Longevity for dirt bike riders

[Mud-Ectomy]

I am with Pappa J, I wish I would have used good quality knee braces in the past. I use them now but the damage is done.

[einsteingarage]

It's funny that we say once we get into it we will buy better gear but the truth is I don't. Need the gear as much as I did in the beginning My knees show it also

[nknudsen]

Originally Posted by Mattnzl

You've hopefully already seen this inspiring video of old guys riding:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_T41kJm-PE

I hope to be those guys some day! That's a great video and thanks for the link!

[davedunaway]

All great advice,the only thing I would add is if you get injured have it looked at.
For too many years I would ignore going to the doc for minor injuries because my body would always heal itself. Guess what ? At 57 that doesn't work anymore. I still feel fit and strong but I don't recover anywhere near as fast as I used to. Now if I get an injury,sprain or tweak I will go see my doc,physio, or book a nice deep massage. Works for me.
Dave

[Darkside]

Buy a new dirt bike every 2 or 3 years. That makes all the pain and stiffness go away.

[swazi_matt]

Some nice pointers here. I guess I knew that cardio would come into it!

The one thing I have often thought about is arthritis, especially in the hands. Anyone know if this is one of the perks of DB riding? What can be done to prevent it?
I remember seeing a hand exerciser that worked in the opposite way to a stress ball, it worked the muscles used to open your hand and apparently this balances the muscles in your hand ... or would an injection of snake oil do the job just as well???

[gasser]

Originally Posted by swazi_matt

The one thing I have often thought about is arthritis, especially in the hands. Anyone know if this is one of the perks of DB riding? What can be done to prevent it?
?

I just turned 60 and have had problems with my wrists and arm pump since I was 19 when I broke my left wrist badly in a fall. All rides since then would induce some pain at some point and reduce my overall enjoyment of this sport I love. Two years ago I installed a Rekulse clutch and went from having a lot of problems with my left wrist to only some. In fact I went from always having more problems with left wrist (than my right) to having noticeably less than the right as soon as the clutch was installed. Another thing that was well worth the money for me was to get a flexible handlebar. I had tried the Flexx bars on a friends bike and liked them but went with the Twisted Engineer bars to save that extra 2 pounds of weight up high. Mine are the 3x (most flexible) and while they are not quite as flexible as the Flexx bars I tried there is no vague or odd feeling to get used to. They do work however, when you hit the rocks the difference is substantial.

[bukwheat]

I am now 62 years young....I started racing when I was 19, any kind of MC racing in the dirt...MX, HS, enduro, short track, any racing I could find. Really liked MX. That was in 1970, right at the beginning of the dirt bike craze. I raced until 73 and went in the USAF, but I continued to race and it really helped my racing speed as I was traveling to new areas of competition mostly around Texas and Oklahoma. I took about a year and a half off while stationed overseas. Got back and out of the USAF and realized I was no longer competitive in MX and soon decided to move out to AZ. Got into the desert racing series out there and did pretty well up till 89 when my job moved to Bham. I have raced enduro and HS here in the southeast ever since.
Don't race as much now but I still get out there and mix it up with the old farts and I can hold my own just fine.

Any how, I have had my share of broken bones mostly lower leg, ankle, feet breaks and dislocated both shoulders and I probably have more reoccurring trouble of my shoulders all from racing. But I work with a bunch of young guys in their 30's and it is interesting to see that I am in better shape than most all of them.

Racing has kept me in shape throughout my life, I have not had any heart problems(knocking on wood) but I do take blood pressure and cholesterol meds. Although racing is dangerous, overall, I have been very fortunate to have had so much fun and have so many great memories and met so many neat people. The only thing I would have done different would maybe found a race on the weekends I was not racing....

[houndog]

Well, not a single person is going to agree and most will call me names but that is ok. First, 57 and slender. Live on beer and as little food as possible. Fully recovered from injuries in the summer. I can run and go over a chain link fence like it's not there. Can still pull off at least 5 one arm push ups, either arm....used to be 15 in my 40's and early 50 ish. I will not waste energy doing things I do not enjoy nor will I do things thinking "it will help". I will not eat things I do not like thinking it is "good for me". I don't like wearing a helmet or armor for casual riding on the dirt roads. I always wear boots, gloves and safety glasses however every single time. I believe you can suffer a debilitating injury just going about your normal business at 7 or 70, I know because I've seen it happen. I do not think there is an awful lot we can do to insure our longevity or good heath. It's in the genes, is my belief. If I was worried about extending my life and my healthy years I'd not be riding in the first place.

Now, 2 examples of why I feel this way...........my buddy Don, was the absolute strongest person pound for pound of anyone I have ever seen or met. In HS he could clean jerk 160 pounds over his head. He weighed 140. Oh, btw, that was with one arm. He did not get weaker with age. He woke up a few weeks ago with a numb left arm. By the end of the day he could not lift it. Went to ER. 2 days later he was getting operation to relieve a pinched nerve caused by a bone spur in his neck. He's only got 5% of his strength in his left arm now and his right is down about 80%. My skinny daughter can beat him arm wrestling. Nothing he could have done would have saved him from this.

Second example, my Dad recently discovered he has an abdominal aneurysm on his aorta. Had this not been discovered because he had an operation for a problem on his intestines he would probably just drop dead at some point. Just like his twin sister last year. They will operate on him very soon.

My point is that nothing those two could have done would have affected their ability to go on as usual. I simply refuse to live my life like what I do now will save me later when there simply is no guarantee. I won't spend a second worrying about the things I can't change.

I do not wear seat belts. I know, I know. Here is the problem, I have been in a car that flipped and crushed the roof, had I been strapped in I would have died for sure. I was hit in the side by an Impala at 45 mph (what he told cops) in my VW Rabbit. I ended up on top of Helen and the front of the Impala was resting in my seat. I would have been killed for sure had I been wearing a seat belt.

So, there you go, you all will think me irresponsible and that is OK. I am living, not just existing and I know I only have so long. I'll ride until I can't and in the meant time I'll live without worrying about the future.....it could be over before I even hit "submit re

[Jakobi]

Thats another way of looking at it Houndog. Your destiny is already determined and what will be will be. Nothing you perceive to do will extend or inhibit the final outcome. So my question is.. Why are boots more important than a helmet? Brain is what keeps it all happening. If your fate is sealed.. then you can't say that by wearing a seatbelt you would be dead.. catch 22!