I got an injury, I do everything I want to do, but it holds me back. its not a common surgery. Ups and downs. Sometimes I wonder if I will regret not doing it XX years ago, if I do it. I also hold out thinking medicine will get better, but its not a common surgery

My elbow and carpal tunnel, not same I realize, I wish I would not have waited until, I couldn't wait. I would have scheduled on my terms

 

When the thrill is gone from riding, UPSHIFT!
or set your cruse control at 50 and hit a tight mountain road. It will get real exciting, real quick.

 

Believe me, I can relate to you. I started riding on the street at age 29 and I'm now 72. Before that I rode dirt bikes. I was fascinated with motorcycles from the time I was five.

These days it does seem like a lot of the fun has gone out of riding for me. I can think of a few reasons why. At my age, most of my riding friends have either quit riding, moved away or passed on. True, most of my riding was always solo, but it was nice to have friends who shared my passion.

For 34 years I rode without a single accident. in the past ten years I've had four. My third accident in '19 cost me six broken bones and a messed up left shoulder. It also cost me a Harley that I'd owned and ridden for 25 years. Yes, I replaced the bike, but this new M-8 Heritage has been a hard adjustment for me. Yes, it's faster, smoother, and a better motorcycle, but it lacks the character of my old bike and working on it is a chore rather than the pleasure it used to be. It's hard to replace a bike you've owned and loved for so long with another.

This season I had my fourth accident when the group I was riding with (all friends I'd ridden with for years) had to make a sudden stop and I was sideswiped by the rider behind me when he locked his brakes trying to stop. I wasn't badly hurt, but he was, and I had to sit and watch helplessly as my friend slid down the road face down. This has made me wonder if it might be time to give it up.

Another thing is that I've ridden just about every place I can reach in a day more times than I can count. Also, as I've grown older, I find I'm less tolerant of the increasingly hot and humid summer weather. I used to ride about 10,000 miles/year. This year I've barely ridden 2,500 miles and it's already August.

Fortunately, I'm still in good health and good physical condition. Last Saturday I rode my Schwinn road bicycle 45 miles in 3.25 hours to raise money for charity. Not bad for an old man. Maybe it's time to take a longer trip on the bike.