It's time for me too...

[Couchy]

A scooter is on my shortlist tbh, a nice forza 350

[Yorick]

A scooter is on my shortlist tbh, a nice forza 350

The world's gone mad.
Mr ex-racer buys a scooter.
Mr Shandyman buys crazy Hypermotard

[Horse]

Maybe not yet, but it wouldn't surprise me for the future. I know of at least 4 police bikers that I worked with over the years, all now retired who have had hip replacements.

Where there is blame, there is a claim...

It happened with hearing damage.

[roadster]

I have found myself in the same situation through advancing years and arthritis in just about every joint. I have found that bare minimum but regular small doses of Ibuprofen plus a prescription drug taken to ward off side-effects of the Ibuprofen have given me more or less normal mobility with tolerable pain levels. Failing strength is a different matter and I now have a small and lightweight CB300R which is ideal though I probably won't manage any really long rides. I can also recommend the Honda Grom which is even easier to handle but not much good above 50-60 mph.

Surprisingly I find that the thrill of taking a small bike to the red line at legal speeds is not so different to the superbikes which wafted passed everything in my younger days.

[Bigyin]

That’s a bugger to hear you stepping back from what you obviously love doing for work. I managed to struggle on through a couple of injuries to stay on the team I was on doing what I enjoyed till it was time to retire and would have been gutted to have had to give it up so I understand how it could feel

If you think back to the Visordown days there was a lass called Black Wolf on there who is considerably younger than us. She had years of hip pain and eventually had a replacement when she was about 30. It transformed her mobility and quite a few years on now she still has no issues with hip pain.

Worth looking into for the future and possibly post retirement riding

[Yorick]

That’s a bugger to hear you stepping back from what you obviously love doing for work. I managed to struggle on through a couple of injuries to stay on the team I was on doing what I enjoyed till it was time to retire and would have been gutted to have had to give it up so I understand how it could feel

If you think back to the Visordown days there was a lass called Black Wolf on there who is considerably younger than us. She had years of hip pain and eventually had a replacement when she was about 30. It transformed her mobility and quite a few years on now she still has no issues with hip pain.

Worth looking into for the future and possibly post retirement riding

Penny had both her hips replaced at 45 and 46 years old.

[Nordboy]

That’s a bugger to hear you stepping back from what you obviously love doing for work. I managed to struggle on through a couple of injuries to stay on the team I was on doing what I enjoyed till it was time to retire and would have been gutted to have had to give it up so I understand how it could feel

If you think back to the Visordown days there was a lass called Black Wolf on there who is considerably younger than us. She had years of hip pain and eventually had a replacement when she was about 30. It transformed her mobility and quite a few years on now she still has no issues with hip pain.

Worth looking into for the future and possibly post retirement riding

I can see me having replacements at some stage, I'm not saying i'll never ride a bike again, just at this point in time, and realistically probably not in the job. I have 34 months and 1 day to go

I just can't do the long days and intense courses like I want to be able too. It's dangerous if I spend too much time on the bike courses, running at speed, thinking about pain management rather than what i should be doing.

It's just a bit gutting, especially when the job is asking for VIP bikers etc to do some gucci jobs and I'm now having to say 'no'. Still, I should be thankful that I got to do that stuff in the first place, I guess not a lot of people get to do it?

[Nordboy]

Maybe not yet, but it wouldn't surprise me for the future. I know of at least 4 police bikers that I worked with over the years, all now retired who have had hip replacements.

Where there is blame, there is a claim...

Others have mentioned making a 'claim'. I'm not wired that way. I suppose if I ended up with some serious mobility issues in the future then it's a possibility I guess.

[Rockburner]

It's just a bit gutting, especially when the job is asking for VIP bikers etc to do some gucci jobs and I'm now having to say 'no'. Still, I should be thankful that I got to do that stuff in the first place, I guess not a lot of people get to do it?

I don't suppose they allow enthusiastic amateurs to sign up...

[Bigyin]

I can see me having replacements at some stage, I'm not saying i'll never ride a bike again, just at this point in time, and realistically probably not in the job. I have 34 months and 1 day to go

I just can't do the long days and intense courses like I want to be able too. It's dangerous if I spend too much time on the bike courses, running at speed, thinking about pain management rather than what i should be doing.

It's just a bit gutting, especially when the job is asking for VIP bikers etc to do some gucci jobs and I'm now having to say 'no'. Still, I should be thankful that I got to do that stuff in the first place, I guess not a lot of people get to do it?

Real shame you cant do the gucci stuff but your head is in the right place as you know the distraction of pain management is/will have an impact on your effectiveness ...fair play for realising it and more importantly admitting it. I wasnt that clever and managed to get by on lots of painkillers just so i didnt get put in an office but didnt do my knackered knee any good

I remember getting to the countdown stage, looking at my saved up time off they couldnt make me take straight away and already knew i was walking out the door 2 months before the official leaving date while still getting paid in full. Then i smashed myself up lobbing the Ducati down the road and when i got a phone call on a Tuesday for the operation date i rang HR and said "how does this effect my leave and such like given i will have 6 weeks off sick recovery before coming back on light duties" They rang me back 5 minutes later and said "You leave at the end of this week, not in 2 months time"

I actually went in on my last day at 0800 although i didnt have to and the intention was to take the team out for a brekkie then head home mid afternoon having said a few goodbyes....... they picked up a 5 handed prisoner drug trafficking job and i ended up staying till 2000 mucking in with interviews, drug ID statements (i was the only one at the time qualified to do them) and case building for CPS until my boss forced me to go home.

The next 34 months will fly by and if your hip situation improves then you are more than qualified to try getting a position at RAPID

[Nordboy]

It must be a huge wrench to step away from something that played such a pivotal part of your life. I'm gearing up for it and it is a bit of a worry, having been highly motivated and always pushing myself, I now have to get my head around not actually having to do anything.

I think some people step into retirement not giving it a lot of thought and then get into a mental fix, but you seem to be heading into it eyes wide open and knowing it will be a transition, so it might be a bit awkward but I'm sure you'll be fine.

I wouldn't mind if i was actually retiring, that’s a long way off yet!! Some would say i've been retired 20 yrs mind you

[weeksy]

I wouldn't mind if i was actually retiring, that’s a long way off yet!! Some would say i've been retired 20 yrs mind you

Oh sorry, I misunderstood.
You'll have more time to kick people down stairs then

can't lift his leg

[Nordboy]

I can assure you both that if someone required kicking down some stairs I'd happily make an exception to do so and endure a bit of pain afterwards