17th May 2002 - Update

The broken bones in my wrist are healing very well although due to the lack of use it is very weak and has a very restricted range of movement at this time. I have now started physiotherapy in addition to the splendid treatment from Brian Simpson. Brian uses lasers and pulsed magnetic fields to great effect at his Ipswich practice. You can reach him on 01473 - 215 905 if you want to get better as quickly as possible.

Had a follow appointment with the orthopaedic consultant who did my wrist operation. After another set of x-rays it seems that I had managed to put a small fracture in the scaphoid in my left hand. Just as well they didn't realise at the start otherwise I wouldn't have been able to do anything with either hand as they would have immobilised both of them. Fortunately my lifestyle of sitting around doing nothing obviously works as it has started to heal up quite nicely.

I had left my bike, van and caravan with Tim Jones who had kindly taken it back to his place for me after my accident at Silverstone. I managed to persuade a couple of friends to help me collect things so we finally got everything back to my place last week. Just to prove how lousy my luck has been recently no sooner had I got things home than I had my car stolen, in fact, it was barely two hours after I had taken my leathers out of the caravan and put them in the boot! So if anyone sees these leathers being worn on the road please let me know as I am rather stuck without them.

To make sure I would be able to get back to racing as soon as my wrist has healed I went up to Hideout Leathers to get measured up for a new set. Due to the various accidents I have had I haven't managed to do any real exercise since last August. I realised I was unfit but it was only when the guys at Hideout got their tape measures out that I realised just how unfit I had become. Since my measurements were last taken in February 2001 my biceps and calf muscles had shrunk by 1.5" each. On top of that my wrist injury had caused my right bicep to lose a further 1.5". As soon as my wrist can take it I'm getting back to the gym - Racing is hard enough without being quite so unfit.

My bike has gone off to the guys at Cambridge Motorcycles again for a service. Whilst there they will also be fixing the damaged crash bobbins, replacing the various broken levers and pedals and trying to patch up the exhaust can which I managed to wear a hole in. They will also straighten the frame that holds the screen and the front of the fairing which got rather battered in my crash at Brands Hatch back at the start of March. I only realised how badly bent it was when I got to Silverstone and realised that the screen was between three and four inches lower than it should have been :-)

As I said in my previous post my next race will hopefully be at Snetterton on the 22nd June although I will do some testing there with the Motorcycle Folly guys on the 18th June just to be on the safe side.