Loss of Motivation

[TeriMedina]

Have any of you ever seen a crash in front of you and had it effect your motivation to ride? Last fall I had my dad take a corner too fast (no Slow, Look, Press & Roll... more Press, Pucker & Pray) and he went wide in the turn and crashed. it's funny but somehow watching him go down has effected me more than if I had gone down. How do you get your motivation back after seeing something like that? He is fine, has his bike back on the road and is riding, but I have yet to ride with him again and I have found that I am riding less... and I don't like it. any advise out there?

[Flight49]

Terri - I saw a bad accident last year right before I started riding. It scared me and I couldn't get it out of my head. After I started riding, I was afraid to ride the section of road where this lady went down. She did the same as your Dad - curve, panicked, no slow, press, roll.

Anyway, the only solution for me was to ride. I rode with my husband, on my own bike, right over the same area and realized that I could make it. When I would start to think about it, in would just remind myself of all the curves I have successfully negotiated. I am no expert butnthe best solution I know of is to get back on your bike and focus on all the skills you already have.

Fleda

[LadyBlue]

I watched my son on his bike in front of me somehow veer towards the left curb, up and over and triple somersault with the bike until he landed with the bike on top of him in the median. Watched him get up; rip his helmet off; and slam it to the ground. I stopped and secured my bike away from traffic; ran up to him and asked him what that was all about? Said he didn't know, but he was sure mad since now he wouldn't be able to finish the ride! Then we both sat on the ground and laughed. All was fine except the bike had some "plastic" damage. The following weekend we got out and rode the same roads. We both agreed it was a bit apprehensive at first, but we knew we were well-trained in the MSF courses and trained numerous riders in these classes as Instructors. If it wasn't for the "practice, practice, practice" as we preached and done, things could have been a lot worse. Accept the short rides as a challenge with each ride getting longer. You can do this. One ride at a time.

[Mrs. Captain Itch]

I've seen riders go down, but as much as I care about them, it doesn't effect me to ride. I try to learn from the mistakes and listen when riders talk about their accidents. Knock on wood, I didn't go down yet, but I hear from EVERYBODY that it is not a question "if" but "when" it's going to happen. So I am cautious, always alert, and keep going.

The freedom, pleasure, high, and whatever else riding does to me is just so precious that I don't want to let go of it. The more you ride after seeing an accident like that, the sooner you get over it, and you can enjoy your ride to the fullest again.

Good luck!

[Bramson]

I havent seen a bike go down in front of me but I have seen and experienced some pretty close calls. I love my bike and I love to ride but I have a little voice in my gut and I listen to it very carefully. Some days it tells me to go home and I listen. Maybe your just hearing a lil inner voice of caution.

I've taken several classes and have ample experience riding but there are always days where I get a bit apprehensive. One of the things I do when something worries me is go on youtube and watch videos of motorcycle wrecks. Yep I know it sounds odd but I'm not watching them for the train wreck effect I'm watching to see what they did wrong, what I would do differently and I try to commit those ideas to memory. It kinda takes away the shock value.

I've also taken the Accident Scene Management course to make sure I have the skills to help should an accident occur. Sometimes confidence comes when you have a greater sense of what to do. I would imagine seeing the accident left you feeling pretty powerless and that can have a drastic impact.

Another thing I do in the long days of winter is back to youtube and watch videos of great rides, events etc of people having fun and enjoying themselves and their bikes. It makes me long for the road.

The important thing is not to push yourself or punish yourself. All things in its own time.

Bram
Windy City Women Riders MC

[softail02]

My first visual of accident happening was as a passenger several years ago during Bike Week.
A car cut over into a bike forcing him into the medium, bike flipped, rider flew off. This happened behind us, the scraping of metal caught my attention and I turned around. Friend heard, but didn't see anything, he was focused on traffic.
Still have that memory in my head. I don't think the guy was hurt badly, within 10 minutes everything was cleaned up and gone.

Few years ago, driving home from a race late at night I saw the semi in front of me swerve, it was a dark stretch of road. I started changing lanes.....then I saw what I first thought was a trash bag of clothes, no it was a person. About 1/8 mile up the road was a bike on its side and the rider laying to the side. Other vehicles were stopped, ppl running back to the passenger.
What still makes me feel a little sick is that I was so close to running over the passenger with the wide az trailer that I was towing! Fortunantly there was a police officer with a car stopped in the oncoming lane just on down the roadway. He had a quick response.

Last Fall, had a little slip and slide incident of my own. Crashed, just didn't hit the ground! Stupid me, locked up my rear brake (just barely) but I was in a curve with a lot of crack sealer. Both my front and rear tires were on/off the slick as ice crack sealer. Started to high side a little, then went low side, then straightened right out and stopped right behind my riding buddy where someone would normally stop.

Almost running over the passenger made me a little nervous on riding on the interstate on the first trip out of state after. Butterflies didn't last long, maybe an hour.

My own near missing the ground has stayed with me still. I know part of it was my own fault. We all make little mistakes at times, it happens whether we admit it or not. The seal crack being slick is something that we just have to put up with in Indiana. It is everywhere
The next day I jumped on my bike and road a good 300 miles on my own on the interstate to a race. Had originally planned on taking state hwy's and back roads. The "almost down" happened while we were out riding state hwys/roads so I decided to change up the type of road I was riding. It helped a lot, I was able to just sit back and cruise the interstate relaxed.
I have become more vigilant "again" about watching for seal crack. I know that I was getting a little relaxed about watching for those slick spots and trying to stay off if possible by changing my lane position a little.

More enjoyable riding time in the saddle seems to be the one thing that gets me over those feelings faster. Learn what you need to learn from your experiences. It doesn't mean staying off the motorcycle. All of it can make you a better rider if you use it.

[innerchild58]

I think that most of has seen someone go down, sometimes it a bad accident and sometimes they are lucky and walk away with just some cosmetic damage (to them and a their scoot). I've taken the MSF Basic and Advanced classes, the ASM Basic and Advanced classes and am a Rescue Rider - all of which help with the confidence level. But the only way to really get over your nervousness is to get back on your bike and go riding. Doesn't matter if it's by yourself, your favorite riding partner or a group - just get out and do it! Trust me, a couple of miles down the road you'll be wondering why you were hesitant to get out and enjoy the ride.

[Burgmanlady]

One of the drawbacks of the Burgmans is that they have a very low center of gravity. That doesn't sound like much until you aren't sure of yourself with it. I have gone down 3 times. The 3rd time I was ready to get rid of my bike. I got on the Burgman USA forum and the guys there were wonderful. They gave me encouragement and suggestions. That was in March of 2007, in July of that same year, we rode down to the Gulf Coast in MS.
2009 found us on a trip from Nashville, TN to Duluth, MN, across WI, down through MI, across OH, WV, to Norfolk, VA. From there across to the Blue ridge Parkway and back home to Nashville.

The point is, accidents happen. Its just like when you were a kid and fell off your bicycle, you got right back on it. A little more cautious, but then the confidence will come back. I have seen a couple of bikes down, one being my son. That's hard to watch a loved one drop or crash, but you have to just hop right back on that ride, and go for it.

[Ametha Elf]

I saw a bad bike accident a couple of years ago. Now every time I ride through that stretch of road I still get that feeling of dread as I remember what I saw. It did put me off for a time, but worked out that speed would have been the factor in that one, and the bike failed to take the bend. If ever I see an accident, I will work out just what caused it so that I can make a mental note to ride along that particular stretch more safely. More and more miles ridden safely build confidence, getting back out there is the key.