As many of you probably know by now, I had a little mishap while riding one of the test loops used in the process of conducting our tire comparison in early November. The details are sketchy in my memory, and I'm not even sure I want to know what happened. Unfortunately I'm in pretty rough shape even now, more than two months later. I have a broken elbow, wrist, pelvis and leg, along with too many screws and plates to count. Worse, I fractured my spine and I'm not sure if I'll ever ride or walk again.
One thing for sure, however, is that the cards and notes people have sent in have all been a huge help. Just judging by how many cards I have seen and how many people drop by the hospital, I'm sure by now my phone message and email inboxes must be ready to explode. Even the shortest note means a big deal to me, and I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and words of encouragement. It all helps me to push myself that much harder to get better.
It's kind of ironic that my column has always been called Full Pin. It's been called that because that's how I always approach life and individual tasks-with 100 percent effort. But I've decided to give it a new name now: Stop Watch. I feel this title will probably be more representative of my new outlook.
It's ironic too that this is probably the first time you've ever read what I'm really thinking because usually my sentences benefit from judicious use of the backspace key. Right now though, this column is being written via dictation to Mrs. Trevitt in a hospital room-and thus does not have the usual benefit of the backspace buffer.
Nobody knows right now what the future holds, but Kento and the company have been first class all the way since my tipover. It's kind of difficult to be employed writing about motorcycles when you can't ride, but I've known for some time that as I get older, the emphasis would be less on me actually riding and more on my technical skills and experience, and so I've always worked hard on that side of my magazine responsibilities with an eye toward the future.
Now the big test will be to see if I can make that transition in one step, as opposed to over the course of a decade or so. Thankfully, Kento and Company are anxious to have me back in the office as soon as I'm able (Damn right about that, you slacker! Geez, talk about your finding creative ways to get out of work... -Ed.)
Whatever happens now I want to thank all the Sport Rider readers for being such a big part of my life for ten years. It means a lot to me to tell my stories, and as I have been finding out, that it means a lot to the people that read them. I won't be back to work for at least a couple more months, but I'll still be writing Stop Watch from the hospital. In the meantime, Mrs. Trevitt has been keeping a blog with updates on my progress, and you can follow along at http://getwelltrev.blogspot.com. Again, thank you everyone for your support. The magazine will be fine without me for a while, but I am looking forward to returning as soon as I can.