Hi to everyone,
I’m very excited about the future, being a newbie to the blog world this could end up anywhere.
To give you a quick background of who I am, I may as well start at the beginning. I was born in 1964 and yes I’m an old git. I didn’t enjoy school and I couldn’t wait to leave. When I did it wasn’t with very much. My parents did their very best for me and sent me to the best schools. It was just me and I found it all very difficult. Anyway, I had a few jobs before I joined the army. Finally I had found a niche that I was quiet good at and more importantly, I enjoyed it. Some 22 or so years later I found myself back in civi street. Talk about a shock to the system. Thanks to my brother-in-law I started work in the building industry. I started as a Telle-handler driver and as the bottom fell out of the building trade I ended up as a labourer. I then got the phone call I was waiting for and I started work in Afghanistan. A fantastic job and one which I wish I had turned to much earlier when I was given the opportunity. Well that was two years ago and I haven’t looked back. To go back a few years I learnt to ride a bike the moment I left school. I’ve been riding for the past 30 years now apart from a year off in 2001 when I broke my back and left leg. All my fault, I tried to take a long fast left far too fast and I ran out of road, very rapidly. That was on my GSXR 1100K.
I’ve been riding Suzuki’s for the best part of 20 years. But I cut my teeth on an RD125, moving up to the RD250, then the LC350 and for a short time the YPVS. After that I moved up to the big boys and the 750’s, with a spell on the 1100.
After my spell in hospital my wife Janette bought me an Aprilia, I chose the Aprilia in the belief it might slow me down. I thought it was a good choice to get my confidence back. It did and a lot more, the change from an inline 4 to the V twin was a great move. But I managed to ride harder and faster, and I learnt to corner better and I improved all aspects of my riding. I hit the track all over Europe and loved every moment of it. I’m now on a GSXR 1000K9 in black and carbon.
There has always been a slight problem, me. Since my accident I found it very difficult to walk, my ankles were very painful. I was 44 and walking like a man of double my age. I even considered getting rid of my bike, I had the Aprilia at the time. To go with that was the constant pain in my wrists, this would start about 30 minutes into a ride or on the track at about lap 9, depending on what track I was at. It would start with pins and needles to full on pain where I couldn’t operate the throttle, front brake or the clutch. Even on the straights there was no rest bight and it was painful to keep the throttle pinned. In the end fatigue and pain meant I was concentrating more on my body failing me than my lines, corner speed and exits. The inevitable happened and I was in the gravel trap. On the road I would get pins and needles and then cramp in my right thumb. I didn’t think that was possible but it was a show stopper.
I’m very excited about the future, being a newbie to the blog world this could end up anywhere.
To give you a quick background of who I am, I may as well start at the beginning. I was born in 1964 and yes I’m an old git. I didn’t enjoy school and I couldn’t wait to leave. When I did it wasn’t with very much. My parents did their very best for me and sent me to the best schools. It was just me and I found it all very difficult. Anyway, I had a few jobs before I joined the army. Finally I had found a niche that I was quiet good at and more importantly, I enjoyed it. Some 22 or so years later I found myself back in civi street. Talk about a shock to the system. Thanks to my brother-in-law I started work in the building industry. I started as a Telle-handler driver and as the bottom fell out of the building trade I ended up as a labourer. I then got the phone call I was waiting for and I started work in Afghanistan. A fantastic job and one which I wish I had turned to much earlier when I was given the opportunity. Well that was two years ago and I haven’t looked back. To go back a few years I learnt to ride a bike the moment I left school. I’ve been riding for the past 30 years now apart from a year off in 2001 when I broke my back and left leg. All my fault, I tried to take a long fast left far too fast and I ran out of road, very rapidly. That was on my GSXR 1100K.
I’ve been riding Suzuki’s for the best part of 20 years. But I cut my teeth on an RD125, moving up to the RD250, then the LC350 and for a short time the YPVS. After that I moved up to the big boys and the 750’s, with a spell on the 1100.
After my spell in hospital my wife Janette bought me an Aprilia, I chose the Aprilia in the belief it might slow me down. I thought it was a good choice to get my confidence back. It did and a lot more, the change from an inline 4 to the V twin was a great move. But I managed to ride harder and faster, and I learnt to corner better and I improved all aspects of my riding. I hit the track all over Europe and loved every moment of it. I’m now on a GSXR 1000K9 in black and carbon.
There has always been a slight problem, me. Since my accident I found it very difficult to walk, my ankles were very painful. I was 44 and walking like a man of double my age. I even considered getting rid of my bike, I had the Aprilia at the time. To go with that was the constant pain in my wrists, this would start about 30 minutes into a ride or on the track at about lap 9, depending on what track I was at. It would start with pins and needles to full on pain where I couldn’t operate the throttle, front brake or the clutch. Even on the straights there was no rest bight and it was painful to keep the throttle pinned. In the end fatigue and pain meant I was concentrating more on my body failing me than my lines, corner speed and exits. The inevitable happened and I was in the gravel trap. On the road I would get pins and needles and then cramp in my right thumb. I didn’t think that was possible but it was a show stopper.
It wasn’t until I started my new job in Afghanistan that I realised something very fundamental. I was never the fittest person around but I thought I was OK. How wrong could I have been? Taking it easy after my accident and then getting a job behind a steering wheel had done me no favours at all. I had become weak and lazy, my strength had slowly been eroded away from a serious lack of use and being at work for over 12 hours a day meant I didn’t want to do anything when I did get home.
Without even noticing it, my family were suffering as well. Even my best mate Rossi was dipping out. The dog, he wasn’t getting walked as I was too tiered to take him out. My boys would ask me to join in at the weekends, if I wasn’t working and play paintballing with them. The answer was always no, my ankles were too painful or I was too tired. What a state to be in, 44 and ready for the knackers’ yard.
When I arrived in Afghanistan I was told I would be out of breath for the first couple of weeks and that I was to take it easy due to the altitude. It turned out to be a lot longer but that wasn’t down to the altitude. I was very unfit as I was about to find out. My first session in the gym was about to take place, to say I was nervous was an understatement. It also proved to be very embarrassing.
As I attempted to lift what was supposed to be an average weight for my age and size, it soon became apparent that I was a 16 stone weakling. As so rightly put by one of my colleagues “come on, my daughter can lift more than that” it was very embarrassing and the start of my new training program.
Little did I know but this was about to change my life and my families.
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