Suspension of Disbelief

Last August I upgraded the fork springs, but it took a while for me to finally cave in to the nagging voice saying "you really should", and I dropped the ~$600 dollars for a Progressive Suspension shock a couple weeks ago. After about 4 hrs of work on Saturday night, it was in.

Getting it in wasn't quite a bad as the manual implied. Of course, I didn't do it the way the manual instructed... the manual wants you to take down a lot more than is necessary.

Since the rear wheel had to come down, I got a chance to check the wheel bearings and final drive splines. All looked good, so after fitting new rear brake pads the rear end was put back together.

A short ride on Sunday proved that it was money well spent - as great as the fork upgrade was by itself, the shock made it that much better. I'd never really understood the difference suspension upgrades could make to a motorcycle until I did my research and then upgraded my forks last year. I couldn't believe that a vehicle could be so badly under-sprung from the factory. 

I'm now a believer.

With the upgraded shock, the ride is very different - firm, but not harsh, with plenty of road feedback instead of just bottoming out the rear suspension. I had the stock spring dialed in pretty well, but this is just that much better. 

The odometer rolled over 50,000 miles on the ST1300 this weekend. I'm only somewhat ashamed to admit that only about 500 of those miles were put on this year. At least I have a good excuse.

Back in the Saddle, Again

And, it's been way too long.

After several months of physical therapy to correct the issues described in "Pain in the...", it was obvious that physical therapy alone wasn't going to fix the issue. 

So, I fought with my insurance company to get all the approvals in order, and then went in for surgery in July. My doctor performed a laminotomy and discectomy at L4/L5.

This basically means a cut into the lower back muscle to retract it out of the way, and then cutting out a section of vertebrae to gain better access to the disk. Once the bone was out of the way, a hunk of the disk was removed to get rid of the part that had been bulging and pinching the nerve. 

There was nearly half an inch of disk material protruding into the nerve canal, crushing the left sciatic nerve bundle. 

I was under for about 1.5 hrs. My discharge paperwork was completed later that same afternoon, and I slowly and gingerly walked out of the hospital's front doors to go home. 

Modern medicine is an amazing thing, isn't it?

I had quite a lot of pain at the incision, and some fairly intense muscle spasms due to the muscle cutting /retraction, and from things adjusting. Valium for spasms, Norco and Neurontin, with a side of Zanaflex as a muscle relaxer.... things were very blurry for the first week post op. Standing and lying down were all I was permitted to do. I wasn't allowed to sit for longer than 15 minutes at a time, up to 4 times a day. Driving was not allowed, except to go to physical therapy. 

However, the constant sciatic pain - a sharp, burning, stabbing, misery in my left lower back and left buttock - and the tingling sensation in my left foot and lower leg, were both gone. After 6 more weeks of therapy, my surgeon cleared me to sit again, resume driving, and return to work. 

I've been off all the prescription medication for a while now. I'm eating better, losing more weight, and hitting the gym a few times a week, too. I still have some minor discomfort in my lower back, and always will. At the end of a really long day, or a lot of physical activity, that minor discomfort starts to become a little bit worse, but Advil has been able to manage things thus far.

Being that I haven't really ridden since February, I've been slowly easing back into riding. An hour here, two hours there... it will take time to rebuild my long distance riding endurance. My left leg isn't as strong as it was, either. 

But, I can still hold up my motorcycle.

I have zero problems shifting gears. 

And, I am already starting to prep and plan for my next multi-week trip.

Go

Seriously. Go.

I found this picture online the other night and thought it was worth sharing. I doubt many motorcycle riders would disagree with this logic.

After my two week long motorcycle camping trip in '13, the realization of this fact hit hard. I'd been on 2 and 3 day rides before, but never that long, never that far away from home, and never while camping. That trip changed me in ways I can't really describe. 

My wife and I have always been very cautious with our finances; keeping debt as low as possible, keeping our credit scores high, fighting together to make things work through job layoffs, illnesses, unexpected losses, unplanned major purchases.

We were always waiting for "the right time" or "$XXXXX amount" saved up in the bank for a big trip, or a new purchase. For our ten year wedding anniversary, I managed to convince her that we needed to just "GO" and if that meant putting it all on credit and paying it off over the next year, so be it. 

We spent a glorious 2 weeks in New Orleans last Christmas, renewed our vows on our anniversary date, dined like royalty when and where we pleased, watched brass bands, danced like two fools in love, and wandered the French Quarter like newlyweds. It was exactly what we needed after working so hard together for over 13 years as a couple. The five thousand we spent on a hotel, gas, entertainment, and shopping, pales in comparison to the memories we made and shared... those are priceless treasures.