how can old people carry on riding motorcycles - catch you inside
hello welcome to Revelator Alf I hope you're enjoying the channel and the
series please subscribe and hit the notifications bell down there please
leave lots of comments as you're watching and stick around right at the
end for some added information so in this video I'm talking about how elderly
people can carry on riding motorcycles now you might think that's a little bit
offensive you know talking about elderly people and riding motorcycles everything
but the reality is that as we all get older we're gonna get a little bit
slower we're gonna get a little bit weaker and we're gonna get a little bit
less mobile that even if we have all our faculties and all our physical
capabilities so there are certain things that we always need to do before we even
attempt to get on a motorcycle we need to analyze our physical capability our
balance our vision our hearing that kind of thing then we need to look at okay
what about our physical mobility can we actually get onto the motorcycle
can we actually handle the weight that kind of thing so as we get older we may
want to change the actual style of motorcycle that we ride and also the
size of motorcycle that we ride okay so let's consider a rider who has
trouble in cocking their leg over the bike to get over the saddle for example
and sit on the bike well in that case they may consider actually choosing a
lower bike for example a low rider a bobber that kind of thing something that
actually sits a lot lower so you have a lot less trouble in getting your leg over
the bike pardon the pun but also you'll talk about sports bikes well sports
bikes you know you're a very in a racing prone position where you can put a lot
of weight on your wrists a lot of weight a lot of tension on the joints and your
hip and your knees that kind of thing as well so it might be a case you might
want to just move away from that sort of racing style by now I'm not talking
about elderly at retirement age 90 years old 100 years older I'm talking
as we're getting into middle-age and then moving on it really depends on your
body type as well as a general rule regardless of how old you are you need
to find a bike that fits you fits your physical frame now are you a tall person
are you a short person are you middle height you know what what is your arm
reach what is your you know the length of your legs that kind of thing you know
we are all we are all beautiful people and we are all different shapes and
sizes so to be able to control a motorcycle effectively we need to be
able to operate it effectively we need to be able to fit that motorcycle or the
motorcycle needs to fit us whichever way you want to look at it so you know it's
our physical ability to reach all the controls you know are we comfortable on
the bike can we get on can we get off can we rescue the bike if let's say you
know we're stopping as a set of traffic lights and all of a sudden the bike
wants to lean over do we have the physical strength to stop it leaning
over do we have the physical strength to pick the bike up you know once it's
falling over if ever that happens hopefully that will never happen but
depending on the riding environment that might be a reality if you go riding
off-road on muddy tracks on trails in the ruts that kind of thing over rocky
terrain you know you're really challenging yourself and the bike at
some point you will drop the bike you know it's inevitable so and do you have
the physical capability to lift it up so we're not talking just about elderly
people here we're talking about all ages and the physical capability to be able
to operate the motorcycle properly in whichever environment you're riding here
and also to be able to pick up if you need to now it doesn't mean that let's
say you can't pick up your motorcycle off the ground that you shouldn't be
riding it you know I'm not saying that at all but this is something that you
might want to consider so let's say for example well how can elderly people
carry on riding motorcycles into their later life okay so here's some
tips that you might want to consider as you getting older or anytime you actually
go riding on a motorcycle you know whether you are fit to ride so as we get
older we really need to start analyzing our suitability to ride motorcycles so I
always use this I'm safe acronym which is I stands for illness are you suffering
from any illness that will you know affect your ability to ride a motorcycle
I'm not talking about having a cold or something like that
I'm talking about something that's you know quite serious that you know will
affect your ability to control your balance your vision your hearing that
kind of thing M stands for medication are you taking
any medication I'm not talking about a paracetamol or a... you know you know a
tonic or anything on that I'm talking about something that will affect your
ability to register for perception for your balance that kind of thing. S are
you under severe stress at the moment that actually is affecting the way
you're thinking about things the way you're rationalizing how you're making
decisions and judgments A - are you under the influence of alcohol that's very
key here even small amounts of alcohol will affect your body's ability to
control the motorcycle and make the right decisions at the right time F
fatigue you know and we're not talking like just feeling tired we're talking
about chronic fatigue here are you really that tired that you really shouldn't
be operating any machinery let me alone getting on a motorcycle and
E is the kind of emotional side of everything is there something going on
in your life that you know you really should just not be driving or riding or
anything like that you know is there if you had a you know a tragedy in the
family a death in the family have you had some financial worries you know
whatever it is you know some emotional issue that's going on that you really
need to be off the motorcycle so that's in general for all ages but as you get
older then you really need to start looking at your physical capability so
this really comes down to keeping yourself
in good health having regular checkups and also constantly monitoring how
you're riding and your suitability to ride a particular style of motorcycle
and also when you decide to go ride your motorcycle as well so let's say for
example you know we're all getting older you know I'm middle-aged now so I do
this all the time I'm looking at my physical frame my weight my mobility
what I'm doing I always have physical exercises do stretching throughout the
winter and also the summer just keep myself moving keep all the joints moving
as well obviously you know we would all like to lose a little bit the weight
wouldn't we so it's also about managing your weight and also your health as well
okay so as we get older we really need to start looking at ourselves and also
our physical shape or physical conditioning are we able to ride that
motorcycle is that motorcycle suited to us so on and so forth so we need to look
at our you know our health or general well-being
you know our physical mobility we need to keep having a bit more exercise
instead of just going out and though so try cycling try and low-impact workouts
walking you know if you've got a dog carry on walking the dog that kind of
thing do lots of stretching exercises if you think you're not going to be riding
throughout the winter months then keep yourself active in the winter keep
yourself moving so when you get on your bike again in the summer you know you'll
be ready for it you know do stretching exercises and sitting down on a chair
reaching out for the handlebars you know pretending you're doing so that kind of
thing you know step over the bike you know keep yourself moving repeatedly do
exercises that mimic what you would do on a motorcycle as well so this is kind
of physical conditioning obviously you need to monitor your weight and your
health and blood pressure and everything like that you know but that is just
something you know that we should all be doing anyway
so you know keep yourself in a physical condition I'm not talking about having
to go to the gym everyday and you know lift dumbbells and all that kind of
stuff you know what that's not dumbbells by
the way that's I don't know what that is anyway that's a you know what I mean but
you know what I'm saying is just keep yourself active you know walk the dog go
cycling swimming whatever it is especially during the winter months have
regular check-ups with the doctor with your eyesight and hearing everything
like that and if you get to the point when you think well actually I cannot
ride this motorcycle because of this mobility impairments then it's time to
change the motorcycle you may want to consider as you're getting older
different times of year to ride a motorcycle
and I say you might want to right now in a warm weather as opposed to cold
weather you might want to ride out only in dry weather as opposed to wet weather
you know that kind of thing so you have to start picking and choosing when it's
the right time for you to ride your motorcycle and then analyze is that
motorcycle right for you in these conditions on this particular day there
might come a time when you think right okay I can't right this type, I'm
gonna have to change to another type A much lighter a much smaller bike
something that's a lot easier it might even mean that you get down and
you step down to a moped or a scooter or something like that personally you know
I'm a big guy but I love scooters I think they're great machines
especially in urban areas I think they're brilliant. They're light, they're nimble
they're a step through you just step through the bike as opposed to
cocking your leg over they're really practical I think they're brilliant
machines so you know from my point of view yes I ride a big motorcycle and
riding all sorts of big motorcycles but I've got no problem in stepping down
as long as I keep myself on two wheels that's I'm OK in that regard
so there might come a point after a while that actually you really can't
ride a motorcycle any more or any form of motorcycle or any form of motorcycle with two wheels you know with a physical capability eyesight hearing
whatever so you know if the law allows you may have be able to go on to a
three-wheeled motorcycle a trike or tricycle, you might even go on to a
four wheeled motorcycle I'll say a motorcycle but a quad if you know what I
mean okay there are lots of variations that
you know you don't have to go to the custom a bike or trike or quad scene you
can get these bikes right out of the dealership now so whatever it is you can
still experience that open to the elements kind of riding but you're not
actually on a motorcycle anymore you're on a trike or a quad and at some point
let's face it you might come to that age where you really don't feel safe on a
motorcycle anymore you know you might have back issues
mobility issues you know balance issues vision issues hearing issue whatever it
is and you just physically cannot ride anymore well if that's the case it's
just something we all have to get on with really now this has got nothing to
do with a particular age let's say you reach 80 years old and say I'm not
allowed to ride a motorcycle anymore it's down to you as an individual to
take care of yourself take care of your body of your well-being and keep
yourself in reasonable shape you know keep yourself active especially as
you're getting older keep yourself mobile especially during those non
riding months in the winter perhaps you know just keep yourself active practice
riding the motorcycle without actually riding it and then when you come to the
spring and it gets warmer and then you can hop on and just go for a ride and
you know your you'll already be in good physical condition but it's really about
analyzing yourself are you and be honest with yourself be really honest with
yourself are you able to ride this motorcycle safely and still enjoy it
okay well I hope you enjoyed the the video I hope you found this useful
lots of the work that I did in the emergency services over the years was
dealing with motorcycle accidents of all descriptions of all ages but one of the
key areas that I started to realize was that after a winter break in the spring
there's always a spike in motorcycle accidents and sometimes a lot of that
was to do with the elderly now I'm not talking about eight years old here I'm
talking about middle-aged onwards just having a long break getting on the bike
and then they're not physically fit enough to be able to just jump on
and go for a ride okay they need to build up to it so that's something that
we've looked at and it is a known phenomenon so after the winter break get
on the bike lots of accidents occur for all different sorts of reasons but a
contributing factor will be your your your competency your proficiency and
your physical ability to be able to ride the motorcycle and also to be able to
perceive and register incoming hazards as well well I hope you found this
useful and I hope you carry on riding for many years to come as I hope I will
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anywhere else right I'm off to ride my motorcycle I hope you are too catch you
on the next video whenever that is. cheers now
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