Been a while since I posted..

[zukilady]

My husband and I have this one route worked out that has been a great learning route for me. (Actually, for him too, as it's been 25+ years since he was on a bike, and this year, he bought himself the biggest bike on the planet and thought he was just gonna hop on and all would be fine...HA.) It presents a lot of scenarios without being out in major traffic (ah, the joy of living in the PA mountains!) I'm finally starting to be able to pull out at intersections without having to take a second to sit there and figure out if everything's situated while I'm working up the gumption to go. LOL My stopping is becoming more smooth and I'm starting to feel like I have control of the bike, rather than that wobbly feeling where you feel lucky that nothing "bad" happened. LOL

We've encountered rabbits, squirrels, dogs, & cats, all with a death wish (:eek:). There've been gravelly corners, roads with potholes & patches enough to bounce you right off your bike in 2nd gear, cars coming at me that take their half out of the middle...and I have to say that I feel better and better with every ride, and every ride presents a new challenge. Not this evening, but the last time we rode this route, I downshifted before entering a downhill curve to the right, that leads to a slightly downhill straightaway. Once through the curve, I was just sort of coasting. I happened to look down to discover...I was in N!!! I thought...CRAP!!! What am I going to do now!? But- I didn't panic. There is another curve to the right at the end of the straighaway so I just kept coasting till I could slow the bike and safely shift it into gear...and kept going. That's one thing I'm learning about my bike...the gears can be persnickety! Sometimes at a stop, I have to fiddle around to see where I am at, and have to let the clutch slip a little to get the bike to go from N to first. Not only am I learning to ride in general, but I'm also learning MY bike.

So...I feel that I have grown by leaps & bounds this summer! Well, I know I have, considering that in May I was scared to death of bikes and would have laughed you silly at the thought of having my own. Yeah, so I failed my first MSF class at the beginning of June. I don't feel bad about it though, because I got what I went to the class to get, which was a basic understanding and a little training/things to work on from people that are trained to train.

Except for those darn figure 8s, I feel confident that when I take the class again, it will be a much more meaningful experience for me and I have a much better shot at passing the class and earning my license. Am I ready for big roads/heavier traffic? No, not really, but I do feel that I have achieved a level of control/comfort/confidence that if I had to take a short jaunt on a bigger road in order to get to another area like the one we've been riding, I could do it.

I don't know why I felt the need to ramble on this evening, but thanks for reading. I guess I just feel so...somehow proud of myself. I guess you'd have to know where I was when I started. It's hard to believe that two or three months ago I was of such a different attitude where motorcycles are concerned, and here I am today, looking forward to the day I become a licensed motorcyclist and looking forward to posting ride reports and pics for you all to see.

Thanks for listening! :D:

[ImaSoftT]

Zuki, you have every reason in the world to feel proud of your accomplishments. The one thing that seems to be a common thread with new riders is that they seem somewhat surprised that they really like to ride. Riding isn't the easiest thing to learn but it is far from the hardest and trust me if someone like me, who can trip over my own two feet, can do it anyone can. You live in a beautiful state and will have so many great stories to tell once you have your license and can explore all of it. The big word here is baby steps which one day will turn into giant leaps. Keep up the good work you are doing great.

[sweptwingnut]

:thumbsup:

[zee]

I agree with IST, you have every reason to feel proud. Sounds like you're doing great!!

[Flight49]

Zuki - I know exactly how you feel. I never dreamed I would even want to ride a motorcycle. Then after my husband bought his Heritage last year I took the MSF course just in case I needed to help him. I was so scared that I didn't sleep the night before the driving test. I thought if I got over 30mph I might die!

Here I am just a little over a year later riding and loving it more and more. I distinctly remember wobbling to a stop and then sitting there trying to decide if I could make a turn or not and being afraid I might not be able to. Making very wide turns because I was so unsure. Making one smooth, awesome stop and then having the next one be a wobbly weaving mess! Wondering if anything would ever come naturally. Wondering if I would ever get over being terrified while loving it all at the same time.

Today, as I was doing 65 on the highway, going through traffic in town, pulling into a small parking lot and backing in to park I had to smile because I realized how far I have come.

You are doing AWESOME! Give yourself a giant pat on the back cuz it just gets better :yahoo:

[VStar]

Zuki, enjoyed your ramble, it is so much like my own experience last year when I first started learning, I worried all winter that I had forgotten most of it and wouldn't be able to ride this spring. That feeling of pride and accomplishment puts a secret smile on your face that most other people don't get. Good on you.

[KellyVA]

:iagree: with everything everyone else has already said! It sounds like you are having fun and being safe and that is what it is all about. Like you, I didn't ever see myself riding a motorcycle. Riding on the back, yes (did plenty of that in my younger years)...driving, no. Then my daughter bought a crotch rocket and scared me half to death. She didn't take the MSF course so one day I signed us both up so she would go. I was a nervous wreck the night before. By the end of that weekend I was a born again biker! :yahoo: Ever since then I ride just as much as I drive my car (if not more) and I even started my own chapter of Women In The Wind!

You are so right on about learning about how your bike reacts and rides. I'm still getting to know my cruiser and every now and then something happens and I say....now I get it!! HA What is very cool to me is that even though the MSF course I took was one weekend and very basic, most of the aha moments I have go right back to something one of the instructors said and it is just now clicking. I know I've heard it in my head before but turning that one corner or avoiding that rock in the road or whatever is when it really clicks.

Can't wait for your RR of the PA mountains! Thanks for sharing your story, zukilady!

[ridingAK]

There really is nothing to add, so I'll just agree with everyone else and add my :pompom::clapping::pompom: to the group. :):