Riding Motorcycles in Your 40s: A Doctor Visit Story

Got a tetanus shot this morning and went for a ride anyway. That’s pretty much the whole story – but stick around, because there’s more to it than that.

The Kind of Spring Day That Makes You Want to Ride

It’s officially spring here in Pennsylvania, which means the mornings are still sitting in the mid-to-high 30s and by afternoon you’re up into the high 50s. That’s my sweet spot, honestly. Not too warm, not too cold. You’re not sweating through your jacket and you’re not frozen solid either. Just a nice, comfortable day to be out on the bike.

I’ve been looking forward to these days for a while now. And today, before I could get out on the Ninja 400, I had a doctor’s appointment to deal with first.

Finding a Doctor When You’re Riding Motorcycles in Your 40s

Here’s the thing about getting older – at some point you stop being able to just wing it on the healthcare front. I spent a few years basically freelancing my medical care: virtual visits when I was mildly sick, urgent care when it was bad enough I actually needed to be seen by a human. And honestly? That system worked better than I expected.

Virtual visits were a revelation. Log in, pay the copay, doctor calls you on video. No waiting room. No sitting in the exam room for 15 minutes after you’ve already waited 20 in the lobby. Just… done. I loved them.

Urgent care cost more, but when I had the flu bad enough to need actual treatment, I walked in and walked out with a script before I would have even gotten called back at a regular practice. Efficient as hell.

But you can only run that play for so long before you decide it’s probably smart to have an actual primary care doctor. Especially when you’re riding motorcycles in your 40s and you want to still be doing it in your 60s.

The New Patient Scheduling Problem

So my wife and I called a practice near our new house back in December to get established as new patients. First available appointment? End of March.

That’s not unusual, which is kind of wild when you think about it. And I’ve been through worse – years ago, we signed up with a practice near where we used to live, hadn’t had our “establish as a new patient” appointment yet, and I got sick in the meantime. Called them up, and they told me they couldn’t see me because I wasn’t established yet.

I remember thinking: you ARE my primary care physician. I’m literally waiting for the appointment you scheduled three months out. And you won’t see me?

I never went back after that. Zero interest. But I get it now more than I did then – the system runs on paperwork and protocol, not common sense. You learn to work around it.

The Appointment Itself (Including Why I Asked for a Female Doctor)

The appointment went well. And yes, before we got there, my wife asked if I had a preference – male or female doctor. I said female, and she gave me a look like I’d said something strange.

My reasoning? At a certain age, the prostate exam starts coming up in conversation at these appointments. And I’d just rather have that handled by someone with smaller hands. That’s the whole thought process. She didn’t find it as logical as I did, but I stand by it.

For the record, no prostate exam today. So that worked out fine.

What I did get was a tetanus shot. The nurse asked which arm, mentioned it might be a little achy afterward, and the first thing that popped into my head was: I really hope this doesn’t interfere with my motorcycle ride afterwards.

She did the left arm. I was on the bike an hour later. Arm is a little sore depending on how I move it, but nothing that kept me off the Ninja.

Getting a Baseline After Years of Winging It

One thing I appreciated about this visit – it felt like a reset. I’ve got blood work coming up, the usual baseline stuff. And my doctor asked what was going on, which led to me going through a bunch of small things I’d just… quietly considered normal over the years.

You know that scene in Parks and Recreation where Andy finally goes to the doctor and just starts listing off every weird thing that’s happened to his body? Yeah. That energy.

Nothing alarming, just things you accumulate when you’re not paying close attention. The whole point of going is to get in front of it. I want to be riding and chasing my kids around for a long time. That requires actually taking care of the machine.

Back on the Bike

I got out of the appointment, hopped on the Ninja, and went for a ride on a nice Pennsylvania spring afternoon with a mildly sore left arm. Could be worse.

If you’re in your 40s and you’ve been putting off finding a doctor – I get it, the scheduling alone is enough to make you procrastinate for months. But do it anyway. Book the appointment, wait the three months, go get the bloodwork done. The bike isn’t going anywhere.

Let’s Stay Connected

If you watched the video and want to see more of this kind of thing – rides, random thoughts, the occasional life update – subscribe to the WaltInPA YouTube channel. New videos when the weather cooperates and life allows.

Got a buddy who rides and would appreciate this? Pass the post along. Always good to know other people are out there doing the same thing.

And if you want to talk bikes, weather, or whatever else, come hang out in the WaltInPA Discord. Good group of people in there.