TinyBear

Well about 4-5 years back I got my self back into cycling for health and recreation. And managed to go from 350lbs down too 260lbs in the process and loved it.

Sadly 2 years ago my cycling took a very Sudden stop when I got hit by a car while out on my motorcycle, the car driver made a left turn infront of me and was charged with carless driving I have no recollection of the crash or 15-20 mins prior, only waking up on highway. As a result i very nearly lost my left leg while damaging some muscle in my right leg and left shoulder. 5 surgeries numerous bouts with infection and a long LONG battle to rebuild the lost muscle tissue/re learn to function and I feel its time to give it a go on my bicycles once again (I have some time on exercise bikes so I think I ready).

But I had a couple questions first: One is my left leg is now just about 1" shorter witch for the most part I can function normally with (just can't run). But I wondered if I should look at some way to modify things to prevent further injury cycling wise. Also is cycling gona help build ankle strength as right now I have extremely limited ability to support myself on that ankle.

Secondly. Being as cyclists are the only people on the road I can think of more invisible to a car driver than motorcycles, I'd like to keep my cycling to trails. So now my Giant Seek ones tires/ wheels are not ideal. I was wondering if it would be possible to swap on a more conventional wider set of wheels and tires for gravel bike paths i will be frequenting. OR if it be better to just ride my giant Boulder SE and sell off the Seek.

The good news threw all this is I have managed to keep most weight off threw out the entire ordeal (actually dropped to 230lbs due to lost tissue and muscle mass but am back to work and have rebuilt some muscle and stand at 250lbs now). And I have been able to return to riding my remaining motorcycle and though was nervous for the first five mins or so i glad to be out there enjoying things again.

The Giant Seek 1 ( I really wana get more out of this bike it's only seen maybe 200kms as I got hurt not too long after purchase).


The Boulder SE


And lastly thanx for the great advice I have always received here.

Cychologist

Your physical issues with one leg now being shorter than the other can be resolved with a good bicycle fit.

Don't give up on being a roadie. You can face those fears again just like you have with the motorcycle.

Get back on the bike and ride!

breadbin

can't really say anything about the shorter leg, would a shorter crank arm make it more comfortable i wonder. if i had to choose i'd pick the Seek over the boulder but no harm keeping them both? if you wanted course you can put knobbly tyres on the seek but there are alot of trails that would be fine with them tyres. get the confidence up and please god you'll be out on the road again. that sort of accident would knock the life out of you. you did well to get back on the steed at all. i'd say you might regret it if you sold it

look forward to hearing how you get on!

TrojanHorse

One pro-tip for road riding... get a VERY BRIGHT headlight and leave it on blinky mode all the time during the day. I have about 4 of these things laying around the house - Amazon.com: 4 Mode 1200 Lumen CREE XML T6 Bulb LED Bicycle bike HeadLight Lamp Flashlight Light Headlamp: Sports & Outdoors

Also get a VERY BRIGHT tail light and use it on blinky mode.. I have a cygolight hotshot II, there are others that are similar or better.

If you are riding a motorcycle or bicycle during daylight hours, be very cautious about the hours near sunset - it's still bright but the sun in the eyes of drivers is deadly. It's better to ride after the sun goes down, but if you can't - choose your route wisely. High viz jerseys during the day and reflective clothing/vests after dark are also very effective. Heck, I've seen some ridiculous looking layouts at night. Commuters will strap 15 red blinkies all over and maybe it looks silly but you can see them from a long way away. it's worse to have one tiny little red light that you can't see because it's under your saddle bag. You're cool but invisible. JMO.

And last - I know I picked up a lot of nuances about driver behavior when I rode a motorcycle, and I'm sure you did too. It seems that you can frequently predict which stupid maneuver a driver is going to do, when they're going to change lanes (before they give any indication that they might be thinking about it), etc. Just be extra alert & aware. Obviously, that's not a perfect situation, as you discovered. Cars FREQUENTLY underestimate the speed of a small object like a bike or motorcycle and society seems all too eager to believe "I didn't see him"

Good for you for getting back on the bike, so to speak. Your leg length issues can probably be resolved with some shims for your shoe/cleat/pedal but somebody local is probably best equipped to help you with that. As cychologist mentioned, look into getting a fitting to address those issues.

TinyBear

Well today was nice so after taking my motorcycle out for a bit of a cruise. I serviced my Boulder SE and went for a quick maybe 3km ride. Was bit painfull on up hills the leg protested but otherwise felt good be back out tomorrow weather permitting.

Still wana look into wider tires on the Seek1

1speeder

Congratulations on getting back on two wheels! Start out slow and try to spin easier gears to slowly build your legs up to strength, try not to torque too much until you know your legs can handle it. I was at the race track on my Kawi (2005) and came out of a turn with out my bike at 100 mph, I tumbled 300 feet down the back straight and broke my pelvis in 3 locations, broke 3 ribs, my throttle hand, a slipped disc and many torn muscles etc. Not as bad as your legs for sure but it took a year for me to recover. I had a wonderful chiropractor which she worked all of the scar tissue out, then she sent me to boot camp in which made me have to think to get certain muscles to fire. It is amazing how the body heals. I had the urge to ride a bicycle, so I went to the bike shop to try out a full suspension bike (broken pelvis) I couldn't even swing my leg over the bike saddle, but once I was in riding position, I could pedal without problems if I stayed away from the hills. Months later, I was back on my road bike and did a hilly 80 mile ride with my friends. Stick with it, if something hurts, find out why and keep going!

Take care,
Mike