Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Fear of the unknown

I scheduled my H-D New Rider course yesterday! :) April 11-15th, I will be receiving 25 total hours of motorcycle rider training through H-D of Tampa and Brandon. Assuming I pass, I will come out of the class with my waiver, so that I will only be a car ride to the DMV away from being a licensed rider. This means that I could potentially be the owner of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle by mid-to-late April. The thought has me totally stoked, but I have to admit that I'm a little nervous as well.

Fear of the unknown is a bitch and a whore! On the one hand, I KNOW that I am capable of learning to ride effectively and safely, but on the other, I won't really know until I saddle up and do it. I hate failing at anything, so I get anxious the first time trying things on this level. Sometimes this works in my favor, because that anxiety heightens my awareness and I'm sharper, more in the moment. Other times, I totally blow it, because I get distracted, think too much, and make mistakes. Hopefully, this will be an experience of the former, rather than the latter.

Thankfully, the Buell Blast (the cycle provided by Harley-Davidson for the duration of the course) is the lightest, easiest bike to ride in Harley's entire product line. While it's a far cry from the Deuce cruiser I want to buy (the Blast is 300 pounds lighter and has 1/3 the horsepower), it should serve as the perfect platform for learning to handle a bike. It's their entry-level bike, complete with banana seat, but at just under 400lbs wet, I would be able to manage it without too much effort. My dad's Sportster is a little over 100lbs heavier, but didn't feel very intimidating. Admittedly, all I've had a chance to do is work the clutch, brakes, get the bike up to about 25mph, and walk the bike around on the clutch a bit. Not bad for an half hour, but not really worth talking about, either.

The good thing about the big bike is that it will be very well balanced, have a lower center of gravity, and will ride more like a Cadillac than a Porsche, so it should be a lot less twitchy. With that comes a certain lack of agility, but for my purposes, it should not be a big issue. I already have some ideas in mind for some motorcycle trips. Hopefully Scott will get himself a bike and we can do some riding with pops in the months/years to come.

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Posted by Erik @ 3/20/2007 02:09:00 PM