to get me,.....had some close calls that had me wondering ! But, I slowed down,..... got used to the country here, and I'm good now. I'll continue riding till I begin to worry about it, or don't have fun anymore. At 70, I am blessed w/ very little......to no health issues. |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by marine5317 on 08/29/11 at 17:11:47 I have been riding since 1953. At 24 years old I wound up with 6 screws in my lower back ( a ruptured disc from welding in a shipyard ) 2005 I got 3 rods a 10 screws put in my neck at the VA hospital ( spinal stenosis ) 2007 I had a quadruple bypass at the same hospital. March of 2008 I bought my 2007 LS650 and had it 2 years and sold it. I then bought my 2010 Triumph Bonneville T-100 which I have put 6000 miles on already. I am 75 now and I look at age as just a number. I am not saying that I don't have any aches or pains as I have lived with low back pain since I was 24. I get on my Bonny and I'm singing within the first mile. As long as I can keep singing I'll keep on riding. The first hundred years are the roughest and after that, it's all down hill. Ride Safe Marine5317 |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by Gyrobob on 08/29/11 at 18:30:16 I've been riding since 1828. jk I've been riding since I was 13,.. in 1960. I don't see any reason to stop riding unless you start noticing obvious problems that would endanger others. Lapses of concentration, lack of balance, etc. or If you just don't like to anymore. That actually happens to some folks. Sad that we have to address these issues,... |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by Boofer on 08/29/11 at 19:17:06 392620273A3D0C3C0C34262A61530 wrote:
I would give my left you-know-what for a w650, but that's what the Savage cost me. ;D ;D It's kinda like the doctor says about knee and hip replacements. You'll know when it's time. I hope you ride a long time. |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by Oldfeller on 08/30/11 at 11:14:40 I think we are gonna call this trip to Mt. Mitchell and the Diamondback "The Walking Wounded Tour" in honor of our creaky old flesh. ::) |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by mojo on 09/01/11 at 08:15:24 Being a NewBie, I don't feel qualified to give advice, but.............my approach would be when it is no longer fun or you don't feel comfortable/safe, make some changes. You can still ride to the Post Office, Bank, Grocery, etc............Don't give up till they throw dirt in your face! :) |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by engineer on 09/02/11 at 17:03:57 I hope you don't give up the Savage Oldfeller because I enjoy reading your posts. I have learned a lot from them. |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by Oldfeller on 09/02/11 at 18:16:33 I got a new indicator -- when all your riding buddies get too old to ride and no-one shows up at the meeting point. |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by Drifter on 09/02/11 at 18:27:24 Boule'tard +1 Gotta ride something all the way to the end.... A mans gotta know his limitations!! Seems im learning more about mine each......month.....that said im gonna be in the wind as long as possible 40 years and counting. :) |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by BillTheRat on 09/02/11 at 19:48:06 I agree with engineer. Oldfeller's posts are always a good read! It sounds to me like OF might want to slow down, but doesn't know how??? |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by kimchris1 on 09/02/11 at 21:41:44 As long as I can see, I plan to be riding.. I can't even begin to think of having to hang up my helmet and gear for good. I refuse to think I will ever turn over my keys to someone else..:) kim |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by Oldfeller on 09/03/11 at 07:10:48 I know how to slow down, just follow behind Toymaker or MMRanch .... ;) |
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Title: Re: How do you know when it is TIME to stop riding Post by Routy on 09/03/11 at 15:25:50 694247475F434E594A5F2B0 wrote:
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