I used to ride dirt, then trials, then street, then track, then dirt, then salt...etc etc etc In recent talks with my better half we have wondered where some of the "fun" went. We still have fun be we have put more effort into serious sorts of fun. I used to go fast down single tracks and ugly stuff..now I go smoothly. Strangely..this is almost always faster...hmmn, that older and smarter deal starts to sink in. If I want to punish my body I have to go no farther than the back yard. That way if I crush my body or my ego I just have to drag myself off the torture track and back to the shop. I can even leave the bike and crawl home. I have learned much from riding with many people..all ages and genders. I frequently rode with a 60 year old AA rider and even a week after major surgery he could still hand you your ego and smile the whole time. It's all about fun, to meet great people out on the trails. Some of the best people I have meet I met while "in-need" on the trails. I return the favor and pay it forward to all I meet. As far as passing torches..I will never blaze on the MX track but will have fun on one. As long as I can ride there is fun to be had. I used to have fun being really competitive..now it's more of pushing myself. yadda yadda I know..puss out clause..but hey..I gotta go to work on Mondays and that sucks but is a requirement. In my mind I'm still 20..and it's only a throttle twist away. I don't see my self on a Harley bagger cruising the bar scene any time soon. And Dean..you owe it to yourself to go ride and just have fun..
I hear ya! Most of my physical carnage came from rock climbing and skydiving, the nasty wipeout I had when I was 18 running a hare scramble has been haunting me for the last few years as well. At the tender age of 41 I've found the merits of Tramidol, it's non-narcotic and somewhat like super duty Aleve. Takes the edge off the multiple surgeries and repairs I've had over the years. The big problem I can foresee is that the 610 and I are still getting acquainted, the last ride I was on we ventured into some open strip mines in NE Ohio and got myself into a few jams that day, woke up the next morning and felt like I had a go with a rhino! That was the day I attempted to chase around Scott on his 84 Elsinore CR500. The real rub? He's 58yrs old and completely kicked my arse! Ah well, I'll keep riding and having fun. Fun being the operative word, even if I have to tame things down a bit, hell someones gotta go to work and pay bills right? My resolution this year is to try and smooth things out while riding and not be so much of a "throttle jockey". There is a fellow here named Tom that I've rode with a couple of times, he's on a Kaw KLR 650 and the guy literally flies through the woods, gravel, single track, you name it. Smoothest rider I've ever seen, I spent a day with him this summer riding and just scratching my head wondering "how the heck does he do that???" I couldn't keep up to save my life. Just ride and have fun y'all, for me I get alot of satisfaction riding my 610 to all the places I want to go and then back home safely.
This has been an entertaining read (if not a little sad in some ways). I never really felt that old, usually able to keep up and/or kick butt of younger, fitter friends/nephews, anywhere from tight trails to hauling way too fast down desert sand washes........until 3yrs ago. Missed clearing a downed log on my old DR350, grabbed the bike and while lifting (jerking) it over the log, heard a loud pop and felt a burning in my arm........pulled the right bicep loose at the elbow. That was a long 20 miles out. Did ride my kids KDX200 on an easy 40 miler two days later, and rode a Jetski for the first time. (beer/bourbon & aspirin helped afterward back at camp) Two weeks later was in surgery having it repaired and done riding for the year. The next spring I was in seeing the doc about using my arm 100% again, and my knee was really bothering me. The same appointment he released me to use my arm, we took xrays and found I had to have the knee repaired. Well, that weekend was kind of our trail clubs spring kick off ride. Figured I would get my first/last ride of the year in for a while before the knee surgery. The new Husky dealer was there with couple demo bikes. He had to kick start it for me, but rode a new '07 TC510......turned out to be a costly ride. I didn't crash, but was so impressed with the bike, that 3mths later, just after being released to ride again, he found a left over '05 TE510 and I bought it.......right there, right then w/o even riding it. Fast forward a little over year later to this summer, I was sitting up on a trail ride that just hammered me that day (our Skeleton/Willow Ck loop for those that know it....avitar pic from there). Over the course of those two surgeries, I had gained 25lbs, lost a lot of conditioning, and just turned 50. My breathing was unusually labored, chest tight and wondered what the hell am I doing here? The way I felt that day spooked me. My regular doc made me go for a stress test. (boy, that was fun) Turned out was having issues w/new meds and they said I'm doing very well.......for my age. As hard as I try to deny it, I am an old guy for hard trail riding and racing is out for me.......funny, I buy a TE510 at the time I have to slow down
