Balance and how to get it back
First I should tell you how lope sided I am with a arm twice the size of my erbs arm What keeps my balance doing things was building the strength in the leg in my erbs side and starting my gate walking with my erbs side first. For some reason doing this help me ride a bike when I was little and latter a motorcycle latter. I think I built my leg muscles in the
erbs side to compensate my balance because of the size and weight difference in arm which is alot over my life time. When I starting pedal my bike I start the pedal turn by my erbs side leg. When I stop my bike I would stop and stand on my erbs side foot and lean the bike on that side to. I actually grab steering bar on the bike or motor cycle bar by griping my erbs arm and lifting it with my good arm so I could place it right to grasp the handle bar
To me it was all about gaining as much streagth in the leg on the erbs side and using that leg more to keep my balance . I hope I explain this ok for the balance issue This work for me being So lope-sided over my life time
Tom
Hi Jarmar,
In the post before this I tried to outline how I learn to balance and ride a bike, and I hope what I said made sense??? I also post a new topic for this to under general message board. I know that there are many ways to adapt and do anything I know others might give you option to get you back on a bike and dealing with the balance issue If my message and how I did it needs to be outlined better, just ask
Tom
Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: January 1980 Yamaha RD200 vs 16 wheeler truck, result, 1 totally paralysed right arm. I was 21, now 54. I had no surgery, I don't regret this. Decided to totally ignore limitations (easily done aged 21) adapted very quickly to one handed life, got married, had 3 kids, worked- the effect of the injury on my life (once the pain stopped being constant) was minimal and now, aged 54, I very rarely even think of it, unless I bash it or it gets cold, then I wish I'd had it amputated :) Except for a steering knob on my car, I have no adaptations to help with life, mainly because I honestly don't think of myself as disabled and the only thing I can't do is peel potatoes, which is definitely a good thing.
In the UK the hospital staff told me they refer to BPI as "biker's palsy", all number crunching done about the incidence of traumatic bpi have found the commonest cause by far is motorcycle accident. Back in the pre helmet days, bikers whose accident was serious enough to cause a bpi also usually wound up dead, so there are lot more people around with the injury now. It would be helpful if bike magazines published web addresses for support groups such as this one and the excellent http://tbpiukgroup.homestead.com/index_1.html .
Car driver education could be increased, too, that way they might actually glance in their mirror occasionally!
What keeps my balance doing things was building the strength in the leg in my erbs side and starting my gate walking with my erbs side first. For some reason doing this help me ride a bike when I was little and latter a motorcycle latter. I think I built my leg muscles in the 
I know others might give you option to get you back on a bike and dealing with the balance issue 