Looking for adventure. . .

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I see the counter is still going up, so I thought I would post something for your amusement! I’ve been so swamped at work, that I haven’t been doing much outside of my professional realm. So, to fulfill my goal of “go on one new adventure every year”, I decided to take a motorcycle safety class. I’m sure most of you aren’t surprised by this at all, but some of you may be surprised by the fact that I haven’t done this before. Back when I was married in the early 90s, my husband had a crotch rocket that I’d ride every now and then, but that was quite a few years ago. Every time I go home and my brother takes me out riding on his Harley, I come back with a desire to ride on my own. No motorcycle endorsement on your license equals no ability to rent a motorcycle on the weekends! So, I went down to my local Harley Davidson shop and signed up for the Riders Edge New Rider course. It just so happens that it was an all-female class.

On Friday afternoon and evening, we spent about 5 hours in the classroom watching videos and going over basic concepts. On Saturday, we went out to the range and “rode” well into the afternoon, then more classroom stuff. I’m using the word “rode” very loosly here. We started off with “rocking” first to learn about the clutch friction point. For those of us with stickshift cars, it was just a matter of learning the tightness of the clutch unique to that bike, just like when you drive someone else’s car you have to get a feel for their clutch. But for some of the women who had never driven a manual transmission before, it was a new concept (wow, the things we take for granted!). It wasn’t long before we were power walking (working the clutch and first gear) across the parking lot. It started off slow, but by Sunday afternoon, we took a skills test that consisted of doing two U-terns in a tight box, swerving to miss an obstacle, emergency breaking, and accelerating while cornering. We used Buell Blasts, 492 cc mid-sized bikes. They were really easy to handle, but I felt like I was a bit big for this bike! Our instructors were a lot of fun and obviously enjoy what they do. I can't say enough good things about this course. They created a very non-threatening, great learning environment. I've added a link to the Riders Edge website for more information. For all my friends out there who think two wheels should never be motorized, don't be so uni-demensional! Every hobby has it's time and place, but I don't think any of them need to be exclusive.

I had a great time taking the class and meeting other women in this area who are also interested in getting out on there own more often. I think I was the only single woman in the class and just about everyone else was married to a man with a motorcycle! In fact, about half of the class (we started off with 11 women and ended with 8 certified riders) already have their own motorcycles at home and just haven’t really ridden them yet. I’m so envious!!!!

So now there’s a struggle between the practical and adventurous sides of myself. The responsible thing to do is to get a newer car (my $1000 1991 VW Fox isn’t in the greatest shape) since I couldn’t ride a motorcycle more than about 4 months out of the year anyway. OK, I technically could ride more than 4 months, but being the cold weather wuss that I am, I wouldn’t ride anytime the temperature dipped below 60! So, do I get a bike or another car? Sometimes it sucks to be a responsible grown-up always chosing the practical option. . . although I did get the "Most Likely to Accelerate" award in the class! Maybe I did come in a little hot on some of those stops!

Without a doubt, this was a great way to spend a weekend away from work. It always feels good to check off something on your "things to do before I die" list! As a side note, almost all of these pictures were lifted from the Pikes Peak Harley Davidson website! You can check out more pictures and fun stuff from the link I've added to their website.