Uneasy Rider

I have already shared this information with my motorcycle mentors, but for the record…

I am still processing the riding portion of my motorcycle class, which took place last weekend. On the positive side, I passed the evaluation. Conditions on Sunday were bad – continuous light rain – but it was interesting to discover that there was no obvious loss of control/traction, at least at the speeds we were traveling (up to 20 mph). The negative aspect of the class was the instructor’s teaching style. He was a Vietnam vet whose behavior was almost a caricature of a domineering drill sergeant.

This made a physically and mentally challenging experience also an emotionally challenging experience. One guy -- the other beginner -- dropped out of the class after Saturday. I made it through most of the class without being the subject of the trainer's negative attention until we were doing a task that required braking on a curve. I learned the hard way that you need to get out of the lean/straighten out the bike before applying the front brake and "dropped the bike."

We (the bike and I) must have stopped abruptly and the bike, already leaning left, continued its descent. I quickly judged that I couldn’t get it upright and bailed to the left, skinning my left knee slightly and bruising my right shin on the brake pedal as that leg came over.

I am trying to remember that one reason for taking the course was to challenge myself. It has been a long time since I was scared to the point of trembling. I was the last in our group to go through each evaluation exercise and my hand was literally shaking on the throttle as I waited my turn, causing the engine to rev if I didn’t hold it off the handle. Between that and lack of confidence in my hand braking skill, the last hour was nerve wracking.

Stay tuned for the next installment: applying for a motorcycle license and acquiring a motorcycle (perhaps from a person who went through this whole process and decided it was a crazy idea).