Time to quit?

[fire escape]

This post has to do with recovery of the mind. My riding buddy crashed HARD last week and now has metal in his arm. My son's buddy crashed and he now has metal in his wrist- my son and I are way more conservative rider's but I am not fooling myself about my chances for the same thing. We have been riding-racing for 6 years now without even a scratch. I am 44 and he is 12 and I'm pretty spooked. We are all set up with trailer,motorhome,nice bikes and gear and quitting would be a major lifestyle change. In addition to the fear factor the money doesn't stretch as far now and cleaning-prepping the bikes seems to be another chore and not a labor of love like it used to be . Would like to here from someone else that has gone through the same thing THANKS:(

 

[Terry B>]

I recently got into riding again after a LONG time out of off-roading. Your questions definitely cause one to ponder MORE questions. Were the injured parties you mention experienced? If so, and the way you refer to them, they were, were they riding outside of their abilities at the time of their injuries? If not, then I would say you and your son need to re-evaluate the reason(s) you started riding/ride to begin with. If racing/bike prep are getting hectic, try laying off actual competition for a while and stick to some more sedate trail riding. Maybe look into some of the many "tours" posted in popular publications. Utah, Baja and the like. They can gear the tour for you and your sons ability. Just the fact that you are competing in races adds some pressure that wouldn't be there if you were just riding for the sake of ENJOYING the RIDING. Hope this helps.

 

[Anssi]

Nobody can make that decision for you. No matter how well you prepare, competitive off-road motorcycling is one of the most dangerous sports around (of anything that can actually be considered sport).

 

[JTT]

I can understand where you are coming from. I have been riding for 20+ years (including roadracing, MX, and cross country) and up until the last 4-5 years, have been injury free. Now it seems that injuries are coming faster than I can recover :( . I am using this theory....I when all those years (many times, well in excess of ability) without injury, and I am paying the price now...but, at this rate, I should have my "quota" used up soon, leaving many more years of injury free riding! Twisted logic, I know :think

Bottom line is to try to stay within your abilities (I am assuming that you are not striving for "national" glory :D ), where protective equipment, and have fun. It may be time to step back, as was noted by others, and re-assess where the "fun" is/was. Hang in there

ps. this post was typed with one hand in a cast....just one more off the quota!:scream:

 

[KXRider]

I have been where you are and to some extent still at the same cross roads as you. I am 42 and my Son is 9. Up until April of this year we had raced together for about 4 years. I got badly injured in April this year braking 8 of my ribs. It has taken months to recover. I decided to put my bike up for he rest of the year and dedicate myself to supporting my Son's racing. I have continued to have a ball and supporting my Son is great. I went through a time period where I was VERY nervous about him racing. Quite frankly sick at times during his races. He actually had a very similar crash that broke me up about a month after my crash. The only difference was he got up and back on the bike only loosing 2 positions. I got him a second bike and he is racing more than ever and we are planning on upgrading to a toybox trailer in the spring. While I plan to do some more riding this winter, to be honest I am having as much fun supporting my Son I am not sure if I want to jeporitize this by going back to racing.

 

[leeinmemphis]

Funny you should mention this. I go through the same reasoning about once a year. This last year I have primarily trail ridden and ridden a couple of hare scrambles. I have too been thinking about hanging it up but am leaning towards going ahead and getting a new bike and really trying to do some enduros and hare scrambles next year. It is definitely something you have to balance between the value of your enjoyment riding and the risk you take when riding(especially if you are a faster rider). It seems that now the people I know that ride don't get hurt often but when they do it is fairly serious. It makes you think about if it is worth the risk or not. Sometimes when I wonder about that I'll just let the bike sit for a month or two and then when I get back on it again I have a blast a remember why I do it. I do enjoy trail riding more than racing but in our area it is hard to find somewhere to ride without racing. I usually just enter the race telling myself I want to trail ride. It's sometimes hard reminding yourself of that and not get caught up in all the excitement and ride over your head. Lets face it that is probably how 60% or more people get hurt. They try to ride over their ability. Just my opinion.

-lee-

 

[CRF ROCKS]

safety

I am also having second thoughts about getting my son into mx.My dream is to be an mx dad when my kid is old enough.My only fear was that I would be setting him up to eventually want a street bike,which is very dangerous in the heavily conjested area I live in. However it seems like I cannot discuss mx without hearing about injuries, so now I am leaning toward GNCC and harescrambles,ie no double jumps.Is my thinking correct or is off road racing just as dangerous.I am upset about the double jumps on intermediate tracks, why not have tabletops they seem just as much fun but much more forgiving.Do I need to pay more money for the extra dirt or is it the track brag factor comming into play.

 

[Peer Lovell]

I hear ya. I get this the odd time. I just lay off riding for a couple of weeks and next thing you know I miss it and have to get right back on the bike.
If potential injuries concern you, then slow down a touch and make sure you don't ride beyond your instincts.
I'm 55 and have never had anything too serious, other than the odd rib.
Don't forget what riding gives you. Great exercise, a load of new friends, the great outdoors, noise, dirt and environmental damage!
Having a sport that involves you to this degree sets you apart from every other golf-playing Joe Blow out there.

 

[penguin]

And don't forget the adrenaline rush form riding that nothing else can give you. At 49 it still makes me feel like a kid every time I get on the bike and get some air or blast through a set of whoops at speed:)

 

[fire escape]

Thanks

Thanks for the support guys. I haven't replied because it's taken me this long to pull my head from you know where. My buddy is healing up and I am taking a break over the holidays. That was a close call- I almost sold it. Thanks again-amazing how many old farts like us ride:D

 

[Terry B>]

You don't stop riding 'cause you get old. You get old 'cause you stop riding;)

 

[thorman75]

ive been doin this sport on/off for over thirty years,if you think you can just walk away youll surprise yourself.ive quit at least 10 times.my son crashed at red bud broke both arms,ulna,radius,clavicle,and c1,2,3,in his neck.i put it like that so youd know what im talking about.he raced 1 more year crashed hard again ,byron this time and quit.ive spent alot of time in the er with aj,hes done the same for me.my point is chances are your gonna get hurt eventually,but it seems like somethings are worth the risk.in my opinion mx is worth it.i conceide im a lifer.

 

[Honda Rider]

I'm going through the same thing with my dad. Ever since I was little I've loved 2 things. Jets and motorcycles. I want to become a Naval Aviator when I grow up, but I also love riding dirtbikes. I just recently got my first bike-September. Well, since this was all I could find and afford, i bought a 250-yeah, I know, not the smartest thing in the world. Anyways, I really got into it since my best friend rides. Well at my first track, I messed up a jump and went straight off a berm. I didn't crash hard or anything, just a normal wreck, but my wrist hurt really bad, I just thought I sprained it and kept riding. Turns out I broke my arm. So now after the casts off I want to go riding again, but I have to sell the 250 for a 125. But my dad's trying to get me to quit riding now! The other day in our "local" mx shop I was going to exchange the boots they got me-some cheap O'neals, and get the better and cooler Vectors, and my dad went off on me saying that it's not like i'm racing or anything-which I plan on to this summer. So we're in a big arguement over riding and how dangerous it is, especially since I want to be a pilot, but I wouldn't give up riding for the world! So I'm in a really bad position right now. It's kinda like-drop riding and be a pilot, keep riding and most likely not be able to be a pilot b/c I'm bound to break more bones. It sucks:mad: