MOTORCYCLES!

Oh my - I hurt. Back, legs, arms and shoulders are all sore.
Fortunately that's because I was man-handling a 350lb moto around, not
cause it landed on me or cause I hit the deck.

Today was day one of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Basic Rider Course (MSF BRC). And I had a BLAST! Way more than I thought I would. When I first started planning to buy a bike, it was for fuel economy only. The whole "fun factor" really was not even in the picture. But WOW! It's so much fun. I can definitely understand the appeal. Feeling the world zipping by as you accelerate out of curve, the bike still learned over? Reminded me more of flying than of driving.

Anyway, I thought I'd use the blog to post some impressions of the first day's techniques and how well (and poorly) I did with them.

• The classroom stuff covered most everything I have been learning on my own of the past months - basic parts of the bike, protective gear, making safety a priority. Which is not to say I didn't get anything out if, but I wasn't a lot of new material.
• First techniques were about learning the basics of feathering the clutch and throttle. I REALLY need to work on this more. My clutch control is not very good yet and since that's the most integral part to learning to manuver at slow speeds it caused me to get a lot of tension in my body (and thus the pain in my neck right now).
• Then we moved on to learning to shift and start coordinating braking. That was where it really started to get fun. Getting up to 15-20mph on the short course - very enjoyable. Still need to work on shifting, but not nearly as much as clutch control at this point.
• Next were the weaves - regular and offset. CRAP! That clutch control? Almost non-existant. So many things to coordinate. I remember reading that riding a motorcycle is one of the most intense, multi-tasking activities that you can do. Brother, I testify! It is. Offset weaves are the bain of my existance right now. Hopefully, I do better tomorrow. I did notice that I have a really hard time controlling the throttle when I have the wheel turned to the right - on the smaller 250cc bikes, I don't have as much room and it bends my wrist all funny. I'll want to ask about that tomorrow.
• Curves - Now I know why bikers always talk about the "twisties." YEE HAW! Zooming into a curve, quick brake, zip through, and power out. Slow, look, push, roll. I could totally see myself taking a joy ride on a twisty road in the future.
• Last was a combo - shiftying, maximum braking, curves, sharp turns, clutch control. The whole thing except the weaves (thankfully). Didn't do too badly - could feel things starting to come together.

One thing I remember my dad teaching me when I was learning to play tennis - I was really practicing my serve and I noticed the rest of my game (forehand, footwork, etc) went down hill. He taught me that when you learn something new, other related things will suffer for a bit as you body and mind try to incorporate that new learning. Here's hoping my driving in a car doesn't suffer.

Day two coming at you tomorrow!