Near death crash.... should I ride again?

Z

Zivo

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Hey guys, its been a while since i've posted on here (even then I really lurked). It's nearing winter so ill be lucky if I get a reply or two. So to start, i'd like to share my experience with a near death experience, and have some of you guys chime in on what you think is in my best interest. For some background I'm 18 years old, my dad has been riding for 30 years on a variety of sportbikes with no severe accidents, riding on the back of his MT-01 is what inspired me to get a bike of my own. :rolleyes:

So, about 3 months ago I was riding my Ninja 250 (I started riding the beginning of April after my training course), I was on my way to a buddy's house on a late summer night when I decided to take a detour on a corner I knew from my downhill skateboarding days. As I entered the corner around 60kmph I hit a big piece of gravel (almost a small rock) and my front wheel hopped off the ground. Next thing I know i'm headed off the road into a ditch only to meet my front tire with a driveway wall. Somehow I managed to stay conscious enough to dial 911. I was in the hospital for two weeks with a broken leg, removed spleen, and some repaired intestinal damage. I'm happy to say that I've made a somewhat full recovery in those 3 months.

While I was in the hospital I debated the lifestyle that I had habituated myself with for the past 5 years, being addicted to everything fast, I used to race longboards (skateboards) all over North America at speeds up to 110kmph. I've had crashes here and there, hit my head pretty bad a few times, but not much has deterred me from getting back on the horse.

Even though it was my first season, I still feeling like motorcycles are very dear to my heart, and its something I don't want to give up. But with friends and family insisting I quit i'm almost torn between the two.

I'm looking at an r3 for next spring, but I feel somewhat guilty for putting my parents and friends through all this.

When is it time to call it quits? I'd appreciate any opinions you guys have, just try not to bash me too hard eh ;)
 
Tough call but in the end you need to do what you feel is right FOR YOU! Yes you're young at 18 and have a whole life ahead of you. But sometimes in life it's best to get back up, dust yourself off, and move forward.

In the end only you will know. Good luck with your full recovery and hope it all works out in the end.
 
I don't think anyone would bash you, you just got paired with some unfortunate circumstances and perhaps you didn't have enough experience under your belt to escape unharmed.

Sounds to me like you already know what you're going to do, considering you're looking for an R3.

If you keep riding just be careful? Aside from that I'd imagine some might say 18 is too young but you're old enough to make your own decisions so... dunno what else there is to say.
 
No one can tell you when the appropriate time comes to quit motorcycling. Your crash was preventable, as you know, but a bit of bad luck. You ride, you take risks. Every ride can end badly, no matter your best intentions, no matter your preparation or equipment. When it ends well we take it for granted. There are many factors we simply cannot control. Winter is on its way, so there's a break.

If you are destined to ride a bike will call your name, no matter what loved ones say, if the calling is strong you will answer. That's not to say you should take undue risk. Be smarter and tip your risk reward ratio in your favour.
 
When you get your new bike (and we both know you're going to get one), sign up for more rider training. It will help you get your confidence back.
 
Zack! Lord, you're okay though little brother?
Did ya mess up the new helmet? (Ya, not overly important I know...)
Here's the thing: you're gonna crash. I've crashed a dozen times, very fortunate, I never really wracked myself up.
Now you've met me, I'm an old guy, my bones aren't as green as they used to be, heheh...
But you've had a big crash. FORTUNATELY there was no ~4000 pound automobile involved.
Do you feel, in your heart, that you've learned anything?
Like, just how easily it can happen? I know, it's kinda shocking when you think about it...
Keep riding bro. But be AWARE... and now, we know you are.
It's no joke. We love bikes (and you haven't even piloted a monster bike when it hits ~8 grand and goes ballistic) but this is not required to have an incident.
But even a 250 or whatever is no joke.
It's on you: you need to crash to put things into perspective.
Will you ride more experienced, now? Wiser (whatever that means)?
Yes. Congratulations! You're an old pro now - a veteran.
Sure, keep riding if you've not lost your 'nerve'...
Speak real solemnly to your family, telling them what a significant learning experience the whole thing has been.
That will please them (even if it doesn't calm them right down).
Dude you WILL encounter this weird stuff again - potholes, streetcar tracks, lawn clippings strewn across the roadway etc.
If you're now wiser, and a better rider too, then they're not scars - they're hero marks!
Can't sugar-coat it for you. Caged is 'safer'...
But it was Ben Franklin who said "those who would trade their freedom for security, deserve neither."
I still ride, but I head north-west out of town, and don't battle rush-hour anymore.
Back in the 70s we used to ride up and down Yonge Street for fun... I mean, downtown.
I would never do that anymore (at risk of stating the obvious).
Maybe make bikes your pleasure-hobby vehicle, not battling it out in traffic everyday?
And you, wiser and experienced, can continue to ride.
 
If you weren't thinking about riding again, you wouldn't be here posting.

I say get the R3 or another Ninja or whatever. Get to a couple trackdays (racer5? etc) and learn a bit more about what a bike does in a controlled environment. That m2 training course is only an introduction.

Heal up soon and see you out there.
 
Maybe there's an online psychological test available? If you check out as a typical 18yr.old you shouldn't ride. And for Gods sake stay away from cheap Chinese motorcycles. You don't want to be injured AND humiliated.
 
JoeyB said:
What the hell dude?! 12 times!? I'm not sure if I should be impressed or horrified.
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Over forty years, bro - that's not bad heheh.
One time I almost killed a little 10-year-old girl on her bicycle.
It was completely her fault, but still...
Thankfully, her little bicycle was destroyed but she was just fine.
(See, that must have been a serious learning experience for her too.)
 
I think a strong sense of your own mortality can be a powerful asset when riding. It can double as that little angel on your shoulder when you're about to do something stupid or you're about to enter an intersection without having looked left & right and so on.

Sometimes it takes an incident like this to heighten it. Sometimes just the passage of time brings it.

You had a rough go of it. Definitely use the winter to take stock of where you are mentally, to build your strength and confidence and revisit the issue in the spring. Only you can ultimately make this choice. Don't make it in haste.
 
Go for it. You just paid your dues with weeks in the hospital and a near death experience. Don't let it go to waste. Now that you know going into a corner blind you could hit a pile of gravel, grass, leaked diesel oil, or anything else the devil may cook up you'll be a better rider. Just remember, public highways are the Devil's workshop. If you want to race, do it at the track under controlled conditions.
 
Being that you're 18, just started riding, and got into a serious at fault accident, I think a new insurance quote will give you the answer you're looking for.
 
tink of your sichuation like equasion: if you list all pros and cuns and weightd each out of ten. add up total fur pro & cuns. if pros for riding beat cuns by factor of 2, then DO IT! if no, and its just 50/50, then DONT DO IT! :confused5::tongue1:

my bestest and warmest advice is get into TRACK! it fun. and if u need speed, track only way and safer then street. plus, if you take course (i take racer5...3 day course + racing day!), than u gain confidunce and mad skill! :naka::bunny: u will get the ladies and evryone here will be jealus! :glasses9:

god luck!:angel8:


PS-if yur tinking allot about your crash, and u cant stop, then look into mindfulness. it very good!
 
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It's never time to call it quits.

Sure, it's a little selfish to jump back on a bike when your family and friends had to deal with the near-loss of you as well as your recovery, but at the end of the day it's your life. I know how unfulfilling my life would be if I couldn't ride anymore.

You sound like you're pretty squared away about the situation, so I would definitely jump back in. Just take this as a reminder that it could happen that quickly.
 
When you get back on you might have some confidence issues and it'll take time to get over.

I'm surprised nobody asked this but...what were you wearing?
 
油井緋色;2369533 said:
When you get back on you might have some confidence issues and it'll take time to get over.

I'm surprised nobody asked this but...what were you wearing?
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Not much, shorts and a tshirt? I know I should be riding with all the gear all the time blah blah blah, I was cruising around to a buddies house though, you know?

Gear wouldn't have done anything though, unless I had extremely good padding on the side of my leg. It was the right handlebar that hit my stomach.
 
Zivo said:
Not much, shorts and a tshirt? I know I should be riding with all the gear all the time blah blah blah, I was cruising around to a buddies house though, you know?

Gear wouldn't have done anything though, unless I had extremely good padding on the side of my leg. It was the right handlebar that hit my stomach.
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inreb said:
Maybe there's an online psychological test available? If you check out as a typical 18yr.old you shouldn't ride.
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blah blah blah lol
 
Blackfin said:
...that little angel on your shoulder when you're about to do something stupid...
Sometimes it takes an incident like this to heighten it. Sometimes just the passage of time brings it.
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So true, brother.
That little voice will now always watch out for how things can quickly go sideways...
(Actually, without it you're lost.)

"The burned hand teaches about fire best.
After that, advice about fire goes straight to the heart..."
-J.R.R. Tolkein
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