SPRING 2004

Saturday, May 1, 2004
Friday (yesterday) was rainy. We went out to breakfast this morning and came back and got ready to go out. It was cloudy with the sun poking out here and there, in the upper 60s, with a good chance of rain popping up but nothing on radar right now, so we're good to go. We gassed up, and when we left out, Scott turned onto State and didn't turn down our street. He went all the way to Brookpark, instead of taking the side streets. Yikes! But it was fine.

We went down to 303 to our favorite gas station, then over to the train station at Peninsula. Then we went back up to the gas station because Scott may have dropped his cigarettes; yes, they were still there. Then we headed home. We thought about heading down to Akron, to the McDonald's on the outskirts, but there were big dark clouds rolling about and we didn't want to chance going further. It was getting warm, although we were further south. There can typically be a difference of 5 degrees or more. Scott removed his leather jacket, I took the lining out of mine. During the week, Scott made me a small luggage rack, a support actually, so he could mount the old sissy bar bag (from his old shadow) onto my sissy bar. I made use of it today: a spare pair of gauntlet gloves, my sunglass case, and my jacket lining! I have luggage now. I'm so proud. (just kidding) As we headed home we seemed to pass through a wall of cold. At first the warm-cool air going up my jacket sleeves felt good. As it got colder, not so much. By the time we got back down by the canal, Scott found a safe place to turn off and put his jacket on. A muddy parking lot. I didn't freak; I did fine.

Actually, for some reason, I felt shaky on the curves today, but I did okay. I'm glad we didn't go down to Akron today; those curves aren't as gentle and I was not in my best form today. I felt a little unsure here and there starting out, but I actually did better on some things. Scott is still needling me about parking (I push too much) and about keeping up with him. He follows cars too closely for my taste and my skill level, even though I'm back another couple of bike lengths. I'll get better; I just started getting out in traffic two weeks ago, and today was the most traffic I've seen on these roads, especially on 303, for these three weekends. It seems people are taking advantage of the nice weather and getting out and about more, probably shopping, running errands, buying their garden stuff, and just generally emerging from winter's torpid spell. A couple of my turns from starts were too fast and pushed me back. Jerked me back is more like it. I have to remember: clutch, clutch, clutch…

Almost home, Scott turned off onto the side streets at Tuxedo, which is about as far out as you can go to pick up the side streets to our neighborhood. Okay. He usually goes down to State, but I was ready to get home already. We had to stop before the driveway, which I was glad of today, and I did fine turning in and keeping steady until I stopped in front of the garage. What I noticed this time, is that I get a little bit rusty on the slow stuff if I haven't been out since the week before. I know, I should get out on my own a bit during the week, even if it is only around here. The weekends where we went three days in a row, I got better each day. Big surprise. The more you ride, the better you get. Some of the hurried turns from inclines bother me still. Like Old Route 8 onto 303, out of the gas station onto to 303, etc. Jerky fast. I can put my feet down, and I seem to be able to stay under control, which is more than I can say for a year ago right now. I need the practice, and at least I'm getting out to get it now. And the best part is, I've gotten home safe so far.

We got home in time to watch the Kentucky Derby. Smarty Jones won it.

Thursday, May 6, 2004
I didn't have much time today, but I did make a point of getting my bike out for a little while. I'm going faster on the side streets now. I put about five miles on. No big news to tell, just got out around the neighborhood, but didn't cross any main streets. It was fine but my mind was on everything I had to do yet that afternoon before going to work, and I ended up not getting it all done.

Truth be told, I'm sick of the side streets and just got out to stay limber on the bike and practice turns from stops. Lots of chunks out of the road, especially the seams in intersections. Yuk. The roads still haven't been repaired from winter. Turned into the driveway okay.

back to top

Saturday, May 8, 2004
It looked cloudy before we started out; there's a chance of thunderstorms today, but it turned out beautiful! I started out a little tired and shaky, wondering if I should be out today. The longer I was on the bike, the better I felt. We went to the gas station on 303 first; I'm parking better today. Then we pressed on to the train station where we met a guy with an old Virago 1100 and he wanted to ride with us. We headed down to Akron and stopped at McDonald's. Neither of us was hungry so we just took a drink and got back on the road. The guy turned off at Bath Rd. Maybe we were going to too slow for him. Scott went slower on the way to Akron and I was able to keep up much better.

I thought we were going to get gas back at the BP station on 303 before coming home, but Scott just turned left onto Old Route 8. On the way home, Scott turned down Brandywine Road and headed for the falls. I followed, happy for the detour. The drive where you turn into the Brandywine Falls area has a bit of gravel. I took it slow and continued on. No freak out there. Then the drive up into the parking lot was similar to the church parking lot in Alabama last summer, steep and kind of narrow. I just got myself down in first gear and took it slow and pulled in next to Scott. We walked down by the falls for a while, came back up and used the facilities, and came home.

Coming home, he went all the way to State, but then didn't turn onto our street. Instead, he gets ready to turn into the Sunoco station. And it was packed!!! He said to take the first pump opening and he'd go around. So I did. My hand slipped on the clutch and the bike lurched a little. Scared me to death but I caught it, on a reflex thank goodness. Note to self: shut the bike off(!) or get it into neutral(!) before maneuvering to back up by the pump. All the time, I'm thinking "Holy shit! Can I do this?" The wall to wall cars freaked me out! My hand was so sore and stiff, I had trouble regulating the pump nozzle, but I managed. I think this nozzle was stiffer than the others, too. I probably could have put a little bit more in, but it was okay. Then we went home. We had to turn left into the driveway with a parked car there. Luckily we had to stop for oncoming traffic, so it was fine. Scott said he was really proud of the way I handled that bike today.

We went out to eat (Angelo's down in Slavic Village, around the corner from where we lived soon after we were first married) and for another ride, but I rode pillion for that. I was sore and fatigued and my thinking is that fatigue can make you screw up. I was just trying to exercise good judgement, although it was tempting to ride my own! After we ate we went for ice cream down on 303. On the way back it turned cool all of a sudden. Scott headed for I-77 to make it back quicker. By that time I was glad I had left my bike at home.

Sunday, May 9, 2004
Mother's Day. Beautiful and sunny. Again a chance of thunderstorms and already warm. No long johns, just a long sleeved shirt with Joe Rocket, and I was anxious to go today. Don't get me wrong I still have jitters but not debilitating jitters anymore. Scott didn't want to wear his helmet. It feels so good. Yeah, he's a good rider and is confident, but that's only the half of it. The other half is the other drivers on the road. And what if you have a blowout and don't recover? There are so many what-ifs, but he wore it. I must have still been fatigued from the day before because I didn't do very well really. Although Scott parked Matt's car in front of our house for a change (it makes me nervous to have a car sitting there when I roll out), and I went out of the driveway like a champ.

Before we even got to the old Eaton place, my hand was dead numb. It felt like a rock. I was hoping to get stopped by a light to move it. Turns out we didn't have to stop, but the slowing down, squeezing the levers just a bit, was enough movement to get the feeling back. Turning onto 303, Scott turned left and then turned right into the gas station, but there was gobs of traffic coming when I had to make the turn, so I waited. I finally got to turn and then had to wait in traffic to get to the gas station driveway. It's a very short distance, with really no time to shift. I was shaky by myself in all that traffic. I was stiff when I turned in, and Scott told me I look stiff. Big surprise. The bathroom is out of order again, so Scott wanted to go down to the train station.

So he pulls out and I have a van coming toward me, so I wait. And wait. And wait. After a bit of traffic I pulled out. Scott was going slow to wait for me to catch up, but as soon as I pull out, he speeds up. I tried so hard to catch up with him. Getting up to speed, uphill, with a head wind. We get into the train station and park, and he says "where were you, I waited for you". I could have smacked him one. He didn't wear his helmet after that; he wasn't feeling well. All the more reason to wear it, but hey, we can't all be sensible.

We headed down to Akron. I guess I didn't keep up as well, but he was definitely going faster. He never said anything though. I had a lot of stuff hit me today. A rock on my left leg, something on my face, and then something on my neck. And it started to burn a little. I knocked at it with my clutch hand and there didn't seem to be anything there. We stopped at the light at Bath Rd, ready to turn right. I heard a buzz and looked in my mirror. There was a bee on the right side of my helmet and I thought I saw it crawl under my face shield. A split second later I could see it crawling INSIDE MY HELMET! The bee was inside my face shield! I pulled over onto the berm and told Scott there's a bee in my helmet. I got the bike into neutral and was going to pull the helmet off when I heard a slight buzz and saw the bee drop down from under my face shield, and it was gone. I got back on the roadway. The light turned green, I dropped it into first and away we went. I guess that was my "initiation".

We didn't go to McDonald's, we just turned north onto Riverview instead. My turn was shaky as I noticed some people, on bikes of course, at the light watching me. Oh well. Then, we were behind a horse trailer all the way up Riverview so we had to go slow. Fine by me already. He asked me if I needed to stop or just go on home. I said we could go on home. Instead he stopped at a Visitors Center on 303. We relaxed a while; he's still not feeling well. He didn't say anything about my riding and I was too moldy to ask. Mainly moldy about the helmet. He noticed some puffy clouds and said that today we'd probably get those thunderstorms. They had been predicting cooler temps as well and some thundery and rainy weather for this weekend. But right now, what a gift this beautiful weather was!

We headed home. There were lots of yellow lights that we had to stop for today. In due time, I guess. Some Scott went through and I did too even though I probably shouldn't have. Then I kept up better, but he gets SO CLOSE behind people! By this time I was doing okay, though. Yesterday, I reminded myself to "ride my own ride" and not think about anything else. And that seems to help me zone in and do what I have to. I had to do the same thing today.

I wasn't looking forward to making a right turn into the driveway with a parked car there in front of our house, but I did fine. I really did.

Being Mother's Day we were going to the cemetery and out to eat (Outback, at my request). By the time we got to the restaurant, Scott kept watching all the guys on bikes go by. He wanted to go back out. I told him he was the one that wanted to come home because he didn't feel good. Now that we're doing something else, he wants to go back out. Typical. Whenever we're doing something that I want to do, he is so good at making the point that he'd rather be somewhere else, doing something else. It's so obvious, like I couldn't have figured it out by myself. It's like he deliberately wants to let me know how insignificant I am to him. How often do I ask him to do anything I want anyway? I'm usually on my own in that department. Talk about being a big selfish baby. He can't just be nice for Mother's Day? Man. I don't appreciated being made to feel like I'm keeping him from something. By the time we came back home, we were all stuffed and tired. No one went back out.

All in all, though, a pretty good weekend. Saturday was better, but I think we were both just a little tired and crabby today. I'm still crabby.

Saturday, May 29, 2004
We missed the last two weekends. Two weeks ago, Saturday was rainy and Sunday, Matt (our oldest) and Scott put a new roof on Mom's garage. She had it done last spring. The guy didn't make good on shoddy work and water was leaking in. Her neighbor patched it, but it needed attention before we sell the house.

We listed the house the following Friday (21st); bad storm that afternoon. Scott stopped over on his bike after work (worked until 2, overtime— yahoo!) and mentioned that there were storms on the way. He didn't stay long, he had to get back. I stayed to lock up and check windows and such. When I left, it was getting dark. I don't remember ever seeing it so black at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. It was pretty windy already, but I got in the car to leave. By the time I got around the block to Turney Rd, I could see the clouds rolling really low, which is a common sight out in the country, but rare to see in the city. I knew I would be better off to be inside, so I headed back to the house. I went down the basement and called home on the cell phone so they wouldn't worry. There was an old TV in the rec room, so I watched the weather. It kind of reminded me of when I still lived at home with my parents and we'd get pizza on Fridays, and the news and weather would be on, and especially now, hearing Dick Goddard on an old TV with lousy speakers. Dick Goddard has been doing the weather in Cleveland since I was a little girl.

When the storm subsided and I thought it was safe, I left. As I headed for the main road again (Turney Rd) I noticed a couple of large trees down (at Cumberland and Hastings). I just passed there berfore the storm. I was glad I'd had the presence of mind to seek shelter earlier. By the time I came home, our street was flooded. Canal road was flooded (that's where we ride). Scott and I spent Saturday cleaning over at the house; Tuesday more brokers would be coming through. Sunday I was too tired to ride so I rode pillion with Scott. But not for long. He had some bike trouble on Rt 94 just before 303, so we ended up coming home. Could be because he tried using regular gas in it (unleaded, but just not premium).

So today, the 29th, we went out. I haven't been on my bike in three weeks. While I made breakfast, Scott washed the bikes. I helped finish up after we ate. We put some Honda wax on mine and shined it up.

We had already been talking about going somewhere other than our Akron run but that's where we went today. I had only put 60 miles on since my last gas up, so we just headed out. We went to the BP station on 303, then down to the Peninsula train station. It had been closed due to flooding (due to that bad storm mentioned above) but now was open again. We continued on to Akron, going farther than Bath Rd. We went down further to the next main road to cut over to Riverview. On the way back, Scott turned off onto Brandywine road to head for the falls. A nice detour. I didn't really want to go home anyway. While there, we decided to head over to the Clippity-Clop Saddle Shop to look for a new pair of riding boots for me. I was in total agreement, but thought he would surely take me over to the curvy part of Riverview Rd to get there. But no, we headed back to Old Route 8 and hung a left on 82. I rode over the 82 bridge for the first time! What a beautiful view.

I picked out a pair of boots. They were Harley-Davidson riding boots with a strap across the instep to secure my laces. I have to break them in though. Leaving the parking lot, I went around and didn't do so well making my way. Later, I realized I was looking down. I was getting tired. Hey, I hadn't ridden in three weeks and these rides are stressful for me, so I poop out.

We headed home back over the 82 bridge and used Chaffee to cut over to Canal. Then, on Canal, he turns in by the Visitor Center (Hillside Rd.) and heads up the hill. You go up the hill (I had to downshift) into a 90 degree turn left, then continue up a slight grade to two right hand sharp curves. That road takes you over to Broadview road, just north of Pleasant Valley Rd. We took Broadview home. More traffic. I was tired, but I knew I had to ride it home. And I did! As we turned left into our driveway, Herb (the one who doesn't think women should ride) was standing in the driveway. He didn't move. I pulled in past him and barely made eye contact. The bike goes where you look.

What a ride! I put on 68 miles today.

He wanted to go back out. I didn't. We went to Eat & Park for hot beefs, two up on his bike, and then we decided to see a movie, The Day After Tomorrow, which had just started the day before. We went to buy tickets for the 7:45 show but it was sold out, so we bought tickets for the 9:50. We came back at 9:50 only to not find two seats together in the auditorium. Well, actually we tried the second row but it was not good. So we exchanged our tickets for the 10:45 show and waited. It was pretty good, but we were tired. It was hot in there (Cinemark, on Canal). While we were in line, I kept eyeballing the Coke machine and watching everyone get stuff from the concession stand. We finally were seated and I asked Scott if he knew how much a Coke was in the machine. He asked if I wanted one and he left to go get it. He comes back with a big Coke and a bigf bucket of popcorn from the concession stand. I had mentioned earlier how good the popcorn smelled, so he got both. Yes!

Sunday, May 30, 2004
We got up a little late the next day; it was supposed to rain by late afternoon, so we had wanted to ride early. Scott was waiting for a call about moving a TV so I headed up to the pool store to get start-up chemicals. We need to open the pool this weekend. The call never came so we got the bikes out and got ready to go. We headed to the gas station. I had put on over 120 miles since the last gas up, so we started there, then down State Rd to Brookpark. We went our usual way down to Akron and stopped at McDonald's. On the way back, Scott turned down Brandwine Rd. but didn't turn in by the falls. He kept going and eventually we turned onto the curvy part of Riverview (mentioned above). I did okay. There was a blockade of a thing in the middle of the long climb between two tight curves. I almost stopped and then getting going again was just not working. I had to downshift, and downshift, and downshift to get going, but I managed okay. I thought the bike was going to poop out, but it didn't lug. I'm still not sure I understand that, maybe it was beyond the lugging stage.

We turned right into the park (Brecksville Reservation), over by the old Station Rd bridge, where you park to walk down by the damn underneath the 82 bridge. I needed a rest room by that time and they no longer have one over there. So went headed down the parkway, instead of up the hill to 82, and stopped at a pavilion. Then we headed further down the parkway; it divides into two parkways, and the one we took ends at a point further west on 82. We went right on 82 and cut over to Canal (on Chaffee), and on home, all the way to State and Brookpark, and then home.

We took a break at home and then headed out again. I didn't really hesitate on going back out, kind of like last February on that great Friday we had. We headed back to Canal Rd but this time Scott turned off. We took a roundabout ride on some curvy roads and I had my memory refreshed as we went. I believe he turned up Tinkers Creek Rd first and then we went through Bedford Reservation. Lots of twisties and very heavily shaded, it was quite dark. I was concerned about deer as well. But oh it took me back to my high school years. BR was the place to go. Some of the curves are so extreme, they don't warn you with a curvy arrow sign, they use an arrow with a right angle! Yeah, I took it a little slow, but no slower than the speed limit. We went all the way through to Eggbert, down Eggbert and turned onto Dunham, passed Sagamore, turned onto Canal (Valley View, by that time) and up Sagamore, which is also kinda twisty, but not a very well cared for roadway (never has been). I think we wound up back on Dunham because then we wound up on Alexander. Alexander becomes Pleasant Valley. We didn't turn onto the ramp to go down to Canal, but kept going over the Ohio Canal and Cuyahoga River. We headed back on Pleasant Valley, and took it all the way to Broadview. We were turning right as I asked Scott if we were heading home. I'd had enough. We went home and I cooked a quick dinner. He had lost his bicycle chain bracelet, that I gave him 27 years ago and he just started wearing again, so he went back to look for it. He never found it, some car probably pulverized it.

I put 107 miles on my bike today. After dinner it rained and rained, but it didn't blow so we could stay out on the porch. I was so relaxed and satisfied. I just kept watching the silhouettes of the trees against the sky. I looked up and down street at all of the windows glowing as people sat and watched TV. One lady (home from out of town, her Dad died and she and her brother were taking care of things at the house, just like my sister and I) across the street was rocking, with the door open for a breeze. It was so beautiful and I was content. What a beautiful two days! Nice.

Thursday, June 3, 2004
Today is our 27th wedding anniversary. There's that 27 again.
I sent an update to Petra; June 11 will be one year since I first wrote her about my jitters. I mentioned the great Friday in February and about our Akron trips. I also admitted that I still have a long way to go. And I do.

The next day I wrote to VTwin Mama again. It will be a year on June 11th since I wrote to her the first time. I figured if she published it, it would be close to the actual date. It ran on June 10, 2004. Here is is:

Dear VTwin Mama,
Where do I begin? I was going to wait until June 11 because that's when I first wrote to you a year ago but Annie B's letters prompted me to jump on it now. My heart goes out to her. I had such horrible jitters riding my 600 Shadow (VLX). We were getting ready to go on vacation, trailered bikes in tow. As it turned out, I had those accelerated jitters for a reason. That bike was too big for me to learn on. I could have eventually learned on that Shadow, but at what price to my nerves and well being? The obsession with it was ruining my life. I wound up quitting while on vacation— then quickly decided to trade in the VLX for a 250. It was a tearful decision and I took some heat from those who didn't understand. Tough. I needed a night's sleep already.

I had another MSF class coming up and had a smaller bike picked out. I almost gave up entirely as a month passed by before getting back on a bike for the class. Actually, the dealer (State 8 Motorcycles) sent someone to Michigan to pick up the bike they located for me. Little did they know that "how things went with the class" would ultimately determine whether I bought the bike and continued on. You were very supportive of my decision and told me to get going on it so as not to "let the dream die inside me". Powerful words that hit me hard and stayed with me.

The class was great. The instructors were exemplary. I passed the test and bought the Virago 250 from Michigan. It took a few days before I got up the nerve to take it out on my own, but I did. That was something I couldn't do with with the Shadow. Not alone. My husband was bored with going around the neighborhood, so I was really on my own and it was just as well. Nervous as I was, I didn't need his scrutiny on top of it. I putted around the neighborhood whenever I had the chance. I had good days and not so good days but I never gave up. I had planned to bundle up and go out over the winter when it warmed up. I had a plan to get further and further from the house, but the powers that be had slightly different plans for me. I had to tend to some difficult family matters and missed most of those warm winter days. My bike ended up on a charger, with the seat off. Until February.

We had a couple of nice days with temps in the 50s. In Northeast Ohio, in February, that's balmy. Like every other spring (okay, late winter) I could hear bikes everywhere, and this year it was "for me", too. My husband took the charger off my bike and put the seat back on "in case I wanted to take it out" the next day. I was scared again. It had been three months. But he called me out there that evening and encouraged me to put it in gear and putt the length of the garage a few times. It felt good to be on my bike again. That "feeling" was back. Did he instinctively know that this would break the ice for me? I'll never know for sure, but I'd like to believe he did that on purpose. I took my bike out the next morning. I was rusty but everything came back. Hubby worked half a day and when he got home he asked me if I wanted to go back out. I could lead. Kewl.

We had a blast! When we got back, he said he was really impressed! He hadn't ridden with me since vacation when I had all but quit, and couldn't believe how much I had improved. I heard him tell it over and over again to all his friends over the phone. Truth be told, he just caught me on a good day. After that, he kept talking about going further, etc., etc., but I wasn't quite ready for that. I just got started again. I've really had the heebie jeebies about getting out into traffic. We did eventually start crossing main streets. One day while we were out on the bikes, he said "let's go down in the valley" (Cuyahoga Valley: very mild curves and hills, comparatively minimal traffic). Just down and back. It was kinda scary but I was not terrified like I thought I would be. We went further the next day, with frequent stops. The plan was to go down there and back again, but I didn't want to go home. Now we ride the valley all the way to Akron and back. I even rode my bike to the place where I bought it (just above Akron). I was so proud. Every time we stopped somewhere, I couldn't believe I had gotten there ON MY OWN BIKE! We've begun to take detours to get me out on some more curves. And more curves. A bit scary, as is each new step.

One at a time, things tend to take care of themselves. I was so worried about gassing up. I'm still apprehensive, but I'm getting better at it and not as self-conscious. It's hard to see in there. I was worried about stopping on inclines. I've since learned that holding the the clutch just out at the friction point helps. I'm not perfect at it, but it is comforting that my bike is not overpoweringly heavy. So far, I can usually stop it (or at least slow it) from rolling back even without the brake. I've adjusted to downshifting before a red light in case it turns green. It often does, so I just slowly roll until I can go. I don't get down into first gear until I know I have to put my foot down. Can't say enough about clutch control. I was worried about yellow lights. Would I be able to stop in time without panicking? The parking lot practice and that of the MSF classes was not time wasted. And yes, I've been stopped at red lights and turning left, etc., by myself, but my driving instincts take over. It helps to know my partner is there, just up ahead, and I'm not alone.

I still won't go out by myself just yet, other than just around here; my partner is my speed gauge somehow. I still have jitters but it's not as bad; I am in no way out of the woods yet. Sometimes I'm still sloppy but I'm getting better. And now I can appreciate why people want bigger bikes. A bigger bike would afford more power for pulling out or getting up to speed and more stability on the road (not to mention more comfort and better suspension). A head wind going uphill at 55 mph can be grueling on this little bike, where I would certainly feel it less on a bigger bike. This is obvious just from riding pillion behind my husband on his 1100. I try to be as aggressive as my skills will allow to bang through those gears, keep up with traffic, and to stay out of the way of it. I really have to "get on it" to do that. I still have the Shadow and recently sat on it to reminisce. It doesn't seem as big anymore, but I will wait until I'm whipping that little Virago around before I even consider riding the VLX again. Still too scary. I regress enough from time to time without throwing that into the mix. Right now I must ride my own ride and ride within MY limits. God willing, I hope I never forget that.

So to Annie B, I say take heart. I dropped a new Shadow (2001 VLX), crashed it into our front porch, got it fixed, and dumped it again. Ouch! Mine felt big too. I felt like I was straddling a bus. I'm 5'3" and started learning to ride at 46. Sure, my husband was upset at my mishaps, but more scared than mad. I can't help but reason that if a man allows someone to start learning on his bike, whether male or female, he should expect that the bike could be dropped. Duh! Whatever happens, it is YOUR safety that matters. THE BIKE CAN BE FIXED. If you talk to people about their earliest riding experiences, you'll often find that they had mishaps too. My husband started out on a dirt bike and zoomed right into some hedges. The father of a riding friend of mine zipped down the driveway and hit his neighbor's brand new Blazer across the street; he has since ridden all over the country after taking a safety course, etc. This stuff happens to everybody— well, almost everybody. Those who are holy enough not to have made any early mistakes should lighten up. It could come back to bite them. As for the MSF classes, it really is best to have some riding experience before taking the class. Ohio doesn't seem to have a high pass rate either. I've also heard that Ohio is the third largest in the country in motorcycle registrations. Bikes are thick here. The most I've heard of passing (out of 10-12 students) is five. When I passed the test, at the end of my second try, only three passed in my class. There were a couple guys that had ridden for years and thought they'd automatically pass. They didn't. It's a tough test, but it's tough for a reason— to help you strive to gain skills. Skills that can potentially save your life! I'd say that's worth a little extra practice. The second time around will be easier because you will know what to expect. That makes a BIG difference. Get a Rebel or a Virago or the Suzuki 250; ride it all you can. The more you ride, the better you get, as the physical aspect of it becomes second nature. And anyway, if your husband wants another bike, couldn't he sell his and buy another one? Same difference, no? One can't pin one's dreams on other people; one has to take responsibility for that oneself. Believe me, he can take responsibility for his own upgrade. And you should get what YOU need. Thank God you have a good friend to lend support.

And to you Petra, finding your site, finding out I was truly NOT ALONE, and finding your gracious help was a turning point for me. Without it I would not be riding today. This experience has spilled over into other aspects of my life. Now everything is a gloriously different color. Thank you and God bless you! – Linda C

Incidentally, Annie B was another gal having some problems. As is suggested in my letter, she was expected to learn on her husband's old bike so he could buy a new one. She had some problems, so she wanted more time on a smaller bike, and hubby was not supportive. She ended up buying a Suzuki GZ250 (all by herself), which pissed off the old man. He said something to the effect of he would not come to her funeral when she gets herself killed on it. Nice. She refers to him as Atilla the Husband. That's pretty good. She rode it and rode it and got better. Eventually, he went out with her. Most of that thread is on the same page. Great story. Now that's a woman I admire!

Previous     Next

©2008 The L.W. Wallace Co., Inc.