Your Problem to Fix

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by Tom Hansom, PCI #2209
Shelby County (TN) Sheriff’s Office
IPMBA Board Member (Membership)

Well, we all have changes. Some family, some work, some friends, some age… some mental, some physical… and some ALL OF THE ABOVE!

The past 12 months have been a roller coaster of change and instability for me and my wife. I began working for a new company and in a new role. On my first official day of employment, although not yet officially at work, I tripped. While trying to catch myself, I committed the cardinal sin of extending my arms and tore the rotator cuff on my left shoulder (tuck and roll, tuck and roll…). Among other things, this knocked me out of the IPMBA Instructor Course held in Gallatin, Tennessee, last year.

Three months post-surgery, with no bike riding, we went for a family visit for Christmas about 400 miles (644 km) from home. While we were away, a freak snap freeze caused an upstairs water pipe in our house to rupture. We came home 36 hours later and started trying to salvage what we could. You can fill in the rest.

Between packing hastily, moving three dogs, and comforting a wife who was less than thrilled with the disaster that had unfolded, my training cycle was beyond broken.

If you have made it this far, you are probably asking, “Where this guy is going?” I’m laying the groundwork for discussing getting back on the horse. While I am still in relatively good condition and able to hold my own on bike patrols, I’m no longer “in shape”. Not only is this a disservice to myself, but I could also potentially let my partner(s) down in an emergency situation. Each of us encounters roadblocks that come up in duty, work, family, and life in general. The key to overcoming them is how you cope and how you get back into your groove.

As I write this, I think of the two mistreated “children” (one mountain and one road) in the garage of my new home, both of whom desperately want attention. I intend to give it to them. Breaking a cycle of bad habits is tough, but breaking back into training is sometimes even harder. It is easy to make excuses, putting it off until tomorrow is sometimes fine. However, when tomorrow becomes two days, then a week, and then months, it becomes a problem. We are professionals and adults. We make our own decisions and must own them. As professionals in bike units, we must make the decision to be more “fit for duty” than most. I’m guilty, so I’m going to wrap this up now, go A-B-C my TREK, and take her for a short spin. Cheers to all of you that have not fallen off the wagon…or the bike!

Tom Hansom is currently a member of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Bike Unit in Memphis, Tennessee, assigned to urban park patrol. He has served as a Reserve Deputy for the past 13 years and is IPMBA’s newest IPMBA Board Member, having been appointed to the at-large position responsible for cultivating IPMBA members. He can be reached at membership@ipmba.org.

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