The days are over for me

[buckey1313]

I been riding a bike since I was 14 years old a 90 Sport Honda back then and then a 250 Susuki Hussler fast for it's day. I then went up to a 350 Honda not sure what model it was and then the big one for its day CB 750 4 and it did seem fast and big was quite the learning curve. Then for many a year I rode a 1982 Honda Goldwing that won a award of Canada's most beautiful Goldwing at a Wing Rally in 1984. My motto with the wing and my vulcan is and always been it only takes money. I love that bike it was the best bike I ever owned I rode it till 2009 when I acquired my Kawasaki 1700 Vulcan Nomad. I only stopped riding it because well at 560 thousand kms it was time and it was starting to show it's age.

The Nomad I always found as a heavy bike and I mean top heavy was not a pleasure to ride in parking lots and at low speeds but on the highway throw the wind gusts at me I will not feel them at all. In 2017 I went down on this bike in Valemont B.C. at 110 kms towing my Leasure Lite Tent Trailer. I believe a pipe had fallen off a truck bed laid on road and I hit it as it blended into the pavement. I flipped over once did a roll I remember and did a roll then road down the highway on my bum the rest of the way. For what happened I came out of it pretty good with road rash on my lower legs both of them and no rash on the bum but had aweful pain for about three months I could not walk was wheelchair bound for that time. I also had a broken right wrist that was operated on and got pins and bolts put in it. I had little care from the medical system here I had to fight to get looked at and fight to find out what was all wrong with me seems they could not understand it hurts to go down at 110 kms and that things would be wrong. I healed up to be ok.

Over the winter of 2017/2018 I repaired the bike and spent way over what I could have bought a new bike for. I had an awesome paint job applied with hand graphics applied to the bike and bought all new parts that were damaged in accident along with some awesome after market bags out of China and naming the bike the Jouney on the bags. It turned out beautiful and I rode it lots in 2018 around the country here still healing from the accident a bit. I also had to get past the fear of having the accident. Allot of riders and friends wondered how I could ride a bike after an accident like I had. I loved riding to much to give it up I worked past my fear I guess.

Now in 2018 in June I went to my doctor had not seen him in years as I never got sick why go to a doctor. He did a full work up on me as I had not had one done in 10 years. Two weeks later I go back to him and he told me the bad news I had Sugar Diabetes Type 2. I could not believe it I felt ok I did not see any change in my body but wow it came on fast. Things rapidly changed in my body like complete hair loss on my legs and other things. Then my feet changed and this happens to some people who have Diabetes the toes change position and your arch drops and other things with in the foot making it hard to walk comfortably and so off to a Diabetic Shoe Store to get fitted with proper shoes for my feet it helps some what but not totally I cannot walk as far as before.

Then the big thing happened I got Meralgia Paresthetica which happens in about 3% roughly of diabetics. It is a form of a nerve damage in a leg that causes constant never ending pain in the leg unless you take a wonder drug called Gabapentin for the rest of your life. It does take away about 90% of the pain just in lower body but does not cure it completely.

So the other side effects I have had is I have lost my balance and have actually had to learn to walk with allot of discomfort over again. I fighting this but it is a tough battle for me.

So spring came here in Alberta and well as usual I want to ride. I get the bike out of storage trailer and I find on my first ride my balance is affecting my riding ability I do not have the same balance as I did before. I also find my feet with the problems in them and my legs with the disease I have caused by Diabetes is also giving me problems.

With 50 years of riding I am now 64 years old I have to make a decision in life I thought I would not have to make for maybe another 10 years. My days are done riding they are over. I had to consider and this was my main thought in making the decision to stop the one thing I truly loved in life was the person in the other car or truck or what ever else was on the road. If I ever lost my balance and had another accident maybe I would die that is ok but I did not want them to live a life of seeing what they had to see at the end of it all.

I am sad to say goodbye to the bike I will have no problem selling it as I had friends come out of the wood work wanting to buy the bike and trailer at a price I am comfortable with that is not a problem. I will miss the people over the years I have met, the long rides to far off places and the wonders I have seen riding a bike. I will miss working on my bike I did it all never took it into a shop other than tires. I will miss this forum as I will loose interest in time. I will miss you all that gave me some hints on some repairs or where to go for a special item. Dam I just going to miss biking. 50 years maybe I am lucky to have gotten that far and that many years behind me but I have to consider others not myself it is time.

If I do not write another comment this might be my last on this forum I wish you all well and many more days to you all on the open road. I wish I could have done it longer there were many more trips planned for the future but I guess it is what it is.

Good bye Mates keep the rubber on the road.

Dave