I am taking a detour from the motorcycle-specific topic and this post will be more about the metaphorical motorcycle journey of life. I have titled it "Trying Day #1" because I KNOW I will have more trying days. I'm lazy and know that I won't want to come up with new titles for each one, so I will just number them. You can laugh at me if you want to.
So, this is a post where I am sharing some experiences that caused me to do some self-analysis and reflection. I have no answers, and I am still on that journey to understand many things. I am certainly open to feedback and this is as much a post about me searching for feedback and others' thoughts as it is me just sharing my experiences "just to share". Here goes...
Two things happened yesterday that caused me to feel a bit of anger, question myself and my actions, and open my eyes to how other individuals operate. The first one was a simple post on Facebook. In one of the groups I belong to, the owner of the group posted some words of wisdom that compared eagles and pigeons. I posted a comment that said, "What's wrong with pigeons? They are very sweet birds ;-)" The wink was meant to show that I was joking, as well as that I know what most people think of pigeons. The owner "got it", but a couple people decided to post their comments about how messy pigeons are and how they "make a mess on everything". This was all said as if pigeons KNOW what is important to us humans and they purposely aim for those things or us specifically. I really didn't want to hijack the thread, but I felt a need to bring some understanding to anyone who might read. I let them know that it is a scientific fact that pigeons are one of the smartest creatures on earth because they have adapted and learned to live in our civilization. That, if eagles were as smart as pigeons, they would also be complaining about how messy eagles are. Are eagles almost extinct because they are so smart and adaptable? I think not.
The owner of the group also posted a comment saying that "Eagles
fly high, aren't afraid to fly solo and will defend the heights where
they dwell. Pigeons get scraps, they move with the crowd and mumble to
each other amid the rooftops." This really annoyed me because who is he or any or us to say that any of those qualities are better or worse than the other? I responded but now looking back at the topic, he deleted my response, which annoys me even more. My response was explaining that none of those qualities he mentioned meant either creature was better or worse than the other, and that they each have their purpose. In another comment, I explained that "I just don't like it when I see people judging people or creatures or situations that they really don't know anything
about, or only have a surface knowledge of. I started out, just making
a light comment, and when I saw judgement, I wanted to stand up for the
poor misunderstood pigeon." This has helped me see that, while I may see all people and creatures as "one" and each having their own place and purpose, most do not have this same understanding. MOST DO NOT. This opened my eyes to the fact that while many of my friends are very open-minded and accepting, MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT. Most have their preconceived notions of what is good and bad, what is clean and dirty, right and wrong, convenient and inconvenient for THEM. What MOST fail to recognize in these situations is that we, the humans, are the problem in the first place. If we had remained native and remained living within the means of the land instead of destroying everything for someone's personal gain or convenience, most of the problems we complain about would not exist. I gained an even higher level of understanding for what is wrong with this world and it saddens me to know that people have these judgements and feel the way they do about the creatures of this world, as well as other humans. I thought about removing myself from the group, but I know that if I don't see the comments, it doesn't mean they don't exist. So, I'm staying and I hope that as time goes on and these things come up, I can interject my comments and opinions. And perhaps at some point, I will be able to open up one person's heart and soul to other possibilities besides their own narrow belief system.
I had no sooner finished this interaction when I stopped at an acquaintance's house to drop off something as a favor. This is someone who I see at various events, but I have always kept at arm's length because he talks way too much and way too fast and goes from topic to topic without ever having a conversation. He is one of those people who talks just to hear himself talk. So... when we interact, I patiently listen and nod and say "Mmmmmm" or "Hmmmmmm" where appropriate. There was one time where I was proactive and let him know that I was very busy and it had to be a quick drive by and he only talked for 15 minutes instead of the usual half hour or longer. Yesterday, I was really in a hurry and had alot to do, but I didn't say anything ahead of time. When I got to his house, I told him, "I'm very busy, I need to hit a couple stores, get to the gym..." and as I started listing things out, so he could understand I needed to make it quick, he put his hand up and said, "Oh, I don't want to hear it." He then went on talking about something. He actually asked me a couple questions as well, but was satisfied with one-word answers. The first time I tried to elaborate on an answer, he interrupted me after I got through a couple sentences and said, "Karen, you're boring me." and then he went on to talk about whatever he wanted to talk about. The next time he asked me something and I gave him some type of explanation, he said "Karen, you talk way too fast, you're not allowed to talk faster than me." For those who know me, you know I don't talk fast at all. But it was his way to get me to shut up so he could start talking about whatever he wanted to again. The third time this happened, I thought he said, "You talk too much." I really could not believe my ears, so since he had already gone onto his next topic of conversation I talked over him and said, "What did you say?" He said, very clearly this time, "I said you talk too much." He again went on without pausing for any commentary.
At that point, I just had it. I talked over him again, and I asked him if he did drugs or something because the way he was blurting these things out, I thought that either he was on speed or had turrets. He said no. So then I said, "Well, then you are right, I talk WAY too much for you, and YOU talk WAY too much for my liking, so it's time for me to leave." I just turned and walked away and he started telling me about some event coming up, and when I kept walking he said, "Oh, and to answer your question, no I don't do drugs... see ya!" I didn't even turn around, I just yelled "Bye." Afterwards he texted me about seeing helicopters near where I was going and wanting to know if I was okay. There were no helicopters anywhere near the area, so I replied that I hadn't seen anything. Then I asked him to please in the future to keep our conversations short and let me be on my way. I also explained that I thought he was very rude and that I didn't have the time to deal with that rude behavior from him. His initial response was fine, he said "Got it." I thought we were done. Then, came the text, telling me he was only joking and blaming ME for not asking him if he was serious, and not asking for clarification. He also said I was rude for just walking away. I know this would have been better handled through a phone call or in person, but based on my experiences with this person, I knew if I tried to talk, I would not be heard, so I kept the interaction in text. I texted back to him admitting that yes, I was rude to him... ONCE when I walked away... and I apologized for my rudeness (Not once did he apologize for his behavior). I explained to him that my one rude action was in response to his rudeness to me... THREE times within 10 minutes... and that I am not in high school, don't play games, don't want to change him or understand him. If a person treats me appropriately, I'm there, if they are rude to me or treat me badly, I walk away, no drama. I accept everyone as they are, but that does not mean that I need to be friends with everyone. Acceptance means I don't try to change them, I just decide if I want to be around them or not. So then, came the victim trip of how I never liked him to begin with and he wishes I never talked to him, never offered to do anything for him, etc. and I just left it at that... no response.
This type of experience happens to me every now and then in my life, and it truly boggles my mind each time it happens. I may see the person in question once or twice a month, so the statement of "you never liked me" and similar comments seem irrelevant. We never saw each other enough to develop anything more than being acquaintances. Of course I "like" everyone to a certain degree or in different ways, or else I wouldn't interact with them all. But, I think what happens more often than not in these situations is that I start looking at myself and questioning what I could have or should have done differently. Should I have decided up front to not interact with this person because he talks way too much, and I like to have conversations with people? I think the answer to that is "no", because if I judge and make a decision based on that up front, it could limit my life experience and exposure to someone who might have some interesting things to show me or things I could show them. Then, I think perhaps somewhere along the line, I should have had a private, gentle conversation with him, letting him know that he talks to much for my liking, and when he's in my presence, could he chill out a little. But, then again, that does not seem like the right answer, as it is not my desire to control or change another person. If they are happy the way they are, doing what they do, it would be very arrogant of me to expect another to modify their behavior for me. So, that leads me to the conclusion that actually happened... just live and let live... let others be who they are, and as long as they are not rude or insulting or disrupt my sense of "right", then just be tolerant of who they are and what they have to say. However, when a person who is just an acquaintance treats me rudely or is inconsiderate, and does so repeatedly, then it is acceptable to decide to walk away at that time, and explain my reasons when time and circumstances permit. It is then up to the other person to understand or not understand, and then decide if they want to continue any sort of interaction with me, with a new understanding of what that means.
Do these types of situations happen to any of you readers out there? How do you handle them? Do you have any suggestions for how I could have handled these things differently that might have produced a different outcome? I am open to suggestions and trying to modify my behavior in the future. Since some of these things happen to me fairly regularly, I can't help but think there must be something I should or can learn from them... so teach me!! :-) I know I don't have as much tolerance as some people and I would make a terrible politician, but I DO think there must be some things that I can do to have more successful interactions with people that are "on the fringe" of my social circle... thank you in advance for any input provided.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Sunday, August 25, 2013
My first crash and first real lesson
After deciding on and buying my 1983 Honda CB550 Nighthawk, a friend from work helped me bring it home. I rented a Uhaul truck and we rolled it up inside, tied it down and brought it back to my apartment in Vancouver, WA. My garage was a 1 car garage, but it had stairs to get up to the apartment, and right by the stairs was a nice open area where I could keep the bike and I still had plenty of space for my car. Once the bike was home, I would often go down and look at it, sit on it, and sometimes start it. I was really getting excited about taking the MSF class, learning to ride and actually getting out on the road on two wheels on my own. Occasionally, I would wheel it out, and just ride it very slowly in the complex, staying in first gear.
The week before my MSF class, one of my co-workers who had a motorcycle offered to come by with his motorcycle and give me some tips and possibly even ride with me. So, he came over, gave me some advice about shifting, braking, etc., and suggested I go for a ride like I had been doing, and he would follow me. I was a little nervous about having him watch me, but at the same time, having another person there gave me a bit more confidence to try taking the next step. As I was coming down a long straight street, I decided to try shifting into 2nd gear. I did, and was amazed at how much easier and smoother it was to shift than a car. I was very excited about being in second gear and the smoothness and extra speed this brought. Then, I saw the stop sign ahead, and I knew I didn't really want to stop or downshift to first again. So, I slowed down, looked quickly both ways, did not see any cars and just rolled through the stop and made a right.
I can still remember the feeling I had in that turn. I was leaning the bike, and I was looking all the way down the street to where I was headed. It was as perfect as a turn could feel going slow in 2nd gear, and I felt like I was flying for a second. Then, for some reason I noticed a pickup truck parked on the left side of the road. I took my eyes from the end of the street where I was going, and kept looking at the pickup truck. I started riding towards the truck, and no matter how badly I didn't want to go towards the truck, I couldn't stop it. My bike and I ended up going into the side of the truck. The bike's wheel got stuck between the truck and bumper, and I went over the handlebars, headfirst into the side of the truck and landed on the ground next to the bike. Thankfully I had my helmet on, and since the bike was stuck, it stayed upright instead of landing on top of me. I got up and started trying to pull the bike out of the truck, and when my friend came over and realized I was okay, he said he couldn't believe how fast I got up. He said I barely hit the ground and I was up again... it looked like I bounced!
That was obviously the end of riding for the day. My friend helped me to remove my bike from the truck, the owner of the truck came out and I gave him my insurance information. I don't really remember what ever came of that... I guess the insurance company handled it. We got my bike and all the pieces back in the garage. The whole front end was gone. I would need a new headlight, blinkers, instrument cluster... and somehow the bracket that kept the seat on the bike broke off, so I needed a new seat as well. I'm sure it should have been totaled. Once we got the bike settled, we headed inside to check out the damage to me. I took off my boots, rolled up my jeans and found my left leg that I landed on, was swollen, bruised and very tender. I don't know if my boot got caught on something or it just scraped along the pavement but, the strap around the boot was ripped off. I was very glad I had the boots on or that could have been my ankle that got ripped up!!
I laid on my couch with my leg elevated and had ice on it, and did my best to keep ice on it overnight while sleeping. The next day, Sunday, the pain got worse as the swelling went down, so I decided to go to the hospital and have my ankle looked at. They did an X-ray and told me it was not broken... thankfully!! I walked out with my leg wrapped in an "immobilzation brace" and got crutches to keep the weight off of it. Monday came and was a typical Monday for me. My boss picked me up early and took me to the airport. I was flying down to San Francisco to work with one of our clients. Most of my time was spent in San Francisco and I had some regular clients there. I was in San Francisco so often, I felt more like I lived there then Vancouver. The people at the hotels knew me well, and I even had a chiropractor on California Street in the financial district.
Monday after work, I went to see my chiropractor for my regular visit. He took one look at my leg and asked me "What is that?" I explained, and he said "We are taking that off." He said immobilizing injuries like mine was the worst thing that could be done. He said I needed to keep the leg moving to pump out the fluids that are keeping it swollen and not let the muscles atrophy, which is what immobilizing it would do. He took of the brace, used some ultrasound on my leg, and gave me some exercises to do, to keep the foot and leg moving. He suggested that I still use the crutches, but not keep my foot up while walking. He wanted me to use my leg to walk, so I would keep it moving, but use the crutches to keep my full weight off of it. He also suggested alternating ice and heat as often as I could. I went back to see him Wednesday and Friday before heading back to Vancouver for the weekend, and he did more ultrasound each time to help swelling and prevent scar tissue from forming. My leg was already feeling much better. I was very happy about this because my MSF course was the next weekend.
The company I worked for, always made sure we were home and not traveling one week a month, so this next week coming up was my week to be home. I was happy about that, as it would give me a little more time to heal and be ready for the course. Friday night came and it was time to go to the classroom portion of the MSF class. There were 10 students, 4 women and 6 men. The instructor was a hardcore biker, and pretty cool. I could tell he had alot of experience riding motorcycles. He taught us about motorcycling basics as well as the controls on a motorcycle and what those controls do. Saturday, we were on the motorcycles, and the first thing they had us to was sit on the motorcycles and do an exercise so they could see that we could balance the bikes before allowing us to turn them on. We paired off with someone who was close to our size and partner A sat on the bike while partner B pushed them down the range and back. Then partner B sat on the bike while partner A pushed them down the range and back. When it was my turn to push, it was all I could do to not scream in agony each time my left foot hit the ground. I was still limping quite a bit, and the effort it took to push a rider on a bike put a lot of pressure on my foot and leg. But, I was determined to make it through the class and I did not want to let the instructor know that I was injured, especially from a motorcycle accident! Plus, I figured most of the time would be spent on the motorcycles with our feet up. I just needed to get past this portion of the class, and thankfully no one noticed my "disability".
I was able to make it through the rest of the class fairly well, and I passed the final test. Out of the 10, only 6 of us passed. The other 3 women and one man didn't make it. Two of the women and the one man were having some real difficulties early on so were asked to leave, and the third woman had dropped her bike during the test, so that is an automatic fail. At the end of the class, they handed out our MSF certification cards. I couldn't wait to get to the DMV and get my motorcycle endorsement added to my license!! These cards acted like waivers for the riding test at the DMV. I would still have to take the written test, but not the riding portion. If you decide you want to use the MSF certification to waive your test, you should check with your state. Some waive just the riding portion while other waive both written and riding.
The biggest lesson I learned from taking the class was that "you go where you look". I realized that this is why I rode into that parked pickup truck. Having experienced that first hand, then learning the lesson, has helped me be a better rider and there have been many times where I've felt I may be in trouble and I force myself to make an exaggerated head turn and look where I WANT to go instead of where I'm going... and I save myself. This is always the most important thing I try to convey to new motorcycle riders. If a new rider completely loses control of their motorcycle, they can avert real tragedy by looking to an open area. It is much easier to go down by yourself in an open area, than hit other riders or cars/trucks or even buildings and boulders.
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| Me in 1996/7, age 29 on my first bike, a 1983 Honda CB550 Nighthawk |
The week before my MSF class, one of my co-workers who had a motorcycle offered to come by with his motorcycle and give me some tips and possibly even ride with me. So, he came over, gave me some advice about shifting, braking, etc., and suggested I go for a ride like I had been doing, and he would follow me. I was a little nervous about having him watch me, but at the same time, having another person there gave me a bit more confidence to try taking the next step. As I was coming down a long straight street, I decided to try shifting into 2nd gear. I did, and was amazed at how much easier and smoother it was to shift than a car. I was very excited about being in second gear and the smoothness and extra speed this brought. Then, I saw the stop sign ahead, and I knew I didn't really want to stop or downshift to first again. So, I slowed down, looked quickly both ways, did not see any cars and just rolled through the stop and made a right.
I can still remember the feeling I had in that turn. I was leaning the bike, and I was looking all the way down the street to where I was headed. It was as perfect as a turn could feel going slow in 2nd gear, and I felt like I was flying for a second. Then, for some reason I noticed a pickup truck parked on the left side of the road. I took my eyes from the end of the street where I was going, and kept looking at the pickup truck. I started riding towards the truck, and no matter how badly I didn't want to go towards the truck, I couldn't stop it. My bike and I ended up going into the side of the truck. The bike's wheel got stuck between the truck and bumper, and I went over the handlebars, headfirst into the side of the truck and landed on the ground next to the bike. Thankfully I had my helmet on, and since the bike was stuck, it stayed upright instead of landing on top of me. I got up and started trying to pull the bike out of the truck, and when my friend came over and realized I was okay, he said he couldn't believe how fast I got up. He said I barely hit the ground and I was up again... it looked like I bounced!
That was obviously the end of riding for the day. My friend helped me to remove my bike from the truck, the owner of the truck came out and I gave him my insurance information. I don't really remember what ever came of that... I guess the insurance company handled it. We got my bike and all the pieces back in the garage. The whole front end was gone. I would need a new headlight, blinkers, instrument cluster... and somehow the bracket that kept the seat on the bike broke off, so I needed a new seat as well. I'm sure it should have been totaled. Once we got the bike settled, we headed inside to check out the damage to me. I took off my boots, rolled up my jeans and found my left leg that I landed on, was swollen, bruised and very tender. I don't know if my boot got caught on something or it just scraped along the pavement but, the strap around the boot was ripped off. I was very glad I had the boots on or that could have been my ankle that got ripped up!!
I laid on my couch with my leg elevated and had ice on it, and did my best to keep ice on it overnight while sleeping. The next day, Sunday, the pain got worse as the swelling went down, so I decided to go to the hospital and have my ankle looked at. They did an X-ray and told me it was not broken... thankfully!! I walked out with my leg wrapped in an "immobilzation brace" and got crutches to keep the weight off of it. Monday came and was a typical Monday for me. My boss picked me up early and took me to the airport. I was flying down to San Francisco to work with one of our clients. Most of my time was spent in San Francisco and I had some regular clients there. I was in San Francisco so often, I felt more like I lived there then Vancouver. The people at the hotels knew me well, and I even had a chiropractor on California Street in the financial district.
Monday after work, I went to see my chiropractor for my regular visit. He took one look at my leg and asked me "What is that?" I explained, and he said "We are taking that off." He said immobilizing injuries like mine was the worst thing that could be done. He said I needed to keep the leg moving to pump out the fluids that are keeping it swollen and not let the muscles atrophy, which is what immobilizing it would do. He took of the brace, used some ultrasound on my leg, and gave me some exercises to do, to keep the foot and leg moving. He suggested that I still use the crutches, but not keep my foot up while walking. He wanted me to use my leg to walk, so I would keep it moving, but use the crutches to keep my full weight off of it. He also suggested alternating ice and heat as often as I could. I went back to see him Wednesday and Friday before heading back to Vancouver for the weekend, and he did more ultrasound each time to help swelling and prevent scar tissue from forming. My leg was already feeling much better. I was very happy about this because my MSF course was the next weekend.
The company I worked for, always made sure we were home and not traveling one week a month, so this next week coming up was my week to be home. I was happy about that, as it would give me a little more time to heal and be ready for the course. Friday night came and it was time to go to the classroom portion of the MSF class. There were 10 students, 4 women and 6 men. The instructor was a hardcore biker, and pretty cool. I could tell he had alot of experience riding motorcycles. He taught us about motorcycling basics as well as the controls on a motorcycle and what those controls do. Saturday, we were on the motorcycles, and the first thing they had us to was sit on the motorcycles and do an exercise so they could see that we could balance the bikes before allowing us to turn them on. We paired off with someone who was close to our size and partner A sat on the bike while partner B pushed them down the range and back. Then partner B sat on the bike while partner A pushed them down the range and back. When it was my turn to push, it was all I could do to not scream in agony each time my left foot hit the ground. I was still limping quite a bit, and the effort it took to push a rider on a bike put a lot of pressure on my foot and leg. But, I was determined to make it through the class and I did not want to let the instructor know that I was injured, especially from a motorcycle accident! Plus, I figured most of the time would be spent on the motorcycles with our feet up. I just needed to get past this portion of the class, and thankfully no one noticed my "disability".
I was able to make it through the rest of the class fairly well, and I passed the final test. Out of the 10, only 6 of us passed. The other 3 women and one man didn't make it. Two of the women and the one man were having some real difficulties early on so were asked to leave, and the third woman had dropped her bike during the test, so that is an automatic fail. At the end of the class, they handed out our MSF certification cards. I couldn't wait to get to the DMV and get my motorcycle endorsement added to my license!! These cards acted like waivers for the riding test at the DMV. I would still have to take the written test, but not the riding portion. If you decide you want to use the MSF certification to waive your test, you should check with your state. Some waive just the riding portion while other waive both written and riding.
The biggest lesson I learned from taking the class was that "you go where you look". I realized that this is why I rode into that parked pickup truck. Having experienced that first hand, then learning the lesson, has helped me be a better rider and there have been many times where I've felt I may be in trouble and I force myself to make an exaggerated head turn and look where I WANT to go instead of where I'm going... and I save myself. This is always the most important thing I try to convey to new motorcycle riders. If a new rider completely loses control of their motorcycle, they can avert real tragedy by looking to an open area. It is much easier to go down by yourself in an open area, than hit other riders or cars/trucks or even buildings and boulders.
Friday, August 23, 2013
In the beginning...
One question that many people ask me is why/how I got started riding motorcycles. I thought I would talk about that at the start of my blog, so that those questions are answered. Riding motorcycles was never one of those things I dreamed about. I didn't stare wistfully at motorcycles as they rode past our house or down the city streets as we were driving. I never, ever dreamed I would some day enjoy riding motorcycles. However, my brother John was fascinated with motorcycles when we were kids. Every time a motorcycle rode by, no matter where we were or what we were doing, he would stop and look up. Our parents were very much against motorcycles and laid down the law that many of you have heard before... "There will be no motorcycles as long as you live under our roof." So, John saved his money and when he had enough, he bought a house with a garage, moved in and promptly bought a 1979 Harley Davidson Sportster. It was a basket case and he took the winter to restore it. A friend of his painted it Candy Cobalt Blue with an eagle head that faded back into the paint. It came out nice and he would come by the house and take me for a rides on the back throughout NJ, NY and PA. We had alot of fun on the rides but I still never thought I would ride a motorcycle on my own. And I also never questioned my parents about why they allowed me to ride on the back of John's motorcycle but wouldn't allow motorcycles in the house . I didn't want to bring that to their attention in case it caused them to change their mind about letting me ride with him.
I had gotten married in 1991, and John would come by and take me for rides sometimes, but when I got divorced in January of 1996, and lived in Morristown, NJ, he started coming to take me for rides more often. In May of 1996, I received a call from a company in Vancouver, WA that provided consulting services to clients that used Timberline Software... the same software I provided consulting for in NJ and NYC. They said they were getting busy, heard good things about me, and wanted to offer me a position with their firm. I had always had dreams of moving out west, and it seemed like this was my chance, but I just wasn't sure about it since I had just gotten divorced and didn't know how many changes I could handle at one time. I asked them for some time to think about it and they agreed to give me as much time as I needed and they would check in with me periodically. Finally in July, I decided that, if the offer was still available, I would take it and make the move. I knew if I didn't take it, I may never get another opportunity like that again. I also knew I could always move back to NJ if it didn't work out. So, I called them and told them I wanted to accept the offer and we began to make plans for me to move there.
Up until that point, I was 29, the furthest I had driven was probably as far north as Connecticut and as far south as Washington, DC and here I was, looking at moving 3,000 miles away to the Pacific Northwest. I decided to fly there, and have my car shipped. It took a couple weeks for my family to get my car to the shipping area, and for the truck to take it to me, but I was able to borrow a co-worker's car while he was out of state traveling. August and September were nice, weather-wise and I was missing getting out on the back of my brother's motorcycle. One day, I was talking with him on the phone, and expressed this to him. He responded by telling me I should get a motorcycle and learn to ride. I laughed and told him that I couldn't ride a motorcycle. He told me that I could and there is an organization called the Motorcycle Safety Foundation that teaches people how to ride motorcycles safely. I thought "What the heck, I may as well check it out." Sure enough, I found the local community college offered classes, and I signed up!!
Next came looking for my own motorcycle. I had no idea about motorcycles at all, since it was not something I had been interested in, in the past, so I talked to my brother during endless phone calls. He would tell me what bikes he recommended for me, I would tell him what ads I saw, and he would tell me whether he thought they were good or not. He had me stay away from sportbikes, but look at "standard" motorcycles instead. I spent countless hours going to dealerships just to look at their motorcycles, sit on them and get a feel for them. There were some that were very comfortable and some that were too tall for me... I could not sit on them comfortably and touch the ground flat footed. I learned a lot about motorcycles from the dealerships though, before I went out looking at private party bikes for sale.
I don't remember how many motorcycles I looked at, but I finally decided to buy a 1983 Honda CB550. It was owned by an older man who had put a ton of miles on it. He had photo albums full of pictures of his travels with the bike. It was definitely used and pretty beat up... which is exactly what I wanted. I think I paid $1000.00 for it, and I wanted a bike that I wouldn't care about if I crashed on it. It wasn't a bike I was going to fall in love with, it was the bike I was going to learn on. I wanted to know that if I crashed, I would throw the bike down and save myself. If I had paid alot of money for a bike and/or really fell in love with a bike, I knew I would try to save it and probably hurt myself in the process. Below is a picture of a similar bike. I couldn't find any of me with mine.
Stay tuned for my next post where I will talk about my riding experiences before taking the MSF course, and then actually learning to ride in the MSF course!!
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| My brother John on his restored 1979 Sportster late 1980s in our back yard |
I had gotten married in 1991, and John would come by and take me for rides sometimes, but when I got divorced in January of 1996, and lived in Morristown, NJ, he started coming to take me for rides more often. In May of 1996, I received a call from a company in Vancouver, WA that provided consulting services to clients that used Timberline Software... the same software I provided consulting for in NJ and NYC. They said they were getting busy, heard good things about me, and wanted to offer me a position with their firm. I had always had dreams of moving out west, and it seemed like this was my chance, but I just wasn't sure about it since I had just gotten divorced and didn't know how many changes I could handle at one time. I asked them for some time to think about it and they agreed to give me as much time as I needed and they would check in with me periodically. Finally in July, I decided that, if the offer was still available, I would take it and make the move. I knew if I didn't take it, I may never get another opportunity like that again. I also knew I could always move back to NJ if it didn't work out. So, I called them and told them I wanted to accept the offer and we began to make plans for me to move there.
Up until that point, I was 29, the furthest I had driven was probably as far north as Connecticut and as far south as Washington, DC and here I was, looking at moving 3,000 miles away to the Pacific Northwest. I decided to fly there, and have my car shipped. It took a couple weeks for my family to get my car to the shipping area, and for the truck to take it to me, but I was able to borrow a co-worker's car while he was out of state traveling. August and September were nice, weather-wise and I was missing getting out on the back of my brother's motorcycle. One day, I was talking with him on the phone, and expressed this to him. He responded by telling me I should get a motorcycle and learn to ride. I laughed and told him that I couldn't ride a motorcycle. He told me that I could and there is an organization called the Motorcycle Safety Foundation that teaches people how to ride motorcycles safely. I thought "What the heck, I may as well check it out." Sure enough, I found the local community college offered classes, and I signed up!!
Next came looking for my own motorcycle. I had no idea about motorcycles at all, since it was not something I had been interested in, in the past, so I talked to my brother during endless phone calls. He would tell me what bikes he recommended for me, I would tell him what ads I saw, and he would tell me whether he thought they were good or not. He had me stay away from sportbikes, but look at "standard" motorcycles instead. I spent countless hours going to dealerships just to look at their motorcycles, sit on them and get a feel for them. There were some that were very comfortable and some that were too tall for me... I could not sit on them comfortably and touch the ground flat footed. I learned a lot about motorcycles from the dealerships though, before I went out looking at private party bikes for sale.
I don't remember how many motorcycles I looked at, but I finally decided to buy a 1983 Honda CB550. It was owned by an older man who had put a ton of miles on it. He had photo albums full of pictures of his travels with the bike. It was definitely used and pretty beat up... which is exactly what I wanted. I think I paid $1000.00 for it, and I wanted a bike that I wouldn't care about if I crashed on it. It wasn't a bike I was going to fall in love with, it was the bike I was going to learn on. I wanted to know that if I crashed, I would throw the bike down and save myself. If I had paid alot of money for a bike and/or really fell in love with a bike, I knew I would try to save it and probably hurt myself in the process. Below is a picture of a similar bike. I couldn't find any of me with mine.
Stay tuned for my next post where I will talk about my riding experiences before taking the MSF course, and then actually learning to ride in the MSF course!!
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Welcome!!
This is my first post on my new blog. It is something I have wanted to do for quite a while and I can't explain why I started it today, but I guess enough things finally came together to give me to courage to do this. I have realized that, while to me, my life is normal and fairly uneventful, what's normal to me is interesting to others. While I enjoy watching my friends have children and share their experiences with their families, they enjoy hearing about my life in Las Vegas, riding motorcycles, running my own business, meeting new people and enjoying different adventures. So, it's time to actively share as much as possible, as often as possible.... the good and bad, the perfect and the mistakes.
I am hoping that I will have the courage to share my experiences honestly here, and not leave anything out. There may be those times when someone's career or personal life may be on the line if the truth got out. In those cases, I will try to tell the story "between the lines" and not give too many specifics. That's not to say that I participate in anything illegal or immoral, but everyone's perception of "right" or acceptable is different, and some may wish to not have their experiences publicized, so I will respect the wishes of those people in my life and only publish what they agree is okay with them. Many of my adventures will be just me on my own around town or on a road trip and those should be cut and dried.
While I have titled this blog "My Heart Is A Motorcycle", it will be about all aspects of my life. Much of my life DOES revolve around motorcycles, so I thought it was an appropriate title. I also thought it appropriate because, at least for me, when I hear that title, I think of the motorcycle as a metaphorical term for journeying and my heart as how I feel about the journey. Ultimately, no matter what happens, I think life is merely a journey to be lived and felt with the heart. My motorcycles have allowed me to feel life in ways I would not have otherwise been able to, and I have learned to take that feeling into the rest of my life even when I'm not on two wheels.
I hope that that readers of my blog will enjoy my writings, sharing my feelings and my journey, and I'm looking forward to hearing your comments and feedback about my experiences in this world. If there is anything you love or hate about my writing, or want to know more about, please let me know. I want to create a place where you all can feel like you are on this journey with me and the best way to do that is to allow you to actually be a part of it... Welcome to my world!!
I am hoping that I will have the courage to share my experiences honestly here, and not leave anything out. There may be those times when someone's career or personal life may be on the line if the truth got out. In those cases, I will try to tell the story "between the lines" and not give too many specifics. That's not to say that I participate in anything illegal or immoral, but everyone's perception of "right" or acceptable is different, and some may wish to not have their experiences publicized, so I will respect the wishes of those people in my life and only publish what they agree is okay with them. Many of my adventures will be just me on my own around town or on a road trip and those should be cut and dried.
While I have titled this blog "My Heart Is A Motorcycle", it will be about all aspects of my life. Much of my life DOES revolve around motorcycles, so I thought it was an appropriate title. I also thought it appropriate because, at least for me, when I hear that title, I think of the motorcycle as a metaphorical term for journeying and my heart as how I feel about the journey. Ultimately, no matter what happens, I think life is merely a journey to be lived and felt with the heart. My motorcycles have allowed me to feel life in ways I would not have otherwise been able to, and I have learned to take that feeling into the rest of my life even when I'm not on two wheels.
I hope that that readers of my blog will enjoy my writings, sharing my feelings and my journey, and I'm looking forward to hearing your comments and feedback about my experiences in this world. If there is anything you love or hate about my writing, or want to know more about, please let me know. I want to create a place where you all can feel like you are on this journey with me and the best way to do that is to allow you to actually be a part of it... Welcome to my world!!
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