First of all, thanks to everyone for your words of encouragement. It helps calm the negative inner voices that tell me I should ditch my ST and either get a small convertible or a Goldwing
old1
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That's great news Mick. I had a compression fracture of the L1 vertebrae back in 2005. Since then, I can't do any trip as long as 300 miles. I've been riding 40-plus years, so going without riding at all just doesn't work. Three weeks ago I found out that I have now done the same thing to the L2 vertebrae. I'm going to try to ride a little right now. So far, short trips haven't caused me any undue pain. We'll see. Really is fantastic news that you're able to go 300 miles at one trip. It's been quite a while since I've been able to do that. Stay safe.
Sorry to hear of your predicament Billy. I take it that you have not had an operation on your back(?). I know what you mean about giving up riding "not working". Dang motorcycle riding is addictive! There was one point in my rotator cuff(s) journey when I sold all my bikes thinking I had no business riding anymore given the risk of aggravating my shoulder problems. I didn't even last a year before I purchased another bike!
Back problems can really be debilitating. Mine use to give me fits and it was
nowhere near as serious as yours. It really nailed me once (bad muscle spasms) while on the 1000 mile return leg of my second long distance trip ever (Westoc - Durango, Colorado) back in 2000 +-. The worst pain was getting on or coming off the bike, but even just riding was painful. I managed it by picking a certain way of sitting, then twisting my torso just a little. I was gobbling Aleve like it was candy trying to control it. I was darn near unable to walk by the time I finally got back home.
Hope you're able to find a solution to your back problems.