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How many of us have almost given up the joy of riding after having a bad or even a minor crash? I know I did for 12 long years after getting t-boned back in 1993 and suffering a shattered right leg. I figured I was lucky and it was time to pack it in. But the riding bug never really went away, and I would find myself looking longingly at riders as I was stuck baking in my cage. I started riding again and never looked back, but it took 12 years to do so.

The same cannot be said of one Mr. Talan Skeels-Piggins of the UK, who suffered a very bad motorcycle crash and ended up being paralyzed from the chest down. You would think that would be the end of his riding career or at the very least relegate him to riding on specially adapted trikes but no. Instead he is riding a specially modified Suzuki GSX 600R and on the track. He is in my very humble opinion, a true inspiration for all riders.

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I have a friend that broke his back riding in a ZX 10 cup race,and is a paraplegic from the waist down. He runs a bike shop and has modified his bike with a hydraulic system that lowers stabilisers on the back of the bike

In 2000 I had a minor accident where my front brake malfunctioned and I went down, merely breaking a few ribs and totalling my Kawa Concours. But one of the broken ribs punctured my lung and became infected and within 24 hours I was septic and almost dead. After a 9 hour surgery and 31 days in Intensive Care I was able to leave the hospital. A year later I was able to ride (and did so on the training bikes we used to teach the MSF Basic Course where I was an instructor) but between aprehension over street riding and the pressures of my wife and kids I did not ride for the next 7 years. But the desire to ride never left me, even when during those seven years I had to have both knees replaced. When I finally returned to riding I bought a Honda Silverwing scooter because there was no way I could get my leg over the seat of a regular bike. Three more years went by, and while the Silverwing is really an outstanding ride that can do it all, it is not a motorcycle. Last spring I bought a new Triumph cruiser, where with only some difficulty I can swing my leg over. I love this bike and love that I am once again riding a real motorcycle. Riding is in my blood and while I have much to be grateful for including a wonderful wife for more than 40 years, 5 great grown kids and 9 grandchildren, a great job and relatively good health, my life would not be complete without the ability to ride. Riding may yet be the death of me since I never underestimate the inherent dangers of riding a two wheel unprotected vehicle in the world of 4 wheel cages, but I hope to ride as long as I am on this earth. I no longer work as an MSF Instructor and my current ride is quite sedate compared to the sport tourers that I previously rode, but it is still motorcycling and I still love every chance I get to go out on my bike.

vito wrote: But the desire to ride never left me, even when during those seven years I had to have both knees replaced.

It's amazing how even after getting injured riding, the bug never really leaves you. One has to wonder if riding motorcycles is as addictive as shooting H or smoking ciggies.

I think we are programmed form birth, how else has the human race advanced if not from being programmed in a certain way.

I never even thought about riding a motorcycle when I was a kid, it just wasn't a thing that attracted me. I got the bug when in my early twenties, but it was not until my late thirties that I actually bought a motorcycle. I don't think we are programmed for riding, but maybe we are programmed for risk taking. I have loved parachuting, and just recently took my first glider flight (and may pursue a license in this because it is such an awesome experience), but none of my kids (now grown) ride at all. My youngest son had a motorcycle while in college and for a few years after, but he admitted to me that he always was nervous about riding and did it just to have something we could do together. But I have hopes for at least a few of my grandchildren who seem to be interested, even if they are far too young to ride right now. Some days getting on and off my bike is real work, and long rides wear me out more than they did when I was younger, but as I stated in an earlier post, I intend riding for the rest of my life unless totally unable to do so.

I got my first bike at 9...rode it for a couple of years until my dad messed up the carbs trying to adjust the idle (had no clue what he was doing)that bike sat around for a couple more years before getting sold...then when I was a teen, my buddy had a bike and I took it for a rip...it was awesome, but I could either have a bike and only ride in the summer (lived in the Kootenays...snow belt), or I could get a car and be mobile all year...since Friday night dates don't go well on public transit (especially if there is none), I chose the car...it took me 20 yrs to get to the point that I could afford a toy (not totally true, I had a sled when I lived in the NWT...but then we had our first kid and that sent me back to the "can't afford it" club)

And this summer when I crashed, wifey said "so you know this bike thing is over, right?"...to which I replied "pull your head out, I'm not giving this up!!". Not a popular answer, but there was no gray area, she knew that the only thing that was over was the 2011 riding season...using her theory of one crash and you're done, she shouldn't be driving for the next 6 lifetimes...

Later.

I wanted a bike since I was a teenager but I got a car first and a family next so I didn't get around to riding bikes until I was 52 yo. Now 27 years and about 400k miles later I'm still riding and will be as long as I can walk to my bike and climb on. I tripped walking down a sidewalk about 10 years ago and broke my left wrist on a Sat, was operated on adding a steel plate on Tue and 2 weeks later I was riding again. Had an old 400cc Hondamatic in the garage I could ride until my left wrist recovered enough to work the clutch for a ride on my GS500. Had to ride since walking was too dangerous. LOL

Couple years later when I was 70 yo I was clipped in the rear on my bike as I turned off a highway onto a side road launching me high side across the road and landing on my left shoulder breaking my collar bone. I starting riding again 2 weeks later and the collar bone never healed, not too smart I guess.

My wife said to me just a couple weeks ago "your not going to ride that thing until your 100" and in the spirit of compromise I promised I wouldn't that I'd quit at 99.