In need of your support...

I hope your brother has a speedy recovery! One note of caution, NEVER RIDE ALONE! I guess you figured this one out though. Imagine being injured way out in the woods and nobody knows you are there. Bad situation.

Also, in my experience, I think it is worse seeing a family member go through an injury than it is to be injured yourself. It plays with your emotions a bit. Just take it easy for a little while on the bike and you will get your confidence back faster than you think.

So sorry to hear your brother is hurt. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. . Every time I get hurt or see Lifeflight land at a track, I have the same doubts you are having. One day I saw a road rider killed on the highway on my way to the track. It really shook me up, and I couldn't ride for weeks. Eventually, I realized that riding was something I truly loved to do. Risks are part of our sport, and little wake-up calls like this do serve a purpose. In the end, they make you appreciate what you do so much more. They also give you a healthy dose of restraint that assures that you make it to work every monday morning. Don't sweat this. Just take some time to reflect, support your brother, and eventually you both will ride again.

Sorry to hear about your brother. I had simular injuries and have been on the road to recovery about 8 weeks now. I had a friend that was scared to ride again after a broken collar bone, and took 6 months off from riding until lost his fear. I repaired my bike two days after being released from the hospital and have been thinking about riding ever since. This is a dangerous sport, but just driving to work is too. I bet your brother is thinking about when he could ride again.

I hope your bro has a good recovery. I'll bet that he'll be asking you to go riding soon. He'll forget the pain, but remember the pleasure of riding.

And like va_yzrider said, NEVER ride alone.

Sorry to hear about your brother. Don't worry, the ghosts will go away soon! Ride on my friend! Just don't do it alone! :aj:

Bizerk, you're going through some normal feelings. My husband broke himself 3 weeks ago (2 vertebrae) & I thought for half a second about selling the bikes & taking up knitting. I then thought about mum teaching me how to knit all them years ago & worked out it'll just make me grumpier than normal ;)

While he was in hospital (just overnight), I couldn't sleep & just started stressing out about what could've been. What was reality seemed irrelevant, it was more the "what if" that did it. I ride a road bike to work & on the Monday couldn't really face it. I called in sick as I'd had stuff all sleep & would've just worried about Henk all day anyway. The ride in on Tuesday I can't even remember, it wasn't a big deal. My first ride back on the dirtbike was freaky. I thought I'd got away with no repercussions & everything was cool, until I came around a corner & found the riders I'd sort of been chasing sitting around (I'd left ages after them & didn't really expect to see them & definitely not that close in - it was about 200m away from where Henk had broken his back). I immediately freaked out & asked what was wrong. Turned out it was just a bike problem.

I ride alone a lot & still do. Henk never had a problem with it but now sometimes does, the same goes with the other guys - in some ways they've become more protective. I don't go far & make sure someone knows where I am & carry a cellphone. The funny thing about the day Henk crashed was I was riding badly & I remember thinking that if I crashed, it'd take some time for the guys to work out I'd crashed. I look at the whole accident as a wake-up call - what we do can be/is dangerous & we have to be aware of the possible consequences & weigh it all up. Nothing may happen, but something could.

When Henk crashed, he'd stopped concentrating on what he was doing & got out of control by hitting a stump. In about 8-10 weeks, he'll be back on the bike & I think that's going to be the worst time for me. The ghosts will return but they will go away for a while.

You'll get through this time, as your brother will & in the meantime, keep your chin up, find someone to go riding with & decide then whether you want to continue with the sport or not. It's not all doom & gloom, there's a lot of fun inbetween but it's an individual choice none of us can make for you. Just don't rush into it. Let us know how the ride goes (if you decide to go) :)