My First Group Ride!

My first day trip went so well, I was ready for another!  A friend, who used to have a motorcycle, was in town and my BF and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to all go on a group ride.  YEAH GROUP RIDE!  So what if there's only 4 of us?  Still neat!  There is something about seeing a line of motorcyclists riding together on a road.  You can't help but turn your head and look at each one, every bike passing with their own unique "vrooomm!" sound, hoping that the line keeps going for a while, saying to yourself, "whoa...."  Then when the line is over and you see the last person ride further away you say like an enthusiastic 8-year old, "COOOOL!!!" What...you don't do that???

I've never cleaned my bike before (sorry Gigi!) so in the morning I dusted her and she looked so pretty!  Wish I took a picture.  The forum Two Wheel Females has been such a HUGE help in my journey in learning to ride, so I bought a decal sticker and proudly stuck it on my windshield.  Damn wish I took a picture!

After packing my camera (yes I had one the whole time), a water bottle (great tip!), winter gloves, and kleenex we were ready to go.  We all headed outside to get on our bikes and oh no! my friend's bike won't start!  My BF and him try to figure it out and I'm sitting there because I have no idea what's going on.  Next thing I know, my friend is sitting on the bike, walking it, and my BF comes up from behind, pushes it while running, both trying to get it to start.  It was a funny site.  Two grown men in full motorcycle gear, one on the bike like a kid while the other pushes him like a proud father.  Wish I took a picture.  But here's one after they got it to work!  Yes it did work =)

Woohoo success!!  Walk back to your bike proudly my friend!

Anyone who's ever ridden a motorcycle in the Bay Area has visited Alice's Restaurant.  It's a neat ride with wide curvy roads hidden in the trees.  On the weekends, riders from everywhere meet at this joint to eat burgers (named after motocycles!), check out bikes, and meet other folks.  That is one thing I love about riders.  Most are friendly, curious, and have a sense of community.  So Alice's was our first destination!  It was like a rite of passage for me.  To me it meant, "yes, I'm officially a rider!  Not just someone who is learning to ride, but an actual rider."  I've been invited to take rides here in the past, but been too scared.  I'm worried about how I would look as I rolled up to the restaurant.  I swear everyone looks at everyone as they ride in.  Not in a judgmental way, but out of curiousity.  I didn't want to look like a fool...an obvious newbie.  I didn't want to stall my bike in front of everyone.  I didn't want to accidentally crash into someone's ride.  Too much anxiety and I wasn't ready before.  But I was this time =)

I enjoyed the ride there.  My friends suggested that I ride second in the group, where it was safest.  The lead took his time and set a comfortable pace for me (thank you!!!) and the sweeper (the last person in the group) looked out for us and made sure we were safe from cars and jerks (thank you too!!!).  The ride proved more challenging than expected.  I was so focused on the curves, bicyclists on the side, looking for unexpected things on the road, that I kind of missed out on the prettiness of the scenery. Guess I was just feeling things out.  After about 40 minutes, I see the trees clearing out and tuh-dum!  The sign for Alice's Restaurant!!!

We met a friend there and the 4 of us shared a burger a fries (yes the 4 of us).  Just wanted a small snack before heading to Pescadero for a seafood lunch!  But first, we wanted to go to the beach to visit my animal friends and possibly a quick swim!  The way there was a bit tougher for me.  Felt like there were tighter curves and higher speeds.  Maybe it was just my imagination.  I took those curves really slowly.  It was pretty ridiculous.  I was a bit nervous about going on a group ride with my friends because I didn't want to hold them back from riding fast and doing their thing.  But I suppose they knew what they were getting into because I was there.

There were a couple of close and scary calls.  We were going about 50 mph and coming up on a right turn into a parking lot.  I turned on my turn signal, felt the butterflies, and began talking in my head.  Should I downshift?  Do I pull in the clutch and brake?  What does that sign over there say?  I'm getting distracted!!!  The turn comes, I'm going way too fast, think to myself "okay I've committed!" and lean my bike over more than I ever have before.  I think I made it through, but realize that it's not a 90 degree turn, it's more like 60 degrees.  Realizing that I can't make it, I straighten up my bike, riding forward crossing the oncoming lane (luckily no cars were coming), and towards a cliff.  I stop quickly but smoothly.  HOLY SHITTTT!!  I'm panting and feeling majorly freaked out.  If a car was coming, I would have definitely been hit.  If I didn't practice my quick stops earlier that day, I could have fallen over or maybe even ridden off that cliff!  I was damn lucky.  My BF was riding behind me, made sure I was okay, and we joined our friends.We made it to the beach and my friend told me that he noticed I was going under the speed limit.  I was nervous and didn't know the roads too well, so I felt better going slower.  They told me that my speedometer actually added 5mph to my speed.  Which means that if the speed limit was 50mph, I kept my speed reading at 45, which actually meant I was going 40mph.  I felt so goddamn embarrassed.  I wanted to hide.  Seriously.  Completely discouraged.  I'm not sure what those feelings were about.  Maybe because I felt dumb.  Or the guilt of making my friends who were experienced riders go 10mph under the limit (who the hell wants to ride that slowly??)  Or because I reeked of newbieness and thought I could do better.  Or because I was still recovering from that stupid mistake I made.  Or maybe all those reasons.  I was feeling pretty terrible, but had to snap out of it.  I'm here riding the California coast on my own with good friends and I should feel proud.  Good thing the scenery was breathtaking with the huge crashing waves and adorable seals bobbing in the water.

Chilly but pretty!

Me and my riding buddies!

Umm...yeah I don't think I wanna get in there...

We're feeling pretty darn hungry at this point.  I've heard numerous people talk about Duarte's Tavern in Pescadero and suggested that we check it out.  We drove through pretty golden hills and long curvy roads.  Wish I took a picture.  (sensing a pattern here?)

Made it to Duarte's Tavern!  We filled our bellies with tasty non-local seafood.  I was sad to hear that nothing I ate was from the area.  FYI, don't get the mussels!  They are bland.  I did enjoy my crab sandwich though!  We talked to some guy at Alice's and he said the artichoke soup was bomb diggy.  Not in those words but that is what he meant.

I was getting pretty tired so I wanted to start heading home.  The roads back were funner!  I think it was because I was feeling much more comfortable with curves.  Before this trip, I never took a curve in my life.  Now I can feel how to control my bike on them.  Yessss!!  Feeling pretty good right now.

Somehow, a bug got into my helmet!  It flew around, landed on my face, I'd blow air inside to move it, it flew around, landed on my face...Eventually we stopped and I was able to take off my helmet and get that sucker out!  This was a good time for a photo op!

We drove back to Alice's for a potty and stretch break.  My friends started talking to this one dude with a cool Ducati for I swear like 30 minutes.  It was entertaining though.  After 45 minutes or so of uneventful riding, we made it home!  We celebrated the end of our group ride with delicious cold beers.  Cheers!!

Pretty emotional day for me, but that's part of the learning experience right?  Here are today's learning lessons:
1.  Take the time to take some damn pictures!!!
2.  Break more before the turn.  If I'm going too fast, just keep going forward.
3.  My actual speed is 5mph less than what it says on my speedometer.
4.  Don't forget to show your appreciation to your friends for their patience and time in making you feel comfortable while riding.

Thanks for reading everyone!

Trip on 9/3/11