Back in the saddle

Back in October, Adey and I both managed to put ourselves in the hospital within a few days of each other. Now, within the last few days, we're both back to operating at close to normal capacity. That's me in the top picture, showing off while our friend Ana catches some sun. Adey? Oh, he just got on track with Max Biaggi.

I've been riding again since just a couple weeks after my crash. But slowly and nervously as I've worked out all the kinks in the various body parts that were injured and slowly defeated the nerves that are inevitable anytime you're reminded that the world can hurt you. Yesterday was actually the first time that I've slipped back into a leather onesie and tried the fast stuff again. Seemed to work; knee met ground six corners in and I kept my friends out of the black-on-black-on-black CBR1000RR's mirrors for most of the ride.

Trusting myself to trust the bike was the hardest part, trying to focus on the ride rather than the possible results. Passing cars, getting lines right and all that stuff is still there, if a little rusty. The endurance and the athleticism was the hardest part, body position and being smooth on the controls and using them at the exact right time were challenges too. All-in-all, not bad though. A few more weekends or maybe a trackday and I'll be 100 percent.

Which leads us to Adey, who hasn't been on a bike at all since his leg injury was much more immobilizing than my ribs/arm/tailbone/knee mix. We'd talked about getting out in the canyons together one of these weekends, but instead, he just nutted up, took his Husqvarna supermoto out of storage and hit Adams with Jamie, Nik and some dude named Max Biaggi, producing this video in the process. He stopped by my house a few days later on his R1 and looked utterly confident.

Injuries don't have to last, so long as you don't let them.