When is it time to quit???

[Cpres]

Can his work even do that to him?

[RCannon]

Probably not, but tComanies always find a way to get rid of someone they are mad at....No that I would know anything about that!

[barch88]

That sucks man, if you feel like you have to quit, do what you have to do man. This is what I just broke Saturday:

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=417171

[bosshogg]

I got my family into riding about 4 years ago because of the saying .. " You can take your kid hunting now or later when their teen agers you can hunt for you kid." Well for 4 years it has done an awesome job of bringing us together.

I broke my collar bone, scapula and 2 ribs the first year. In Feb. 06 I broke L-2-3-4 spinal trans processors.4 weeks ago I shattered my right hip having to be flown to Baton Rouge for reconstructive surgery, and I also broke spinal processors t-2 through t-8.

My kids have had a few hard crashes but never a trip to the hospital. I race 250c, my daughter 125 d and my son 85 beginner so we are all decent riders and I preach smooth riding.

Both recent crashes were stupid, the last was kicking neutral on the face of a short double.

Am I accident pron and need to quit. My employment says quit riding or possibly loose my job. 100 plus a year and any car on our Highline used car lot.

Oh all of our tracks are 1 hr 45 min - 3hrs away.

I would tell you, yes, you do need to take a break for awhile. In four years, you have had three major crashes, each one escalating in injury severity.

Listen to your employer, they must think you are freakin nuts and irresponsible. You aren't 16 anymore. Step back and take it easy for awhile. Then when you are fully ready (healed and back in riding shape), and your employer has mellowed out a little, get back into it slowly.

You have a family that is depending upon you, you don't have to go out and prove anything to anyone at the track. When you do start riding again, do it for fun, not for racing. There is no reason to be having such large get-offs at your age.

BTW - I don't mean to come off like a hard-ass, but it really appears you need to mellow out a little.

[bosshogg]

Can his work even do that to him?

Sure, why not? If they can show that his job performance has been impacted. Probably not after the first time, but with a history, I'm sure they could find a way. Besides, he has a six-figure salary and a free car, why would you risk it?

[YZ426F Rider]

When is it time to quit? Never. Change the way you ride a little bit. Run GP or HS instead of motocross...it's every bit as fun and competitive but without the necessity to clear big doubles and triples to be competitive.

It sounds like my job is similar to yours in respect to compensation. If they told me I had to stop riding or lose my job then I would call my son and tell him to load the bikes cuz we're going riding today! You can replace a job but not a way of life.

[Ga426owner]

Am I accident pron and need to quit. My employment says quit riding or possibly loose my job. 100 plus a year and any car on our Highline used car lot. .

Quitting is completely your choice....I know of no employer that can make you quit a activity that is on your own time....that is crazy...What you do on your own time is your business...I would tell me employer to F...off, in so many words...or say nothing at all...it is not their business. I also have the same type of job.

Also - you do not have to try to ride like a 18yr old with no responsibility...tone your riding down a bit...it is still enjoyable and you are doing it for your kids now. ?

[Chickenhauler]

I know if I had an employee that was missing work for weeks or months every year due to their risky personal behavior, I would not hesitate to find a more reliable worker. An employer counts on the hired help as a tool to help them remain profitable, and if the help is unpredictable, then you replace it just like a car you can't trust. Look at both sides of the picture, guys.

In many cases, a good employer is hard to find, and it sounds like you have one that has been very understanding about your previous lost time, and is only now starting to ask you to tone down, after multiple severe injury's. Sit down and have a heart to heart talk with them, and explain (if you plan to) that you no longer will be racing, or track riding, but merely trail riding with your family, and explain that the risks, while there, are much less significant than racing.

Tone down your riding, it took a broken collarbone, dislocated shoulder, broken ribs, and a broken sternum along with a concussion to convince me that I did not have to be the lead dog at all times. I gave up serious racing when I bought my first home. Being single at the time, I saw that if I could not earn a living, not only would I be busted up, I would be homeless shortly to boot.

Try trail riding, and enjoy the ride for ridings sake, you don't have to be the first one to the end every ride. I actually enjoy letting my bonehead buds battle one another, lay back, and not eat so much dust. I never knew there was so much scenery alongside the trails before I took up this philosophy.

[jgerdi]

Thanks for all the sound advice. I'm not going to go out and sell all my bikes just yet. I'll hold off on that decision until I'm healed. If I end up back on my bike I think I'll implement the 80% rule which will still be smooth and fast, and stop taking that last moto before we pack up. I will have to break down and buy a truck to hall the bikes since my boss already said that he doesn't want me using the trucks to hall my bikes.

I've been with them for over 10 yrs never calling in sick and covering for everyone else in that time , so they don't wont to loose me. Thats why they want me to quit riding.

[ben_suhard]

Yeah, don't quit riding, just take it easier. My boss doesn't like Dirtbike riders either and I think that's understandable. I had to be a bit more careful after breaking a wrist six months after I started at my job (took one week off), and then separated a shoulder six months after that(another week off). I've had a few minor injuries in the six years after the separated shoulder, but no time off. I should be ok to break something again now!

Take it easy for now so that you can keep your job, but still get to enjoy riding with the family.

[SurvivorMan]

Life is dangerous. Especially for us outdoor active types. Then you put that personality onto a motorcycle and sooner or later injuries happen...I guess thats why biking is so fun...and so terrible at the same time. If it was really safe, the drive and enjoyment of it would be far less. I do agree with the 80% rule.

I stay away from the track, because as my confidence builds, so does the danger factor...so does the fun factor, so I choose to ride and race in the woods. I believe that it is much safer. Even the racing is safer, at a moto it is a sprint over jumps for 40 mins and in the woods it's all about consistency and efficiency. It took me a year of practice racing in the woods to learn how to go 80%...I am very lucky I didn't get bad injuries during that time, but now, after a 2.5 hour race, I am further ahead then the way I used to race.

It's hard to accept that the injuries are apart of what I love doing, but the question is, what's worse, the damages of stress or a few broken bones. keep smilin

[bg10459]

There are many stipulations, but the FMLA will protect your job and allow for 12 weeks of leave (per leave year) if you are unable to work because of a serious health condition. You cannot be fired for getting hurt on your own time and your employer cannot prohibit you from participating in any legal activity on your own time.

What if, on 3 separate occasions, you fall off a ladder while working on your house? Can they prohibit you from working on your house? No.

That said, I think the 80% rule is a good idea. You don't have to quit riding or racing (well, maybe MX. Flying off jumps is bound to get you hurt ), just tone it down a little. I did, and I haven't had to go for my "annual" stitches yet. ?

Rehab is for quitters. ?