Hit Mid Life crisis hard. Just when I was at the nadir of my discontent I came across the opportunity to get an old 1994 Yamaha Virago. It only had 4000 miles on it and was in pristine condition. It is a classic style bike which I like a lot more than the new Ninja style.

I had ridden for about six months when I first met Cindy. I had gotten my motorcycle license at time. Believe it or not I rode an automatic bike for the test! I had never really ridden a regular bike before but I did not let that stop me.

I read up as much as I could about biking. Reading about how to find the friction point and such. I would read something and then go practice in the parking lot. 100’s of times I stalled out, especially on the hill outside our house. After a few days of riding in the parking lot I took the bike up to Hudson Avenue, which is a long straight piece of road next door, and is not heavily traveled. On Hudson ave I finally got the bike out of first and practiced shifting and breaking. I read a couple of books on good techniques and then took the bike out on a windy road that is in town. It is a back road and I did not have to worry about getting rammed or going down in a flash of metal glory.

I practiced on this old road for about a week, finding the apex of corners and practicing going in slow and then giving steady throttle throughout the turn. I was learning about cornering at different speeds.  I also practiced turns, probably the most dangerous thing a motorcyclist can do. A left turn, moving across a double line is the most dangerous. But what I practiced slowing down, putting on the blinker downshifting, and navigating the turn without going into the oncoming traffic lane. Not as easy as it sounds.  If you don’t slow down enough, you make the turn too wide, and if you are moving too slowly you dump the bike. I practiced on an old road near a bridge that has been under construction for ab out two years. Not many people come down here.

So I will blog here a bit about my adventures in Motorcycling. Hopefully no posts from the Hospital!