A New Day

73* in January. Until 1-11-09 that would have meant I would be riding my motorcycle today, but with my Nighthawk in worse shape than me it was a no go. The pics below show some of my still painful but mending injuries. I feel like I weigh 200 but at 175 I guess I'm OK. I can see that I'm rapidly losing muscle mass, but I can begin to rebuild it in a couple of months. I walked for the 6th day in a row today and it felt so good to work up a sweat. I was able to jog a few slow steps but the jarring was too much for my broken bones. I still consider today a major step toward a full recovery and I am looking forward to great things ahead. I CAN do all things through CHRIST who strenghtens me.

bruise

bruise, originally uploaded by luckylindy1.

1-22-09

1-22-09, originally uploaded by luckylindy1.

You've got to walk before you run

I haven't talked about my track career(hobby) here so I thought I would write a bit about that. I've competed in track since junior high(1972) -2008. So, 36 years of track still hasn't satisfied my competitive itch. I just love the process of building a base of fitness then cutting the training down and racing(usually late spring and through the summer). Why does a 50 y.o. still want to race around a track? I don't know, but the desire to do so is still there. I have some great friends whom I competed with over the years. I think all adults should engage in some fitness activities so I think why not push on a bit more and compete. My times have gotten slower over the years but that is to be expected. I've beaten some people in Master's(over 40) track who were way better than me in our younger days simply because Masters is a battle of attrition. My main event the past several years has been the 400M dash. It's the perfect event for me because it requires good speed and endurance. I can train for endurance most of the year(good for an old fogey), then concentrate on speed when it's time to race. In 2005 I had my best year in many years as I consistently ran in the 54's. Since I turned 50 in Dec. '08 I have looked forward to being in a new age group and being competitive on the national level. Us old guys can compete in Sr. Olympics(which includes many sports in an Oly like festival) or USATF(which is track only.) I won the 100M and 400M dashes at the Texas Sr. Games in '08 which qualifies me for the National Sr. Games in California in August of '09, but I think I'll only be able to attend the USATF Masters Nationals in Wisconsin in July of '09. A win at USATF would be harder to attain than the Sr. Games. Anyway, here on 1-19-09, with many broken bones and getting fatter everyday that I'm not able to run I vow to run in the USATF 400M this summer. I would love to guarantee victory or run a 54, but I know there is too much uncertainty for that. I believe setting the goal to be there and to be competitive will motivate me to get my broken fat butt in gear as soon as I heal enough to run. Right now it's a struggle to walk an easy half mile. I know God will give me the strength to fully recover. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!! The pic is from last Fall where I won the 100 and 400 at TX. SR. Games.

Who has more injuries? My NH 750 or me?

I am getting a little better each day. The recovery will be a test of my patience( as well as my wonderful family's). My bike took a hard hit but I don't think it's totaled. How it skidded 180* to strike the truck with the rear is a mystery but that certainly minimized the $ damage. If the front end had struck the truck it would need new forks, wheel, brakes, etc. It looks like I'm going to replace the rear plastic, turn signals, & taillight. After impact it seems the bike hit the pavement and bent the handlebar, destroyed the throttle grip, mirror, and kill switch. I will be awhile before I begin to rebuild my bike, but I think I'll be able to bring her back to her former glory then sell her. I want to return to dirt riding, which I loved as a youngster. No crazy jumps or racing, just getting back in the woods and riding easy, hopefully with one or more of my daughters. Isabella has said she would like a dirt bike, so we shall see.

Here is a rundown of my injuries. Broken right collarbone, broken left scalpula(shoulder blade), 5 broken ribs(right), several broken protuberance from vertebrae, partially collapsed right lung. They cut off much of my clothing in the road and the rest in the ambulance. They strapped my to the board as a precaution for spinal injuries and in the ER they filled me with painkiller and tested me for internal and brain injuries. Thank God the broken bones were the only injuries I suffered. To be continued.

Lindy's Last Road Ride Report: Not so Lucky

I began riding a motorcycle again in 2003 at the age of 45. After 5 years and 60,000 fun filled miles it all came to an abrupt halt on Sunday, January 11th. I was traveling from Arlington ,TX where I attended a track coaches clinic all weekend. My wife Marni was a bit worried about me riding the bike in the Dallas area but I assured her I would be careful and when coming home on Sunday morning traffic would be light. So the clinic was great and I packed the bike for the chilly ride home. The high for the 11th would be low 50's so I geared up with 3 layers on bottom and top and wore my usual safety gear(Full face helmet, padded jacket, full leather gloves, insulated steel toed mc boots). With the gear, wide windshield, and heated grips I was quite comfortable. Traffic was light and I zipped down I-30 from Arlington to Mt. Vernon in no time. I stopped for fuel for the bike and myself and called home to tell the family I would be home within an hour. I had every intention to ride I-30 to New Boston but made a last second decision to exit on Hwy 259 and from there ride Fm 561 to 98 to NB. 561 is one of my favorite roads. Curvy and hilly with good sight lines. I was probably 3 miles down 561 when I see a green pickup turn left into a drive about 200 yards(I think, it's all kind of fuzzy now) in front of me. I saw another pickup sitting near the road in the same area so I slowed a bit but proceeded. As I neared the green truck, it suddenly was in reverse and blasting in the road. What happened next is all a blur but I evidently braked so hard that my rear tire locked up and the bike started skidding around until I did a 180* and went back first into the truck. (When a TX DPS officer came to see me in the hospital later that day he said that's what it looks like happened). I do not remember the impact at all. Evidently I was knocked out for awhile because my next memory is laying in the road with all these people around me. I thought I'm dreaming this, but why does my back hurt so bad. Then people are talking to me. I said I'm taking this helmet off and they said no but i did it anyway. Then a lady asked if I had a cell phone and I said yes and she started calling my family. I realized this was real when I was laid out in the back of the ambulance for the ride to Texarkana.

bbtexacosmallpy9 (Medium)

bbtexacosmallpy9 (Medium), originally uploaded by luckylindy1.

Last chance Texaco.