The elephant in the room

Well, it came sooner than expected but we've just addressed the elephant in the room.  Going back to late last year, I suffered a torn retina whilst riding the bike.  My eye filled with blood and riding home some 140 km was quite a challenge.  To fix it, I had a vitrectomy (watch it on YouTube if you're not squeamish)!  It was totally successful but the surgeon warned me that one side effect was a cataract which would form sooner or later.  In my case, it was sooner than expected. 

All was fine on the February bike tour then lockdown kicked in during March.  Stuck around home doing jobs, I didn't really notice anything but as soon as lockdown ended and driving/riding started up again, the partial loss of long sight in one eye became noticeable.  Not a good position to be in, especially when conducting advanced riding tests. A right royal pain in the arse to use a technical term.

A check with a local optometrist confirmed the onset of a cataract.  Still legal to drive and ride but it was pushing the envelope at the higher performance end of the spectrum.  So it was back to the surgeon.  Not bad enough to qualify for an operation on the public health system but going privately was fine as it was starting to drive me nuts.

Turned up for the procedure a week ago and Jennie and I were ushered into a lounge adjacent to the operating theatre.  Drops were put into the eye to dilate the pupil and the surgeon came in and drew an arrow over the appropriate eye.  Wives aren't noted for dishing out sympathy because they think that their husbands are big wusses. "Pain?  You want to try having 3 kids, blah, blah......".  In this case, the lack of sympathy manifested itself by her wanting to write something on my forehead above the arrow.  Those words were "Insert Coins Here".  Smartarse.  

"Insert coins here" in the fairground dummy

Anyway, cataract removal and replacing the lens only took a few minutes and was completely painless.  The only downside of being fully conscious was seeing instruments of torture hovering near my eye, albeit not in clear focus.  Whatever instruments the surgeon used made noises like something from an episode of Dr. Who when he was battling the Daleks.  In fairness though, I was warned so didn't panic when it started up.  Although I could talk during the op, the surgical team bizarrely gave me a small squeaky yellow rubber duck to hold during the procedure.  They said to give it a squeeze if I felt uncomfortable, wanted to sneeze or whatever and they'd stop.  Didn't actually need to put it to use although when they wheeled me back into the theatre lounge, I made good use of it to announce my arrival to all and sundry.  Jennie's eye-rolling suggested that she'd prefer to be someone else's wife at that point in time.  Sort of evened things up for her earlier smartarse remark.  

With vision having been restored, it actually felt a little odd, like I was slightly drunk.  Guess it takes the brain a little while to recalibrate.  With running a formal IAM assessment ride coming up (taking out a police officer, no less!), it was sensible to see what it was like back on the bike with no pressure.  A short trip to the local gas station went absolutely fine and put me at ease.

Setting off from home for the meet-up some 160 km away, it was an absolutely glorious day with spring only a few days away. We all need days like this after the trials of this year. The eye was fine, the sun was out and the prospect of meeting up with other riders that you know and trust was eagerly anticipated.

Getting ready for a full day in the saddle

Officer Andy and trainee Observer (mentor) Bruce had ridden over from the Bay of Plenty province to our meeting point where we had a mix of city, expressway and tight country lanes all within easy reach for an assessment ride.  As well as road riding, Andy takes part in competitive trials riding so balance and slow speed riding weren't going to be an issue.  With Andy and Bruce on adventure bikes, I felt like the runt of the litter - I'd need a stepladder to get on them! 

Some photos taken by Bruce's on-board camera during the ride - thanks Bruce!

Andy and yours truly in town

Lifesaver (shoulder check) before making the turn

Life at its best - a deserted back road

Tall timber - Honda Africa Twin (Andy) and Triumph Explorer 1200 (Bruce)

As you might expect, Andy was extremely professional in his riding but there was a complete absence of ego and very happy to receive suggestions for fine tuning.  It won't take long at all before he's ready to take his Advanced Roadcraft Test.  Bruce also did well in his observing capacity and will make a great Observer in the near future.

Aren't days like this what riding motorcycles are all about?  Great weather, riding partners who you trust implicitly and a great mix of road conditions over some 450 km  - nirvana!