THE FIRST RIDE

I rode a motorcycle for the first time since my accident. Flash Gordon, my good friend, motorcycle buddy and cycleologist recommended that I ride my wife's bike after he helped me (he did 99% of the work) get Diane's rear tire on, after tire repair.

I was not planning on riding a bike for a good while yet, as my shoulder is still a long way from working well. At present I am barely able to hold on to the handle bars. I rode the bike about 60 feet then slowly turned around and rode back.

I have only had a few pleasant thoughts about biking. They have floated into my head in the past week. One sunny day, I was surprised when " It will be fun to ride my bike" greeted me. Then a day or so ago " I would like to bike" appeared.

I think it will be a slow process to get comfortable riding again. I am in no hurry and actually expect to wait until next season, by then I should be healed up. I am certain I will need my cycleologist and other Nobodies to help me along. Some times I wonder if I will ever enjoy cycling like I used to prior to the accident.

Like many things in life; time will tell.

HANDICAP ACCESSIBIILITY

Four days ago I was given the OK by my doctor to start walking again. I had spent 87 days in a wheel chair! My motorcycle accident has brought many learning opportunities my way. Although I would never chosen to be injured and wheel chair bound, It has been a positive life changing experience. I may very well keep reflecting on this time of my life for years to come, as it has affected me in so many ways. One effect has been a greater awareness of how difficult it is to get around in a wheel chair. Bathrooms became a big concern for me whenever I was out and about. I learned to plan on encountering difficulties when needing to use a bathroom and when I encountered difficulties so did my wife Diane, as she would often need to help me overcome the barriers preventing me from getting to the toilet! We had some adventures; some real physical challenges. We found it to be interesting and humorous at times. I am very fortunate to have a wife who can meet adversity with a positive attitude and a sense of humor. There was one particular bathroom at a city park call Chambers Grove that just about did us in due to the steep access pathway. There were the bathrooms that Diane needed to help me into because the quarters were so tight, I was unable to navigate them alone. There were toilets that I could barely get on and off ,because the hand rails were not suited for my disability. Some times I wondered if I would need to be rescued! I could go on about heavy doors that I could not open, stall doors that would not cooperate and of course able bodied people using the handicapped stall rather than the able bodied one, but why complain when I can tell you about my favorite bathroom in Duluth Minnesota.

It has assist railings on the side wall and the back wall. It had wipes for the toilet seat.

It has a mat for changing.

It has a very nice shower with railings and an adjustable and removable shower head.

It has an automatic door opener on the outside and the inside. I am going to miss that bathroom!

SCOOTER TRAIL RIDING

Scootering on quite gravel roads for many is considered the perfect outing, but for wild and crazy guys like Randy and myself it is a little too boring.

Give us some mud, ruts and uncharted scooter territory. We like terrain that warns of danger and impending doom.

We found such a trail out near my home a couple of weeks ago. Not only was the trail ominous, but the sky was indicating a possible thunder storm. With a caviler attitude Randy, who's nick name is Mud Slinger, continued on the trail with his steely eyes fixed on the challenging terrain.

Randy and I may like to live on the edge when scootering pushing our skills and machines to the limit, but we also know when to call it good enough and turn back. When we encountered a steep hill on the trail we knew that we had met our match. Next year our scooter will have 12" on clearance when we toss our stock tires and replace them with aggressive knobbies. We still are in negotiations with Man vs. Wild to pay for the custom jobs on our scooters. We hope to do a couple of shows.

THE TWO AMIGOS

After working on an old Amigo Scooter that Randy had, we took a few shake down rides in his neighborhood to assure it was dependable. It turned out to have a couple of problems. Since I know very little about anything and especially about electrical systems, it looked like a lost cause to get the scooter road worthy. But yet again, tinkering combined with the power of prayer provided the solution. A business in town that services these electric scooters has a technician who was very willing to give me a few ideas and also some simple encouragement to keep tinkering. The scooter is now adventure certified. The first adventure was for Randy to teach me how to board a city bus.

Getting on a bus is not too difficult. It requires some backing up skills and the ability to perform while all the other riders are watching. Being handicapped involves teaching others patience too, as the bus driver has to lower the bus, extend a ramp, prepare a parking space for the scooter and then secure it. The process takes about 5 minutes, so travel comes to a halt. I imagine that one will encounter a grouchy bus driver every once in a while, but so far they have all been kind and patient.

We rode the bus for about 4 miles to the Duluth Rose Garden http://www.superiortrails.com/duluth-rose-garden.html and then took the Lake Walk down to Canal Park.

The Lake Walk http://www.duluthmn.gov/parks/trail_pages/lakewalk.cfm follows the shore of Lake Superior and is designed for walking, inline skating, running, biking and of course scootering. It is a very popular place especially on a beautiful summer day. Randy and I moved along at a leisurely pace enjoying all the sights and sounds.

Pictured above is Lief Erickson Park . Festivals and other gatherings occur here often. The past few years the City of Duluth has had Friday Night Outdoor Movies. This has turned out to be a very big success. The movies are for all ages so a good crowd gathers together with their blankets, lawn chairs and coolers full of treats!

There is a scenic train http://www.northshorescenicrailroad.org/Home/exdaily.asp that travels up the Northshore of Lake Superior. There a variety of rides available from short relatively inexpensive ones to others that are longer and offer a meal.

We traveled all the way down to the bridge then took the Duluth Skywalk system http://www.perfectduluthday.com/2009/04/18/duluth-skywalk-video/ up to the downtown business area and caught a bus back to Randy's house. The entire trip took about four hours.

THE WHEEL WORLD

It has been two months since my motorcycle accident. I have been confined to a wheelchair that entire time. I will continue to wheel around for at least one more month. My bones are healing, but it seems like it takes more time when one is older. My fracture of the tibia is also right at the joint so it is critical that it is well healed prior to putting much weight on the leg.

My time in a wheelchair has introduced me to another view of the world. I have experienced the challenges of getting around in public places and especially public bathrooms. Fact: Just because a bathroom is handicap accessible does not guarantee that it is functional for the handicapped. I have my favorite bathrooms in the Duluth area and I have several that I prefer to avoid. I am tempted to go into detail, but you probably aren't that interested. I have met many people, who when I come wheeling into their world, they anticipate the obstacles I will encounter and just help clear the way. Of course there are also some people who don't seem to see me and are themselves an obstacle I need to navigate around. If I were to be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of my earthly life, it would take me a good while to wrestle with that reality and come to terms with all its implications. Being a part-timer obviously only gives me a very small glimpse into the wheel world, its challenges and limitations.

We know that limitations and barriers can be challenged. I happen to have a friend who meets the challenges of the wheel world with determination and an adventurous spirit. Randy has cerebral palsy and has been using an electric scooter to navigate the world for the 30 years I've known him. He worked every day for the Duluth Public Library as a disability specialist until his retirement several years ago. He has camped, sailed, explored many walking trails and of course gotten himself into trouble countless times. I recently reconnected with him, since my accident, and have had the opportunity to discover his various efforts to create an adventurous community for people who are wheelchair bound. You can check out his website: http://wheelsontrails.org

I spent an afternoon and evening at a camp out he organized a couple of weeks ago and have spent time with him getting an old scooter of his up and running for my personal use. Randy and I were once know (by our wives) to be masters of getting into trouble together. Well now that I have an unreliable scooter at my disposal, Randy and I are able to get into trouble again.

I believe Randy approaches challenges in his life with a "why not" attitude. A couple of days ago we were trying to figure out what was causing the old scooter to simply shut down. We really did not figure out the short circuit, but since it seems to be running he said lets take it out around the block. "What if if shuts down", I asked. " I will push you back to my house", he answered. I thought that sounds good to me. So we took it around the block and every thing went fine. So of course, we then decided to go on a more extended trip, despite the fact that the scooter was still unreliable. We ended up being stranded. Randy's scooter got low on power (he likes to push the limits of his battery capacity before recharging) and my scooter shut down and would not power up again. Here is the picture; two fellows who cannot walk are sitting on two scooters that cannot move. We sat out in the hot sun until my wife came by and rescued us. Looking for adventure? Join Randy and I. We can find you an old scooter. We will welcome you with open arms into the Wheel World.

MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT

I was in an accident on my CX 650 on May 13. So I have not been an active biker or a blogger since that date. I now have first hand experience what it is like to hit a car while riding a cycle. Around 11:30 A.M. on said Friday a car crossed Grand Ave. in Duluth at 38th Ave. West. Traffic was heavy and the driver thought there was an opening. He didn't see me and I didn't see him until he was crossing my lane about 4 feet in front of me. I had about a second to do something and thank God I did some thing smart. I just turned slightly in the direction the car was traveling. I didn't brake or do anything drastic. The rest of the accident is just a collection of little bits of information: a bang, spinning in the air and then laying on the pavement feeling some nasty bad pain. I have been telling people that God is a very good physic and directed me to have an angle of impact with the car that allowed me a clean launch off my bike. I did not have any contact with the car (to the best of my knowledge) my bike on the other hand took the full force of the crash. The front forks were bent, the front frame is bent and the rear secondary frame along the side of my bike seat is bent. After the initial impact, the bike spun into the car and slide along its length back toward the rear of the car.

I was blessed with some very good first responders, who must have gotten to me in the first minute after the accident. Ironically a few days before the accident I have just completed my EMS First Responder refresher. So while I was being cared for, I was also doing a full body assessment of myself. The ambulance was on the scene in about 4 minutes and those two fellows were also great along with a fire crew and a squad car. I was not able to know who was doing what as my pain and trauma caused me to have tunnel vision, so I didn't see or hear too much. I do know some one called my wife and a coworker happened by the scene and stayed by my side until I was transported.

So a very wonderful community of caregivers were on that street corner doing their very best to help me. I do indeed that God for those people. I is amazing to think that a group of people assembled for 10 -15 minutes did a fantastic job caring for a stranger in need, then went back to their daily lives never to assemble again.

I ended up with a broke left leg (tibia) plateau fracture and a broke left arm (humerus) that required shoulder surgery. No other injuries other than a couple of little bruises! Wearing good protective gear Darrin Rideware by Aerostich, full face helmet and good motorcycle boots gave me the necessary protection.

I am in a wheel chair and out of work, but I will heal. I am also thankful that the driver who was involved in the accident had good car insurance and was honest about his responsibility. We all make mistakes and I appreciate that this fellow allow his insurance company to take responsibility for the accident in a timely manner.

So as I have time and energy to blog; I will be relating my thoughts about post accident issues and recovery.

I plan on riding again, maybe it will have its psychological challenges but I think I will continue to enjoy biking. As I am healing may you ride safe and smart. Kickstand

RIDING ALONE

Yesterday a took my first ride alone for the season.
Have you taken many rides alone?


It is not my first choice. I would much rather share the experiences of the day with some one else. To have an enjoyable ride alone requires clear expectations and some well defined goals. Last year I took a 270 mile ride alone. It was OK, but I really was not prepared for it. I knew where I wanted to go, was prepared with gear and such, but I was not clear about what I wanted to experience other than the ride and designation. I ended up only having two quick stops and eating a few snacks. When I returned, I felt a sense of accomplishment regarding doing the ride, but I was disappointed that I did not meet any one or have any interesting diversions.

Being alone is a good thing. It allows a person to think about what is going on in their life and take a look at themselves as a person.

It can be very introspective and reveal some important information. When all you have is your own thoughts, you may discover some interesting things about yourself.

But it is also important to have a plan about getting off your bike and meeting other people.

After I passed this beautiful section of the St. Louis River, I came upon a couple of bikers on the side of the road. I could have easily stopped and found out where they were from and where they were heading.......but it was easier and safer to just ride by.

This year I want to learn more about the art of riding alone. It will be a new bridge for me to cross and will require some thought and planning prior to the ride.

Let me know some of the things you have learn about riding alone.