over the bars and straight to the hospital...

[bairdco]

it's been almost 5 months since my crash, and almost 3 since the shoulder recontstruction surgery.

everything is healing up great. doc says there's a minimum of 6months post-op before i can go back to work. fine with me. i've got state disability and aflac paying the bills, and to be honest, i'm sittin' pretty.

i'm supposed to be going to physical therapy twice a week but...

my insurance was cancelled after i got laid off and i just got the paperwork for cobra. my physical therapist told me they'll give me a deal if i pay cash, so i went last tuesday. after moving my arm around in circles for an hour, she charged me $180. some deal. i told her there was no way i'm paying $360 a week for a gorgeous married woman to bend my arm for me when i can do it myself.

i looked online and found a site which gives the entire protocol and exercises for after care of shoulder surgery, so i can do it myself. i'll miss the benefit of having a hot chick to help me, but i can always pedal down to the local bar and ogle the bartender while lifting beers up to my face for "therapy."

one of the main things about physical therapy is they're forcing you to exercise, and the average joe with a desk job needs that added discipline so he won't just sit on the couch and watch shark week reruns and eat doritos all day.

that ain't my life at all. i've finally got back into the garage and am slowly working on some of the projects that were put on hold.

finished a bike today with the owner/friend and got him on the road, and i'm building a custom moped out of a 1977 tomos automatic two speed i picked up for cheap. gonna chop it up, rake it out, and make something stupidly cool out of it.

thinking about selling my colson cruiser. completely rebuilt it after the crash, and i rode it to the liquor store yesterday, and all i could think about is how much i hate this bike now.

there's nothing at all wrong with it, in fact, it's safer than it ever was, but after it tried to kill me i'm just not to fond of it anymore. i need to build something completely different. something i have faith in. i'm not afraid to ride, i just don't wanna ride that bike anymore. i think that's pretty commonin the two-wheeled world. build it, crash it, sell it, start over...

so, i'm off work till at least december. it's a beautiful california summer and i've got an awesome tan. all

 

[silverbear]

Smart decision on the shoulder therapy. Kind of like the motorbikes... do it yourself. Good to hear that you're healing up and are out in the shop turning wrenches. I hope you do a thread on the Tomos project since I have one of my own. Always good to learn and get ideas from smart guys like you. Take care, bud.
SB

 

[tooljunkie]

good to see you are determined to get back into shape.my shoulder still gives me trouble after three years since a fall from a ladder.

i should be ashamed of myself for not even looking at my bike,but i was told by my doc i had a mild heart attack.kinda freaked me out.dont know when something can happen to a guy.still dont know if i should risk riding for fear of having to pedal any distance.

i like the fact that most physiotherapists are cute and female..
at least i have the plan at work,as does my wife,works out to 100% coverage.

 

[msrfan]

5 months already. Glad to see you're on top of your situation and able to almost live like you want. Stop by and visit if you get a chance.

 

[buba]

glad to hear you are doing well --positive attitude and hard to keep a good man down

time does fly-- it seems like a month ago you flew

hope to see you at willow in sept

best always

 

[bill2781]

I am glad to hear your getting better .

 

[mapbike]

well being away from the forum a while I missed this entire ordeal, dang that really stinks that you've had to go through so much the last few months, but it's also good to hear that you're on the mend and getting around much better again, hope to see some pix of the new projects and just take good care of that shoulder..... I had almost a year off one time from a serious back injury and my best friend had surgery on his should about the same time.... I know it ain't no fun at all.

Hope the job market is kind to ya when you get back to the point of working again also.
God Bless ya
Map

 

[bairdco]

life's going better than it should be.

been slowly getting back in the garage. haven't touched any motorbikes, but i've been messing around with my moped project. it should be pretty crazy when it's done. i've figured out a bunch of different mods for it without spending any money, and it's gonna be show quality when it's done. i mean, it's a moped, but it's gonna be awesome. i'll post some pics when it's done...

sold my ranchero finally. i never got excited enough to make it road-worthy, and it's been sitting in my backyard for almost a year. put it on craig's and got my money back out of it, and i was happy to see it go.

helped build another colson for the guy i sold my olympic to, and he was so stoked on my work that he wants me to fix up his extra car. the bonus is i get to drive it while i'm working on it.

oh, and it's a 1965 convertible cadillac coupe deville.

free caddy for a year or so? heck yeah. thanks jimmy!

so like i said, life's good. healing up, cool car, aflac, and i'm seeing a cool girl, too.

besides the initial crash and the pain, this has been one of the best summers i've had in a long time...

thanks to all my forum friends for the well wishes. you guys helped alot..

 

[oldtimer54]

Well I hope your next summer is just as good but you get to ride.

 

[paul]

great to see you are doing better. I have to say if nothing else I think a lot of people now have the knowledge how important it is to check the mounts on their motorized bicycle brakes. I have always checked every nut and bolt but never paid close attention to the brake bolts but I sure do now and added a little loctite. heal completely and enjoy. I think we all worry about a crash. we are not as young as we used to be and do not heal as fast

 

[chainmaker]

Baird
Glad to see you are doing well, and having a good summer.

 

[2door]

Baird,
Funny you feel the way you do about the bike you got hurt on. I sit here in the garage and look at that black chopper and have absolutely no desire to ride it again. It isn't hurt, looks perfect except for a little rip in the seat. I remounted that rear fender and there is no way it can ever come loose again and a new clutch lever. Yet there it sits and if I could sell it today and get anywhere near what I have in it, it'd be gone.
Why is that?

Tom

 

[mapbike]

A few years ago I had a Ruger 10/22 Magnum explode in my face while at the rifle range, was out there all alone, with powder burns and pieces of metal in my face..... wasn't the most pleasant experience for sure, drove myself back to town after picking up all the pieces and wiped a little blood off my face, Ruger was contacted and after they had inspected the failed rifle they shipped a brand new thoroughly inspected one back to the dealer as a replacement, the gun should have never made it out of the factory they said, chqmber heqd spacing was wrong, bottom line I told the dealer to tell Ruger they could keep there dang gun and I wanted something else, just didnt trust it anymore, got me a really nice .223 short action rifle out of that deal.
Would I own another 10/22 mag now....... yeah probably, but at that time I just had a bad nerve about and didnt wont a thing to do with those rifles, kinda like a bit of a phobia.

Map

 

[Pablo]

WOW - I'm glad you are better than ever.

People who just "want to go fast"......should slow down in more ways than one!

 

[fasteddy]

As a friend of mine years ago said when his motorcycle threw him off for the second time in three months for no apparent reason, "The first time was an accident, the second time was personal".

It was sold.

Steve.

 

[bairdco]

it's all in my mind. i know the bike is safe, but everytime i ride it i'm gonna remember what happwned on it and i'll never be comfortable riding it again at any speed.

i've crashed before on other bikes, but nothing more than some scrapes and bruises, so i just got back on and rode them again without thinking about it.

back when i skateboarded everyday and was sponsored, if i took a big spill i'd smash the board to bits, throw it under a bus, and just destroy it.

i guess it's the same with everything. if someone punches me in the face at a bar, i probably won't go back to that bar. if i get food poisoning at a crappy restaurant, i'll never eat there again. if a girl cheats on me, i'm gone.

survival instincts...

 

[buba]

there is something more to it than if the horse throws you get back on - that be a man sh**

there are very personal yet obvious reasons why such a mishap causes such deep rooted aversion and fear
it is just the way it is
I am sure baird --in time you will find yourself going as fast or faster than you have always gone
it will just take finding your comfort zone again on whatever bike it may be

best always

 

[Thud]

Hey Baird,
good to see you posting, even better to hear the summers going well for you.

regarding the bike & desire thing..I totaly get it...I think its a maturity thing & getting older.
(I know....don't go there! LOL)

stay cool bro....check in once in a while.

 

[Velodrome]

it's all in my mind. i know the bike is safe, but everytime i ride it i'm gonna remember what happwned on it and i'll never be comfortable riding it again at any speed.

i've crashed before on other bikes, but nothing more than some scrapes and bruises, so i just got back on and rode them again without thinking about it.

back when i skateboarded everyday and was sponsored, if i took a big spill i'd smash the board to bits, throw it under a bus, and just destroy it.

i guess it's the same with everything. if someone punches me in the face at a bar, i probably won't go back to that bar. if i get food poisoning at a crappy restaurant, i'll never eat there again. if a girl cheats on me, i'm gone.

survival instincts...

Exact feelings I have about an ex fiancé /girlfriend I had a LOOONG time ago. I would'nt ride her again either... What's that old saying? Once burned twice shy?

 

[KCvale]

it's all in my mind. i know the bike is safe, but every time i ride it i'm gonna remember what happened on it and I'll never be comfortable riding it again at any speed..

Baird, you are not alone with that feeling, I have had it a for several months now too.

It is not a given bike, it is having wrecked twice and just not comfortable riding 2-wheels anymore not because of the machines I build as I know they are safe, I just don't feel the self confidence in operating one anymore for multiple reasons and my body simply can't take another bad wreck.

There is no shame in being the builder of great motorized bicycles but never seeing exactly what they can do first hand wide open as if it where most every Nascar mechanic would be shamed right?

I pushed the envelope all my life but the way I figure it a wise man knows when he should just stick with postcards ;-}