At Last! Back on the bike (and the forum)

[Kilted Ginger]

Finally felt brave enough and strong enough to balance the bike last week. Thought the reflexes / concentration had sharpened up enough with the reduction in drugs so here goes.

Teetered out the street, both feet down:( crawled down to the T junction and pulled out, almost stalled as i'd forgotten to come down out of 3rd when i stopped, slowly chugged away, sat 80yds back from blue transit at 23mph in a 30 for a mile, road opened out to long sweeping 60 limit, still behind blue transit 47mph, checked out road clear for at least a mile. twisted gingerly on the throttle closing to 15yds on van, infantesimle spot appears on the horizon, nisan micra, easily 1000 yds away. Panic what to do, roll off the throttle, wobble, panic, back on the throttle, 800yds now, panic, back off the throttle drop back behind the van......10, 11, 12 secs micra passes.

Roundabout crawl around perpendicular 15mph, exit crawl along 40 limit 32mph, bike coming other way, lifts hand in friendly gesture, I dont move, no wave, no nod, stairing straight ahead, petrified, roundabout, road, junction, cant find neutral, 1st- 2nd- 1st- 2nd- road clear, chug out, mcdonalds on left. pull in, switch off.

6.1 miles, 20 mins, new land speed record (if i'd walked it) Into McD's for coffee and burger, Thinking back, mirrors never used, no life savers, never out of 3rd, no overtake, no lean, WTF:confused: it cant be this hard, I can do this, whats that expression, "like riding a bike". 40 minutes to get the courage to leave McD's. Straight home, no improvement, only fear, not real fear but irrational fear of nothing, not of crashing, not of some dozy cage hitting me, just fear no rhyme, no reason. Home, safe , parked and locked, standing staring, just want to ride her, why cant I ride her.

So 16 months of sitting in a garage, and all she gets is 12 miles of ****.:mad:

Week later, its sunny, dry, take her out and clean her, still sunny, suit up lid on, out of street, 2nd-3rd-4th, junction 2nd, rip out, teeter twist harder 3rd 58 **** 30 limit:smt018 roll off, 28 coast out, 60 limit twist hear the wind car ahead, 4th twist harder car behind, mirrors, life savers, twist, roll off, lean in twist brake pass, twist , pull in 50 miles done, not well but done, no incidents however no enjoyment just functional, so at least the mechanics are there, muscle memory, I can actually sit on her and travel, no enjoyment - no fear either only trepidation, well maybe some fear.

Yesterday, took her to saltire for a check up and book the 7.5k service, b roads/ a roads/ motorway/ city centre, traffic lights/ busy/ filtering, there and back, no issues, no enjoyment, no confidence but no fear[-o< Shes fine needs a service and new tyres (Diablo Stradas), booked in for 1st July, but she needs another 1000 miles on the clock before then.

So I'm back on the bike and back on the forum, back in the land of the living, not enjoying it yet but I will! 1000 miles to do in 10 days, no problem, might even enjoy some of them.

[on yer bike]

good to hear that you're back :)

[SoulKiss]

It will all come back to you.

Glad to see you back

[scooby2102]

go for it mate, glad to see you back on the road again, well done :p

[Stig]

Welcome back dude. It took me around 6 months of riding post recovery before enjoyment started coming back properly. You'll get there in the end. :wink:

[kitkat]

well done Mark. It will all come back to you, the fun will start kicking in. You have been thru a lot and you are getting on a bit ;) - take it easy. xx

[suicidesam]

Glad to see yer back out an about :-D

It all takes time, and loads of miles... the smiles will soon return :cool:

[ArtyLady]

Brilliant news! :cool: I was exactly the same after my illness (18 months off the road completely - car as well) it took me quite a while to re-establish my driving/riding skills, confidence and reactions - take your time - build up gradually and all of a sudden you will notice you are back to normal :smt023:D

[tanis34]

:cheers:glad your on the road again the fun will return as you relax more just take your time :D

[K]

Good to hear you're back - stick with it and it'll all come back in time, the leaning, the freedom, the fun...

... the feel of the wind in your hair...




... ah, hang on - crash helmet - right...






... the feel of the wind in your pants. ;)

[Tiger 55]

Panic........wobble........petrified........fear.. ......teeter....
Well there's nothing wrong with the size of your balls mate!

Fantastic to have you back. :cheers:

Will we see you at the Massacre?

Needles to say if there's anything we can do for you, just let us know.

And, you know, if you've got any strong drugs left over...

[Jinxy43]

Glad to hear your doing well, just take it steady and in no time it will all come flooding back and when it does the biggest grin will appear on your face

[-Ralph-]

Welcome back Buddy! :cool:

[northwind]

Ah, great to hear it mate. I was onl;y off the bike for about 4 months but I just couldn't ride it when I got back on, it was horrible... Took me ages to get back in the swing of it. Quite a common feeling I think, and you've been off for a lot longer than I was. But it came back, and stronger than before because I stopped taking it all for granted. I'm sure it will for you too.

[independentphoto]

Hiya mate.

That's brilliant news that you're feeling stronger now. You know we were both thinking about you. To be honest, I got to the stage that I was scared to ask after such a long period of silence. Thought about popping over or sending a txt a fair few times but didn't want to be a pain either.

Probably a bit worried to hear that you'd maybe had another set back too.

Hope to see you abot soon then.

Garry:cool:

[Shellywoozle]

Ahh mate you are my inspiration, or you will be when I get back out on the tarmac. Good on ya and keep taking it one step at a time.

I think that's the key bit at a time and adding in a Maccy D's can't be bad !!!

Shell x

[Dicky Ticker]

No doubt the new slim line model will be better than the old one given time

A BIG WELCOME BACK

[peterco]

It's good to see that your getting back on the bike,
you will soon get the hang of again.

Take care

pete

[Kilted Ginger]

Thanks to everyone for all the replies and kind words, going for a run tonight with Ralph, at least he'll get a good laugh at my skill set.
Yes I will be at the massacre although not sure i'll manage the full 250.:smt075

Abby / indy I've still got the truffle box, i'll get it back to you eventually.

On a brighter note, after last years "challanges" I've asked Hazel to marry me and surprisingly enough she said yes, looks like August 2009 but not confirmed yet. Need to practice riding with the Kilt on so I can arrive at the church in style;)

[on yer bike]

Yes I will be at the massacre although not sure i'll manage the full 250.:smt075

Don't worry, I'm going but not doing the rideout so there I'll prob be about somewhere if you decide its too much.

Congratulations on the wedding!

[stuartyboy]

Thanks to everyone for all the replies and kind words, going for a run tonight with Ralph, at least he'll get a good laugh at my skill set.
Yes I will be at the massacre although not sure i'll manage the full 250.:smt075

Abby / indy I've still got the truffle box, i'll get it back to you eventually.

On a brighter note, after last years "challanges" I've asked Hazel to marry me and surprisingly enough she said yes, looks like August 2009 but not confirmed yet. Need to practice riding with the Kilt on so I can arrive at the church in style;)

SHAMONE!!!!! :cool::D Well done matey. magic to hear you're back again. Congrats on the wedding too.

If you two guys are out tonight then let me know when and where...I "might" be able to join up with you for a bit.

Great news man!

[Tiger 55]

I've asked Hazel to marry me and surprisingly enough she said yes
You're surprised, imagine how astonished she must be!

Congratulations to you both :D

[independentphoto]

Abby / indy I've still got the truffle box, i'll get it back to you eventually.

On a brighter note, after last years "challanges" I've asked Hazel to marry me and surprisingly enough she said yes. Need to practice riding with the Kilt on so I can arrive at the church in style;)

Bloody hell mate - Great news:D Well done.

Not too worried about that little box at the mo.;-)

As usual, we thought about popping over once or twice but didn't want to make a nuisance of ourselves. Glad your back on the run.

Garry:cool:

[-Ralph-]

going for a run tonight with Ralph, at least he'll get a good laugh at my skill set.

:---) Dont believe a word of it! :p;) He's sharking you all in time for the next rideout!

We've had a good swift run, as fast as I would normally go on roads I don't know well (chasing the limit point, etc) and faced paced enough on the last leg home from peebles that we could easily have attracted attention from the law.

The only time I had to wait for him is because he stopped to put his sunglasses on! :thumright::riding::takeabow:

Just did this http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=14676558430442609679,55.605170,-3.407050%3B3641443522241528938,55.533560,-3.101080&saddr=Harthill,+Shotts,+North+Lanarkshire,+United+ Kingdom&daddr=A701%2FCalzeat+%4055.605170,+-3.407050+to:Moffat+to:B709+%4055.533560,+-3.101080+to:Harthill,+Shotts,+North+Lanarkshire,+U nited+Kingdom&mra=pe&mrcr=3&sll=54.579717,-2.487368&sspn=4.477144,9.580078&ie=UTF8&ll=55.598523,-3.405762&spn=0.54545,1.19751&z=10in a wee bit over 2 1/2 hours

Riding west into the setting sun, coming back from Peebles to Harthill, was taking the expression "blind faith" far too literally. There were corners that disappeared into black retinal overload, and straights that could have had a 500 lb stag standing in the middle of the road and we wouldn't have seen it 'til we hit it!

But what an evening run, blue skies, great corners and beautiful scenery! Thanks KG for the company!

[northwind]

Aye, it was a fantastic night for a ride... Glad to hear it went well!

[Tiger 55]

chasing the limit point
I have no idea what that means.

Sounds like fun though!

[SoulKiss]

:---) Dont believe a word of it! :p;) He's sharking you all in time for the next rideout!

We've had a good swift run, as fast as I would normally go on roads I don't know well (chasing the limit point, etc) and faced paced enough on the last leg home from peebles that we could easily have attracted attention from the law.

The only time I had to wait for him is because he stopped to put his sunglasses on! :thumright::riding::takeabow:

Just did this http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=14676558430442609679,55.605170,-3.407050%3B3641443522241528938,55.533560,-3.101080&saddr=Harthill,+Shotts,+North+Lanarkshire,+United+ Kingdom&daddr=A701%2FCalzeat+%4055.605170,+-3.407050+to:Moffat+to:B709+%4055.533560,+-3.101080+to:Harthill,+Shotts,+North+Lanarkshire,+U nited+Kingdom&mra=pe&mrcr=3&sll=54.579717,-2.487368&sspn=4.477144,9.580078&ie=UTF8&ll=55.598523,-3.405762&spn=0.54545,1.19751&z=10in a wee bit over 2 1/2 hours

Riding west into the setting sun, coming back from Peebles to Harthill, was taking the expression "blind faith" far too literally. There were corners that disappeared into black retinal overload, and straights that could have had a 500 lb stag standing in the middle of the road and we wouldn't have seen it 'til we hit it!

But what an evening run, blue skies, great corners and beautiful scenery! Thanks KG for the company!

Nice route :)

Not that I REALLY know it (dispite you being within about 30 miles of where I used to live :D )

You should try the road that goes from the A74 to Cumnock through Muirkirk :)

[hovis]

welcome back

:D

[Kilted Ginger]

:---) Dont believe a word of it! :p;) He's sharking you all in time for the next rideout!
a wee bit over 2 1/2 hours

Riding west into the setting sun, coming back from Peebles to Harthill, was taking the expression "blind faith" far too literally.

Ralph as usual is being generous, its easy to follow someone leaving all the decisions to them, fair to assume if they get round a corner and your following them at the same speed you'll get round the corner (usually)

What he didn't mention was that it took me an hour to do the 20 miles from my house to his, partly because of my riding and partly because i got lost (WTF):smt102 ended up doing 30+ miles along country roads and crossed the same railway line 4 times:smt086

As for the sun, honestly never seen anything like it you'd get half way round a corner and everything (I mean everything dissapeared) Road/ hills/ ralph/ white lines, all vanished into whiteness. Had my head tipped that far forward to shade my eyes i was literally able to see 3 feet in front of the tyre, roll off the power and hope your still on your side of the road when you can see again.

Oh and the nice council people had managed to cover about 10 miles of road with nice fresh chuckies.:evil:

Despite all that it was a good run and good to get some miles under the belt, sore and tired today :-({|=but who cares.

Thanks again Ralph.:smt038

[Quedos]

Good to see you back hunni! Don't worry about that wee pot - i've still got the ingredients to make them - so you never know.