It’s fair to say that Dane Westby’s 2013 Daytona SportBike season did not start off well. The Geico Honda rider injured his spleen during practice for the Daytona 200, an injury that not only sidelined him from the race but also from any training activity long afterwards. Until now.
The Oklahoma native finally received the good news after eight weeks of healing that he has been cleared to resume his normal training routine in preparation for the second round of the season in three weeks time at Road America.
The Geico Honda rider did not waste anytime getting back to work ass soon as he received the clean CAT scan that cleared him.
“I got back on my mountain bike right away,” Westby said. “I took it easy, but it felt so good to get moving again. Then Wednesday I got on my road bike and went about 25 miles, which is good for me, especially since I’ve not been able to do anything in awhile.
Most people sat home restricted to limited activity would get bored of daytime tv real quick, but for a racer used to be physically active it had to be tough.
“Since I learned to ride a motorcycle as a boy, I’ve never gone this long without riding one,” Westby said. “Then not being able to ride my bicycle or anything, I’ve felt kind of lost. I’m embracing the return to activity.”
Since he couldn’t train Westby kept busy with projects around his house, but even that got old.
“I’m done with home improvements,” Westby said. “We’re going to have a team test at Barber in Alabama next week and I can’t wait. That will be next time I’ll get on a race bike, and I’m really looking forward to it.
Westby also expressed how humbled he was by the outpouring of well wishes he received from the road racing community and how much it helped him through his long rehab.
“Everyone’s been so cool, from the other racers to our sponsors and even fans that took the time to reach out to me and tell me to hang in there,” Westby said. “I can’t thank everyone enough for that because it really carried me through the low times. Now I want to go out and win some races for all of them.”
