Some Bad News for LoTWINMC

Well… I did not expect this to happen.

For all my past and present students that I have met over the last three months, this is going to explain a lot. For anyone else who is looking to book in the future, this will be important for you too.

As it states all over my website, I am retired Army. I served for 22 years and had many experiences that are unique, but they have also taken their physical toll over the years and has caused a lot of wear and tear in my body. My right shoulder, especially in the rotator cuff has a lot of damage from multiple years of shooting all different kinds of weapon systems. My cervical spine has sustained a lot of damage too, especially from the C3 to the C7. And as most can assume, my knees have taken a beating over the years as well.

For those who know me, and especially those who understand the Army mentality, we (I) push through a lot. We push through stress, we push through hardships, and we push through injuries. This is a requirement in any professional career in a life of service. Whether Military or First Responders, this is our mindset. I can’t speak on behalf of First Responders, having never been in that world, but I am intimately familiar with the Army mentality. We push through, complete the objective, and move on to the next objective/mission. This truly gets engrained into our psyche and becomes a natural way of life, even in retirement. Putting that mindset aside is much more difficult than a lot of people can understand, but that is just the way we operate.

Push through, soldier on.

That mentality has finally caught up to me.

I knew when I retired that my knees were shot. Unfortunately, they have been progressively getting worse, especially in my left knee. I have had multiple appointments with the specialist I have been seeing for many years and have learned that pushing through my injuries was apparently a bad idea. After multiple tests and imaging, I have learned the following is in my left knee:

1.      I have a tear in my ACL.

2.      I have a tear in my MCL.

3.      I have a fracture in the tibial plateau, which is the weight bearing bone in the knee.

4.      I have “intense acute bone marrow edema” in the adjacent bone, so basically my bone is severely bruised.

5.      I have moderate degenerative chondromalacia patellae. Yeah, I had to Google that one too. It just means the cartilage behind my kneecap is softening and breaking down.

6.      I have an 8cm long Baker’s Cyst behind my knee caused by all of the other damage in it.

What this all means is this:

Unfortunately, I am going to have to pause my Basic Rider Training program for the next while. For any of my current students, don’t worry, we will finish up so you can get your Class 6 done and enjoy the riding season. I will also be able to continue some refresher training as that limits the amount of time on my feet and can be done riding my bike with you. I will still be able to offer the rental of either of my two training bikes to conduct road tests in the Spruce Grove area.

I am not sure how long I will need to pause the Basic Rider Training program yet, I meet with my specialist next week to find out how long this will take to heal and what the rehabilitation program will look like, but I am hoping to be back on my feet  within the next 6’ish weeks.

I am sorry to have to share this news. For those who know me, you all know how passionate I am about the motorcycle community and how much I love being able to help people join this wonderful community. I will still help with what I can, but for now, my season is paused.

If anyone has any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

In the meantime, ride smart, stay safe, and I will see you down the road (eventually).