How I learned to feel a sense of life again
Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of buying a Harley Davidson Electra Glide someday. I still remember exactly how I saw this motorcycle for the first time in the USA. It was a blue and white dream, made of steel and chrome. But the greatest thing was that there was an old couple sitting on it. And that was quite unusual for me at that time, because when I thought of motorcycles I always thought of young people.
Near us (Heidelberg in Germany), the first official importer of this American motorcycle brand had his store and as soon as my friends and I were old enough to ride mopeds, we were regularly in this store of the legendary Harley biker Erich Krafft and founder of the German section of the MC Bones. There they were, our materialized dreams on two wheels. And we marveled and dreamed, dreamed of roaring down the country roads on these Electra Glides, Sportsters or Cafe Racers, preferably with a beautiful girl on the pillion.
But when I was old enough, I first lacked the money to fulfill my dream, and when the financial obstacles were cleared out of the way, I became a family man. And as a young family man I wanted to act responsibly and postponed my wish until the time when I would be retired.
In 2012, however, a serious illness struck me and soon I was confined to a wheelchair. That is the moment when you ask yourself the question: Why me?
But lamenting doesn’t get you anywhere and I’ve always been of the opinion that giving up is only something for cowards. So I clenched my cheeks and tried to get back a certain normality bit by bit. Only one thing was clear from the beginning: The dream of the Electra Glide had died with the outbreak of my illness. Really?
I don’t want to talk about my illness in detail. Only this much: it is a disease that destroys the joints in spurts and also damages the muscles and nerves. The whole thing is connected with very strong pain, which is always there — 24/7. With a mental method and of course a lot of medication, I keep the pain and the disease halfway under control.
Life changes completely due to such an illness. In the beginning, I spent about two years only lying down and it took me another year to be able to drive again. The physical problems are one thing, but the mental effects are far more dramatic for many people who find themselves in a similar situation. If you’re not careful, hopelessness overtakes you. Dark thoughts and the ultimate question of meaning, are there obvious. If you are not an optimist in such a situation, it becomes very difficult.
My luck was and is that I am an incorrigible optimist, even if this characteristic is put to a hard test in such a situation. And above all, I have the best wife in the world and the best children in the world by my side. Without the help of my immediate family, I probably would have had to lay down my arms. What my wife has done for me, I cannot give back in a hundred years. She taught me what real love is after more than thirty years of marriage. You also learn who are your real friends and I can tell you, there are not many left when fate hits you in such a way.
However, it is clear that with such an illness and disability, there are many things one simply cannot do. It quickly became clear that I would only be able to do my job as a busy entrepreneur to a very limited extent. The usual 10, 12 or 16 hour days and the many trips in Germany, Europe and around the world were no longer possible in this form. For a few years I was still able to work part-time on a very limited basis. In the meantime, however, I had to withdraw completely from the operational business.
Here, too, I was fortunate to have very good business partners who supported me and to whom I could confidently hand over the helm. This is not a matter of course either and I am very grateful for it! In addition, the second generation of my small family has just decided to join the family business and that makes me happy.
But the reality is that in such a situation you have to say goodbye to many beloved things. So I also had to say goodbye to my dream of one day cruising the country roads on a Harley Davidson Electra Glide.
At some point, I saw a Harley Davidson Triglide on the highway, that is, a Harley based on the old concept of service bikes. Service bikes were used by the postal service, police and military in the earlier decades in the USA. The idea was to provide a bike with a “trunk” and thus be able to carry larger loads.
And since this moment the thought did not let me go any more. Would there perhaps still be a way to fulfill my dream of a Harley?
Since I generally do not fackle very long, if I set myself something in the head, I went the following weekend with my wife, in order to pay a visit to the Harley dealer of my childhood. And indeed they had a Triglide in the workshop.
The hurdle I had to overcome: could I manage to pull myself alone from the wheelchair, into the saddle of the machine? After a few minutes it was clear that I could do it. An hour later I had signed the purchase contract for my first Harley.
Why am I writing this here? It’s simple!
I want to encourage all people with disabilities. Encourage them not to give up and to try to fulfill a long-cherished dream. This may not be an easy way. And sometimes you will not make it. But one thing is for sure, if you don’t at least try, you’ve already lost from the start. Sometimes you have to think around one or more corners. Maybe you have to modify your dream (e.g. trike instead of bike), but don’t give up. Even with many limitations, you can lead a good, happy and fulfilled life. Live your dream!
But why was it so important for me to fulfill this dream of the Harley? And why did it help me to lead a better life again?
Before this project, I was still struggling with my life in a wheelchair. True, I had learned to drive a car again and accept the wheelchair as a mobility-enhancing friend. But that took a long time and a residual melancholy remained. There were so many things I could no longer do. I could no longer play golf, go for walks or ride a two-wheeler.
The moment I rode off on my Harley for the first time, not only did my childhood dream come true, but I felt life in my body again for the first time. The vibration of the powerful engine, the increasing airstream and the feeling of being in control of this unbridled power made me feel every fiber of my being again. That was exactly what I had lost over the illness — the body feeling. At times I felt myself only as a spirit being. I lived only in my head, was only a collection of my thoughts. I felt my body as a machine that no longer belonged to me. When I sit on the trike, exposed to the forces of nature, I now feel body and mind as one again. This is an indescribable feeling that I thought I had lost forever.
The community of “handicapped bikers” is growing slowly but surely. If I can make a small contribution to this, then I will have achieved an important goal.
