Back on the bike after ACL surgery

[VEGASRIDER]

I could only afford to rent the car for 28 days, so I'm back on the bike. Longest layoff from the bike in almost a decade. Trying to fit my brace with the riding boots and pants with armor was hard. Now if I just rode in jeans and sneakers, piece of cake. Fortunately, I have two different pairs of riding pants and boots, so I managed to make it work. But it's very awkward riding with a full brace that starts from near the top of my ankles to my thigh. I can barely reach the shifter, and often find myself miss shifting a lot.

After not being on the bike for four weeks, I practiced in an open parking lot focusing on my quick stops, swerves, slow tight turns, shifting, etc for about 15 minutes. Then worked my way into traffic to get myself acclimated back to riding. Just happened to be bike night a Cycle Gear, so a great way to get jump started.

 

[Cloggy]

Take it easy Kenny, and heal up soon, oh and BTW


:needpics: :justkidding:

 

[lonesoldier84]

Easy with that bud.

Those ligament tears get re-aggravated extremely easily. Some extra time off might not be such a bad idea in this instance.

Good luck! XD

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Good luck and try to take it easy..:thumbup:

 

[Motogiro]

Heal up Kenny!

 

[Erci]

Glad to hear you're back on the bike and I'm sure it feels great. Do be very careful though. You may want to stop the *wrong* way and put your right foot out first.

 

[darius]

Welcome back to the land of the riding. Perhaps adjusting the shifter temporarily would help some.

 

[Erci]

Another idea: 1st ever FZ6 with suicide shifter?! Blah

 

[Verharen]

Hmmmm. Isn't 28 days the typical amount of time in a drug rehab center to detox if you have a serious addiction? Sounds like your addiction to riding cannot be cured! Lol

Glad to hear you're being careful. I can't imagine riding with a leg brace. Is there a smaller option? Like mid-calf to mid-thigh? The type football players often wear? It might be worth asking.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Glad to hear you're back on the bike and I'm sure it feels great. Do be very careful though. You may want to stop the *wrong* way and put your right foot out first.

Yeah, easier said than done.

Welcome back to the land of the riding. Perhaps adjusting the shifter temporarily would help some.

I thought about bending my lever outward, and will consider doing so after I take a closer look at it.

Only riding the bike as needed, I'm not going to be looking to go out on a ride for a while. But I am looking into a custom fitted brace that will be better suited for riding. Similar what you would find when athletes return to sport, they wear a brace.

Doctor just measured my thighs, it's amazing how much larger my non-injured side of my thigh is. I really built up some great muscle mass favoring that right side. Now I have to work on working up that left side.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

When I broke my right ankle while still working (around 1993), with a small cast on my ankle, I was using one crutch for walking.

I was riding my lil, KLR 250 (KICK START only) back and forth to work.

Must of been a scene, standing on the right side of the bike, using the crutch for support, kick starting with the left leg.

Once started, bungee the crutch to the back of the bike. Hobble around to the left and mount up. Used my right heel for the rear brake once under way..

Knock on wood it was a one kick bike....:thumbup:

I had a stick shift Jeep at the time and couldn't drive that at all...