Ride while you can...

Discussion in 'Crash Confessions' started by SCPivot, Aug 25, 2019.


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  1. SCPivot

    SCPivot Newbie with Hope!

    Location:
    San Clemente ca
    Name:
    Todd
    Current Bike:
    Yeti SB5c
    Hello fellow riders...Sorry for the long and heavy post but I just wanted to post this in case it helps give some perspective to others.

    I’ve an avid long time mountain biker , and I’m currently off the bike - possibly for good. After battling spine problems for 35 years including 4 back surgeries, I was able to battle back and finish VQ (a dream of mine) in 2014 at the age of 49. Didn’t set any speed records but to cross the finish line alive was enough given that a few years prior it was tough to walk. Since then, I’ve kind of gone down hill physically and now am faced with quite possibly never being able to ride again. This sport, and the people who love it, have given me so many good times and great memories. It’s hard to see it possibly gone now, and I think about all those rides I didn’t take but could have...That’s my only regret.

    On top of this a friend of a friend and incredible rider passed away unexpectedly a few weeks ago. Totally out of the blue, was incredibly fit, and had been ripping down the Luge just a couple of days before. He’d be the last guy I would have worried about.

    I guess I just wanted to say it’s a beautiful day and I hope you all get out and ride! You never know when or if it will be taken from you. Nobody is promised tomorrow. If I’m done I’ll never forget what this sport has given me and the wonderful people I’ve met along the way. Peace and Happy Riding!
     
    BeckTrex, Lost Kiwi, Stkx66 and 23 others like this.
  2. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
    Your story is amazing and your willpower to continue on through the years is uplifting. Thank you for that. My hope, and I am sure that I speak for others here, is that you find a way to continue to fight.
     
    Stkx66, MrGreedom, Danimal and 11 others like this.
  3. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    Thank you, @SCPivot. Respect to you.

    And don't forget: Without any physical capability, you still have incredible potential.

    Best wishes. :)
     
    Stkx66, MrGreedom, Mikie and 10 others like this.
  4. pperrelle

    pperrelle iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Oracle, AZ
    Name:
    Paul
    Current Bike:
    Ripley V4 & Ripmo V2
    Bummer that your riding days may be over. Losing a sport that we love will be tough for all of us. Good advice on ride it while you can.
     
    MrGreedom, Mikie, Danmtchl and 10 others like this.
  5. Voodoo Tom

    Voodoo Tom MTB Addict

    Location:
    Castaic
    Name:
    Tom Kokkinakis
    Current Bike:
    Mango one, black one, Ti one
    Wow thanks for sharing that story @SCPivot. While heart wrenching for many of us there's that never give up and enjoy it while you can message that we all need to hear sometimes. Hopefully you can battle your way back on to the bike but if not you've got some great memories and friends to go with it. There's plenty of other things in life to enjoy, in fact I predict I'll be a damn fine fly fisherman again when my bike days are over. One of my favorite dudes and life mentor once told me"life is like a game of cards, they deal em and we just gotta play em"...
     
    MrGreedom, Mikie, Danmtchl and 13 others like this.
  6. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Wow...just...wow.

    This is powerful. I choked up while reading it with my wife. I appreciate you sharing your perspective - and your pain. As others said, I hope you can get back on a bike some day. If not, I hope you find a compelling passion that can fill the void - at least to some degree.

    Thank you for taking the time to share. This will profoundly impact all of us. Best wishes to you. May the stoke you felt mt. biking return in some fashion.
     
    MrGreedom, Mikie, Danmtchl and 10 others like this.
  7. Runs with Scissors

    Runs with Scissors iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    West Anaheim
    Name:
    Mark Whitaker
    Current Bike:
    Giant XTC with pedals
    @SCPivot Sorry to hear. Hope you find a way to get back at it and, if not, that you find another way to the stoke.
     
    MrGreedom, Voodoo Tom, Mikie and 7 others like this.
  8. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
    @SCPivot that really sucks. Never give up. Lots of people get told they will never do "x" again, only to prove them wrong. Good luck with it.

    Good vibes.
     
  9. DangerDirtyD

    DangerDirtyD iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    CA
    Name:
    Chicken Nugget
    Current Bike:
    2018 Guerrilla Gravity SMASH
    Amen Brother! I’ll think about you next time I’m on the saddle.
     
  10. scan

    scan iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    fran allas
    Current Bike:
    Scott Spark
    Thanks for the post,reminding us to keep things in perspective.
    Friends, family and how we treat one another are the important things.
    :thumbsup::thumbsup:
     
  11. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    Thank you @SCPivot !
    I’m going to go out on a limb here and pray that you are completely healed and that, that miracle is a testimony to all!
    Thanks for sharing Brothah. If there is anything we can do down the road, holler.

    As well, stick around. Family is family, and we are probably one of the more dysfunctional! :thumbsup:

    Mikie
     
  12. da big hills

    da big hills iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    pearl harbor
    Name:
    cagey
    Current Bike:
    enduro 29
    and if the Canadian cannot pull it off, I will design a recumbent mountain bike. It will take big chingadera's to point that down the single trac, but you back will love it.
    maybe a recumbent E bike.
    Good luck to you
     
  13. mountaingirl sara

    mountaingirl sara iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    So Cal
    Name:
    Sara
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley
    ^^^^^ what he said! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
    But thanks for the reminder @SCPivot , every ride, every moment out there is a gift! Whether in the saddle or not, I hope you find something that lights you up with that internal smile aka joy!:)
     
    SCPivot, mike, mtnbikej and 2 others like this.
  14. mountaingirl sara

    mountaingirl sara iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    So Cal
    Name:
    Sara
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley
    Yasssssss brothah!!!!!
     
    SCPivot, mike, MrGreedom and 2 others like this.
  15. MrGreedom

    MrGreedom Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Name:
    Ryan
    Current Bike:
    BH Lynx6
    My heart is as heavy as a ton of bricks reading this. May your friend forever RIP in the single track clouds of the sky. And never know what is in your future. At least you got to do VQ. I feel the likelihood of you being back on the bike before VQ returns is high.
     
    SCPivot, mike, herzalot and 1 other person like this.
  16. Ebruner

    Ebruner Well-Known Member

    Name:
    Erik Bruner
    Current Bike:
    22' Nomad, 22' Trance x 29
    @SCPivot I don't know the nature of your spine injuries, but it's not hard for me to project myself into your shoes in a blink of an eye. I am still fighting the good fight 2 years on from my first (of what I assume will be many) back surgeries. Everyone is different, and the spine is a fickle beast. I wish you the best of luck and patience with this as I know that even my mild issues have been a real lesson in where life can go all to quickly.

    The only thing I can add to this other then good vibes, is a suggestion to give pilates or yoga a college try. After years of going on and off physical therapy dealing with this 2011 injury, I've been doing pilates 2x a week with my wife. It has made the single biggest difference to the consistency of my back health. Much more then anything else I have tried. It's been a slow process, but now 1 year on small events like little tweaks when lifting something out of the car or doing yard work are just that, little tweaks and nothing more then warning shots. Previously, those events would have leveled me for weeks, if not months. Matter of fact, I went from 3 months cycles of throwing out my back, to not throwing out my back in over a year. I probably just jynxed myself with that, but hey, it's part of the process.

    Long story short, the best thing for my mtb riding, was taking a step back, doing less of it, and focusing on something that would improve the quality of the time I did have on the bike. Ironically, I'm happier and stronger for it, and I'm a better rider then I have ever been before. Stay strong, stay positive, and do what you can. Even a short ride (4 miles on flat fire road), is better then no ride.
     
    OTHRider, SCPivot, mike and 4 others like this.
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As a former Amazon Associate I continue to get screwed trying to stay qualified as an Amazon Affiliate. So I quit!


Want to donate to imtbtrails?