First ride report, kinda

[jmazza]

My first ride since my crash two months ago was yesterday!! It's just about as great as the actual first ride.

The ride was to/from my dealer where I had them do a safety check. Everything checked out ok for the most part (steering alignment and a brake lever lube) and so I only had to pay an hour of labor. I still have about $300-400 of body parts to get but I am going to do that on my own from scooter lounge and after I move in case the movers break anything.

I have really REALLY missed riding. Especially the stress-relieving effects of it. It's crazy how a sometimes dangerous activity, one that gave me some pretty bad injuries, can immediately and constantly also be the one thing that makes a day go better!

[matty_x]

It's crazy how a sometimes dangerous activity, one that gave me some pretty bad injuries, can immediately and constantly also be the one thing that makes a day go better!

This is exactly what I say about skateboarding.

[Mulliganal]

It's crazy how a sometimes dangerous activity, one that gave me some pretty bad injuries, can immediately and constantly also be the one thing that makes a day go better!

This is exactly what I say about skateboarding.

Man, I wanted to skateboard so badly and gave it a try some years ago (now I was in my 40s and thought my son would get a kick out of seeing me skateboard). I've been an inline skater for over 20 years so I thought it would be easy. Well, I jumped on that sucker and busted my @ss; I was sore for over a week. I think scooters are way safer than skateboards, at least for folks over 40 perhaps.

[Drum Pro]

I'm glad to hear that you didn't have any serious injuries. Keep scooting and remember, "Have fun with it".

[Skootz Kabootz]

Scooters, they're like therapy on two wheels. Mine has turned many a day around, many a frown upside down. I think it is the way when riding, one must be in the moment. Past regrets, future worries have no place in the present. One must simply "be". And that is awesome.

So glad your most important attribute—your spirit—was not harmed in the fall jmazza! Most excellent.

[viney266]

Glad to see you back on and smiling:)...Thats great!

[flatblackbuddy]

My first ride since my crash two months ago was yesterday!! It's just about as great as the actual first ride.

The ride was to/from my dealer where I had them do a safety check. Everything checked out ok for the most part (steering alignment and a brake lever lube) and so I only had to pay an hour of labor. I still have about $300-400 of body parts to get but I am going to do that on my own from scooter lounge and after I move in case the movers break anything.

I have really REALLY missed riding. Especially the stress-relieving effects of it. It's crazy how a sometimes dangerous activity, one that gave me some pretty bad injuries, can immediately and constantly also be the one thing that makes a day go better!

I agree with the part about really missing riding, even though it's only been a couple of weeks since my accident. I'd be lying however if I said I'm not a little afraid to get back on and ride again. The fact that I didn't even see the gravel that put me down adds a lot of doubt in the back of my mind about whether I'll be able to avoid another accident.

How did you get past the fear of falling? In my opinion, confidence is a big part riding safely an mine's a bit shaken still.

[jmazza]

How did you get past the fear of falling? In my opinion, confidence is a big part riding safely an mine's a bit shaken still.

It does help that I consider my wreck avoidable and mainly my own fault due to distraction. There were also a few weeks where I thought I wasn't sure if I'd get back on it. I thought maybe I'd keep the scooter around for recreation, etc. Two months past the wreck and I felt ok to get on and go around the neighborhood. I remember my first ride where I dared myself to go out onto the 35mph street outside my neighborhood. I rode on it for about 1/4 mile and thought I was FLYING. It was a somewhat similar process but it didn't take long before I want to go WOT.

I'm still planning on modifying my riding and trying to avoid US1 (where I had my wreck) just because it's a difficult street for scooters- very congested, lots of crazy cars, etc. I have to ride on it some, but will now avoid it when possible. I'll also say that I did not feel super confident that first ride back. But I felt good and that's good enough for now.

So, I guess it's a matter of some time and how you feel. I don't think either decision- to ride again or not- is right or wrong. There might be some benefit psychologically to getting back on and at least riding once around the block just to not be kept off it by fear but that also is subjective.

[flatblackbuddy]

I don't think my fear will keep me off of it. I just don't want to be the guy that's constantly checking my mirrors to make sure I'm not holding up traffic because I'm not riding fast enough.

[Drum Pro]

@flat back buddy: Have you tried to get back to basics, practicing more, and riding with others. I can't claim to match your experience as I'm a new rider myself, but whenever I had trouble with something, especially some drumming thing I couldn't do right or messed up on, I'd go back to the beginning. The worst thing you can do is to quit or give up. Go over what happened in your head and eventually you'll figure out what went wrong so the next time you'll be spot on. Anyways, I hope things work out for you!!!!

[flatblackbuddy]

@flat back buddy: Have you tried to get back to basics, practicing more, and riding with others. I can't claim to match your experience as I'm a new rider myself, but whenever I had trouble with something, especially some drumming thing I couldn't do right or messed up on, I'd go back to the beginning. The worst thing you can do is to quit or give up. Go over what happened in your head and eventually you'll figure out what went wrong so the next time you'll be spot on. Anyways, I hope things work out for you!!!!

Drum Pro - I haven't been back out yet. My arm is still in a cast.

I will be back on the bike though, like you said, taking things from the beginning. I'll be braking earlier and taking corners much more carefully, finding that balance between speed and safety. Looking back, I was a bit distracted thinking about the flat spot in my throttle when I crashed. I didn't really think about that until reading jmazza's post about his crash. Just goes to show the importance of always being 100% focused on riding while riding.

[viney266]

I had a bad fall once on the racetrack. I was racing Sound of Singles and a guy blew his motor in front of me. Myself and 6 others went down in the oil spill at about 115 MPH. Keep in mind I had been racing about 7 years at this point and was no novice. Two things I learned

1.) Anyone can fall; luckily for me I had ZERO roadrash and no broken bones. I destroyed a $1,500 leather suit and it was worth every penny

2.) You just get back on and ride...It took a few weeks and dozens of times past the "spot" to get back to the speed and comfort level I was at. But, I took my time, took "small bites" , and got my confidence back. Do it safely and you will be fine.

I did it for the same reason. I missed riding and the fun and enjoyment of racing. My wife never gave me ONE OUNCE of grief or concern. She just helped me get going again.

So, what you are doing is great. Go back out and ride, wear your gear be smart and have fun...And enjoy it

[flatblackbuddy]

I had a bad fall once on the racetrack. I was racing Sound of Singles and a guy blew his motor in front of me. Myself and 6 others went down in the oil spill at about 115 MPH. Keep in mind I had been racing about 7 years at this point and was no novice. Two things I learned

1.) Anyone can fall; luckily for me I had ZERO roadrash and no broken bones. I destroyed a $1,500 leather suit and it was worth every penny

2.) You just get back on and ride...It took a few weeks and dozens of times past the "spot" to get back to the speed and comfort level I was at. But, I took my time, took "small bites" , and got my confidence back. Do it safely and you will be fine.

I did it for the same reason. I missed riding and the fun and enjoyment of racing. My wife never gave me ONE OUNCE of grief or concern. She just helped me get going again.

So, what you are doing is great. Go back out and ride, wear your gear be smart and have fun...And enjoy it

Luckily my wife hasn't hassled me one bit about my crash either. In fact she's been a big supporter of me getting back on the bike and defending my decision to ride again to all the naysayers who have deemed me "stupid" or "crazy".

Now I just need to finish up the bike repairs / upgrades and get my cast off.

[SteMer]

My first ride since my crash two months ago was yesterday!! It's just about as great as the actual first ride.

I have really REALLY missed riding. Especially the stress-relieving effects of it. It's crazy how a sometimes dangerous activity, one that gave me some pretty bad injuries, can immediately and constantly also be the one thing that makes a day go better!

Welcome back! And +1 on the stress-relieving effects.

[BuddyRaton]

Bayview can be a nice alternative to Federal Hwy. Stop signs but few traffic lights

[michelle_7728]

I don't think my fear will keep me off of it. I just don't want to be the guy that's constantly checking my mirrors to make sure I'm not holding up traffic because I'm not riding fast enough.

When I'm in my car, I pretty much go the speed limit or 2 or 3 miles over, but when on the scooter, I always go 5-10 miles over (which would be 10-15 miles over indicated).

I look for police, but I figure many of them ride motorcycles too and know that if you go the speed limit, or even 5 over, when on two wheels many people will be on your butt. I just try not to take it too far and go too fast...

When I had my wreck over 2 years ago (a woman pulled out of a blind driveway and stopped blocking my lane, in the drizzle) my scooter went down on it's right side pretty instantly when I grabbed the brakes. I landed on my right shoulder, face and chin (thank God I had started wearing my full faced modular helmet a couple of weeks earler ) and slid into the driver's side of her SUV. Luckily, other than a sprained left pinkie (snagged on my windshield when it shattered) and a quarter sized road rash on my right knee, I was okay...though my Buddy wasn't.

I went out that weekend and bought a used Buddy until I could get Little Bit (my orange Buddy) fixed up again, and started riding immediately. For me there was never any question of not riding, even though I am an older female and had just started riding...like 2 months before.

If I had been seriously injured, perhaps the story might be different, but well, there you go.

My Buddy was "totalled", but the frame wasn't bent, so $400-$500 later (and $450 to buy it back) it was almost as good as new a couple of months later. I say "almost" because there are a couple of panels that just had scratches, that I didn't bother replacing. Anyhow, since then I've put over 4,000 miles on that scooter--out of my over 10,000 miles on all the scooters I've owned in the last couple of years.

Anyway, lessons learned for me from that incident: 1. Avoid that road when coming home, as the blind driveways are on my right then. 2. Ride like your tires are bald when it drizzles, since you likely have a lot less traction than you think you do if you have to panic stop, or when you go around a corner.