Pete,

If you do take up riding, WEAR A HELMET!!! The day before Thanksgiving 2004 I hit a wet spot in a corner and went down hard. I was probably doing around 15 MPH. I got a fractured clavicle, multiple fractured ribs that caused a punctured lung, bruised heart that, at one point, got my heart rate down to 36 BPM, a possible ruptured spleen and a bruise that ran from my shoulder to mid thigh that was about nine inches wide.

Other than a scratch on my forehead I had no head injuries as I was wearing a helmet. All the doctors said I would have either been a veg or dead without it. Take a look at the attached to see the impact the helmet absorbed.

Wear sunglasses and gloves too.