GIRL!!! YOU GOT YOUR OWN!!!

We woke up bright and early on Sunday morning ready to ride! We decided that as it was Memorial Day weekend traffic would likely be very light around town early in the morning and we could get some good practice in. However, reality is that I refuse to do anything that requires a great deal of concentration first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. So, breakfast was first on the list. We hopped on the bikes and headed to the IHOP.

As we walked in and were seated, our server says, “I don’t know what the bike looks like, but those helmets are awesome!” Well, being that the bikes are new, we wanted to sit where we could see them. So I tell her, “Those are our bikes right there!” as I point through the window. She looks out, her jaw drops open, and she exclaims, “GIRL!!!! You got your own!!!! You GO girl!!!” Seriously, I thought the woman was going to embrace me! She was so excited! Evidently she’d always wanted to ride a motorcycle as well, but was convinced that she wouldn’t have the coordination to accomplish it. I told her that if I could do it, she certainly could. I mean, afterall, I can BARELY drive a manual transmission car! DH and I recommended that she take the MSF Basic Rider class; even if she decided afterwards not to get a bike, it would still be a great experience for her (or anyone for that matter!).

After leaving the IHOP, we decided to tackle some of the roads around our house that we will have to ride down to get pretty much anywhere, but we had been going the long way around to avoid. One of them has a HUGE hill that kind of twists and turns and we were both really nervous about it. So, we did the first pass with me in the lead. I slowed down to about 35mph approaching the hill.  I figure better to go in slower than necessary than to get half way through and realize that I’m going too fast! We make it through just fine and I decide to loop around and do another pass. Well the second time I took it at 45mph! Whoo Hoo!!! Getting more confident by the minute, which is exactly what they told us at the MSF course – the more you ride, the more proficient you become.

Later, around lunchtime, some friends of ours want to come see the bikes and go to lunch. So they come to the house and ooooohhh and aaaaahhhh over the machines. Then we start to get in the car and they go, “What!?! We want you to ride the bikes to lunch!” OK fine. Well, we had never been in as much traffic as we knew we would face going as close as we were to the mall. So, we decided to have our friend follow us in his big diesel work truck. We figured no one would hit him and we trusted him not to hit us. We set off.

I got through the very first traffic light and I hear DH honk his horn. Well, he’d been doing this as a signal to me to cancel my blinker. So, I cancel it and keep on going. Next time I look in my mirror… no DH…. Just a big-ass truck! Again I’m in the situation of thinking, “I don’t know what to do!” I figured if something horrible had happened, my friend in the truck would have stopped too. So, I just kept going and made it safely to our lunch destination where my friend leaps out his truck, looks me in the eye, and goes, “You are bad-ass on that bike!!! I didn’t think you could go so fast!!” (I hadn’t topped 50mph)! About that time DH rolls up… he’d forgotten to secure the chin strap on his helmet and had to pull over to do it.

This brings me to my next piece of advice for newbie riders: If you’re riding in a group (ie. More than ONE), its an absolute necessity that you decide on signals ahead of time. For example, DH and I have now decided that 1-honk means “cancel your blinker” and 3-honks mean “I need to stop”. I’m sure we will develop more as we go along, but these two are a huge step in the right direction!

The MSF Basic Rider Class

Unfortunately, my husband and I both travel alot for work. So, it was almost a month before, we (and our neighbor) found a class that suited all of our schedules. It was an agonizing wait and I'm sure the people at the bike shop got really annoyed with us being in there fawning over bikes we didn't have a clue about just about every weekend. But, the day of the course finally arrived. It started at 8am and we had about an hour-long drive to get there. So we woke our poor unsuspecting neighbor at 6am so we could be out the door at 6:30am... wouldn't want to be late right? My husband was mostly excited, I (and my neighbor) were more apprehensive. What if we couldn't do it? What if we hate it?

Well, fortunately the first several hours of the class were all class-room and book type stuff. I've been a student all my life so that was easy for me and gave me time to calm down. Then it was out to the bikes; the MSF course provides 250cc bikes and DOT approved helmets for the course. You must provide your own over-the-ankle boots, full-fingered gloves, jacket or long-sleeved shirt, and long pants. My recommendations: (1) Also provide your own bandana or some other head covering. Even though they "sanitize" the provided helmets, they are still sweaty and smelly on the inside. (2) DO NOT wait until summer to take this class if you live in the south. It was SO hot and you have to wear all of that stuff all the time, which is not so bad when you're actually riding and have the wind in your face, but standing still on the asphalt waiting for instructions will melt you! Do it in fall, winter, or spring if at all possible.

The first day we covered starting the bike properly (FINE-C; Fuel-valve, Ignition, Neutral, Engine kill switch in run position, - Clutch pulled in [disengaged]), shifting between neutral and first gear, finding the "friction-zone" of your clutch, "power-walking", starting, shifting gears, weaving 20' and 30' cones, and stopping. We were all feeling way more comfortable by the end of the day, except for our neighbor. They had put her on the same bike as me, even though she's quite a bit smaller. It was a 250cc Honda NightHawk and seemed to be way too heavy for her. So, they switched her to a 125cc bike for the following day, which seemed alot better for her.

Day 2 started back in the classroom where we finished up our course book and took our written test. My husband aced it with 100%, probably because he doesn't really think and just goes with his gut. I finished with a 96% (you need an 80% to pass so no problems), probably because there were a few questions I waffled on and over-thought.

Then we were back outside on the bikes and we worked on curves, slow-speed U-turns (everyone's nemesis), quick stops, quick stops in a curve, pause-and-gos, riding over obstacles (a 2"x4"), and swerving. I was alot more confident about everything by the end of the day, but worried to death about the test! I knew the test consisted of U-turns in the dreaded box, swerving, quick-stop, and a 135degree curve. I knew I was good on everything except the U-turn and it was scaring me to DEATH... I don't test well anyway as a general rule and I would be so embarrassed if my husband and neighbor passed and I didn't. Got myself all worked up about it, then my time came.

We started with the U-Turn to the left, followed by a U-turn to the right. Going to the left was a disaster! I went accidently hit the throttle in the middle of the turn, ran out of the lines, and put my foot down... UGH UGH UGH! Fortunately, I executed it perfectly going to the right. Overall I lost 6 points on the exercise -- I didn't know until later that you could lose 20 points and still pass. Next up was the swerve, which I did perfectly and lost no points on! Then the quick stop... I thought I did fine, but apparently I lost 7 points for stopping 7' past where I should have. I think this is a crock! There was no way to know where I "should" have stopped. If I had been told, "You must reach 25mph before this orange cone, then execute a quick stop and come to halt before you reach the green cone." then, dammit, I would have done that! Instead it was all voo-doo, "Accelerate until you pass this cone and then stop as quickly as you safely can." followed by, "Well, at your speed you should have stopped in 13' and it took you 20' so you lose 7 points." How the bleeding HELL was I supposed to know that?!?! Anyway, now I'm down 13points. The final exercise was the 135degree curve. We were supposed to accelarate to 15mph, then brake at a cue cone, and then roll on the throttle through the curve. I did that, but apparently I braked too much and didn't roll on the throttle enough. So even though I completed the curve just fine, I didn't do it fast enough so I lost another 5points. A total of 18points off, but I passed! My husband passed as well, I think he only lost 12points (6 on the U-turn and 6 on the quick-stop). And, so did our neighbor (she only lost 10points, but had to re-do the swerve). So we all got our endorsement waivers for the DDS.

I must admit that the class was great fun! We, all three, had a wonderful time. Not only do we feel more confident about getting our own bikes, but I belive we are all better, more aware "cage" drivers as well. I would recommend this class to anyone, even if you don't think you will ever get a bike. For $250 is some of the most fun you will ever have and will make you safer and more responsible on the road no matter what you drive!