Deja Vu
Back in May 2008 I wrote a blog post called Fortunate Riders (you can go back in the archives and look it up). I had had an awesome ride into work that morning and I began to think during the ride how fortunate I was to be able to live out my love of riding. There are so many things that we take for granted. To be able to ride a motorcycle you have to have health, finances, and concentration. God provided me with all those things.
What we sometimes fail to stop and think about is what if one of those factors ceased to exist for us? What if our finances became such that we could not afford to ride any longer? What if something happened to us healthwise? These are the things that I thought about that morning and that brings me to the point of my deja vu.
Those thoughts have returned to hit me once more like a june bug smacking you in the chest on a warm summer night running 70 mph. You all know what it feels like. Feels like a brick smacking you in the chest! The bad part is that after holing up in the house for the winter I would welcome that just to be out riding. Anyway, deja vu. These thoughts came back this week as I have dealt with my father losing his foot to diabetes. The jury is still out if they will take more but there has been talk of going to the knee. We will find out further in the next week.
But, I got to thinking about what I would do if faced with the chance of not getting on a bike again. I decided to poll my Twitter friends and got many answers ranging from just getting more involved with the various clubs and groups to buying a Can-Am Spyder or other such trike. Twitter friend artinmotionllc said she would have her husband Tom Kapp build her a trike. If you want to see a sweet trike and other rolling works of art check them out. I will not go to a trike until I absolutely have to but I will definitely make that move when I can’t hold the bike up anymore or when I too have some medical issue that forces me that direction. I love the lean of a two wheeler. What can I say? So, if I was going for trike action I would probably opt for a new HD Tri-Glide or one of the Art In Motion trikes would definitely set me apart from the normal everyday three wheel enthusiast.
What if I don’t want a trike? What if I still want the feeling of leaning my motorcycle through a curve? I have not found any evidence of the following being sold in the market, but I did find a patent for retractable motorcycle stop-support wheels. When stopping or sitting still at a stop, the wheels drop from the bottom of the motorcycle and balance the machine. This would be great for a lower limb amputee or someone with weak legs that can not hold the motorcycle up. These wheels are under US Patent 5029894 which was issued July 9, 1991. What? The patent has been around for nearly 18 years and I have never heard of the units actually making it to production? I am not saying it never has, only that I have no knowledge of it. You can see it for yourself on the Patent Storm website. So, there is some hope for those of us who desire to always be on two wheels. All it takes is for someone to manufacture the product and sell it to the motorcycle manufacturers.
There are other disabilities to be dealt with and other products already on the market to aid the desiring rider. I focused mainly on the lower extremities as that is what my father just lost. My Dad has never, to the best of my knowledge, ridden a motorcycle and has never voiced the desire to and for that I am glad. Not glad that he never got to experience the most exhilirating, free feeling a human being can experience, but glad that he does not know what he is missing. I do rejoice in the fact that those who have experienced our love of the ride and experienced a loss of limb like my father do still have the hope of feeling the wind in their face again. Thank you to all of those that contribute to making the products that make the dream to continue riding a reality for those in the same situation. You all ROCK!
Love You Dad
Steve