Back in the saddle
Well, Dave fitted the new handlebar assembly to my bike - although it still needs a new brake lever, thanks to an eBay ordering error. Luckily, there's still enough of a lever there to allow it to be ridden. Gaffer tape is fulfilling its role and holding the plastic bits of the bike together; it's black and silver anyway, so it's not majorly obvious.
So, Saturday morning, we went over to the trading estate; me in the Arosa, Dave on the Honda. The weird thing is that I'm still having to use the jacket I crashed in; it's fine for low speed stuff, but not fit to wear at anything above 10mph thanks to the holes worn through the top layer of fabric. Most female biker kit is styled for 12 year old boys, not women with curves, so I'm not looking forward to finding a new one. At least I got some new bike trousers, anyway.
Just kitting up and sitting on the bike was hard work to start with, but after an hour, my clutch and throttle control was coming back enough for me to be able to paddle the bike a few metres.
Sunday, we decided to go out again. I must admit I wasn't entirely sure about it, but I'm trying to take the view that I can either run from my fears, or face them, and the more I run away, the more they'll affect me.
By the end of the hour on Sunday, after a few wobbles, I'd got the hang of the back brake again and did a short stretch with both feet up.
My knee is doing a lot better in the warmer weather, but I'm still feeling the effects of a fairly hard weekend on it. But, and this is good thing, I'm not entirely sofabound.
I'm still, bluntly, shitting bricks about being back on a bike on the road, but I feel like I've made some progress.