It's been a pretty long period of recovery for me since I fractured my patella. My crash happened in Round #7 of my 1st CCS Novice racing season. I can't believe that I haven't been able to ride any of my cycles since that day on Oct 5th but sometimes that's the breaks. No PUN intended - no really.
Photo of fractured canopy after race
I've been cleaning the house and trying to organize of all my riding / racing gear. This is no simple task given how many tools and other racing paraphernalia I own. This is especially true given how small my home is. Pulling the 848 Racer out of my storage room let me get my first real close look at the damage. A friend of mine tucked the bike away after my injury and finally this is the first significant assessment. Unfortunately, there was considerably more damage in the front end than I had previously understood.
Photo of broken faring stay
After I unbuttoned the race skins from the chassis, I discovered that my stock faring stay was toast in several areas. These factory stock stays are just complete crap and crack if you look at them wrong.
Broken faring stay removed from bike
Funny how the set of race skins where actually holding the stay in place and preventing the gauge cluster from becoming dislodged. Naturally and in true DucatiRacerChick style, I have a replacement racing part in stock. This doesn't surprise you, does it? This one is definitely designed to handle a little more tension and flexing than the stock unit. It never ceases to amaze me just how many design problems have already been encountered and ingeniously solved by some of the after market parts designers for the 848.
Right hand guard after turn 3 lowside
I really like the new unit, it's super light and looks like you could just bend it back in place after an incident. Very, very cool!
Replacement faring stay before assembly
Back to the whole physical therapy situation. I guess that this injury is a bit of a reality check for how much longer it takes a 49 year woman to bounce back from an injury versus a 21 year old woman. What changes am I going to make to try and tilt the odds in my favor? I'm not sure although I've been contemplating it quite a bit. Certainly a review of all of my safety gear choices and making improvements to anything that may be lacking. I spent sometime researching new crash suits which include airbag systems however that's just not in the cards. Especially not given my level of expertise. It's possible that I may only do practice sessions next season and really try to focus on my cornering. Maybe enter only a few competitions towards the end of the season after my confidence is restored. We'll see. :)
Front end revealed for inspection
Physical Therapy is going pretty well now. Most days I can walk up and down stairs with very little discomfort and I just feel like I getting stronger again. My rehabilitation specialist, Audrey, issued a whole new set of exercises this morning to augment my routine. Can you say 'Ouch!'? Other than the new items being pretty intense and challenging even my non injured muscles - I'm feeling pretty good. I'm hoping to significantly strong next season when riding starts again.
Looking great and ready for winter storage!
That's it for this last post of 2013, all in all it was a fast paced year of learning, fun and challenges. I'd like to avoid the injuries next year but 2013 certainly allowed for many personal growth milestones.
If you're gonna ride, remember to Twist It!!
Happy New Years everyone!
-diz
