Motorcycling - Practice

I've decided that riding a motorcycle counts as "normal, everyday use" of my wrist, which the doc said was ok, so I've been practicing again. It's so much fun. Flipping the weight and lean from one side to the other is effortless, and the rev range seems endless. Want to go faster, just twist the throttle more :)
Going faster is relatively easy though. The hardest technique to learn, so far, has been low-speed maneuvering: Slow, tight turns at walking pace. Balancing yourself and the bike is much more important, and it feels like the bike could drop at any moment. Additionally, the bike is moving slower than the engine idle will allow, so you have to hold the revs high and control speed entirely with the clutch. I find it quite exhausting.
I rode in traffic for the first time yesterday, which was fun. It was a tiny bit daunting, but Brett was behind me in his car, and all in all the traffic was pretty light. I didn't do anything embarrassing, so I count it as a roaring success!
I also bought myself a reflective vest to wear at night or in poor weather. I'm debating whether or not I'll wear it as a matter of course, at least while I'm learning. On the one hand, it makes me stand out clearly to other traffic, which may give me the leeway I need while I'm getting the hang of things. On the other hand, it really makes me stand out clearly. :) For now that is definitely a good thing though, so I think I'll wear it all the time.

And, I finally got around to taking a couple of photos of my bike:

"Done a Nick"

I should have studied to be an orthopedic surgeon. $140 for a 15 minute consultation to tell someone, "I've never seen an injury like this before. Get more scans done and come back to me."

So, 6 weeks ago I had the accident, and at the time thought I'd just sprained my wrist. They - you know who you are - told me I should go to the hospital or a doctor, but I shrugged it off. It didn't hurt specifically when I poked it, so I figured it couldn't be broken. Although it hurt, there was no swelling so I didn't think it could be too bad. However, a month later I still hadn't regained full use of my wrist, so I went to see my GP.
He sent me to get x-rays of the wrist, and when they came back he told me I'd dislocated my ulna, not sprained tendons as I had thought. If I had gone to see him immediately after the accident, he said, then it would have been simple to fix, but since it had been over a month at this point, he didn't know what was required and referred me to a specialist. Oops. I could hear "I told you so!" ringing in my ears already.
It took another week to find an orthopedic surgeon to see me, and I've just now returned from my appointment with him. Nothing is simple. It turns out that what my GP had thought was a dislocation might just be the way my bones are naturally. However, a bit of bone (the styloid process, to which a ligament attaches, so it's kind of important) has broken off the tip of the ulna at my wrist, and is somehow restricting the wrist's rotational freedom. He said he'd never seen it cause this problem before and didn't know what to do, so he's sent me off to get MRI scans done of both wrists (so that he knows what my wrist should look like), and may have to refer me to an orthopedic surgeon specialising in wrists and hands in Brisbane!

*sigh* This is going to be expensive. I have no private insurance, but I'd agreed with my GP that I would pursue the private health system. There was no way of knowing when, if ever, I would have my wrist seen to if I was on a public waiting list, since it would be regarded as low priority. I don't want to take the risk of progressive, potentially irreversible damage to my wrist while I languish in the public health system.
That leaves the private health system, which my GP (without knowing exactly what would be required) warned could cost me up to $2,000. With the cost of the x-ray, specialist and the MRI scan, I'm off to a good start towards that amount without even having any operation yet!
Still, it's something that, in my opinion, is not optional. It's definitely worth that amount to me to have a good wrist.

So, as Tanya proposed, to have "done a Nick" is to have sustained some avoidable (or perceived to have been avoidable) injury, often in conjunction with willful obstinance. :)

Roslyn Bay

On Sunday, before seeing the Lano & Woodley show at the Pilbeam Theatre, Sarah and I went adventuring in the rocky headlands around Roslyn Bay. Here are some photos!