stubsadventures

Getting my motorcycle license wasn’t something I really talked at all about doing. Deep down inside of me, I was really prepared to be terrible at it. I am one of those people who is not super good at one thing but pretty good at most things in general, so I’m used to picking things up quickly but in the times that I don’t, I get hilariously frustrated. My need for perfection driven by my strong sense of competitiveness can really work against me when things aren’t going well. In the last few years though, I have come to realize that you really can get good at most things, you just have to practice. So, that was my attitude going into this weekend but I was really unsure of which way it was going to go.

The first night, was “the classroom night”. This involved eight of us sitting in a room in the size of my entry way practically, listening to someone talk and watching short video’s on motorcycle basics. This is when I am at my worst. I have the worst case of adult A.D.D. when it comes to classroom settings. I am a doer. Always have been. My attention span is not the greatest at the best of times but it is non-existent in that environment. Watching a bunch of corny, terribly filmed movies about how to brake a motorcycle was not my idea of a good time.

The first morning of actually being on the bikes was freezing and it rained for a little while. Miserable is a good word that comes to mind. Luckily as the morning wore on, it improved. Driving a motorcycle is one of the most concentration required skills I have ever tried to learn. I used to think that diving was bad… you have to be aware of what is going on in every minute but not only that, you must have at least one, maybe two plans of what you’re going to do if something goes terribly wrong. On a motorcycle, it is the same situation but every decision has to be made in a split second. All that, plus, the fact that you are utilizing both hands and both feet at the same time.

Because I have been driving a standard for years, I am pretty good at it (if I do say so myself) so I’m really comfortable with throttle and clutch and how that whole deal works, so that was like one huge thing off my plate that I didn’t have to worry about. I barely stalled at all and never stalled at all on the portion where you take off while you’re on an incline. If I didn’t know that, I would have been in serious trouble. Knowing how to drive a standard is one thing, doing that while bugs are flying in your face, shifting gears with your left foot, breaking with your right, clutch on the left hand, break AND throttle on the right hand. Crazy talk. I look forward to the day I can just hop on one and ride without thinking about it. I do not anticipate that day will be any time soon. I am a motorcycle grasshopper.

Stubs