I'm racking my nerves...

O

oramirez012

New member
Ok... I'm a bit of a mess, and would appreciate some advice if any can be given. Last year, I witnessed a woman crash head on into a pickup on a Harley from 4 bike lengths behind. I'd only known her for about 2 hours, but went riding in a group of four... the other two knew her better. Anwyay, I rode right underneath her falling body and was hit with debris from the impact. I dropped the bike in a rush to get my phone to call 911. It was all for naught though, as med flight left without her as they were too late.................I felt worse than I care to remember.

Moving on. So, got it all fixed up and whatnot... Fast forward to today. I've ridden a bit last year afterwards and a bit recently, after a few months went by. But, I'm having big problems relaxing, and findng my groove. I imagine it's going to take time to subside, but this was last oct. I know I haven't ridden much but it's just sooooo vivid. Anyone experience something similar? I'm not asking for details from anyone losing friends or anything painful. I'm just asking for advice about working through a problem riding if any of you have experienced one. This and another Ducati have been a huge and positive part of my life for the past two years, right now it doesn't feel quite right. I feel good as ever about owning it... Until I'm riding it Regards. Mike.
 
I wrecked a pocket bike pretty bad once....it was never the same getting back on. I sold it.

I did lay down my first Ducati...shook me up some...but after a few months everything was fine.

Can't compare with your delema...sorry about it. I guess its just going to take a while for ya to get back in the groove.

My only advise would have to be just take it easy and take your time. Its like learning to walk all over again.

(With all things...Pray)
 
It depends on the individual as to wheather you get over things like that or not. I will give you a condensed version of my time on motorcycles and some of the misshaps. In Ireland we used to race Nortons and Triumphs on the public roads. We would usually race on Sunday mornings to avoid traffic. One of my friends got a little behind the pack and tried to catch up but on a bend he dug the footpeg in , went straight across the road , hit a pole and died two days later. Another race two more friends were killed when they both came off a bike on a bend and slid underneeth an oncoming car right in front of me. Then during mad Sunday on the Isle of Man two of us were racing an English guy on a BSA Gold star. We were pretty fast but could not catch him. When he was about two hundred yards in front of us a garbage truck pulled right across in front of him and he could not avoid it as we were doing about 120MPH at the time. I dont have to tell you about the guy. I was so scared I dont think I went over 50MPH for the rest of the week. I'm now 66 years old and still ride the 1098 fairly fast but the cops are giving me a hard time and I hate to think what my insurance is going to cost next year. (enough dribble) Given time i'm sure you will get over it. This curse of riding fast motorcycles is hard to get rid off but then again, do I really want to!
 
Well, after witnessing my first accident, i was all scared for a year and this was just a guy looping a wheelie and all that happened was his foot got stuck and messed up his ankle real bad. I was shaken up seeing his body tumble for a year or so.

Fast forward 4 years. I'm in a bad accident, break my neck in two places and I should be dead or paralyzed. I take 3.5 years off of riding and missed it too much. I'm still taking chances but a lot less since I'm older and a bit more mature. I'm going to ride because it is a part of me. As Patrick Swayze said in Point Break, "Its not tragic to die doing something you love." I love riding and I would rather be dead than stop. I have three kids and they will be cared for but riding is part of me and part of who I am; a part that can't be taken away.
I just got the 1098 in August and have gotten totally back into it and haven't looked back.
 
I've seen my fair share of bad stuff (was a traffic cop for 7 years) and yes, it can get to you.

But what you need to do is learn from the experience, analyzing it so you know what went wrong and adopt habits to lessen the likelihood of it happening to you.

I always take these as lessons and reminders to look in the mirror, to self critique my own riding and evaluate the risks I am exposing myself to and adjust accordingly.

This may mean that I end up pottering around like a wimp sometimes, but most of the time it just means that I need to analyze things quicker, taking more variables into account.

After a while, your brain gets the hang of it and as soon as it becomes automatic, the confidence and speed will come back.

Anyone who rides a motorcycle accepts a higher risk than most other road users.

The day you think that you're riding is beyond reproach is the day that you should stop riding.
Learning nevers stops.

In a way, at least the people that got hurt, did not get hurt for nothing.
 
Spend as much time on the bike as you can, the fear will fade.

I was hit from behind by a car with a bull bar after an emergency stop to avoid a fucking cop car doing a U turn, flew about 20m down the road.

After that for a long time I was watching my mirrors more than the road.

I've been run over, crashed, shot, cut, emergency landings, ect, ect over the years.

Keep at it and you'll get over it. Although don't get too relaxed, it pays to stay a little sharp!



Cheers
Ross
 
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