THE GET ON SPANNERS
If you needed an excuse to make 2023 the year you set about a dream project, how about doing it for your mental health? Academic research on the subject is rare, but the amount of anecdotal evidence is mounting, as Mark Betts is happy to testify.
The 55-year-old crashed his GSX-R1100M in 1995 and was paralysed from the chest down. Like many seriously injured motorcyclists he stoically fought to achieve a meaningful existence and blotted out all memories of the crash and aftermath. ‘I didn’t ride for four or five years,’ he says. ‘Then I went to the British Grand Prix, and a chap rode by on a Yamaha XJR1300 with a trike conversion… That was it: I chased him down, and found out it was built by Trike Shop in Cardiff. I bought a brand new Suzuzki Bandit 1200 from the local bike shop, and had it shipped down for the conversion, then I rode it back from Cardiff to Shropshire when it was finished.’
Well and truly back into bikes, Mark quickly added a converted GSX-R1100L to the garage too. But while he’d ticked that box, he never really came to terms with what the crash had done to him. ‘I didn’t face up to it, because I knew it was my fault. I was doing 140mph before the crash, so I’m told – I don’t remember it. I had flashbacks to the ride before, lying on the grass with blood inside my visor…
‘Getting back on the trike helped massively – you know what it’s like, it’s a one-track mind when you’re riding. But it was only six months ago that I was diagnosed with PTSD from the accident. I’ve been having therapy for that, and it’s made me realise I’ve been carrying this around for 20-odd years without knowing.
‘I never put two and two together, I just knew I was struggling. It wasn’t due to being in a wheelchair, it was not knowing what was going on in my head. I had low self-esteem, just feeling shit. I was always trying to prove myself – particularly on the bikes. If strangers on bikes were around me on the road, I’d feel the need to race them, prove something all the time.
‘I felt I had to go the extra mile to prove myself. The diagnosis made it clear it didn’t need to be that way. You learn it’s your brain
‘I didn’t face up to it, because I knew it was my fault. I was doing 140mph’
bullying you, you learn to deal with those thought processes, and get on with it. But riding, and working on the trikes has been the best therapy.
‘I’ve got an Abba Skylift to raise the bikes and I got the engine out of my Hayabusa for a rebuild, though I did get the engine done by someone else. Everything else I do here. I never used to have the money for dealer servicing before the accident so I learnt how to do it. I look after my mates’ bikes too – probably because I don’t charge them. Focusing on what I’m fixing pushes those thoughts out of my head. Completing complex tasks gives you a feeling of reward, and helps with self-esteem.’
Mark is an advocate of seeking help too: professional counselling has helped, but talking with anyone can be useful. ‘I used to use the line “man up” a lot before… not now. You need to talk, and get help to get better.’