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Motorcycle Safety and Awareness
Welcome to think bike, the podcast about all things motorcycle and the voice of motorcycle safety and awareness in Alberta. Your host is Liane Langlois.
Liane:Welcome back everybody to another episode of Think Bike. On this week's episode, I am joined by Randy Wedler from Grovedale, Alberta. If none of you know where that is, it is near Grand Prairie. I've got a great, we have a great story to talk about. It will be a little bit of up and down I'm sure in there, but I'm going to get right to it.
Liane:Randy, welcome to the show.
Randy:Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Liane:I saw your story. I believe it was on the Riding Alberta Facebook group and reached out and asked if you would want to come and talk about your specific situation because I find it extremely inspirational for me. And I think that there's some other people who might, might do well from hearing your story. So let's start with who is Randy and what got you into writing?
Randy:Randy is a born and raised in Chilliwack, British Columbia, son of a dairy farmer. Then graduated over there. We moved up into upcountry. And then long story short, I made it into Grand Prairie up here where I went to did training and journeyman welder by trade. Worked in the oil patch, ran my own business, ran my own welding truck, did construction.
Randy:Wife and I had opened up businesses in Grand Prairie. So in a nutshell, that's who I am. I'm a big outdoors, ATV motorcycle, love fishing, hunting kinda guy, redneck, an Alberta redneck.
Liane:So you fit right in.
Randy:I fit right in. I've lived here longer than I did in BC, so I'm an Albertan.
Liane:Oh, me too. I'm at that point as well. They claim me as theirs. Not sports team wise, though. I'm still dedicated to my previous.
Liane:What what was it about riding that got you into motorcycles?
Randy:I always loved the freedom. Growing up, I was that kid that we could never really afford a bike, but the neighbor kids all had bikes. And, thankfully, they all had extra bikes. So from a kid, just that freedom of getting out into the bush, we used to ride in the gravel pits down in Chilliwack all the time. Did horse riding too because we had horses as well.
Randy:So I just love getting into the bush and getting into nature and stuff like that. And not not to lie, but a little bit of a need for speed.
Liane:We all have that here and there.
Randy:What's I discovered that you don't have to feed and clean up after a motorcycle.
Liane:No. You don't. Absolutely. You have to feed it gas though.
Randy:Yeah. But there's that other end that the horse has that you don't have to worry about.
Liane:Exactly. What was your first motorcycle that you owned?
Randy:My first motorcycle I owned was a oh god. I hand me down Yamaha would have been a '19 would have been a 1970, and it was an Endura because it signals on it and stuff. And I actually traded a guy for a CB radio, and I rode that bike everywhere. There that dates how old I am.
Liane:Wow. What do you what do you have now?
Randy:I have a 02/2004 Harley Springer.
Liane:Nice. Nice.
Randy:My dream bike. I wanted that bike since I actually had that Kawasaki. When I've seen the original Springers, I've always wanted one. I I can't
Liane:And I'm not a I am not personally a Harley girl. Everybody knows I'm a pretty Triumph biased person, but I I I have tried riding everything, trading off with friends and stuff. Springers are the ones that always stood out to me in my twenties and I could pick one out of the crowd, like just beautiful, beautiful bikes. So I understand that like Springers have a special place in my heart too. Yeah, Gorgeous, gorgeous bikes.
Liane:Okay. So let's get into a little bit of this. And again, you're more than welcome to share what you want to share and tell me to move on if it's something you don't want to talk about. But the reason why I wanted you to come on here is the story you shared is about riding as an amputee. So can we talk a little bit about how you became an amputee?
Randy:Yeah. And I'm not just a single amputee. I'm a bilateral amputee. Both legs are missing below the knees. Yeah.
Randy:So so I'm welder by trade, again, to shorten down everything and stuff like that. I was at a point in my life where I ended up I joined my wife in our business. And in 2015, the ups and downs of the Alberta patch, and my my wife's health at the time caused us to close our business. So I ended up going back and because I'm a journeyman, I went straight back in. Went and did a stint working in a warehouse for one of the frac companies for a while, and then wanted to exercise that good old journeyman ticket.
Randy:Like I tell everyone, when you wanna go back to work, you always have the ticket in your back pocket. So I went back to work and got hired on, bounced around from a couple companies, then got hired on by a local oil and gas construction company doing deep pressure welding for them, so welding pipe. So that that long story on that one, I worked with them for a few years. And then because I was a business owner and kinda organized, I had the opportunity to take over as a yard foreman for them. So it was a Monday, October 20 fur or 10/18/2021.
Randy:We had freezing rain that morning. And I drive either a one ton dually or a GTJ, and I decided to take the Jeep TJ to work that morning. And if you Google Grove Dale, you'll see now there's a two two lane bridges crossing over the Wapiti River. But in that time, they were doing construction on the road, and there was only one two lane bridge, always has been. They they were doing an expansion to make the road safer.
Randy:Unfortunately, it was a little bit early for me. So I was on my way to work. We'd had freezing rain that morning, and it was pretty slick. That road was under construction, so I was doing the construction speed and below because I knew the road was very slippery. And when they reshaped the roadway down into the over the river, it changed kind of the weather pattern down there.
Randy:And I noticed it this year even driving, it can be, like, plus eight at the top of the hill, and it can be minus seven down on the bridge deck. So the the river and everything cools everything. And we had had cool weather. And I from what I remember, and I don't remember much, but I did have the opportunity to meet the truck driver that I unfortunately met. He was heading southbound driving a Western Star gravel truck, and I was driving my Jeep TJ, and I lost control on the bridge and crossed paths with a brake on right on the bridge deck.
Randy:So there was nowhere to go. So needless to say, I woke up. I was on my way. It would have been about quarter after 6AM, and I woke up at about 07:30PM in the Grand Prairie Regional Hospital and the two e two hospital at that time. We have a new hospital.
Randy:So Woke up to a surgeon basically saying I was involved in a car accident, vehicle accident, and they had to amputate both my legs below the knees.
Liane:How did you react to that news? I can't even imagine what that would feel like.
Randy:You know, the initial shock hit instantly and right away emotions take over. Don't be surprised if I get a little emotional. But I knew at that second, I was still alive.
Liane:Right.
Randy:So from that very second on, it was okay. I'm still alive. I've got some other broken bones and stuff that has to heal, but life is gonna go on. So right. And my doctor, the surgeon that was there, he was quite surprised that I had that attitude right at an early stage.
Randy:So, yeah, it was kinda yeah.
Liane:That takes some strength to to yeah. I'm I'm not sure how I would react to that. I would hope that I would be like, okay. Well, I'm alive and what's next? But you're such an avid outdoors person.
Liane:Like, when did you how long did it take before you were thinking about how can I be that person again and get back on a motorcycle?
Randy:Well, it was funny because it was a few days after well, not funny, but it was a few days after the the initial big shock, and I started I started a recovery page right away. And, actually, my my first pictures are the very next day. And we started going over all the things. Well, if you become an amputee, if you lose one leg, your left leg, chances are they don't take your driver's license away. But if if you lose your right leg, they automatically take your driver's license away because you need your right and until you can prove that you don't.
Randy:So it was like, okay. I've lost my driver's license. And right away, you start thinking, okay. What do I gotta do to get that back? Because that's mobility, and I haven't even taken my first step yet.
Randy:I don't even know if I can walk without prosthetics. So, yeah, it it that it all sits in the back of your head, and you kinda start to realize what you've all lost. And now you have to work to get everything back, everything. So it was pretty instantaneous. Like, I had people reaching out to me right away, and it's like, you know, like and and like you said, you you don't know how people how you would react to that.
Randy:And I I just wanna touch on that. I mean, I've had so many people look at me and go, I couldn't do that. I I I would, like, I I couldn't wake up like you. And it's like until you've actually and hopefully, you never have to. Until you actually wake up like that, you won't know how you're gonna react.
Randy:So but, yeah, it's it's been a fight to get everything back. Like, yeah, it's I've got it all back now and and more. So it's been that that's been the challenge for me is I've always been a person if someone throws I love it when someone says I can't or you you you wouldn't. Watch me. I can watch me.
Randy:I can and I will.
Liane:I I love that. I have a very dear friend of mine about eleven years ago or so, removed the word can't from my vocabulary, and it is like life changing when you free yourself from the restrictions you put on yourself. And I can't like, again, I can't imagine waking up to the news that you've lost both your legs from below the knee. Yep. How long before you got a driver's license back?
Liane:Like, there you had a lot of, like, physio and recovery to do in that.
Randy:So When I was in the hospital and COVID was on. Good old COVID. Oh, I love that word, COVID. So no visitors. Right off the bat, no visitors.
Randy:I was very fortunate. My two kids came in the room. There's that emotion.
Liane:That's okay. Take your time.
Randy:I had one of my kids in my room at all times.
Liane:That's awesome.
Randy:Yeah. So the family support was there, so that's a huge motivator. But COVID was on. So other than nurses and the doctors and one of my kids coming in, and they would take turns and stay with me twenty four hours a day for the first little bit, I wasn't alone. Huge difference.
Randy:Yeah. If you have someone in the hospital long term, just everyone know that that makes a huge difference. It helps drive you. So COVID was on. So I basically had the doctors and the nurses come to me.
Randy:My left arm was I don't know. They say broken. I pretty much say shattered. I broke both the the top and bottom bones. I have plates and screws in both of those.
Randy:My back bicep on my left arm was sliced from top of shoulder to midway right to the bone from the passenger side window. Because I used my arm to protect my head, and I literally pushed the steering wheel of the Jeep right through the front windshield. So when it comes to head injuries, I had hardly anything. I had a small l shaped scratch just by my temple. So I was obviously conscious enough to realize that I had to use my arm to do that.
Randy:So that was my biggest stumbling block. Oh, and my collarbone my left collarbone was broken, and they had left it originally figuring it would heal together on its own. Three days later or four days later, because I was so active in the hospital bed, I remember asking them. I said, I need one of those trapeze bars and handles because my right arm was still good. And so they did.
Randy:They put a bar over the bed and put a water ski handle basically up there. And I would launch myself forward, and I would grab with the right hand, and I would spin myself on on around on the bed so that I could sit up or move or whatever. But because it was so active, my left collarbone yeah. Yeah. It was growing further apart instead of closer together, so I got some more hardware there.
Randy:And at the same time, my left stump, I had talked to my surgeon, and I said it feels different. And he goes, what do mean it feels different? I said, well, it just feels different. I said, I don't know how to describe it, but my right stump doesn't hurt. My left stump does.
Randy:So they did a X-ray and then a MRI on it right away and found out it had a hairline fracture in one of the bones as well. So needless to say, I got more hard work. So I'm my left my whole left side is full of hard work. But then they came back to me, and I was healing up quite quickly. Pardon me.
Randy:And I was only in the hospital nineteen days, and they released me to go home to my farm. Told me to get out because I would heal up better Yeah. At home and get away from the COVID that was out because there was outbreaks throughout all the floors of COVID all the time. So I came home to the farm, and I wasn't supposed to go to the Glen Rose Rehabilitation Hospital until February. And I got a phone call in December, and I had gone through checks, and they had pulled the rest of the staples out of my stumps.
Randy:My arm was healing good. I had started physio, to strengthen my arm because I knew I was gonna need that left arm to help hold my weight when I learned to walk or tried to walk. Didn't know if I could. Might be in a wheelchair the rest of my life. Didn't know at that time.
Randy:Didn't think I would because I didn't wanna believe that. So I went to, I got a phone call, and over Christmas, no one wanted to go to the Glen Rose. So they were like, we have openings. Do you wanna come? And I'm like, if it means that I can start my healing process that much faster, absolutely.
Randy:So I went down, and I took my first steps December 31.
Liane:Nice.
Randy:It's shorter than two months.
Liane:Yeah. That's that's awesome. And Glenrose is a wonderful facility.
Randy:Oh, staff there that I worked with were amazing and the facility itself. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, so I took my first steps. And then, of course, it came up again, driver's license.
Randy:So everyone figured I would drive with hand controls. So in the Glen Rose, they have and it's really cool. It's sponsored by, actually, by the unions, by the the the the driving they have driving simulators and stuff, and they're all set up in car screens, and they test you to see how you drive. And I so I was inquiring about it, and they were rigging up all these hand controls and stuff. And I was like, no.
Randy:Like, it it yes. I'm a farm kid, and I'm used to using lots of controls on stuff, but I'm like, I can drive with my legs. Like, I I feel way more comfortable, and I have very good feeling in my residual limbs. I can tell when my foot, the prosthetic foot, barely touches the floor. Like, I can almost push a penny across with using my heel.
Randy:Of course, the ankles don't bend. But so they got all the hardware out of the car and but there was some hardware down for attaching the the the hand control panels to the foot controls, and it was getting in my way. So I told them to put a piece of cardboard down there. So they taped a piece of cardboard down there, and it was like drive riding a bike. I was off driving and having road rage at all the crazy drivers on the on the simulator, yelling at people to get the hell out of the way.
Randy:You know? So
Liane:back to normal then. Awesome.
Randy:Oh, it was right back to normal. Yeah. Typical Grand Prix driving, and I know there's lots of people. If you've driven here, you will account to that. So so the then I asked.
Randy:So this driving simulator, how do I get my driver's license back? And they were like, it's a six month wait. And I'm like, I don't wait six months. So, the Glen Rose for my legs wanted me for, ten weeks. I told them they had me for six or less, and I left one day before my six weeks was up because they had nothing more that they could get me to do.
Liane:Wow. You're driven.
Randy:I'm driven. Yeah. Like, when I've got when I when I wanna do something, I'm driven. So always have been.
Liane:So let's get into, like, what so the motorcycle though. Like, since this is this is where it becomes, like I mean, obviously, there's modifications.
Randy:Absolutely. But not on the bike.
Liane:None on the bike?
Randy:Not on my bike.
Liane:So you have, like I guess below the knee is different than above the knee because you have control over you have your knee joint.
Randy:Huge. Yeah. Huge.
Liane:So do you have a heel toe shifter?
Randy:Absolutely.
Liane:Which is to me not a modification that any other person wouldn't go and get anyway because a, it saves the toe of your shoe and b, it's just a little bit easier to shift that way.
Randy:Yep. The only modifications I did to my bike was I took this the suicide brackets off for or the tip over brackets. Yeah. Yeah. Because I can't bend my foot.
Randy:I can't literally articulate my ankle.
Liane:Yeah.
Randy:So I wear a size eleven shoe. And when I would reach to use the heel on my front shifter, my foot would hit the bar. So I was like, okay. Well, that's easy enough. Pull them bars off and away I go.
Randy:But
Liane:So okay. So driving's one thing, but tell me what that first motorcycle ride was like for you.
Randy:So it was really was nerve racking. Absolutely nerve racking. And my first motorcycle ride was about 200 yards from the guy's shop to my trailer and loaded on a trailer. And that was absolutely nerve wracking because I had to go up trailer ramps, because I have, I wanna say, sloppiness in prosthetic. So it's a whole balance thing, and I've always had good balance.
Randy:I think riding horses and all my other childhood stuff and ironworker helped me with that. But, yeah, it's that I couldn't wait to get it home. And then when I got it home I live on a farm, so big long gravel driveway, and I'm out driving around with grass and every and someone made a comment because I posted a picture on my Facebook or whatnot. They're like, you're brave enough to drive it on grass? And I'm like, oh, yeah.
Liane:I mean, it's that's like, you got sketchy surfaces. You you have this this new body and you're like that's the choice to get comfortable again. But, I mean, I guess if you can handle that, you can handle anything, really.
Randy:Oh, well, that was that was it. And that was the biggest thing. So when I got my regular class five driver's license back, that's what I said to the government lady is I said, oh, I get my class six back. Right? And she goes, well, no.
Randy:You don't. You have to test. I said, well, I just paid 400 or $500 to get my class 5 back. What do mean I don't get my 6 back? Like, give me my driver's licenses back.
Randy:That's what I had before, and I want them back. No. You have to do a road test. So I was like, so how long do I have? So I had three years from my accident to the time, and then I would have to start over again, which is basically just a written test, which is no big deal.
Randy:The the written test is absolutely no big deal. But Yeah. Again, now you have to have another test. So and I needed a bike to do it. So I came across this Springer, and like I say, I purchased it.
Randy:It was a bike I've always wanted. So I rode my first big bike was that o one or o '2 Yamaha Roadstar 1,700, the big one. So loved that bike and whatnot. So it was it was like, okay. I'm not gonna wait.
Randy:So not only did I have get my driver's license back, had to go find a motorcycle to drive again because I didn't have one at the time. So and I did that. Found them. So then had to so I went for actually two two cruises down the highway. And like I say, I've got about two and a half kilometers of gravel that I have to navigate on my Harley to get off the pavement.
Randy:The good old the the highway by us is typically named 666, so there you go. So I get up to the 666 Highway and, yeah, open her up, went for about two cruises, and then booked a road test. I was like, let's get this over and done with.
Liane:What was the adjustment of because I'm just like, I'm I'm sitting here and and we're talking about this and you keep talking about how your ankles can't they don't move. And in my head, I'm like, I'm on my bike and I'm like, how how much my ankles move?
Randy:Put boots on.
Liane:Oh, yeah. I guess the yeah.
Randy:Put ski boots on and go for a ride on your bike. Let me know how you do.
Liane:I'll I'm probably not as good as you, but I'm stubborn enough to try it.
Randy:That's easy. That's the only way I could I I have asked me that. That's the only way I can because I downhill ski. And that's the only thing I I can think of is when you got your ski boots on and you got them locked down tight, you can't bend your ankles.
Liane:Yep.
Randy:The walk to the cafeteria.
Liane:Is there anything like this is such a because it sounds like you got every like everything back. There's nothing missing from before that collision. And you said you got everything back and more. Is it just like, was that for life? More
Randy:Yeah. I've got more more drive. It's hard to explain. It's almost like daring someone to tell me I can't do something.
Liane:Right.
Randy:I'm like, okay. What's the next challenge? Like, what do I gotta do? What's next? So, and I do have another challenge because I'm a scuba diver as well.
Randy:So there is my next challenge.
Liane:And so have you gotten back into scuba diving or you're you're working towards that now?
Randy:Working towards it now. I actually just got sponsored for swim legs. So which the ankles articulate into a kicking position, and I can wear them in the water because these legs would float off if I wear them. They hydroplane off, whereas there's a different suspension system for the other ones. So but, yeah, it's but I'm looking forward to it.
Randy:My daughter my daughter tried to break the news to me before I got my bike. She was like, dad so because she knew I had a bike, and she was like, dad, I how would you feel if I got a bike? And I'm like, okay, Jessica. So you have a bike already. Right?
Randy:You're you're not asking my permission. You're way older than that. And she's like, yeah. I bought an r six. And I'm like, there we go.
Randy:So now we're waiting for the we wanted to do it at the end of last year, we just didn't get a chance. She went on a road trip down through BC, and I had just stopped my And so we're looking forward to the first father daughter ride together.
Liane:Oh, that that is awesome. I would love to talk with you guys about that after after that's done because
Randy:Oh, absolutely.
Liane:I mean, just everything everything that you've been through, your kids being there with you from like day one from everything and no one leaving your side. I understand how important that is when you're locked in a hospital. Like man, it's very inspirational to talk to somebody who didn't have their whole life implode and just kind of lay down and take it and just see, you know, and that's not for everybody. I'm not saying people who have been through incidents and have lost limbs or other things where they choose a different path. Everybody does what's for them.
Liane:But I think that some people might think if they've lost a limb, they can never ride again anyway. And you're here to say that you can't. And some people might need modifications. You didn't. Some people might need a trike because the above knee would be very different, you know, and things like that.
Liane:What tips do you have for for people out there who might be facing some similar challenges as someone who's lived like a pretty ultimate challenge?
Randy:Yeah. I guess, like, the big one is is is just get your dander up. Fight. Fight for everything you want back. Like, don't don't roll over.
Randy:I'm gonna it's a bad term, but don't roll over and play dead to anything. You know? You you never know what we're capable of until we try it. And like you said, some people might need modifications. Right away, there was people out there telling me, oh, you can get a trike.
Randy:You can get a trike. And I'm like, I'm not done with two wheels yet. I want that's possibly an option. My uncle or he was an older cousin in BC. He went from he's been on motorbikes on Harley since he was 16.
Randy:He just recently passed or whatnot, but he traded off his big dresser and then went to his trike. And so, you know, I've watched in the background from from a distance. And, yeah, one day, you know what? Hey. Riding a trike too.
Randy:Good for long distances and stuff like that. So it's not out of the picture. It's just not what I wanted to do at the time. So
Liane:Ah, you wanted that Springer.
Randy:I wanted the Springer. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.
Randy:And my uncle was an owner of a dealership in in Cholac, and I always kicked myself for not going down and buying a Harley off of him. And then it was like, okay. Yeah. And then he sold the dealership. So it was like time was running out, and then this one was just after you lived through something, like, kinda life altering, it's like, no.
Randy:Like, just go for it. Just gotta just go for whatever we wanna do. Life is very precious and very short. And if something happened to me, if I got hit while riding or something like that, you know what? At least I'm I'm still doing what I wanna do.
Liane:Yeah. I love that.
Randy:Yeah. It's I don't know how else to explain it, but I'm doing my wife was sick for many years, and I dealt with that and put my life on hold for the last seven, eight, nine years. And then I just lost her in January. So now it's live. Just live.
Liane:Yeah. I'm sorry to hear that. That must be tough. Your resilience though is it's infectious. Like, just really think that I really hope someday we could meet in person because I just like, like I said, I didn't know anything about your story.
Liane:I saw this post and it just immediately resonated with, I need to talk to this guy and we need to share this story because he seems so open about your situation and the fact that you're a double amputee and still on a motorcycle. And we need these good feeling stories out there in our world of negativity these days. And I think that that inspiration that you carry forward is it's gonna it's gonna land with people in a great way.
Randy:Out of that article where you met me, I met two other bilateral amputees. One, I believe, out at Calgary and one is out of Stony Plains. So we've we've chatted back and forth a little bit.
Liane:Yeah.
Randy:Like, hell yeah. We should have a bike rally somewhere. So, you know, I'm thinking, like, Legolas and Jasper or something like that. You know?
Liane:I love it. That would be awesome.
Randy:We'll rip up the streets of Elm for Jasper or some, you know, a bunch of legless guys wearing shorts driving around.
Liane:Why not? I I think I saw that that you had connected with some other people who are like, hey, me too. And I'm like, this is amazing. Like, it's just amazing that, you know, you put yourself out there in such a vulnerable state and like it's community. And that's what riding has always been for me and the community about it.
Liane:Like we lift each other up and we're there to support each other and you know, and yeah, I love this. This is a good reminder of why we're a part of the motorcycle community for sure.
Randy:Careful. We'll we'll allow you into our into our organization, but, you know, there's a pretty hefty price to pay to join the club.
Liane:I don't know if I'm ready for that price yet. But
Randy:The good the good news of it of of everyone says, what's the best thing that the best thing out of it? I can be as tall or as short as I wanna be. I can lengthen both. I came back. I was only six feet tall, and now I'm six foot two.
Randy:So
Liane:Well, there you go.
Randy:You have to give them both up. You have to give them both up.
Liane:Oh, well, I I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Maybe maybe oh, well, I mean, I should say maybe this day. You never know what's gonna happen in life.
Liane:Right? Like
Randy:Yeah. I know. I've always said, you know what? If I could have one back, I would like and actually and speaking of motorcycles and limb loss, I mean, I have met others and from their motorcycle accidents, that seems to be a limb loss usually of the lower leg because when a vehicle hits us on the side, that's what unfortunately takes the brunt.
Liane:Yep. We don't have a lot of protection.
Randy:Oh, those crash bars I took off would have been a little bit, you know, more, but yeah.
Liane:And even the best gear in the world isn't going to save a completely crushed limb. So
Randy:Oh, it's not. So, unfortunately, that's the but the good news is and other people, like I say, have reached out that we're riding the motorcycle and did lose a limb, either a right or a left leg. I have had people reach out to me, and they've gone, oh my god. You mean I can still ride? How do you do your break?
Randy:How do you do your how do you shift? And it's like, yeah. Just shift like normal. It all depends that's gonna depend on your residual limb.
Liane:And your comfort level.
Randy:And your comfort level. Yeah.
Liane:And this is why I wanted you to come on the podcast because that that post reached so many people. Now we can reach so many more and and I love it. And I wanna thank you so much for coming to share your story with me. That was a nice little roller coaster for us. I really enjoyed it.
Randy:It still throws me through it to this day.
Liane:Yeah. I it's yeah. I can't I can't say enough how grateful I am that you that you came on and agreed.
Randy:Just remember if you're out there riding and you see a blue Springer with a license plate stumps on it, that's me.
Liane:Oh, I'll I'll be, like, honking my horn and waving like, pull over. We gotta chat. No. Yeah. I said, I'll keep an eye out for you.
Liane:I'm out on a Mats Pacific Blue Triumph Scrambler 900.
Randy:Oh, nice.
Liane:That's nice. I don't have a fancy plate though, but if you see me, they're very rare. There's only there's only three that I know of in the area. So if you see me, just
Randy:When I went to the DMV and whatnot, they make and you want a customized plate, they make you write it down.
Liane:I wanna get a customized plate.
Randy:Yeah. And she was looking at it, but when she's trying to figure out because I I ran all the letters. So she's looking at she's like, they're gonna ask you what does that stand for? And I'm like, well, if y'all look over the counter and down because I was wearing shorts. I wear shorts at minus 25 or 30.
Randy:It doesn't matter to me. My legs don't get cold. So if you look over the counter, you will see and she looked over, and then she started sounding it out. It's like stumps. Stumps.
Randy:Get it? More than one. Two. There's two of them. So needless to say, most people get it.
Randy:I think she was a little confused.
Liane:She might have been a little shocked. Some people. It takes a little bit longer. Randy, thank you so much. Thank you.
Liane:Thank you. Thank you.
Randy:You're very welcome. Thanks for having me on the show.
Liane:Perfect. We are midway through May and ThinkBike raffle is up and running on our website, social media, everything you can find how to get into the ThinkBike fiftyfifty. It is up till the May. Hopefully we'll be giving away up to $10,000 to somebody on May 31. And on that note, I will have everybody stand by for the mixed bag.
Leeroy:Hey. This is Leeroy with another helpful tip from Moto Instincts. This is a deadly risk of riding or motorcycle control. A key to motorcycle safety is to make controlling your bike as natural as moving your own body. When talking about emergency situations, there is a significant difference between conscious and subconscious action.
Leeroy:The major difference between these two processes is conscious reactions are delayed whereas subconscious reactions are reflexive. In order for motorcyclists to react instinctively, they need to develop a strong connection with their bike so that motorcycle control becomes a subconscious process. When faced with sudden dangers, like a vehicle cutting into your lane, quick and automatic reactions can mean the difference between life and death. This isn't about merely spending time on your bike, but about challenging specific skills to develop a deep connection. Without regular practice, skills can stagnate or worse, regress over time.
Leeroy:Being in sync with your machine gives two distinct advantages. It allows for instinctive reactions during emergency situations, and it reduces the attention needed to control your motorcycle. The less you have to focus on what's going on underneath you, the more you can stay aware of what's going on around you. That's it for this week. Make sure you visit us at motoinstincts.com for more information.
Leeroy:Ride smart. Ride safe.
Liane:And that's our show for today. To make sure that you don't miss out on any of our upcoming podcasts or listen to previous ones, make sure you click on subscribe or follow wherever you get yours. If there's a topic you'd like us to cover or a guest you think would be great on the show, or even a question for the mailbag, let us know. You can connect with us on all the socials, Email us at info@ab-amss.org or reach out through the website at a b dash amss dot org. Thanks for listening to Think Bike.
Liane:From us, always remember to ride smart, ride safe, and think bike. See you out on the road.