Friday, May 21, 2010

The Beginning of a New Adventure


For the longest time I've wanted to learn to ride a motorcycle, but was always too busy doing other things. It just kept getting put on the back burner. Well, as you can see from the photo above, that all has changed. Necessity played a part in that I needed another outlet for my energy. Since I am no longer training for adventure racing and haven't been able to exercise like I used to due to injuries, riding a motorcycle has become one my outlets and is a way to extrovert my attention away from the internal dialog of daily life. It's not quite the same as running in the mountains trying to avoid snakes and mountain lions, but there is a certain "danger" associated with it which is what I like.

Every day I ride I know going in that this could be the day I die. There are so many additional hazards that you don't have to think about when you are in a car: oil, water, dirt, hitting a turn too hot, tires locking up, dogs chasing you, and so on. The biggest issue, of course, is that cars just don't see you, so you have to be super alert and drive very defensively, especially nowadays with so many people using their cell phones and texting while driving. Yes, I saw you doing that. We can see a lot from a bike.

I've accepted the risks associated with riding a motorcycle. The fun and freedom outweigh these risks and makes me feel alive.

Learning to ride the motorcycle wasn't easy. I dropped it a couple times going less than 5 mph and got freaked out. It turns out that knees and pavement don't go together very well. There's some pain involved! Handling a 300 lbs motorized machine takes some skill. Thankfully I didn't give up. I continued to work on those skills.

Now I ride the bike as much as I possibly can, eager to get more experience. The first few months were kind of terrifying. I'd want to ride, but was scared all at the same time. My desire to ride though overcame the fear. Each day it seems to get better. Finally, I stopped thinking about dying and just today I started thinking how natural it is starting to feel. I even did my first "white lining" at 80mph and didn't get nervous.

The feeling of riding a bike is amazing and makes you feel so alive. I finally understand how dogs feel when they stick their heads out the window. It's a very happy place. And the thrill you get when zipping through traffic is indescribable. As long as I can get the bike in between the cars I can get to the front of the line every time, all the while thinking "Ha ha you suckas!"

Seeing the looks on people's faces is kinda cool too when they recognize you are a girl. Gotta love that! :-)

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