Original Inspiration

On my "About Me" page, I explain how I became interested in riding motorcycles.  I left out an important detail.   I spoke with other riders to get me to be open to learning, but the thing that really got me excited about riding was the movie "The Motorcycle Diaries."  If you've ever seen it, there's actually very little riding in the film.  But the few scenes they had were so moving for me that it really gave me a push to learn.  The rolling hills.  The isolated roads.  Simultaneous feelings of peace and excitement.  It all looked so damn liberating!  That is what was missing from my life:  freedom.  Soon after watching that movie, I made a promise to myself.  I said, "For my 30th birthday, I want to take a trip to Europe and ride in the countryside."

The Motorcycle Diaries trailer

I made that promise when I was 27.  Here I am, 28 and a half and MUCH closer to my dream.  Feels damn good.  There are days when I still say to myself, "I can't believe I'm actually doing this."  Never thought I'd have the courage, confidence, or commitment to learn.  My first hobby in years.  Yaaay!

Getting Lectured By Others...

Being lectured sucks!  I should know, I used to do it to my old boyfriend about him wanting to ride a motorcycle.  (Oh how things have changed!)  I had the same arguments as others who cares such as "I trust you, but not other people!" or the dramatic, "But it's dangerous!" or the uber dramatic, "But you could die!!!"  For some reason, I didn't anticipated others (strangers and friends) to be lecturing me on riding.  I got my first lecture a while ago, but thought it'd be worth sharing with all of you today.

I was at a party and just met this person. She used to be a rider (not sure if just passenger or rider or both) and lectured me about how dangerous it is and proceeded to show me all of her scars and burns from the crash.  I told her that I took a riding class and wear all my gear all the time.  It didn't matter to her.  She still wanted to tell me these things.  My bias before was that only non-riders lectured about the "dangers of motorcyles"! When I say lecture, it's more of the tone of trying to convince me to stop or to say "you really don't know what you're getting yourself into." I couldn't help but feel insulted.  I wanted to get defensive and tell her all of the things I'm doing to be smart about riding, but I'm not a confrontational person.  I also figured that there was no point.  I'm not going to change her mind, just like she can't change mine.

Okay okay "scolding" is a bit of an exaggeration.  But lecturing does NOT help me!  Makes me want to rebel!  RAAaarRR!

For you riders, is this something you deal with?  If so, how?  Why do some people feel the need to lecture others?  I understand if it comes from someone who cares about you.  They are just sharing their concerns with you.  But what about strangers??  How can you listen to an important message without getting annoyed by feeling like you're getting lectured?
Written on 6/3/11

Graduation!

If learning to ride a motorcycle was structured like school, I would've just graduated from middle school.  Ladies and gentlemen, I went from riding the local roads to an "expressway"!!  This deserves a ceremony complete with a grad cap toss. 

Woohoo!

In the midwest, our definition of "expressway" is that 8 lane road where you drive 65mph with the giant green signs up above.  Here in the bay area, "expressway" means a 4 lane road going 45-50 mph with stoplights once in a while.  So in my opinion, that's still an accomplishment!  I felt like such a big girl!  Normally I practice at 8am on a weekend to avoid traffic, but this time I went at 10:00am in real traffic and everything!  When I approached stoplights, the cars behind me were lining up, giving me the usual jitters.  I was nervous about stalling on this major road or not moving forward fast enough at a green.

So here's my story.  It was around 9am, light traffic.  I was cruising down the expressway at 45 mph and it felt good.  It didn't feel too fast.  I'm getting used to higher speeds.  Feeling more confident.  I slow down for a red light, first in line.  "Here's my chance.  I'm better at handling the clutch and throttle.  I can do this."  Green light, GO!  I jolt forward on first, switch to 2nd in no time with a larger jolt forward, switch to 3rd and jerk forward again.  I'm really gunning it!!!  Never thought I could switch gears that quickly.  I'm actually freaked out at this point.  The loud "vrrrooom" and forward jolting confused me.  Thoughts raced through my head:  "Is this what's supposed to happen?  Does that mean I'm lacking control?  Is this bike too powerful for me?  If I'm jolting like that, does it mean I'm not switch smooth enough?"  At this point I need to stop and take a breather.  I have no idea where I'm going but I turn on a few streets, find a large parking lot, and hit my safety red "stop" button.

One of the best things I learned about growing your confidence in riding is, "Go back to basics."  I was confused by the stoplight thing and needed some of my confidence back, so I practiced starts, stops, and swerves in the lot.  I felt a little better and called my BF to come and get me.  It was later in the morning and there was no way in hell I was riding back in heavier traffic.  He arrived shortly, gave me a big hug, and asked me if I wanted to ride home anyway.  "Uhhhhhmmm."  I swear I was quiet for a full 2 minutes when I unconvincingly said, "Okay." I didn't want to wimp out.  I still had some confidence left!  I sucked it up, straddled that bike and rode.

Me gearing up.  Can you feel the self-talk going on in my head?

Okay no turning back now!  I've committed!

At one of those dreaded stop lights.  BF was driving behind to make sure I was safe =)  Wow I can completely touch the ground with that bike!

Woohoo! I'm going 45mph!  Feels great!

I'm riding on the "expressway" like a big kid!

Parking the bike after a successful ride!

This is just the thing I needed to keep my motivation going.  Reminds me of why I wanted to learn to ride in the first place.  To challenge myself and feel that freedom in the wind.  Sounds corny?  Well, too bad!

Thanks for reading!  More stories to come!

Written a long time ago but Blogger lost this post and I had to write it again.